New at BOP: Review: Matrix Resurrections Movie Review: Moonfall Movie Reviews: Scream The #1 Movie in America November Forecast The Many Saints of Newark October Forecast New Trivia Question All site updates Share & Save   Tweet Print this column

The drama continues into the kitchen where it seems like despite everything that's at stake in this challenge, Leah and Hosea can't stop thinking about their smoochy transgression. Hosea claims that it's "throwing him off his game" while Leah seems aghast that it happened in the first place since she's never cheated on a boyfriend before (can't say that anymore, Leah).

Along with this storyline, the major developments on this team are the fact that Leah badly butchered her fish (what comes around, goes around...), Fabio looks dashing in a white suit as he preps for service and no one knows what the heck's going on with Stefan's dessert.

Over on the other side, things are just as worrisome. Carla is convinced that her desserts are a disaster. The freezer is not cold enough and her frozen yogurt is not setting correctly. And as spazzy as she's getting (and believe me, Carla can get seriously spazzy when she sets her mind to it), she's freaking out even more because she's not getting any feedback on her desserts from Radhika because their fearless leader seems slightly dazed and confused - unsure in her role in the front of the house and unable to adequately concentrate on anything in the kitchen. She reminds me of my friend Drew when he hasn't taken his Ritalin. But less hyper. Much less.

Service begins and the judges head over to Sahana. The breaded appetizer is tasty, the scallops and curried carrot soup are nice, the chickpea cake is great and the braised lamb shank is executed nicely.

The snapper in tomato water is just okay but overall, I'm relieved. There isn't a bomb on this team yet and it looks safe to say that someone from the other team (ideally Leah or Stefan) will go home.

But then, something horrible happens: the dessert is served. Not only is the frozen yogurt pretty melted by the time it reaches the table ("yogurt soup" remarks Tom) but Toby is left without a spoon. The harping begins. The cake is not good. The frozen yogurt is bad. Radhika has not been a good server, totally unattentive, not warm and frankly, says Tom, "if we were to leave right now we wouldn't even get a goodbye."

"Let's leave them," suggest Padma, and they do. I have a horrible knot in my stomach. I know that Carla served two bad desserts but as the leader of the team and the face of the restaurant, it seems like Radhika has committed a horrible crime by not serving as a strong presence in the dining area ("she seems to spend a lot of her time back in the kitchen, wandering around," muses Jaime). I have a strong suspicion that if Sahana is the losing team, she'll go home.

I can only hope that things are even worse at the Sunset Lounge.

Things start off well for them (and badly for me) when Fabio seats the judges, oozing charm from every pore. The first dishes of soup, sashimi and spareribs are mediocre but then, Leah's cod comes out.

And the responses from the judges are music to my ears.

"It's a disaster", Toby remarks.

"That sauce is brutal" says Tom.

Continued:       1       2       3       4       5