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I think it was a great challenge for the show, and your comments are really on the mark. I am a vegetarian, and I love to cook, and I cook meat for my man. When I cook for him, I have to rely on my other senses - smell, texture and sight to gauge how its going as I can not taste it myself. It keeps it interesting in the kitchen! Doing great meals that incorporate something healthy and tasty for me and a dish that is more for the meat eaters is not difficult - just takes some creativity and experimentation. There are a lot of things that I cook that you would never necessarily know were vegetarian! But the old standards of creating a plate with meat+starch+veg+sauce are really out of touch - more people would be healthier if they did not focus on meat as the "meat" of the plate. :)

Brian I appreciate the fact that you are trying to carve yourself out an identity in a crowded field as the "healthy" chef but I have to tell you your food Puritanism is getting tired fast. And I wonder if you haven't misjudged the foodie audience.

Brian, I think Tom said it best when he made mention that showmanship doesn't trump good execution and well seasoned food. Just because Mike V. seems to be able to do some amazing productions with his plates, Kevin seems to have been the most consistent chef on the show this season - nothing has rattled him, and he has shown an amazing range of foods he seems comfortable working with, and it has been obvious that the judges have thought the meals also tasted good as well.

I would also add that as the chefs have begun to dwindle, there have been a lot more frayed nerves between the chefs, and with the angst, it seems like some of the chefs that many of us thought would be handling the pressure and sailing through have reacted poorly, including Mike V.

On the other hand, Kevin has remained calm and jovial throughout, and the food has been reflected in his consistency. Strangely enough, the other chef who seems to have benefited from some of the favorites nerves seems to be Eli; perhaps he has been calmed by Kevin because both from Atlanta or is so much younger than the rest and just doesn't know better, but for the most part, Eli has been coming on strong lately. He hasn't missed platings, and has been producing some nice food.

Uh, the early Natalie Portman movie you're thinking of is "Beautiful Girls", not "Beautiful Life." Not quite a motto for life, perhaps, but a good movie.

I agree with your take that meat should become a side and not the main event. It makes me so sad that rain forests are being cut down so that cattle can graze. Cows create more pollution than cars... sad but true.

"This is where I want to insert a really lame Princess Leah joke about living well into the future or in a galaxy far,far away or something about Darth Vader"

While I applaud the second Star Wars/Top Chef blog reference, I can't believe someone would think that the character played by the amazing Carrie Fisher is Princess Leah...it's Princess Leia. This is especially upsetting when the guest judge is Natalie Portman who (to paraphrase Eli) is most known for her role in Star Wars!

As a one time vegetarian myself I can say that I thought the same as the Judges, that these dishes seemed to be all sides and not an entree. Its very hard going into a restaurant and looking for something that is filling and appears tasty at the same time. It's just lacking on most menus... and no a salad is not an entree. Don't get me wrong I love, absolutely love salads but some times you just want more. I think you are right in that you can add other things to a salad to make it more hefty. One of my all time favorite adds to a salad is a corn relish with corn, jalapenos, bell peppers, and black beans. The beans and corn make a protein. I love this option and make it a lot but it does get old at times. More and more people are becoming vegetarians so it is important for restaurants to see this.
Mike is gone and I am happy about that too. Trash talking gets you no where, just makes you look like an a**. How these chefs didn't know that Natalie Portman was a vegetarian I will never know it's soooo common knowledge.

All I wanted from this season was that Mike I. got sent home before Robin. Glad somebody agreed.