I cannot agree more. At the beginning of the episode it was Hung who took responsibility for the freezing while Joey did the bulk of the cooking. In the end, the cooking turned out average (no better or no worse) than most of the others - yet the freezing was seriously flawed. Then, in typical Hung fashion, he dodges all responsibility piling excuse onto excuse. Yet, in the end, it'll be the better TV rating potential that'll keep Hung around.

-FlyerBeek

Anyone watching tonight?

Sadly, yes. Tonight's episode is the perfect example of ratings-over-substance we've been talking about. In fact, they pretty much came out and said it when choosing between Sara N and Howie at the very end.

While Sara N wasn't the best of the evening, she clearly wasn't the worst. Her sliders appeared to be the most popular course of the entire evening (between both teams), they received no complaints from the public, and were even fairly well received by the judges (the only real complaints was the lack of salt and her poor milkshakes). Meanwhile, Howie (very unimpressive Cuban sandwiches and an atrocious team leader) passes the blame again and again. When are they going to stop rewarding folks like Howie and Hung who consistently pass the buck and weasel out of any accountability?

Overall, a very disappointing episode (and I' not even going to mention Hung's cauliflower ice cream mix in).

-FlyerBeek

I agree with the comment about Brian's downside being his lack of meat experience. I've eaten at Oceanaire (the Orlando location but the San Diego one was one of their first) before ant it was FANTASTIC. :-)

My vote is for either him or Tre. I don't see Hung winning or getting much closer. He actually had quite a few negative comments this week (chicken and ice cream).

note to self: avoid checking this thread between 7 and 11 pm on Weds nights due to the time difference with the east coast

Sorry!

Yes that irratates me! Howie and his attitude gets on my last nerve.

No worries! It's my own fault for looking - I'll be careful on Weds nights in the future

Missed last night's episode! Hopefully, it's being replayed on Bravo today...got so much free time today.

You're in luck http://www.bravotv.com/Schedule/ it's a Top Chef marathon.

By the way, did anyone else think that Rocco Dispirito looked kind of funky last week? It was driving me crazy and then I found this http://www.awfulplasticsurgery.com/archives/003958.html

oooh good - show just started!

Rocco has lost a lot of weight, I did not even recognize him! He is hot now!

Looks like Tre will win...didn't the judges mention something about the winner of the first episode is likely to become Top Chef (as in the previous seasons)?

Hung started off impressive, but just went down hill each episode.

Totally agree.

I was glad to see Dale win the quickfire challenge. The things he created at the ex's restaurant were amazing and extremely creative. I can't tell if he is being purposefully underestimated, or if he is not as charismaitc as some others so he can't possibly win.

Howie's a giant tool IMO.

I enjoyed watching Hung get slapped down for his ice-cream mixin. But he can't take criticism. His comeback was something along the lines of "i guess they were looking for something for the common people."

That sort of attitude is going to relegate him to making foams for people who have more money than good sense or taste. Trying to elevate your diners' experience is one thing, but to insult them when they don't rise to it is a whole different ballgame.

I'd kick him off in a heartbeat, and I wouldn't give him the opportunity for an exit interview, in case he does what Joey did last week. Let him fade quietly into the past.