Hospital Food

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm	Dominic Armato

Hospital waiting room food, anyway.

Nothing like a little viral meningitis to throw a kink in your plans for the week. I hate to do this -- two weeks in a row, even -- but there's just no way. While my devotion to the Power Rankings is great, my family's meninges come first.

Postmortem thread Wednesday (with or without my participation), and more once everybody's on the mend. Thanks for your patience.

Comments

[Angie]

Most definitely, family comes first. Praying for a quick recovery .

[bfish]

You have your priorities straight, and best wishes for a speedy and complete recovery for all concerned.

Your forced change in plans does, however, drive home how much this follower of your blog looks forward to the Power Rankings. The insights from both you and the commenters add a lot to TC and lord knows it needs it this year! Thanks again for doing this --

[Vega]

Your family is far more important than any silly rankings.

[gilmore]

1. Family
.
.
.
.
.
999. Top Chef Rankings

[JJH2]

Yikes. Sorry to hear about this. Best wishes to you and yours for a quick recovery!

[Anita]

Can't put it any better than Gilmore.

Hope your family is ok!

You will definitely be missed . . .

[Bart]

What do you mean, you don't think some arbitrary list on the internet is more important than your family?

Pssh.

In all seriousness, I hope everyone is okay. Like everyone else said, family absolutely, unequivocally comes first.

[DebbyT]

May you and your family have a quick and complete recovery.

[Steve F.]

My thoughts on the rankings...

1 Angelo
2 Kenny
3 Kelly
4 Ed
5 Alex
6 Andrea
7 Tamesha
8 Tiffany
9 Kevin
10 Amanda
11 Stephen

[JJ]

Dom, best to you and yours.

My thoughts on the rankings (from week four to week five)
1. Angelo
2. Kelly
3. Kenny
4. Ed
5. Andrea
6. Tamesha
7. Tiffany
8. Kevin
9. Alex
10. Amanda
11. Stephen

No real changes for me, except that I swapped places b/w Kevin and Tiffany. I'm almost inclined to put Amanda ahead of Kevin and Alex. Not b/c I think she's more talented. She just seems less likely to flame out than those two. I have a feeling that Alex's kookiness is going to get him into trouble, and sooner than later.

[Independent George]

Gilmore put it exactly right.

Meningitis is no joke; take care of the family first. Everything else can wait.

[Jason W.]

Hope you guys are doing OK.

[nomnomnom]

Sorry to hear that. All the best.

At one point this season I thought a few of the chefs were sandbagging it. Now I just think they are all a bunch of hacks. There's not a single one that has done anything of any consequence in my mind.

It's also impossible to truly get a measure of the finals chances when the challenges have been so all over the place.

That being said I'm starting to see how a grouping of:

Ed, kevin, tiffany, angelo, and kelly can last long term.

Ed right now is my sleeper pick. Kelly has just produced sleep inducing food and looks to be taking the Hosea path.

None of the other six have shown anything to suggest they will make it to Montreal, and that includes Kenny in my mind. I can certainly see a RW exit for Kenny, in fact, I'm certain that's how he'll go out.

[SorchaRei]

If you thought the rankings were more important than your family, then you wouldn't be the kind of person whose blog I would want to read. Speedy recovery to the sick!

[Polybus]

What JJ said, but flipping Ed and Andrea (for now).

Also, what Bfish said, but to a larger point of addiction. (Gritting teeth, thinking positive thoughts for Dom and family.) Grateful that the rest of us can argue-agree-commiserate-propose conspiracy theories-make lists-salt-pepper-whatever while you deal with life. In other words, thanks for the forum - and thanks for your own insites, reviews and recipes.

There, that didn't sound too much like withdrawal, did it?

DID IT????

[Anon Man]

Contenders
1. Dom's Family.
2. Angelo
3. Kenny
4. Kelly
MTOP/Darkhorses
5. Ed
6. Tiffany
7. Kevin
Not Sure (more data/screentime please)
T8. Tamesa
T8. Andrea
T8. Alex
T8. Amanda
why are you still here?
12. Stephen

[jh]

Looks like you can have your own vending machine challenge. Is Cheetos macaroni on the menu?

All the best for you and your family for a quick recovery.

[zsparks]

Best wishes, Dom.

[Kathy from Austin]

Best wishes to you and your family, Dom. Scary stuff that is. Sending prayers your way.

[yurd]

Wish you and fam the best. Please take all the time necessary.

[Joe S]

Best wishes Dom!

[KinderJ]

We have some family friends who just went through this. Very scary, but they are now fine. I wish you and yours good heath.

[alj]

Best wishes on a speedy recovery!

[matthew]

Ok...I cracked up at the vending machine with the "Love for Sale" Rice Krispies Treats sign.

But seriously...Carla and I send our best to you and the family. Get well soon!

[Danny]

All the best to your family. We will miss your always interesting thoughts but family comes very much first.

Nice to see by the vending machine that the hospital has a made a real committment to health. Yikes.

[Judy Ring]

Prayers for you and your family for a speedy and complete recovery, Dom.

[Jennings]

Best wishes . . . Power Rankings can wait

[altoids]

Condolences - I had viral meningitis a few years ago!

Decline the spinal tap if possible - it cause more misery than the meningitis itself.

[vizoroo]

Hope your family is recovering and Remember to take care of yourself. They need you healthy!

