Moving on to Tiffani's dishes, Lee Anne gets that the sashimi is plated to take positive and negative space into consideration (the fish is way over on one side of the big white plate, with nothing on the other side), but she doesn't think it was sliced well at all. She also points out that there's a blood orange segment on the plate, but she doesn't taste blood orange in the vinaigrette. Miguel agrees. Of the lobster, Miguel thinks the flavors are good but he's not wowed. Stephen thinks the seasoning of the lobster is lacking in salt and real flavor, but he thinks the quality of food that they, as high rollers, are getting is better than Dave's dish.
Finally, we come to Harold's cart. Miguel really likes the look of the mussel soup. Stephen mentions that the mussel soup has coconut milk in it, which makes me want it even more. Lee Anne praises the presentation of the sashimi; she loves the use of color. Miguel thinks the Japanese treatment of the cucumbers is very nice, very classic. While Lee Anne likes the combination of textures in the dish, she would have liked more acid in the flavor. Stephen agrees. Turning to the soup, Lee Anne wonders if she would consider it an entrée, but decides it is definitely the best appetizer. I wonder if they can guess who made what.
Back in the kitchen, the cheftestants field an order for the Poker Room. They have thirty minutes to put together four different types of snacks. Colicchio tells the camera, "You know, Dave was the runner up at the Snackmaster Challenge a couple episodes back, so he could have an edge, but the chefs were all a bunch of snack junkies anyway, so it's really anyone's game." Just can't give Dave an inch, can you, Colicchio? Tiffani smugly tells us that she's one of those people who plays in poker rooms, so she knows just what to make. Dave tells us that he doesn't cook like this, he doesn't cook in a rush. Harold tells us that when he plays poker, he doesn't want to think about the food, he just wants to eat it and usually he wants something fried. He goes on that he's making a "T.G.I. Friday's munchies platter" with mini pizzas, wings, mini grilled cheese sandwiches, and onion rings. Tiffani's making homemade potato chips out of three different types of potatoes; quince paste (membrillo), goat cheese, and sesame crackers; herbed grissini wrapped in truffle butter; and brie and tomato sandwiches with curry mustard. I want that sandwich. Dave described his "partial Fry Daddy" of deep-fried shrimp and egg rolls; chocolate-covered strawberries; and a panini done on the panini press. "I think that one thing they need to keep in mind is that they are serving a bunch of card players, so things that are going make your hands sticky or chocolatey probably is not the best thing to serve," Colicchio sniffs 'n' sneers. Oh, but things that are greasy are okay? I mean, it's all finger food, it's all going to get your hands dirty to some extent, so stop coming down on Dave, Colicchio, because we know his flavors are going to be the ones that the poker players like! God. Time ticks down. Harold shrugs about his fried wings coming out of a plastic bag. Tiffani tells us, "I was surprised that Harold used chicken wings and onion rings. I didn't use any of it -- it's so against my grain." Good for you, now shut up. The cheftestants plate. Time's up.













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