America's Top Chef.

This is my favorite show on TV (the only one I try to catch the latest episodes of). It's another of those reality shows where they have 15 or so people compete, and each week they throw someone off. For some reason I find it more interesting than Survivor, or The Apprentice or any of those others. Guess I like watching them cook.

The show goes like this - at the beginning they have a quick challenge. They'll put all the cooks in a kitchen and tell them to make something in 15 minutes out of ingredients from a can, or a vending machine, or make a mixed drink, etc. Whoever wins this gets 'immunity' from the main 'elimination' challenge of the night. The elimination challenge is where they have to cook real food for people. It might be catering hor'douvres (sp) for a Hollywood party, or create a 'Cutting Edge' Thanksgiving dinner. After the challenge the judges talk amongst themselves about how the dishes went then the cooks come up in front of the 4 or so judges (it varies) and explain what they thought they did right or wrong and the judges tell them who won and who gets to 'pack your knives'. This part is much funnier than it sounds. The judges act like they are on the Supreme Court and a dubiously cooked dish is a felony. 'There is nothing worse that BURNT, BROWN, RUBBERY EGGS!'

My favorite guy right now is Michael, who is kind of a slacker looking dude up against these arty, pretentious types. His cooking seems good enough, but the fact that he comes off as sort of a surfer/skate-boarder - in the way he talks (dudespeak) and his relatively disheveled appearance - must be costing him points with the wine and cheese crowd.

Most of the others are cool too. Ilan, then Sam would be my next choices.