"Top Chef: Chicago" Episode 8: Not kiddin' around

A few weeks ago, we said Antonia might be the biggest sleeper of this season. Tonight she stepped out of the shadows with a rare sweep of the Quickfire and Elimination Challenges. We’re predicting she makes the top four this season. Who’ll be there with her? We think it’ll be Richard, Dale and Stephanie.

Yes, we still think Stephanie can hang, even after tonight’s peanut butter-tomato sauce stumble. But she may have used her last get-out-of-jail-free pass this week. Though the judges have said they don’t rely on previous performances to make decisions, we can’t help but think her early triumphs were in the backs of their minds when they made their final choice tonight. One more bad week and those shining moments will have faded too far to be of much help.

Stephanie wasn’t the only one who struggled tonight. Our “Top Chef” drinking game, which we introduced last week, got off to a rocky start in its second week. First, there was the kid thing. The introduction of children to the episode, while upping the cuteness factor, didn’t do much to help our buzz. Everybody—even Lisa—kept it pretty clean. Total Lisa curse count: 0.

And then there’s the matter of the second rule. As the episode progressed, we started thinking we might create a rule around Mark’s inability to stop talking about New Zealand and all things Kiwi. This of course would have included random displays of Kiwi pride, such as playing the didgeridoo his bedroom. Then Mark had to go and pick a fight with Tom (um, awkward) and get sent packing.

So instead we’re going to turn to product placement-inspired rule, as suggested by a reader last week: Drink every time a Glad product appears on screen. And, what the heck, let’s up the ante by chugging every time a Glad commercial comes on. We think this rule is particularly fun because it's going to get fast and furious toward the end of the show when everyone’s hanging in the “stew room,” surrounded by Gladware.

Tonight’s total Glad count: 28 + two commercials.

To recap:

Rule No. 1: Drink every time Lisa curses.

Rule No. 2: Drink every time a Glad product appears on screen. Chug for the first five seconds of any Glad commercial. Check back next week for Rule No. 3—if you’re not playing along by then, you should be! In the meantime, feel free to leave a comment suggesting our next rule.

For a full recap of this week's show and more commentary, check in with our friends at The Stew.