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I am the only one who isnt impressed when reality shows had British assholes as judges?

I really think that if Radhika would have been sent packing if she didn't have immunity. The comments on her dish seemed way harsher than what was given to Eugene.

That said, I am kind of sad to see Eugene go - he's a self-taught chef, and I really respect that - it represents what's really going on in the kitchens of the restaurants we go to. But I do applaud Carla in her professionalism both in the kitchen and in her interviews. I don't think she'll be around for much longer, though...

@ Brooke29 - me too. God, I miss my old gym... :P

As much of an anglophile as I am, Toby Young's particular brand of snarkiness didn't really appeal to me at all. First of all the "weapons of mass destruction" comment seemed too long, and kind of inappropriate. I don't mean at all that it was un-pc or any nonsense like that. It struck me as a forced attempt to bring up the fact that, as a Brit, he disagrees with the policies of the Bush administration (not that I'd contradict him). The metaphor just didn't work for me. Likewise, I thought that the "cat food" comment was made simply to demonstrate that he's British, and therefore an asshole. I honestly have a soft spot in my heart for British assholes (having been verbally abused by several British choir directors and now as I'm studying in London this year), yet it just didn't seem natural in this situation. I mean, the dish could have been really really boring, and I obviously wasn't there to taste it. i just have a hard time believing that diced ahi tuna in a crispy shell tastes anywhere near bad enough to call it cat food. It doesn't help that I just didn't think his comments were at all funny. I could be on my own in this feeling (well, me and the people I watched the show with, who happen to be equally enamored of the English), but I hope not, because I really hope he doesn't last long on the show.

Other than that, I'm thrilled that Eugene was sent home! His comments to the judges were arrogant and clearly demonstrate an unwillingness to take criticism. He was totally obnoxious, and his daikon dish looked and sounded pretty gross, whereas Carla's and Melissa's just looked boring.

I am not a Toby fan. I miss Gail bitterly. I really came to like her and I think her critiques were smart and interesting. Toby's just a loud mouth, and I think his interaction with Tom is annoying.

I'm so glad others were pulling for Carla. I wasn't a big fan of hers at the beginning, but I've really warmed up to her. I don't see her being top chef, but I think she's a genuine (and genuinely funny) person who really cares about what she does.

Strangely, I don't have a favorite this season. In years past, I've generally pulled for someone from early on. I used to really dig Jamie, but her attitude isn't doing it for me. I'd really like Radhika to pull out all the stops, but I'm not sure yet that she's capable.

All in all, a WAY better episode than the nobody goes home Christmas sham.

Carla is growing on me as well. How funny was it when she was in Whole Foods, staring at the olive oils and waiting for one of them to speak to her??? YOU HAVE 30 MINUTES!
I do not like Toby. His shtick got old real fast. His comments are unprofessional, and don't show that he knows anything. Anyone can make a pun or an insult. Those are not critiques of the food.

Toby's schtick was funny for a moment three weeks ago, when I saw it in the previews after the 'Christmas' episode. But the reality of his criticism seems to be that he picks his snarky comments in advance and just looks for the opportunity to recite them.

Melissa definitely needed to go, if you're given free rein to cook whatever you want to impress the judges and you serve raw fish, you're not cooking so much as you're selecting ingredients. And from the judges' reactions, the fish she got wasn't really up to snuff. Eugene showed promise at the beginning of the season but his food never seemed to measure up to that promise. Oh well.

I think now that almost any of the remaining chefs could end up being Top Chef and I wouldn't be disappointed.

I'm sorry but this is the least interesting season of Top Chef for me. I was actually so bored last night I switched over to Man vs. Food on the Travel Channel.

@bessfour - Man vs. Food is good though--a good substitute, no need to apologize.

I began to get REALLY HUNGRY once I saw the bread pudding--looked great!

