Lobster and vanilla. Suddenly, this is the pair that's everywhere! Okay, I've already said that I don't find the flavor combo appealing in any way because I don't ever want to confuse my seafood with my desserts, but I just don't know why this has come so suddenly into our Top Chef lives. During the 4-Star All Star challenge, two dishes took on this flavoring pairing. Tonight, two dishes (one Quickfire, one Elimination) also work it. Apparently, Emeril was doing this back in 1999, but I just have never seen it on a menu or heard of it before this season of Top Chef. Admittedly, I'm willing to try this seafood dessert at least once to see how it all works, but what I really can't get over is how, in three episodes of Top Chef, the combo has become ubiquitous with a serious quickness.

But onto the actual episode. The Quickfire is a fairly easy one that has the cheftestants making dishes that incorporate all manner of Florida citrus. That's it. No twist, no hand behind the back, no surprises. No "Use every citrus here." No "Use every part of the citrus." Just make a dish using citrus. I know it's only the second episode, but I found this challenge painfully easy for these particular chefs. The top three are CJ (in spite of leaving some citrus seeds in his dish), Tre, and Hung, who is the ultimate winner and comments, "I didn't expect anything less." You have to admire someone who can haul around such a fat and dimpled self-esteem. Even if it's an irritably grudging admiration. And frankly, he's not just blowing sunshine; he really does appear to be pretty freaking good.

The Elimination Challenge, which is gourmet barbecuing for a Champagne shindig hosted by Lee Schrager, is overtly sponsored by Kingsford Charcoal. Okay, they're going to have product placement up the kazoo on this show, but Kingsford is fine. Kingsford is respectable. Kingsford isn't Chili's. Joey From New York, who makes boring and decidedly un-gourmet chicken, vents his feelings of inadequacy all over Hung, who just happens to have made a drink using watermelon. See, Joey From New York made a watermelon drink for the Quickfire, and clearly no one else is allowed to make watermelon drinks in the summer except Joey From New York. He has a patent pending on it.

The winner of the hot and sweaty Elimination Challenge is Brian (MALARKEY!), whose crazy ideas actually worked for him this time when he created a Chino-Latino dish of chili-glazed handmade seafood sausage (incorporating scallops, shrimp, and sea bass) with a ginger slaw and an Asian chimichurri. The bottom four of the challenge are Sandee, Howie, Joey From New York, and Tre. I was sort of despondent about Tre, because he fell prey to the same problem he had in the first Quickfire -- he didn't have enough acid with his fish and avocado. He also both under seasoned and oversalted.

I can't forget about the drama queenery between Howie and Joey From New York. While they're waiting to find out who of the bottom four is going home, Joey From New York attacks Howie for not shaking his hand or something. But this was after Joey From New York said that Howie should go because he heard his pork was all dried out. There's lots of swearing and yelling and "Be a man"-ing and then Joey From New York demands to know if Howie wants him to go home right now and then he says that Howie's lucky that he lives in Florida and Howie tells him he doesn't give a shit what he does and laughs about the Florida thing and then it's all over.

However, Sandee, with her vanilla butter-poached lobster, pancetta-wrapped date, and black truffle slaw, is the one to go home for not really barbecuing anything. Her lobster, which was braised (according to CJ) the night before, never made contact with the grill. Instead, it sat on a plate on the grill to, well, reheat basically.