"top chef vegas" news and stories

May the best man win on the finale of Bravo's "Top Chef: Las Vegas" tonight at 10 p.m.

Will the judges choose Kevin Gillespie, the bearded soul with a love of all things porcine and comfort food? Or one of the brothers Voltaggio? -- Michael and his Picasso-like creations, or the "why so serious?" Bryan on the other end of the Voltaggio spectrum with his classic flavors and pristine entrees?

Only time, and Padma's bangs, will tell.

It's only been two weeks since the last episode of "Top Chef," but thanks to the wonder of Bravo editing, it seems like it's been a lifetime. It's not just that the dry grime of the Vegas strip has been traded for the misty lushness of California wine country -- it's everything. The seasons have changed. Hairstyles have been altered -- or in Kevin's case, have gone completely untended. Padma is now buxom with child. For all we know, Michael has run out and gotten even more lame tattoos.

This can only mean one thing: We have entered the first part of the "Top Chef" finale -- now with 80 percent more pregnant pauses, concerned looks and furrowed brows! Certainly, the stakes are high enough without Padma, Tom and Gail being overly reverent and ominous, but still, they do the best they can to help ratchet up the tension.

The occasion this time was a Napa Valley "Crush Party," which, contrary to the moniker, was not a celebration of the complex flavor profile of Orange Crush. Rather, it was an opportunity for affluent wine-country moguls to let down their hair and ostentatiously stomp on some grapes with their bare, pedicured feet, thus celebrating the harvest season while their underpaid grape-pickers toiled in a faraway field.

Come back, Natalie! O, Nigella, where art thou? After a couple of heavy-hitting, sweeps-month episodes, last night's "Top Chef" was, well, a little subdued.

With the albatross that was Robin finally gone, and five not-quite-equal cheftestants left, the mysteries left in the season are few. Will Jen get her mojo back? Will the brothers Voltaggio go at each other's throats, like we've been hoping they would all season? Will snarky Toby Young disappear for good, already?

Instead of high tension, we got slow-burn dread and buttoned-down critiques, not to mention portentous montages of the chefs getting dressed, sleeping, or, in the case of Kevin, hanging rosary beads around his neck.

Jen, quit hating on yourself! Robin, what weird technique are you attempting now? Eli, get a clue! Was it just us, or was last night's "Top Chef" one of the most unexpectedly emotional, perversely suspenseful, scream-at-the-screen entertaining episodes in weeks?

By all indications, it shouldn't have been a standout night. Were there big surprises? No. Did the show's editors play up the usual themes -- "I miss my kids/significant other," "people misunderstand me as a chef," "this show will make or break what little reputation I have"? Of course. Are all the chefs who remain all equally deserving of the "Top Chef" title? Not at all.

Still, the show had a weird cumulative power, in large part because we've gotten to the point where we've invested a lot of time and faith into this motley crew. They may be burnt out by the sweltering Vegas sun and the even-more-searing comments of the judges, but we're not ready to see them throw in their aprons. So when Jen grumbled "I'm ready to go" before she was even called to the loser's circle, we wanted to stage a self-esteem intervention, stat.

Photo: Frazer Harrison, Getty Images

If you were betting on Vegas for the season finale of "Top Chef Las Vegas," you've lost.

The finale of the show will be filmed in Napa, Bravo officials said Monday.

Be sure to check out Slashfood's latest recap of the series here.