I did notice that about Toby. Towards the end of the episode he seemed to tone down his comments. I don't like him. I'll say that. But I've felt very lukewarm about this entire season. It seems to be edited strangely. Like at the judge's table Carla looked like she said something to Melissa and Eugene that was cut out. I like her, though, and I thought it was right to keep her on.

I thought the challenge was one of the best because the chefs were allowed to cook what they wanted, instead of the usual jumping through hoops to create something amazing in less than ideal situations.

I thought the right people were sent home.

As for the new judge, so far, I find him unnecessary.
I suppose his snarky reputation is Bravo's attempt to make "better tv." *sigh* For future episodes, I hope he sounds less like a catty bi-atch and more like someone with a serious appreciation of food.

Don't get me started on the product placement...the challenges that require the chefs to use a particular product seem riduculous and overly contrived at times.

I love Jamie's and Jeff's food ... but I love to WATCH Fabio and Carla! The bridal shower episode? Fabio had me rolling ... I think Carla deserved to stay food-wise (from what I could tell through the TV) but I think her and Fabio will stay on a while regardless for their TV appeal. Jeff is boring and not much fun to watch, even if he's one of the best chefs.

What was funny to me is how hard Bravo seemed to be working to make Toby Young sound like he knew something about food. His credentials are minimal and his comments on the show were inane. I'm shocked that this blog had anything nice to say about Toby on last night's episode, I'm seriously bummed out. I'm worried that we're watching Top Chef jump the shark as they attempt to be American Idol or The Bachelor. Why have they been showing 30 second "romance" clips in the middle of each episode? Am I the only one who's noticed that?

I have to agree that Carla's wail for Gail was serious funny! Eugene must have Morimoto's book from 2 summers ago wherein there is a recipe for daikon fettucine. Original? Methinks not. Lastly, I wonder if Toby's snarks would be even half as funny if an American was spewing them. Ta.

So glad I'm not the only one who noticed that Eugene was stealing the daikon recipe from Morimoto's cookbook. He totally deserved to go home; you can't hack someone else's recipe and then turn around and declare that you're being sent home being "too creative". Loser.

You all should check out the griping that he's doing on his own Wikipedia article...

@pupster - Ahhh ha! Someone else noticed Fabio's pronunciation of Tom's last name! I'm glad I'm not the only one.

Everyone I wanted to get kicked off has now been kicked off, except maybe Ariane; I'm sorry, I'm still annoyed she won with watermelon-feta-cheese salad. :P

And Jamie got a win! Hurray! So even if she does go I'll be okay with that. I think it would have been very disappointing if she'd been eliminated before that happened.

Now I need to check the Bravo site for Stefan's red cabbage recipe. It looked reeeeally goooood.

Toby seemed to get some coaching to adjust from what he thought the producers wanted to some actual food criticism. I think we'll see less WMD type lines in the future. (I hope, we have enough of the stereotypical snarky British judge on other shows.)

The judging during the quick fire was pointless - the French chef only used the word "interesting" or said nothing. From Toby's comments on his blog on the TC site, it seemed the producers paired them because of Toby's harsh criticism of Novelli on a UK cooking show and the subsequent banning of Toby from all of Novelli's restaurants.

As for the eliminated, the judges got it right. Raw fish tacos on a cooking show? Melissa seemed like a fodder chef that had stayed longer than expected as did Euguene, who is too inexperienced.

This season's chefs couldn't hold a spatula to the best chefs of seasons past. Richard or Stephanie from last season would blow every one of these chefs out of the water.

Despite the schtick, I actually agreed with what Toby had to say. Melissa has been bland since day one. Carla did add a protien because she was insecure with her base dish, she admitted that herself. And Eugene is experimental beyond his abilities. So I liked Toby because he was able to go in and instantly and accurately read these chefs from one dish. That, to me, shows skills that quite honestly Gail seems to be lacking.

As for some of the other characters mentioned, I find Padma stiff & disturbing, and Carla just works my last nerve. She is too cheesy and that hootie hoo is just ridiculous. Go ahead, go to your NY grocery store and try that.