Stephanie wins Top Chef after lackluster finale {Top Chef Chicago}

Stephanie wins Top Chef Chicago and becomes the first female Top Chef, but aside from her victory, the rest of the show was BORING! I decided to post this in fancy “Vivaldi” style font because it suits the high brow foodie audience for which the finale was intended. I could not appreciate Stephanie’s daring pecan and olive ingredients that so impressed the judges. The producers keep forgetting that those of us at home can’t taste the food.. I could appreciate, however, that Lisa’s soup caused the renowned guest chefs to “slurp” and ask for seconds. Like I have said before, Lisa did her homework before arriving in Puerto Rico and performed better than she ever did in Chicago. She was uncharacteristically at ease during the finale due to the fact that there wasn’t anyone around to argue with her. If you have ever watched Hell’s Kitchen, you can easily imagine Chef Gordon Ramsey eating Lisa alive (and probably throw up afterwards). Richard’s tanks of exotic gasses didn’t set him apart from the others. As I watched him pour liquid nitrogen into his bacon flavored ice cream, I thought isn’t that the stuff doctor’s use to freeze warts off of people? (ick) I believe Richard’s downfall was that he thought he could pull it all together on the second day, but surprise—no sous chefs! They bring back the old format for the finale: 2 finalists cooking head to head with the help of former cast mates. Otherwise,Top Chef should move over to the FOOD network. I hope to see more of Stephanie! Maybe she will write a cookbook or get her own television show. She is a heck of a lot less annoying that Rachael Ray!

PJ

The best of both Davids {American Idol}

For the next two nights we’ll see the best of both Davids: David Archuleta is young, cute, and has those dreamy eyes. In my day, he’d be on the cover of Tiger Beat magazine with the caption, “Win a date with David” and “Inside, new David Archuleta trading cards–collect all 25!” David Archuleta looks like an American Idol. Yes, he’s a good singer, too. But the future of American Idol depends on fans wanting to watch American Idol, and David Archuleta is just the guy whose wholesome good looks can whip fans into a frenzy. I don’t think David Cook has that kind of charisma. He’s older, has an established style, and can play an instrument. He’s got the Zac Efron bangs going for him, but that’s not enough; David Cook has to play his music and sing to inspire his audience. His maturity and raw talent will help him establish a long lasting recording career, but they won’t make him an American Idol. I believe David Cook will go on to be memorable, like Carrie Underwood and Kelly Clarkson. Each finalist has a promising future, but I believe David Archuleta should become an American Idol first. American Idol has already launched David Cook’s career this season, he doesn’t need the title, nor would he represent brand as well as David Archuleta. Be sure to tune in.

PJ

David Cook’s performance worthy of Rock Hall venue {American Idol}

I started to feel as if I were in A Clockwork Orange watching American Idol last night; being forced to watch the red Coca-Cola trademark on a million TV screens when Ryan Seacrest interviewed finalists was mind-numbing. However, I was very impressed with David Cook’s soulful rendition of The Who’s classic Teenage Wasteland. Cook made this song “relevant” (to borrow a word from Paula Abdoul) for the times. I can actually admit I was wrong in my last post- an up-and-coming artist can perform a copy of an original recording. David Cook breathed new life into this old classic, claiming it for himself as a solo act. “He is back!” was all the judges had (thankfully) to say; the performance spoke for itself. Jason Castro did not sing that well this week and even Randy Jackson appeared offended. “That was a Karaoke BOMB,” said Jackson. He didn’t even say, “Karaoke bomb, DAWG.”

I have to end here… for some reason I feel that I need to drink a can of Coke.

PJ