Top Chef All Stars LA episode 2 recap: City of Gold

LAST CHANCE KITCHEN QUALIFIER: When the Guest Judge tells you that “this tuna died in vain”, you’re not taking a quantum leap in assuming that you’ll soon be packing your knives and leaving. With Ruth Reichl directing those exact brutal words toward Angelo, the writing was on the kitchen wall.

CHEF DISH: With Angelo never looking even remotely happy to be back on the show, his elimination may have been a blessing in disguise, for him and viewers alike.

While we negatively dished about Kevin’s seemingly new attitude last week, a full-throated mea culpa is in order as the Kevin we rooted for and who won “Fan Favorite” during season 6 was back, even sharing the very personal details of his near-death experience battling back from a kidney tumor.

SNARK ATTACK: Earning his second consecutive Snark Attack honors, it wasn’t something Brian Malarkey said this week, but instead, something Guest Judge Ruth Reichl said about his dish. In describing it by saying that “this one was a showoff dish, the kind of thing that a lot of people who hate restaurants hate about restaurants”, the award-winning restaurant critic and author left little doubt about her disdain for his concoction.

HEAT INDEX

EN FUEGO:

• With this week’s victory, Kevin reestablished himself as not only a favorite in the competition but as a cheftestant who has always been among the show’s most popular. Even legendary chef Wolfgang Puck has called Gillespie his favorite Top Chef competitor.

ROLLING BOIL:

• Like everyone else, we try to read the tea leaves throughout each episode and predict who we feel is going to win, but this week’s Elimination Challenge left us torn between Nini’s “Masa ball soup” and eventual winner Kevin’s roasted pork. By finishing in the top three though, Nini’s performance went a long way toward belying the impression that she lacks the confidence to keep up with the other chefs.
• Bryan Voltaggio came into season 17 a clear favorite, so it wasn’t surprising to see him standing alongside Kevin and Nini at Judges’ Table.

BRING TO A SIMMER:

• When she uttered, “wicked oops” in response to Padma’s reaction to her grilled naan, or “Indian taco” at Union Station, Stephanie sort of had an inkling that she was in some jeopardy.
• Eric never seemed to recover from his shopping experience at Whole Foods, as the normally composed chef remained salty throughout the challenge because Lisa cleaned out what was left of the store’s duck inventory for her dish.
• In what appears to be a recurring theme, Brian thinks far more highly of his dishes than the judges, leaving us to wonder if his ego will ultimately cost him in the competition.

As an ode to the legendary Jonathan Gold, episode 2 of Top Chef All Stars LA hit all the right notes, but we definitely felt the void left by the lack of a Quickfire Challenge. We look forward to what we hope is a return to the Top Chef template in episode 3.

What was you favorite dish from this Top Chef All Stars LA episode? Have you ever visited any of Jonathan Gold’s favorite restaurants?