so before the top chef finale airs tonight, why not reflect a little on the best season since sam and marcel graced the kitchen and our tv sets.

i'll admit, i don't research the bravo reality contestants pre-season like i do with other reality shows (survivor and the amazing race spring to mind) so i based my predictions on the first episode's intro, and i believe i chose ryan as my early favorite. however, after actually WATCHING the show in it's super-sized entirety, i quickly joined team stephanie. it was also at that time, i became a non-fan of dale and richard. i think it was richard's peach pizza that did it for me. i mean how could that dish win?!?! it's peaches! on pizza! rocco and padma, what were you THINKING?!?! but anyways, i moved past that as i watched stephanie earn the first elimination challenge win with her play on duck a'lorange.

after a few more interesting challenges (cater a zoo benefit, block party!, base a dish on your favorite movie) came my personal favorite episode of all four seasons: the tailgate challenge! maybe it was just me, but so many of those dishes looked amazing and don't think i'm not going to try them out come football season! antonia's jerk chicken sandwich and spike's spicy fire wings are at the top of my list. it's also kind of ironic that this episode which i just deemed my favorite ever, my "pre-season" (episode 1) pick was eliminated for not being tailgate enough.

there were a lot of surprising exits this season, ryan being one of them. i was sure it was mark that would have to pack his knives, but i was wrong and my boy ryan left instead. i was also surprised that jenn left when she did. i figured that she would have lasted longer, especially over lisa, but between her and stephanie, it wasn't all too shocking that she was chosen to go. mark's exit was predictable. curry with kids? no sir, not good. nikki's exit was also kind of predictable, but i liked her and didn't want her to leave, but sometimes you have to step up and she didn't. andrew's exit was a shocker because it should have been lisa (again) but i do feel that he left on a technicality. dale and spike both lost to, AGAIN, lisa. gah! no gonna lie though, i was glad to see dale leave when he did, because i feel if he had stayed around, he would have hurt the chances of antonia and stephanie getting to the finals, but lookin back, i could have stomached dale outlasting antonia moreso than lisa outlasting her. dale and spike deserved that 4th spot in the finals WAY more than lisa, but unfortunately, that didn't pan out.

now i'm not sure when my love for antonia initially began, but i'm pretty sure it was around the time of the jerk chicken sandwich, if not before. there was just something about her that made her very likeable. she's also one hell of a chef and pretty funny too. last week's comment about popping the pig's legs out of their sockets WAS terrible, and the fact that she followed it up with what we were thinking, ("i know, it sounds terrible") was great! i was seriously sad to see her go, especially over that gargoyle lisa. but it is what it is and i can't dwell on the past anymore, so here i am again on team stephanie, not that i ever completely left, i just found myself being a stronger supporter of antonia. but i would have been happy if either she or stephanie took the whole thing, and hopefully, the latter happens tonight!

for the finale, it's going to come down to richard and stephanie. they've both been consistantly good throughout the entire competition, whereas lisa found herself in the bottom 6 times. and if the promos for tonight's finale are any indication, it looks like richard has something to say before the judges make their final decision. i'm hoping it's something along the lines of "lisa doesn't deserve to win". THAT'S something that would shock gail simmons, don't you think? that would make richard good in my book! not that he didn't redeem himself a while ago. i got over my dislike of him a few weeks back. i don't want him to win though. he can take 2nd because the top spot is reserved for stephanie!