'Top Chef' recap: More Exciting than Chicken Salad

At the Judges' Table, the top and bottom groups were decided by votes, and it was pretty obvious that the first three to go into judging — Paul, Lindsay, and Grayson — were the winning group. Paul further proved that he was the one to beat (although I kind of wish he'd stop being quite so humble. He should accept that he's doing really, really well); he won the challenge for his hot sauce, which Tom said he should bottle, and the delicious peach side dish.

Then Tom pissed Grayson off. He asked her if she really thought she could win with a chicken salad sandwich. Grayson apparently has a problem controlling the VOLUME OF HER VOICE because she more or less shouted, "You think chicken salad is really boring!" To which Tom admitted, "Yeah." She shut him down by accurately pointing out that meatballs aren't that exciting either... and neither is Asian food. (Asian food is getting a beating this season. Why do people keep spitting the word "Asian" as if it's a bad word? No one says "Italian" like that.) Whether or not Grayson had a point, there was nothing for her to gain by going off on Tom since she was already safe. Even after the judging, Grayson was fuming, saying she was "brutalized" by Tom. Actually, it seemed as though Tom calmly asked her a question. (Even though I have to agree — Sarah and a meatball... where's the surprise in that?) Let's chalk it up to a stressful situation.

But later, after Chris got eliminated for his healthy but dry chicken salad sandwiches, Grayson took some responsibility for the failure of Chris' dish by admitting she felt guilty for suggesting boring chicken salad. I appreciated Chris' unabashed dorkiness and culinary risk-taking and unpredictability, but he was far too inconsistent to make it much longer in the competition. His top-knot drooped sadly into more of a side-knot as he shuffled away from the Judges' Table. And because of Chris, Padma was forced to say "Kobayashi Maru" in previewing Last Chance Kitchen, and that alone made this rather humdrum episode worthwhile.

So Top Chef fans, is this year's crop of chefs actually unexciting, or do they just need more inspired challenges like last week's wicked dinner and fewer challenges like tonight's? Was it Chris' time to go? Where do you stand on the great chicken salad debate: Did Grayson cross the line or did you like her spunk? How amazing would it be if Beverly returned from Last Chance Kitchen?

UPDATE: I won't spoil what happens in Last Chance Kitchen, but watch it! That's where all the interesting stuff is going down. And it's coming down to the wire — after next week, someone will return...

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