Top Chef episode 3 recap

Top Chef recap: Local Asian food stars shine in a consummately Houston episode

Chef Kiran Verma is this week's local guest judge.

Photo by David Moir Bravo

It took three episodes, but Top Chef finally feels grounded in Houston. In Season 19's strongest episode to date, the show on the city’s vibrant Asian community with a night market-inspired Elimination Challenge.

Instead of participating in a Quickfire Challenge, the cheftestants sampled food prepared by ten Houston chefs representing Vietnamese, Chinese, Japanese, Indian, and Filipino cuisines. Then they had to create their own dishes for a night market attended by 100 Houstonians. It's the first individual elimination challenge of the season, and the absence of a Quickfire means no one has immunity from being sent home.

Let’s break down the show from a Houston perspective by highlighting the local people and places who appeared in the episode. Then we’ll check in on the progress of local cheftestant Evelyn Garcia and keep track of the overall competition.

Featured Houstonians
As always, the episode’s quick pace doesn’t give much time to identify the local chefs who participated in the night market. Let’s give them their due.

Vietnamese: Trong Nguyen (Crawfish & Noodles) and Christine Ha (The Blind Goat, Xin Chao)
Indian: Kiran Verma (Kiran’s) and Kaiser Lashkari (Himalaya)
Japanese: Naoki Yoshida (Shun Japanese Kitchen) and Manabu Horiuchi (Kata Robata)
Chinese: Cori Xiong (Mala Sichuan Bistro) and Elaine Won (Dumpling Haus)
Filipino: Gabe Medina (7000 Islands, Click Virtual Food Hall) and Andrew Musico (The Fattest Cow)

After being properly inspired, the contestants shop at local grocery stores for ingredients specific to their cuisines: 99 Ranch Market, Hong Kong Food Market, Viet Hoa, Seiwa Market, and Subhlaxmi Grocers. We get a few amusing moments as the visitors look a little overwhelmed by the unfamiliar ingredients, but the more knowledgable contestants help their peers find everything they need to create their dishes.

Chef Verma returns to judge the elimination challenge, which takes place on the rooftop Skylawn at Post Houston. Anyone who’s dined at Kiran’s will recognize her friendly demeanor, but she doesn’t spare the contestants from criticism — calling out chef Buddha Lo for disregarding her advice not to fry his puff pastry samosa.

The Houston chefs return to evaluate how the cheftestants faired interpreting their dishes. For example, Kaiser Lashkari praises chef Luke Kolpin’s corn and crab samosa. Ha and her husband John Suh approve of chef Evelyn’s Vietnamese-style chicken salad.

Food-obsessed Houstonians will enjoy scanning the night market attendees for familiar faces. Yes, that’s Saint Arnold chief marketing officer Lennie Ambrose complimenting the texture of one dish, and Houston Life co-host Courtey Zavala taking a big bite of a dish in a quick shot. Chronicle food editor Greg Morago is in the background of a couple of the judges’ conversations, and CultureMap readers will spot this author in a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment.

The Skylawn provides an appropriately dramatic setting. Filmed on a warm September night, the venue looks lush and inviting, and cameras capture plenty of views of downtown’s dramatic skyline.

How did Evelyn Garcia do
Speaking of chef Evelyn, she had her strongest performance of the season. Her gasped “I know all these people” helps establish the credibility of the night market participants. During their trip to Viet Hoa, she helps chef Jackson Kalb find the right spices for the pho dipping broth he’s making for his Vietnamese spring rolls.

During the elimination challenge, the judges enjoy her Vietnamese-style cold chicken salad with a Latin-inspired avocado crema as much as Ha and Suh do. She earns a place in the top three and narrowly misses her first Elimination Challenge victory.

Who wins
Chef Jae Jung takes the prize with her Sichuan noodles seasoned with Chinese sausage, an elaborate mix of spices, and Korean melon. Chef Jackson’s spring roll with pho dipping sauce rounds out the top three.

Who loses
Poor Sam Kang. The chef forgets to pack up his boiled potatoes before the allotted preparation time expires. Forced to pivot, he grills his remaining potatoes to order, but the judges find his attempt at an Indian curry to be undercooked and bland. Time to pack your knives.

Who exceeded expectations
Despite his Noma pedigree, chef Luke Kolpin has struggled in the first two episodes, but he finally shines this week. His corn and crab samosa earns praise from two tough critics: Kaiser Lashkari and Top Chef host Padma Lakshmi. Hopefully, it’s a sign that chef Luke has found his footing.

Chef Kiran Verma is this week's local guest judge.

Photo by David Moir/Bravo

Chef Kiran Verma is this week's local guest judge.

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Movie Review

An all-star cast delivers clever laughs in new comedy The Invite

Photo courtesy of A24

Olivia Wilde, Seth Rogen, Penelope Cruz, and Edward Norton in The Invite.

Once upon a time, well before scandal embroiled him, Woody Allen made great comedies aimed at adults. That type of film — which is different from the raunchy, R-rated comedies of the 21st century — has fallen out of favor in Hollywood, but as the new film The Invite proves, when done well it can be as funny as anything else out there.

Joe (Seth Rogen) and Angela (Olivia Wilde) are an unhappily married couple living in San Francisco. As we meet them, Joe has arrived home to Angela preparing for a visit from their upstairs neighbors, Hawk (Edward Norton) and Piña (Penélope Cruz), who have moved in relatively recently. Their impending arrival starts a new round of arguing between Joe and Angela, something they can barely contain once the other couple comes to their door.

What proceeds is a getting-to-know-you process that is mostly awkward as Joe and Angela continue sniping at each other while Hawk and Piña put in their two cents in a much calmer manner. A sticking point between the two couples — the loud sex Hawk and Piña have on an almost nightly basis — turns the film on its head with an unexpected invitation.

Directed by Wilde and written by Will McCormack and Rashida Jones, the film is a fast-paced chamber piece that takes place almost entirely in Joe and Angela’s apartment. Wilde, the writers, and the actors speed the story along not with action but through almost non-stop dialogue that often has the characters overlapping each other’s lines. The rapidity of the speech fuels the humor of the situation and establishes the differing personalities of each person.

Sex is very much top of mind for each of the characters for most of the film, but the filmmakers approach the topic in such a way that it never feels salacious. Each of the characters is a rational adult who can talk about sex in a mature manner while also acknowledging their unique feelings on the matter. And it’s the discoveries each of them makes along the way that brings about the most comedy.

But, like any comedy for adults, the film also has a dramatic tilt to it, and Wilde edges the story back-and-forth between the two tones extremely well. Joe and Angela fighting is played for laughs at times, but the sadness of their relationship comes through loud and clear. Hawk and Piña are much more intimate with each other, but the funniness of their openness is juxtaposed with a depth that arises through their conversations.

In the 2020s, Rogen has managed to make the transition from goofy stoner to stoner with real acting chops. In a stacked cast, he is the one who sells every moment the best. That’s not to say that Wilde, Norton, and Cruz don’t measure up, though; each of them inhabits their respective roles magnificently. The four actors play off each other as if they had been working together for years.

While The Invite will likely play better to those who have experience with long term relationships, its insights — and occasional bawdiness — make it a comedy that can be appreciated universally. With four actors at the top of their games and a razor-sharp script made even better by some well-done improv, it proves that you don’t need to go low to get great laughs.

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The Invite is now playing in theaters.

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