First of all, I have to apologize for the long hiatus between recaps. We've been a bit busy over here in SnarkLand, between a vacation, a wedding, a conference, countless hours of driving, and several hours of not driving after I totaled my car (I'm relatively ok).
Now that we have that out of the way, let's fire up the Wayback Machine and go all the way back to July 10. This episode weaves the Camera Challenge and Star Challenge together as the contestants make commercials for the food trucks they are later running. So, my first thought is, how did food trucks get so popular? When I think of food trucks, I think of the mobile taquerias and pupusa stands in Langley Park, not gourmet and Food Network, but there have been food trucks on everything from their own FN show to Celebrity Apprentice.
As the teams get randomly chosen, Mary Beth and Penny end up together again. Let's see if they can make nice two weeks in a row. Vic decides that his take on this project is going to be to "stick to originality but infuse something new," and Dave and I wonder, isn't originality the same thing as something new? Only difference is that "originality" doesn't rhyme with "something blue!" Jeff the Silly Sandwich King decides that his team is missing Chris' frat-boy sense of humor and names their truck Balls on a Roll. Dave wonders if his team is going to have enough good ideas to make the theme work.
The teams each shoot their commercial, and we learn what Orchid's crutch phrase is as she uses "really great" three times in about 20 seconds. Penny cozies up enough to Chris in their wrap truck commercial to make Dave ask, "Is that the only thing you want to wrap up, Penny?" Penny actually gives compliments in this episode, which makes me wonder what her scheme is. During the shopping, Whitney buys canned cooked chickpeas instead of raw ones for her falafel balls, forgetting Food Network Star Lesson #1: Shortcuts Generally Fail. Later, Whitney is saying, "I hope it works out," and Dave replies, "Don't worry, you're obsessing about it, so it won't."
The diners each have to choose which truck they are going to eat from, which makes for an interesting dynamic as the truck name and commercials are all they have to go by. As two of the trucks have long lines and the third has no line, I start to wonder later in the episode if people are allowed to change lines once they choose. Bobby clearly enjoys the first two commercials, but I wonder about whether he'll laugh at the Balls on a Roll clip. He does end up laughing, but it comes across as more of the incredulous laugh you have when someone has a Facebook status that you sincerely hope is made up.
During this episode, we learn that Jeff's red headband was blessed by a monk in Indiana. No wonder it collects mojo! Jeff gives headbands to Whitney and Suzie so they look like a team, but I think Whitney's needs a little more mojo. Over at the wrap truck, Mary Beth says that her chicken wrap is "completely delicious," but we think it's "completely boring." Penny's taking FOREVER with prep, to the point where she doesn't have a single wrap close to ready when the diners arrive. A huge line forms as the diners wait for her filet wraps, and Mary Beth shows herself to be a real team player by going out and walking up and down the line engaging the customers and keeping them cheerful despite the wait. If people are allowed to change lines, Mary Beth's efforts here are especially important. Jeff's balls weren't getting a lot of action, so his "line" probably looked more tempting the hungrier people got. Chris gets a little overshadowed in the wrap truck until the judges come around. Chris calls his lobster wrap "a nice butter-poached lobster with a little cream cheese." Problem is, it's actually a little lobster with a ton of cream cheese. Chris describes it as being like crab rangoon; Dave thinks this is appropriate since he never notices the seafood in those either.
We haven't seen a whole lot of Orchid so far, and this continues as the judges arrive. Orchid, honey, the way to make an impression on the selection committee is not to punt to Vic when asked about your food! Dave thinks Orchid will be safe from elimination, not on her own merits, but because Vic and Jyll will keep this from being the losing truck and because she had the strongest of the weakest three dishes. "Jeff's food will save him. Same for Penny, despite being so late with it. Right now, I could see Chris or Whitney going home." Let's see how correct Dave's prediction ends up being.
Before judging, Jeff says, "I think this will be my lowest point so far." I don't think so, Jeff, because your food was good. (I initially typed "goof" there, which would work for Jeff or Chris!) Dave notes that, "Penny, what sucks is that you would be a standout without the attitude." When evaluating the fusion truck, Giada says, "It's fun to see, Vic, how you've grown." Dave chimes in with, "Yeah, plus you're actually serving food now!." Whereas Orchid "coulda been a contenda" if she had just grown during the last few weeks instead of remaining stagnant.
The bottom three are Mary Beth (despite the overabundance of cream cheese in Chris' wrap), Orchid, and Whitney. Dave thinks, "It's either Orchid or Whitney. The big thing is that they're very clearly getting impatient with Whitney. She'll go home and Orchid will be next if she doesn't do something next week." While the judges deliberate, Giada says about Whitney, "Sometimes, when someone's trying to figure out who they are, they try on a lot of extremes," and I reply, "Like Justin D?" Dave adds, "Look how that worked for him."
Dave comments, "I think they're being a little unfair to Orchid. Sure, she doesn't have a strong personality, but look at where the winner is starting out. Vic, with a little tweaking, could almost do Triple D right now. Orchid is the one who can teach you how to make a certain style of food in the kitchen. She's closer than the selection committee is giving her credit for." Yeah, but she doesn't have the personality of a Melissa or an Aarti or a Jyll. In the end, Orchid is eliminated. Well, Dave, you did think Orchid was going home next week if she didn't bring something major."
We'll see how quickly I can get my stuff together to write another recap. Dave and I started experimenting with having a digital voice recorder running while we watch the show instead of writing all of out comments down, and we'll have to see how the sound quality works out.
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