I question the validity of this birth certificate.  It is clearly a copy and not the "Original" birth certificate.  In addition, although it lists "Fred Trump" as the father, no where on the certificate does it explicitly say that Fred Trump is, in fact, homo sapiens rather than an orangutan.

I worked with a woman from South Africa, and she has the exact same accent, so I'm pretty sure it's real.

I didn't have a problem with the product placement and I HATE cruise lines.  In past seasons, the show has had challenges built around the limitations presented by various real world food service situations…cooking for airlines, on military bases, etc, but to my knowledge they hadn't previously shown what it was like…

"I got a kick out of the pilot not only because it was a well-told story, but it was one that I’d seen Jefferies do on stage before, and therefore I knew it was true."

So I guess it was "Coke Night" on HBO.  I must have missed the promos for that.

This is why it's best to wait until all the primary characters are deceased before doing a biopic.

I don't understand the prevailing Padma hatred on this discussion board.  I know she's never been a chef, but she has written a couple of acclaimed cookbooks, and I've heard interviews with her about food and she does seem to know what she's talking about.  What gives?  I don't always agree with her, but I actually…

I said that and it was pure speculation on my part.  I just pulled it out of my ass, but it seems like a good way to do it.  To me, it seems more likely than them throwing 2 more competitors in with the final 3.

Yep, that pretty much sums up Roppongi pretty well. I travel to Tokyo fairly regularly, and avoid that area like the plague.  It's seedy and expensive to boot.

Actually, at Uchiko, the Austin foodie destination where Paul Qui is the chef, they have a beef tongue sushi on the menu.  The tongue is cooked, not served raw, and I have to say, it is freaking delicious.  Nothing you'd ever see in Japan, but very well prepared, simple, and tasty.

Is it just me, or did the prizes for the Quick Fire and Elimination seem backward.  $5,000 seems like a better prize than 365 bottles of wine.  I guess in terms of dollars the wine is probably worth more, but it seemed a little cheap for an elimination challenge prize this late in the season.  But then again, they…

Well the Japanese thought it was a clever thing to serve sushi on a naked woman, but you mainly see it in areas like Roppongi which are popular with tourists and gangsters.

Bye Josie, you'll be missed…oh wait a second, no you won't be missed, not even a little bit.

The Wikipedia article on Coral Snakes begs to differ with you: "Coral snakes have a tendency to hold on to a victim when biting, unlike vipers which have retractable fangs and tend to prefer to strike and let go immediately."

Nope.  That ruined the scene for me.  It was just too cartoonish.  Vipers have retractable fangs, and when vipers strike, they hit you and withdraw so quick you practically need super slo-mo to even really see it.  Besides, their fangs are so thin and smooth that even if somehow they didn't let go, you should be able…

I'm still waiting for an explanation of why they needed a guy to parachute into Harlan with cocaine in the first place.  Even if you don't go splat, it seems like a really good way to draw attention to one's self, unless parachuting is a huge recreational activity in Harlan, and they just haven't gotten around to…

You know it hadn't occurred to me until just now, but I wonder if the producers of Top Chef decided to add this Save a Chef idea, after what went down in Restaurant Wars, which of course, actually took place some time before the season started airing.  Hoping to right the wrong as it were.  No guarantee that Kristen…

You know I had the same feeling.  I was thinking that Tom may have had felt the Kristen deserved to get back in.  Given that, if it was a close call, he'd probably lean toward Kristen.

True but Duffy hasn't had that many direct dealings with Duffy, and may have simply underestimated the guy's ruthlessness.  He isn't all that intimidating a person on the surface.  Seems more like a guy who'd be trying to sell you a used car than a stone cold thug.

Wynn Duffy!  It's going to be a good season indeed.