‘Top Chef’ Las Vegas, Episode 11: Circus Circus
November 12th, 2009 by Emily Hansen in Food media
Eli Kirshtein
What happens in Vegas apparently lands on your plate — if you know what you’re doing. If not, you’ll be sent packing, knives and all, with one killer hangover.
In last night’s super-Vegas-themed elimination challenge, the six remaining cheftestants created dishes inspired by six flashy Vegas casinos, from the gaudy Mirage to the gaudier Excalibur. Instead of stopping by Whole Foods, the cheftestants shopped for ideas at their individual hotels, touring lobbies, drinking beer, and greeting dolphins (for a moment, I thought I was watching a bad Travel Channel special).
While the infamous knife block certainly implied the selection of the casinos was random, the chef-hotel pairings seemed a little too appropriate. Wacky Robin was dealt the quirky glass Chihuly sculptures of the Bellagio, Jen looked for her prince (or rather, her Bam, Bam) at Excalibur, Kevin ogled the dolphins at the Mirage, one Voltaggio (Bryan) ogled the sharks at Mandalay Bay, and the other (Michel) visited New York, New York — and immediately talked about how the city has the best food in the country, implying his interpretation of the challenge would be the best, too.
Perhaps the most appropriate pairing of all, however, was class clown Eli, who was coupled with the class clown of the strip, Circus Circus. The casino is literally over the top (the “big top,” that is), much like the Atlanta-based chef whose one-liners often come across as equally garish. Unfortunately, Eli didn’t grasp the comparison. He created a dish that was almost completely literal — and nearly inedible.
Eli’s peanut-popcorn soup concoction earned some tough criticism from the judges (guest judge Nigella Lawson could barely swallow it) and reminded me of season two goofball Michael’s Cheetos puff. Just as Michael married his vending machine favorites haphazardly, Eli blended circus foods without thinking about flavor or texture. In the end, he cooked something significantly below his ability level.
Ultimately, though, it was Robin who finally packed her knives, for her umpteenth failed execution of a lofty idea. Her panna cotta had the wrong consistency, and her Chihuly-inspired stained-glass sugar, the best idea of her dish, didn’t even make it to the plate. It’s no surprise that’s she’s gone (in fact, it’s a major stunner that she lasted as long as she did), but it does offer a sigh of relief. Somewhere in the back of my head, I feared she’d make it to the finale.
While the panna cotta and the Circus Circus disaster might be counted among the worst dishes of the season, the food that earned top marks last night could easily be counted among the best. Michael Voltaggio’s buffalo chicken wing confit lived up to his attitude, and fellow Voltaggio Bryan’s halibut and garlic chips appeared thoughtful and thoroughly yummy (I’ll take a room service order of that, please). Even Kevin’s more understated salmon and compressed cucumber was refreshing and solidly executed.
As for Jen and her many meltdowns, I can only hope she gets some sleep and pulls it together. She is too talented to be creating the lackluster food she’s been dishing out lately, and I don’t think she can survive one more week of the “I’m ready to go” attitude.
(Photo courtesy Bravo)
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