So dinner will be served with Paul Bartolotta as judge. Paul is pretty badass. Great fish cookery. I have only been to his namesake restaurant in the Wynn Casino, but it was stellar. Good vittles. Very Italiano. 

Two hours to make food for 60 people is not much time. I would be freaking out as well and probably order a bunch of frozen tortellini to save time. The results would have been not so great, but would be much better than Avery and Nooie’s fateful tortellini catastrophe. The smart moves on the Black Team were two-fold: getting all the waiters and dishwashers to make their food and leaving Nick to do his magic with the appetizer. Let me tell you how you should be acting if someone on your team is going to be an immune Achilles heel: do your food well, help the heel in question do the best job they can by really advising them, and then make sure they know when choices are being made for people to be sent home that you are their BFF forever and just tried to help them. Alas, Nick is kicking it with his plate, but his trying to help Nicole is more whiney than helpful. 

Black Team

Nick Lacasse - Warm Mushroom Salad, Arugula Puree and Parmesan Cheese

Steve "Nookie" Postal and Avery Pursell - Squash and Prosciutto Tortellini in Chicken Broth 

Nicole Lou - Ribeye Medallions with Brussels Sprouts and Cauliflower Puree

Time flies and we are eating at Al Cumbio, the Black Team's restaurant. Starter is great. Mushrooms are beauty. Arugula puree is well-loved. The tortellini sucks. Dough is, contrary to what Curtis says, not too wet but way too thick and dry. Wonton pasta is mentioned. Broth is good, but that is not going to make up for this misstep. The beef is pretty sad too. Brussels and cauliflower puree don’t save the leather.

Back to Pappagallo, which in my off-kilter translation comes to Papa Rooster but probably is a colloquial for Rooster Soup. Weigh in people and tell me where we stand. I am sure Jenna will chime in with a long Italian lecture about the name.