[vizoroo]

Contenders
Angelo (Can't help but think he is going to try to pull something rotten)
Kenny
Kelly
--------
Ed
Alex, but not sure why
--------
Kevin
Tiffany
-----------
Tamesa
Andrea
Amanda

Why are you still here, Stephen

[Steve F.]

Well wishes to your family, Dom.

Not in any way trying to step on your toes, I figured it would be nice to have a compilation of the average of your readers' rankings of the chefs post-Week 5:

1 Angelo
2.5 Kelly
2.5 Kenny

4.25 Ed

5.5 Andrea
6.5 Tamesha
6.75 Tiffany
7.5 Alex
7.75 Kevin

9.25 Amanda

11 Stephen

We generally agree on where each contestant stands. I do, however, believe Ed to be significantly stronger than Kelly, even as I consider her to be in the same class as Ed and Angelo.

And, Alex's standing perplexes me as he has never been in the bottom of an elimination challenge and has garnered at least as much praise as Andrea and Tamesha, and more than Tiffany.

[Steve F.]

Yikes! Have to recalculate to include vizoroo's rankings, as they came in as I was posting...

1 Angelo
2.4 Kenny
2.6 Kelly

4.2 Ed

6.2 Andrea
6.8 Tamesha
6.8 Tiffany
7.0 Alex
7.4 Kevin

9.4 Amanda

11.0 Stephen

No changes in rankings, just more nuance to the placings. But, still the odd placement of Alex.

[Erin]

Get well Dom & family! Power ranking are nothing compared to the health of you, your ladylove and the babies.

P.S. I work in a hospital and eat the food almost everyday - I feel sooo bad for you!

[TxGriff]

I hope all is well Dom! You obviously have a lot of people keeping your family in their thoughts and prayers.

About the rankings:

"And, Alex's standing perplexes me as he has never been in the bottom of an elimination challenge and has garnered at least as much praise as Andrea and Tamesha, and more than Tiffany."

I guess I'm confused here- I feel like Andrea, Tamesha and Tiffany have all received equal amounts of attention; if anything, Tamesha seems like the weakest link of the three. Andrea has been in the top twice (Hilton challenge and farm challenge- coincidentally, she was partnered with Kelly both times...). Tiffany has been in the top twice (school lunch challenge, Hilton challenge for breakfast...I consider that a top mention because it was a win against all of teams). Tamesha has been in the top once (baby food quickfire). Her farm dish with Angelo received generally favorable attention, but the judges seemed to criticize the asparagus, which I believe was part of her contribution. The only thing we heared about Tiffany's greens were that they were undercooked, although this might have just been editing to make it seem like she and Tim were going to be in the bottom. They might have been undercooked but still had good flavor, which is why only Tim was called out with the bottom group. Anywways, my point being, I think Tamesha looks capable enough, but I'm not ready to place her above Andrea or Tiffany until she shows that her young age and somewhat lack of experience will be able to sustain her once the weaker contestants are filtered out.

[JJ]

Thanks to Steve F. for his calculations. Also...

"Alex's standing perplexes me as he has never been in the bottom of an elimination challenge and has garnered at least as much praise as Andrea and Tamesha, and more than Tiffany"

While it's true that he has not been a singled out for critique, he has made a lot of strange, unappealing cooking choices that (except for week one) have not paid off. So, yeah, he hasn't been in the bottom a lot, but he often seems to be a contender for it. This, combined with the loony quality of his character, suggest to me that he will get axed sooner than later, hence my low placement. Other than this, I rate him about on a par talent-wise with the other MOTPs, I just think he is more likely to go out in a "blaze of glory" than say Tamesha or Tiffany.

[nomnomnom]

I think Alex makes it through RW, but flames out somewhere in a small plate catering challenge. The thing about tiffany is that lots of exit interviews are saying she's one to beat. This is nearly always a huge indicator of success. Nobody is saying anything positive about Alex. I get the sense Tiffany makes it to Montreal.

Really there is just one more dead weight to cut in Stephen, and then they will get some mid-season controversy again like S3 and S4 it would seem.

[Kyle]

Sending good health your way, Dom! Here are my rankings. I'm starting to think Tiffany, and maybe Ed will outlast Kenny, but clearly not because of anything but my gut since Kenny won this week's challenge.

1 Angelo
2 Kelly
3 Kenny
4 Tiffany
5 Ed
6 Tamesha
7 Andrea
8 Alex
9 Kevin
10 Amanda
11 Stephen

[Steve F.]

"While it's true that he has not been a singled out for critique, he has made a lot of strange, unappealing cooking choices that (except for week one) have not paid off. So, yeah, he hasn't been in the bottom a lot, but he often seems to be a contender for it. This, combined with the loony quality of his character, suggest to me that he will get axed sooner than later, hence my low placement. Other than this, I rate him about on a par talent-wise with the other MOTPs, I just think he is more likely to go out in a "blaze of glory" than say Tamesha or Tiffany."

JJ, I understand your arguments regarding Alex's staying power. However, I disagree. While his personality onscreen has been outsize and "loony," it has not influenced his cooking decisions as far as I can tell. (I think his onscreen personality has brought some much needed comic relief and personality - fun - to this season.) He is as solid as any of the other MOTPs and impressed the judges with his borscht and his scallops and gnudi.

[timothy]

just want to add my best wishes to you and your family...