‘Top Chef’: Out of their comfort zones

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Perhaps the contestants this week should have asked themselves, ‘What would Betty do?’ Betty was Season 2’s ‘I do only comfort food’ competitor.

From the looks on the chefs’ faces, there could not have been anything more horrifying than being asked to put a healthy spin on American staples from tuna casserole to franks ‘n’ beans. There was groaning, gagging -- no really, tongues out gagging! -- and a startling ‘Chicken A La Huh?’ from Sara.

Micah had no idea what to say or do with her plate of meatloaf and mashed potatoes, and Hung, naturally, dubbed the high-fat foods they had to reinvent ‘disgusting.’ (Of course that didn’t stop him over-achieving once again with a smart, lower calorie fried chicken that came complete with a single crispy chicken skin ‘chip’ that had been rendered of its fat.)

As much as I’m in awe of this round-up’s pedigree, have these guys really only done the fine dining thing? I know this is ‘Top Chef,’ but was there no one with a little love for nostalgia for sloppy joes or mac ‘n’ cheese? The whole thing struck me as odd, especially when high-end comfort food is pretty much big business these days, with L.A. favorites like Jar (and its smashing pot roast) and Luna Park (and its ham-and-broccoli take on mac ‘n’ cheese).

There were a whopping five (as opposed to the standard three) people called out to the losers’ table. Brian, who had immunity, was safe, but the judges wanted to let him know that ignoring the rules is bad (just as I said it was last week). He served high-in-cholesterol lobster in spite of the ‘healthy’ requisite. CJ, who has proved himself a strong competitor in the quickfire rounds, was all but guaranteed to be safe also. His grassy green tuna casserole may not have been executed properly, but it was thoughtful and took the challenge seriously.

Sarah turned in chicken kabobs and couscous that reminded no one of chicken a la king, Lia didn’t cook her lentils or make the sausage in her beans ‘n’ franks, and Micah’s dish was pronounced ‘the meatloaf that keeps on giving’ after head judge Tom Colicchio and guest judge Chef Alfred Portale discovered it produced an awkward, but long-lasting aftertaste.

I only wish they had made Micah divulge what exactly was in the meatloaf.

Micah got the boot after her dish was found lacking by both the judges and by the members of the Elks lodge who had been forced to get down both good and bad dishes.

Her elimination was the right decision, too. She has the chops in the kitchen -- she won two challenges in just two episodes -- but her attitude was tiring.

-- Denise Martin