Still One-Arming It

The Sugar Hooker falls in and out of love with a reality TV star on Top Chef:Just Desserts

Rebecca Masson prepares her first dish
Raspberry, panna cotta and linzer crust
Ken Todd, Lisa Vanderpump, and dog "Giggy" of The Real Housewives of BeverlyHills

No need to be concerned about Rebecca Masson's injury: Our Houston contestant is still whipping, chopping and baking up delicacies in the Top Chef: Just Desserts kitchen.

This week's episode of Top Chef Just Desserts threw a couple of surprise cameo appearances at Masson — aka the Sugar Hooker. First up, Hugh Acheson from Top Chef Masters to judge the quickfire challenge.

"I am over-the-moon excited," Masson said during a video diary. "He's so cute!"

Chef contestants were challenged to create a diminutive dessert to inspire a new flavor of Extra ® Dessert Delights chewing gum (one of the show's sponsors). Masson's raspberry, panna cotta and linzer crust dessert, though pretty and petite, failed to impress Acheson's taste buds. He found fault with the overabundance of flavors and placed her dish at the bottom of the list, despite her earlier admission of admiration. (She told him, "You're one of my favorites on the Masters!")

The second challenge brought another cameo: Lisa Vanderpump from Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, who asked the chefs to create a tablescape and six desserts to celebrate the second anniversary of her restaurant, Villa Blanca.

"Lisa's one of my favorite characters — she's actually really beautiful in person," said Masson, who apparently watches a lot of reality television. "Like, she's pretty on TV, but she's stunning in person."

For this challenge, the chefs split into two teams. Masson created chocolate beet cake with cream cheese and orange sauce, as well as a rhubarb rose crisp with crème fraiche sherbet. The latter was meant to mimic a dessert crumble that Vanderpump liked to make for her daughter, Pandora — and turned out to be the group's favorite of the evening.

Masson's culinary skills couldn't save her whole team though. The judges reprimanded them for sloppy decorations and a couple of sub-par dishes, and ultimately let one of her teammates go. By the end of the episode, Masson had changed her mind about one thing.

"That Hugh guy? Yeah, he's not my favorite anymore," Masson said.

The jury is still out on whether it was his sharp tongue or his unibrow that did the trick.

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Farewell, ElRo

Creative Montrose pizzeria will shutter after only a year-and-a-half

Photo by Julie Soefer

ElRo Pizza & Crudo

An acclaimed Houston pizzeria will soon serve its final pies. ElRo Pizza & Crudo will close after service on December 31.

In a post on Instagram, chef-owner Terrence Gallivan thanks his staff for their dedication and his customers for their support. “We hope to see you all over the next couple weeks. Come celebrate with us,” he writes.

Open since June 2023, ElRo intrigued diners who enjoyed Gallivan’s work at pioneering Houston restaurant The Pass & Provisions. At ElRo, the chef served a modified version of the Provisions pizza recipe alongside crudos and shareable small plates such as arancini and housemade sausage. It earned four nominations in this year’s CultureMap Tastemaker Awards, including Best New Restaurant and Chef of the Year.

Sadly, Gallivan tells CultureMap that business has seen “a steady decline in business for many months.” Recently, the restaurant had tried a number of initiatives to draw in diners, such as steak night on Tuesday and fried chicken on Saturday.

The early announcement gives diners two weeks to make one more visit (or two) to the restaurant before it closes. Customers may want to time their visit for happy hour, which takes places from 3-6 pm Tuesday-Friday. It includes half-off glasses of wine, $4 draft beers, $9 select cocktails, and food specials.

Gallivan adds that he doesn’t know yet what his next move will be. Hopefully, he’s got one more comeback in him. Houston is a more fun town to dine in when Gallivan is cooking in it.

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