Now THAT'S going to be tough to top this season.

I've said it so many times, and I hate to say it again, but this show is at its best when the chefs are at their best. No manufactured drama, no controversy, no storyline, no mission impossible scenario can compete with all seven chefs getting a fun challenge, hitting on every single dish and forcing the judges to pick nits to decide whose performance was the least awesome.

And if I may rewind a bit, yeah, it was kind of gimmicky, but I'm okay with that quickfire. For starters, that's how you do it... something goofy for the quickfire, then free the chefs up to rock for the elimination. And if I would have been annoyed by Pop Rocks making an appearance (though Graham Elliot Bowles has managed to build a reputation around them), the sight of Chris vs. The Lobsters made up for tenfold (the behind the scenes video with the reverse angle on that is highly amusing, BTW). We're eight and a half seasons into this thing. Maybe I'm getting soft. But as goofy challenges go, this one was pretty workable, and a lot of fun to watch.

I'm keeping it kind of short and sweet this week, mostly because I have a horde of stuff to write about back at the main blog in the wake of my trip. Saying it like that makes it sound like a chore, which couldn't be further from the truth. It's just that I'm really, really anxious to get these words out while they're flowing and the food is still fresh in my mind. So please forgive the brevity.

The elimination of Beverly and Ty-Lör has essentially gutted the middle of the pack, so we're left with what looks at the moment like a clear varsity and junior varsity squad. The question is simply order within those squads, and who from the JV might sneak in with a strong finish or a stumble from one of the folks up top. Remember that while unlikely, it isn't a given that one of the current bottom three will make the final four... we still have a Last Chance Kitchen winner rejoining the crowd shortly.

Just for this week, "Last Week" equals "Two Weeks Ago." I'm too lazy to edit them all. Let's get this thing going.

The power rankings are not purely a prediction of who is most likely to win, or an assessment of last episode's dishes, or a reflection of the contestants' historical performance, but rather a nebulous amalgam of all three, combined with a little bit of gut feeling, to provide a relative measure of current awesomeness.

Wins Top Bottom

1 Paul Quickfires 2 3 3 Last Week: 1 Eliminations 3 4 1 I'm sure you're all SHOCKED. But hey, he managed to take his first trip to the chopping block, which isn't for nothing. But the guy's been so dominant that he's going to have to completely tank two episodes to be nudged from number one. I have also given up trying to figure where his flavor combinations come from. Beet, cherries, strawberries, foie, bacon, mushrooms, pumpernickel, walnuts and red curry. Come again? And he doesn't just make it work, he wins with it. This is some seriously inspired stuff. BTW, I know it's gotten some mention in the comments, and it's on the Bravo site as well making it fair game, but Padma calling the finale decision one of the toughest they've ever made certainly suggests this won't be a coronation. Assuming Paul doesn't blow it and makes it to the finale, one wonders if he pulled a Blais (sorry, Richard) or if somebody else cooked the meal of their life, because the season thus far has certainly lent the impression that he's untouchable when he's on. We'll have to wait a few weeks to find out.

2 Sarah Quickfires 0 4 1 Last Week: 2 Eliminations 2 4 3 I toyed with the idea of swapping Sarah and Edward... Ed's been strong (more in a moment)... but Sarah's still looking mighty strong too, chopping block appearance notwithstanding. Frankly, I hate to hold this week's chopping block against anybody. But she pulled together a soft shell crab dish with cottage cheese and everybody seemed to adore her arancino last week. It isn't as though she isn't continuing to excel, personal issues notwithstanding. Plus, lamb heart. She gets a heart and a star just for that one. But it's close enough that I wouldn't discount a swap in the home stretch depending on how the next couple of episodes go.

