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Tiffany D. creates a dish she should have made for Whathisname in order to win the Quickfire Challenge; it is gorgeous. She describes it as a polenta terrine with Italian sausage, roasted peppers and kale. The Italians quickly agree that she has aced the trickiest portion of the meal, the polenta having the perfect composition. The women seem to have knocked their dishes out of the park. A dude is going home tonight.

The primo meals are up next. New Jersey Italian Mike (his words, not mine) delivers a spicy calamari, fresh rigatoni and tomato sauce. He made the bold decision to make his own pasta despite receiving a recommendation that box pasta would still turn out fine. Mike's pride would not allow him to do this, which I find commendable in this particular situation (it is his people's food, after all). He has not caught any breaks during the preparation phase, though, and he knows upon delivering the dish that the pasta is undercooked. This opinion is quickly confirmed as everyone is actively turned off by the dish.

Dale does no better with his fresh pasta, pancetta, brussel sprouts, chanterelle mushrooms and pecorino romano. Lorraine Bracco even does a fine Mizrahi impersonation by stating that if her man had cooked her this dish, he "would not be getting laid tonight." Tre ends the primo meal portion of the evening by delivering a grilled vegetable risotto, marinated tomatoes and fresh basil. The judges quickly confirm that they fall on Antonia's side of the risotto preparation debate. All three of these dishes seem like they could send someone home. The primo meal is a complete bust.

The secondo dishes are Fabio's pollo alla cacciatora and polenta al pecorino, Angelo's sauteed pork chop, cherry peppers, green olives, tomatoes and pancetta and Richard's fresh pancetta cutlet, broccolini and pickled cherry tomatoes. The difference between the last meal and this one is significant but this is primarily because of Fabio. His dish is just what the judges need in the wake of the primo meal disaster. There is universal consent that he has earned the right to call himself Fabio tonight, which is also my second favorite Italian name after Furio. Richard and Angelo's dishes are the first ones of the evening that are just okay rather than definitively good or bad.

At Judges Table, the women and Fabio are called first. Mike convinces himself that they must be on the bottom since Antonia's dish was so simplistic. He's...wrong. Very, very wrong. The judges state in no uncertain terms that Antonia and Fabio have proven themselves to be Italian chefs worthy of the home country. Tiffany bursts into tears, relieved that she is on the top after the Restaurant Wars disaster the prior week. Carla is just happy that the judges tasted her love. Don't make it dirty, people. In the end, the choice comes down to Fabio versus Antonia and much to the gentleman's chagrin, Antonia is determined to be the One True Italian Chef. Screw complexity, All-Stars. This is a competition where the tastiest meal wins.

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