'Top Chef' season finale recap: Showing Off

Bryan had two shining stars: his venison saddle, in which Gail could find no flaw, and his beautifully finessed cheesecake, which was deemed worthy of a pastry chef's work. That praise must've been a nice buffer for the fact that his tuna noodle casserole — his childhood memory dish — was balked at for being unseasoned (to which non-sardine-eating Mrs. Volt could only say how she liked how un-fishy it was).

Oh, and how greasy was this Sam Nazarian line about Bryan's ''safe'' rockfish: ''It's like a blind date you just don't want to go on.'' Sounds like something someone who once appeared on The Hills would say.

Michael unsurprisingly won over the judges with his rockfish. Only someone who's as much of a mad scientist in the kitchen as he is would know what to do with kabucha squash and masutake mushrooms. As for the mushrooms in his fennel-scented squab breast, Donatella Arpaia, owner of Eos among other restaurants, was not loving the gimmick behind his mushroom puree in a mushroom form. I agreed that at this point in the game, those tricks are useless. He also eked that creative bone into his cream of dehydrated broccoli, which received a mixed reaction.

And okay, I guess the judges really liked his chocolate caramel coulant. But it was dry, judges! It was dry! I feel like if it were someone else, they would've knocked him or her down for that factor alone. But because it's Michael and he does such iiiinteresting things, they let it slide.

Do I sound bitter? Yeah probably, and that's because when all was said and done, Michael was crowned winner. Things boiled down to Voltaggio versus Voltaggio. Boy, I totally didn't see that one coming! I agree that all three deserved to be in the finale, but it should've been Michael versus Kevin. Bryan had presented so many safe dishes this season that he really didn't reflect the combination of skill and innovation that Kevin does. Hello, carrot and beet salad! I know Kev didn't have his most stellar showing last night (I suppose the judges had to be as nitpicky as they were, considering how stiff the competition was), but Kevin has had such a great track record. Let's just call it another Richard Blais incident.

I guess if I had to pick between Michael and Bryan, I would've picked Michael, but that's begrudgingly because I still wanted Kevin to win. He has what it takes to be a Top Chef: the skill, personality and connection to and love for food. Sure, Michael has tricks up his sleeve and has presented some pretty cool dishes over 13 challenges, but I think Kevin is the whole package. Either way, it's not like Kevin is going home totally empty-handed. I'm fairly certain that Kevin, Jen, and Bryan will all go on to do some pretty amazing things. Field trip to Kevin's restaurant, anyone?

Were you guys happy or disappointed with the judges' choice? What did you think of the finale? Sound off!

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