by Gina Scarpa

Ahh, Restaurant Wars. The moment on Top Chef where we really get to see what these contestants are made of. For the first time ever, Padma splits up everyone by gender - it's a battle of the sexes! On top of that, they'll get to eat in one another's restaurant, since they'll serve on two different nights.

They're not getting a whole lot of time to prepare. Padma gives them 45 minutes to plan a menu and only 5 hours to cook and decorate before service. The guys go with the name Canteen, while the girls choose Half Bushel. Half Bushel?!

Nobody wants to be Front of House because they want to cook - after all, they're chefs! And besides that, that responsibility can go two ways. The way of all star Fabio, ideally... or the way of season 7's Alex. Lindsay is given the task of being FOH but because she's opened many restaurants under Michelle Bernstein. She really knows how to make that first night count. Ed is also sent to the front by his team. I'm not sure that's the right move and it doesn't help that there's no plan in the kitchen for expediting food.

It's definitely to the girls' advantage to go second because they get to see the problems that the guys had on night one. In fact, they seemed so disorganized that Paul finally had to step in and just take over, regardless of what his teammates thought of him.

Oh I'm sorry, did I say advantage? That would require the girls to have good communication and get along with one another. Lindsay leaves people standing at the front (including the guys and the judges), while the remaining team members argue and fight about just about everything back in the kitchen.

The judges liked the vibe much better at Canteen, but can't deny that the food was better at Half Bushel. Foods end up trumping service and the girls are the favorites, with Beverly taking the win. Take that, Sarah and Lindsay!

That leaves the guys to face the judges so they can decide who's being sent to Last Chance Kitchen. Tom felt that the one dish Ty was responsible for was 100% off the mark and the other dish he had a hand in was under seasoned. Despite the fact that they all got an F in terms of leadership and execution, Ty is the one who is asked to pack his knives.  Was it the right decision by the judges?

Top Chef: Texas airs Wednesdays at 10/9c on Bravo.

(Image courtesy of Bravo)

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