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Phillip reports back on how badly the dish went over with the judges and Kwame starts to stress out.

The judges, though, are on to the appetizers. They try Amar's avocado gazpacho with king crab salad, lemon pudding, and fried tortilla. While the judges enjoy the flavor, they all agree with Tom's assessment that it really tastes like nachos and guacamole. “Crème nachos,” he calls it.

Next, Phillip's infamous strawberry salad with pickled cucumber, roasted beets, arugula, and strawberry champagne gazpacho finally makes its appearance. It is not a good one. Tom notes that the sauce is so sweet, it resembles a dessert and needs ice cream. Gail calls it “totally underseasoned,” and says that it makes her “sorta angry” because it makes absolutely no sense. “It feels stupid,” she declares. Bill notes that the dish is the result of a novice chef who lacks experience in classical cooking. Tom moves the dish to the far side of the table, out of his line of sight.

Meanwhile, Phillip is off, chatting away with various diners. Tom bets his table that Phillip is talking about his own Los Angeles restaurant, and not the one they're actually in. He's right.

The entrees are next for District LA, with Kwame's roasted amish chicken thigh with cauliflower, and Jeremy's artichoke risotto. Immediately upon looking at it, Bill knows that the risotto has issues. Tom agrees. While risotto should be creamy and spread across a plate, Jeremy's is firm and sits upright. Padma hates the flavor, opining that he cooked it using water and not broth (sacred bleu!).

As for Kwame's chicken, the reaction from the judges is tepid. It's the food equivalent of muzak. Not objectionable, but not memorable. Also, the chicken is overcooked.

The final two dishes come out. First is Amar's braised pork belly with BBQ sauce consommé. Upon tasting it, Gail's face takes on an expression of utter disgust. Seconds later, Padma's does, too. The sauce apparently tastes of pure vinegar. Ew. “It makes my toes curl!” Gail declares.

Next to it is a dry aged rib-eye with celery root purée from Jeremy. Tom declares it “serviceable.” Gail doesn't like how the vegetable accoutrements feel like throwaways.

Soooooo, we have a clear winner in Restaurant Wars. It's Palate, and it's not even close. Tom notes that the hard part of all this is figuring out who's going home. “Whoever goes home,” he notes, “will really deserve it. Sometimes, someone goes home for making good food. Not today. Someone's going home for making really bad food.”

Back in the Stew Room, Amar notes that the Palate team looks nervous. “Maybe we won this thing,” he says.

Nope. That idea is dispelled pretty quickly. “After lunch, the two teams were neck and neck,” Padma tells them at Judges Table. “But after dinner, there's a clear winner, and that winner is Palate.” The four chefs immediately jump for joy. What a relief to have gotten through Restaurant Wars. And with plenty praise to go around. Tom goes on and on - Marjorie did a nice job with front of house during lunch, and took on a lot - from bread to two desserts. Karen did a great job with front of house during diner and made a very successful lunch entrée. The crudo from Carl was great, and Isaac made two fantastic dishes, plus sharply executed service during dinner.

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