Over at weeklystandard.com, you can find my take on last night’s episode of Top Chef: Texas. This morning I spoke with Lindsay Autry, who couldn’t have been nicer. She doesn’t harbor any ill will about losing, although she does say a lot depends on the judges’ palate. Yes, Tom Colicchio is that intimidating but “he really knows the business and knows what you’re doing without you’re having to explain it.” The competition is also “very physical,” she said. The Texas episodes were everyday, not every week. During the barbecue pit cookoff, the contestants were awake for more than 40 hours, followed by 8 hours of sleep, followed by Restaurant Wars. “I should’ve done P90X,” she half-joked.
P.S. According to Lindsay, Paul Qui has so far won $80,000 and a Prius. If he doesn’t win next week’s grand prize of $125,000, don’t feel too bad for him.