But our judges were, as usual lately, a tougher bunch. At the end of the whole thing, to cut to the quick, Hung won the challenge even though his ''pommes dauphin'' were called out for not being fluffy enough; Casey got busted because her ''coq'' was made of chicken instead of rooster (people eat rooster?); and Brian was accused of making the chicken upstage the sausage (or vice versa, I forget) in his neon-green-turd ''peasant's pie.'' And these three, friends, were the top finishers. The problem with that, I'll say again this week as I said the last time I covered this show, is that the Bravo judges are all underminers. I get that being a cook means you're a d---, but why must the judges be such d---s too? (It simply feels like there's too many d---s on just one show!) ''Considering what's at stake,'' Tom said at the outset of the judges' table to the other judges, ''I think they all did a pretty good job.'' Really? That was basically the last we heard of any ''pretty good job'' for the rest of the episode. The chefs came out, and the judges all asked one leading question that pointed out exactly the way that each dish was totally lacking, to the point where, afterward, Dale and Hung, demoralized with the other three chefs in the holding pen, quite rightly used the word ''nitpicking'' to cheer themselves up. The judges were nitpicking. So, again, I just wonder: at what point this season did Top Chef become primarily a show about bitchy judging over heroic cooking? That's what we're getting left with here. If I don't think any of these chefs are ''Top Gun'' material, it's only because it's been drilled into my head repeatedly by the cranky panel of judges.

Sara lost. Her classy Jamaican chicken marinated in goat's yogurt wasn't executed well. Or something like that. A few weeks ago, I would've cheered her departure — she was never my favorite, and I wasn't sure why she was even still around. Lately, I feel sorry for her as I feel sorry for any chef on this show, that they have to face up to this persnickety-ass panel. Dale nearly got tossed for forgetting to plate his honey-rosemary sauce — now he lives on for the two-week-long-finale, along with Brian, but I've got my fingers crossed for a Casey vs. Hung final showdown, with Hung making enough mistakes along the way to keep it close. Because this far out from the end, Casey's late surge and newfound confidence aside, it's fairly obvious to me that Hung's the winner here. You agree?

What else do you think about this episode? Is Hung as unstoppable as I think he is? Do you appreciate Dale's zinging bitchery, and was it reason enough to keep him in the final and kick out Sara? Have you seen Ball of Fire, and do you love it? And where do you take your parents for dinner when you're all in New York City?

You Might Also Like

• All About Top Chef
• The Q&A Chewing the fat with the ''Top Chef'' winner | Helin Jung