Top Chef Alumni Newsletter

Will Mary Sue Win This Thing Or What?

Photo: Lesley Balla

Alright! Time to let the rampant speculation begin. L.A.’s own Mary Sue Milliken has been kicking her share of rump steak over the latest season of Top Chef Masters and tomorrow night finds her facing off in the finale against chef Floyd Cardoz and Milliken’s summer camping pal Traci Des Jardins. Now, even though our esteemed editor Alan Sytsma was part of the show this year, the guy refuses to spill a single bean, so we’re just going to have to throw caution to the Anemoi on this one and start stabbing away. So, will Mary Sue take the title or what?

Okay, we don’t really know what’s going to happen tomorrow night but we’re going to pretend like we’re good at predicting things anyway and throw a few facts at the wall to see if they stick. If they do, we promise to brag ceaselessly that we predicted the win. If not, well, we don’t mind wearing egg on our faces, as long as it eventually drips into our mouths.

First and foremost, we think Mary Sue should win because we live in L.A. and have found the chef to be cool as can be when telling us about her worst kitchen nightmare. But what makes us think the world holds a Milliken win in its future? Well, there sure seems to be a lot going on in the next few days that finds Mary Sue at the center of attention.

For example, last week Robin Leach took a moment out of his champagne wishes and Lipitor dreams to note that the finale would feature an appearance from Mary Sue’s comadre Susan Feniger. Obviously, few could provide moral support like the beaming Feniger does, but would they really make Milliken’s dear friend suffer watching her friend take second place? Could Bravo really break the heart of Two Tamales at the same time? We’d like to think no one, not even TV producers, could be so cold.

Tomorrow night from 6:00 to 8:00 P.M. Border Grill Downtown is having a viewing party for Top Chef Masters, where $35 buys a pre-fixe dinner, margarita, and a tasting of some of the chef’s featured dishes from the show. Okay, obviously using Top Chef and its various spin-offs to rake in a little extra dough isn’t very uncommon. But still, it sounds like someone is feeling, oh, we don’t know, maybe a little celebratory over there. Hmm? If you want to be with Mary Sue when she takes top honors (or console her if she doesn’t), RSVP at 213-486-5171.

Also, Thursday afternoon finds a live Tweet session with Mary Sue from 2:30-3:30 P.M. You ask her any question you want over Twitter @Bordergrill (“How does it feel to be the next Top Chef Master?” could be a good one) and she’ll answer them the best she can, even picking one strong inquisitor to receive a Border Grill gift basket. If we just lost a televised competition, we’d be more likely to isolate ourselves at home with a pint of Chunky Monkey rather than open the floodgates to a vicious pack of armchair critics. We’re just saying…

So yeah, not exactly a bloody glove here or anything to prove Mary Sue will join the Master ranks, but a blog can always dream, right? Here’s wishing our homegrown chef good luck!

Will Mary Sue Win This Thing Or What?