Top Chef: Breakfast with Padme

Top Chef: Las Vegas returned last night after a week off for another Top Chef reunion show. After some of the recent challenges and the dwindling contestants, last night's episode was pretty tame. The quick fire challenge was simple. Deliver breakfast room service in 30 minutes. D-bag extraordinaire Eli ended up winning the challenge with a take on a Reuben replacing the 1,000 Island dressing with a hollandaise sauce, it actually sounded pretty good. Kevin was in the running as well with another simple dish, a hearty steak and eggs concoction. I found it funny that Jennifer made SOS (shit on a shingle), a combination of bread, gravy and meat which I've eaten many times, just never for breakfast.

The elimination challenge sent the contestants out to a casino on the strip to draw inspiration for a meal they would prepare. Here is a breakdown of who went where:

Jennifer - Excalibur: She took in the Tournament of Kings, an experience I've never had on my many trips to Vegas but it looks like it might be kind of fun. She ended up making a "Sword in the Stone" dish that landed her in the bottom three.

Bryan - Mandalay Bay: He explored the shark reef and was influenced by seafood sustainability.

Robin - Belagio: She was influenced by the Chihuly glass sculptures lining the ceiling at the entrance to the hotel. I thought initially her plan to use sugar to recreate the sculpture effect was great but once again Robin proved she couldn't execute basic cooking techniques and was finally, finally sent home. Never seen Dale Chihuly's work? Check it out his giant sculpture at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art.

Kevin - Mirage: He hung out with some Dolphins (the second most intelligent species on the earth, after mice, according to Douglas Adams).

Eli - Circus Circus: Poor guy. Probably the worst casino on the strip for inspiration! The place is just wretched. I'd rather stay home than have a room booked for me at Circus Circus, OK, maybe that is a bit drastic, I don't sleep much in Vegas anyways.

Michael - New York New York: Somehow he came up with chicken wings as his inspiration. Yeah, I think wings when I think of food in New York. Anyways, it must have been good since he ends up winning the elimination challenge.

So in review, nothing has changed much from last week. Kevin and the Voltaggio wonder twins continue to dominate. Jennifer's lost her confidence but didn't whine about it as much this week. Robin continues to prove she is out of her league and is finally sent packing. Finally, Eli is still an annoying penis who is lucky to still be around.

Predictions for next week: Jennifer finally gets her shit together and edges out Eli to reach the final four. Either way one of these two are history in a week barring some catastrophe from the others. I still think Kevin wins the whole thing.