3 Edward Quickfires 0 1 1 Last Week: 3 Eliminations 1 4 3 Can I take a moment to say that if Beverly manages to win a couple of LCK matchups and work her way back in, a Paul/Edward/Beverly finale -- in the wake of Heather's early season comments -- would be completely awesome and hysterical. But back to Ed. Two very good eliminations in a row! I see no reason to move him anywhere, and certainly not down. His dish wasn't that much more thematically inclined than Beverly's, so I have to presume his was a bunch more enjoyable purely from a culinary standpoint. I confess, there's something about Ed's food that I can't quite get 100% behind. I believe he's a contender, I believe he belongs on the varsity squad... I just have reservations that are difficult to articulate. Something about the look of his food and recipes. Hmmm....

4 Lindsay Quickfires 2 3 0 Last Week: 6 Eliminations 1 3 1 I'm still a little confused by the degree to which Lindsay has kind of quietly snuck into the final six, but as little as she's stood out for most of the season, she's been on the bottom of precisely ONE challenge... waaaaaaaaay back in episode three (the cochinita pibil). And she's starting to make a little noise at just the right time. It sure seems like Tom loved her stew, and even if that quickfire win gets an asterisk, that's still a second place finish with it, which isn't for nothing. So it seems appropriate to put her at the top of the JV squad. Is a late run kicking off here?

5 Chris Quickfires 0 1 3 Last Week: 8 Eliminations 0 3 4 Okay, I really agonized over this one, and let me explain. I'm of the opinion that we have two chefs remaining who equally deserve the basement. But we're entering the home stretch here, and I find myself looking to upside potential as the tiebreaker. Chris has been on the bottom a ton, has been highly mistake prone, and has made a lot of really poor choices. BUT, as this week's elimination dish illustrates, he's capable of hitting a home run when the stars align. I'm not convinced the same can be said of Grayson. And that's why -- even though I still consider him more likely to trip up and send himself home before the finale -- I'm putting him above Grayson. Same data, earlier in the season, I probably have them the other way around. How's that for a convoluted justification?

6 Grayson Quickfires 1 2 3 Last Week: 7 Eliminations 1 4 3 I was looking through some notes trying to decide what to do with Chris nad Grayson, and I came across something that may or may not surprise you. Setting aside Restaurant Wars (a lot of chaos on a big team challenge) and the BBQ challenge (Paul was driving), Grayson has been on the bottom in six consecutive challenges. I realize that's no small number of qualifiers, but it's notable, I think, that almost all of her success was in the early part of the season. Essentially, for the past five weeks, in the plus column she has a beet and goat cheese salad, a dessert and a level head. And over the entire run of the season, I think we've seen maaaaaaybe one dish that she could take into a finale. My hunch is that while she may have the focus or luck to stick around a bit longer, we've already gotten her best shot, and it isn't nearly good enough. That said, my god, was that black chicken a striking plate. And I don't just mean from a thematically evil standpoint. It was, in its own dark way, stunningly beautiful. Love it.

7 Beverly Quickfires 0 3 3 Last Week: 5 Eliminations 1 3 4 I have to confess, that's not how I pictured Beverly going. I mean, really, who had their money on "not quite as good as the other six dishes?" Smart money was on total meltdown, either emotional or technical, all the way. I think it speaks well of the bulldog that it took both a two second oops in the quickfire and one of the best collective performances from the field in Top Chef history to knock her out. Of course, having taken down Nyesha in LCK, she only has to beat two more to hop back in. Especially considering the folks most likely to be knocked off in the coming weeks, I like those odds. My hunch is we'll see her back in the rankings again.



Huh. Guess that wasn't so brief after all.

WARNING : MINOR EPISODE TWELVE SPOILERS AHEAD

Annoyance potential is looking high for the next episode. Everybody pairs up... Sarah with Lindsay, Paul with Ed, Grayson with Chris. The quickfire is a prep and cooking race, and the pairs work as a team. But then, for the elimination, they're catering a block party and... going head-to-head? All of which makes sense, except that the preview edit makes it look like Chris is rushing to help Grayson at the buzzer, and throws chairs when her food isn't done. Which makes no sense. So I'm thinking that's not correct. Anyway, catering challenge. With six people left. Annoyance potential running high. We'll see what happens.

Discuss!