Top Chef New Orleans Recap: Episode 4
By David Mumpower
October 30, 2013
The journey across New Orleans is fascinating. Emeril and his pal Eddie choose several under the radar locations, starting with Don Phuong Restaurant & Bakery. New Orleans native Michael comes alive at this announcement, and quizzes Emeril about the place. Nina clearly despises Michael, as she rolls her eyes at his words and offers a camera interview about how he is “faker than Pamela Anderson’s breasts.” Faker than massive saline injections is pretty fake, dude.
After exiting the bakery, the Green Team begins to fight on the bus. This fight will last the entire competition. The first debate involves Romaine, which Travis supports. Sara is probably the most informed chef with regards to Vietnamese cuisine due to her professional experience with Wolfgang Puck. She visibly recoils at the suggestion. Travis shrinks as he defensively states that they cook Vietnamese food that way in Denver. What I take from this is that either Sara in particular terrifies Travis or strong women in general do. Keep on him, Sara! Make him cry!
At the shrimp dock, Shirley does some sleuthing. She is introduced to some of the wives of the shrimpers. Rather than ask the men about the fishing process, she skips straight to the end of the page. She queries the women about the shrimp meals they prefer for their families. She learns they heavily apply butter to their dishes to enhance the flavor of the shrimp. Very, very smart, Shirley.
Carlos goes the other way with it by asking a man who doesn’t do the cooking what he likes. The shrimper suggests a soup. Since Carlos has never tasted Vietnamese food before (my brother!), he stresses about choice of meals for so long that Nicholas appears ready to smack him. Eventually, he settles upon the soup. The fact that so much of his indecision is captured on camera indicates that his meal will be either exquisite or atrocious. Given his experience with Vietnamese food, I suspect Carlos is in a world of trouble.
The final stop is Kim Anh’s Noodle House, a strip mall location whose exterior appearance belies the quality of its meals. During this meal, Eddie attempts to relay the philosophy behind each dish. Travis announces that the meal “hits home.” Eddie busts up at this, noting, “says the white guy.” Eddie is 100% correct with his mocking. Travis is 100% pissed. The two gentlemen feud for the rest of the episode. Eddie even carries the grudge to Judges Table, which isn’t cool of him but I understand the frustration.
The problem with having a know-it-all in a team challenge grows apparent at the grocery store. The chefs have a set amount of time to shop at Hong Kong Market (many of their foods are available at www.HongKongMarketNOLA.com if you’re interested). Travis immediately starts barking out orders, and Sara turns on him almost immediately. Travis puts ingredients into the cart then Sara pulls them out. Sara clearly has zero respect for Travis. We quickly see the fallout from their feud when the chefs reach the kitchen and begin to unpack their groceries. The lemongrass that Travis and Janine grabbed has been removed. Apparently, lemongrass is a key ingredient in Vietnamese meal preparation.
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