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The contestants went to Lou Mitchell's for the quick-fire.

Moreover what does it say about the future of our federalist system of government. I suppose separation of powers is too dry a topic to discuss over jambalaya -- not when there's an incompetent mayor to make governor.

Ah, elotes! I used to buy these from the pushcart vendors in Chicago during the summer. Even with parmesan the combination is terrific.

I'm not convinced the discussing the severity of our lactose intolerance is the best conversation we could be having on a gourmand's website. Especially around lunch time.

Let start by saying I think Lisa is the Mike of a few seasons ago. How can someone so inept, unorginal, and lacking in any kind of skill still be in the competition at this stage of the game? She really is a snake who has little to no talent. If the trend continues the finale is really going be anticlimactic as Richard will pound the other finalist(s) into creative submission. I don't see how this won't be a Richard, Antonia, and Stephanie final. Some people may want a female Top Chef, but Stephanie has a severe confidence problem and Antonia can only seem to cook food that her daughter likes. I think Richard is thinking on a completely different level than the other two.

The only way they win is if Richard gets kicked off before the final. Judging by the last couple of weeks that may soon happen. It's shaped up so far to be "Top Finger Pointer".

Bourdain said it was "baby vomit with wood chips" during the meal and at the judges' table said that on a diner's comment card the dish had been described as "baby food with potpourri"

I agree with Brittj858, Chef's don't have the human interaction skills other people possess. Their job is to tell people what to do.

I sort of agree, but by choosing to be EC, you are putting yourself in a position where the food you make is not the only factor that you are judged on. Dale, failed in both the food departments and the leadership roles.

Yeah, but Dale did actively push to be the EC this challenge, even though any idiot could see that his team was going to lose. Obviously anyone with half a brain would have fired Lisa on the spot, but by pushing so hard to be EC, Dale in effect "hired" her. If he didn't want to hire her he should have let her take control and taken her place as the sous. It's much better to be a sous chef with an idiot EC because you just have to do your job well, no matter what you are asked to do. The outcome of this battle was a foregone conclusion as soon as the teams were picked. Dale should have realized that he was never going to be able to keep control of Lisa and should have put his ego aside and let her throw herself under the bus. It was pretty clear that the reason he demanded to be EC was because his ego couldn't deal with Lisa bossing him around.

The thing is that Dale didn't comport himself as an EC should. Choosing to focus mainly on his own dishes instead of supervising, freaking out when his stuff went bad, abusing waitstaff, offering no solution to Lisa's, admittedly self-made crises, and letting Spike disappear for most of the prep time into the front room (how did Stephanie manage to conceive of a linguine and clams dish/bake a gorgonzola cheesecake AND set up the front of the house while Spike could barely even braise short ribs??? which is difficult, but does not require a ton of active prep time).

Yes Lisa screwed up hardcore, but if Dale wanted the EC job so bad he should have expected to have to clean up her mess. As EC, you get the power but you also have to take the responsibility for everything that comes out of your kitchen. He shouldn't be expected to hold Lisa's hand the whole way through prep, but if that is what needs to get done to make the service go well, then he needs to deal with it. Dale just wanted the power so that Lisa couldn't boss him around, but none of the responsibility. When it became clear that Lisa's dishes were awful (although its not as though his butterscotch scallops were any great shakes) he didn't care and just let her fail choosing to deal with his own messes instead. When you are EC, its your responsibility to take care of situations like that, even if you think the other person is an inept idiot. When you send out a nasty dish, its not some line chef whose reputation is going to be on the line, its yours.

While I think that Dale should have outlasted Spike and Lisa based on cooking skills and qualities to be a chef, I have to say that based on his human interaction and leadership skills, he was not yet cut out to be Top Chef and was less qualified than Richard, Stephanie, or Antonia for that position. He would make a great sous chef (he is possibly the best cook of the bunch), but he has constantly sucked when put in a leadership position, always choosing to take care of his own stuff before reaching out to the rest of his kitchen. Look at the difference between him and Hung. Hung was a conceited jerk that was socially awkward, but whenever he was put in an EC position, he didn't just see his "dishes" as the ones he prepared, but was constantly in everyone's face all the time making sure that his dishes were up to his standards. He was slightly immature and annoying about it, but at least he took charge.

Spike really annoys me. He is obviously really insecure, which is why he is always obnoxious and trying to be funny. I agree with Harold. The people on the winning team of Richard, Stephanie, and Antonia are all cool, calm, and collected. See how Antonia took those egg orders with grace? ? She has my vote!