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Last time on "Top Chef": The 7 remaining cheftestants went meta in a quickfire challenging them to prepare a TV dinner inspired by a TV show. Kevin's winning streak continued, leading the pack with a "Sopranos"-ready braised meatball with polenta, roasted cauliflower and roasted pears. No ordinary win, he and his fellow hopefuls later learned that this winning dish would be adapted for the upcoming "Top Chef" line of Schwan's frozen foods. For the elimination challenge, the chefs were excited to visit the Las Vegas branch of head judge Tom Colicchio's Craftsteak, but thrown for a loop to discover that they'd be preparing vegetarian dishes for actress Natalie Portman. Preparing a duo of mushrooms with smoked kale, candied garlic and turnip purée that was as delicious as it was substantial, Kevin was the challenge winner, proving his amazing performance this season is not limited to catering to the carnivore crowd. Conversely, Mike, whose Zaytinya restaurant in Washington D.C. serves a variety of vegetarian-friendly fare — and whose mother is vegan — had a good idea with his whole roasted leek with onion jus, carrot purée and fingerling potatoes. But the execution was poor, the leeks mushy on the outside and pungently raw inside, and the outspoken chef didn't make the cut.

This week's quickfire was the stuff that this season's manly male cheftestants likely dream of, as host Padma Lakshmi called from a hotel room challenging the hopefuls to make breakfast in bed for she and cook/author/personality Nigella Lawson. Channeling room service-meets-gourmet, the cheftestants visited the ladies one at a time to deliver their dishes. Kevin's hearty, Southern-style steak and eggs with crème fraîche, aged cheddar and green onion was a favorite, but Eli was the challenge winner, offering a witty, tangy fried egg reuben with Thousand Island hollandaise. Though immunity wasn't on the table, Eli won the distinction of having his dish added to the "Top Chef" Quickfire Cookbook.

The breakfasts that Padma and Nigella would kick out of bed had opposing problems related to contrasting ingredients: Bryan V's 4-minute egg with vanilla beurre fondue, crab, asparagus and corn polenta had too much; Robin's blintz with goat cheese, caramelized pineapple and blueberries not enough.

Las Vegas itself was the inspiration of the elimination challenge, calling the cheftestants to prepare dishes inspired by Sin City casinos to be served at a party atop the World Market Center for 175 elite guests. The cheftestants drew knives to determine their destination, yielding these assignments:

• Bryan V: Mandalay Bay • Eli: Circus Circus • Jennifer: Excalibur • Kevin: Mirage • Michael V.: New York New York • Robin: Bellagio

It's fitting that only 6 cheftestants remained, as half of the dishes were successful and the others, well, not so good. Bryan V's escabeche of halibut with consommé, parsley coulis and garlic chips, inspired by the aquariums at Mandalay Bay, was elegant, and Kevin pleased guests and judges alike with a wild Alaskan sockeye salmon alongside bright, flavorful napa cabbage and cucumber. But Michael V nailed the challenge, inspired by New York New York and the idea of the city's firefighters, serving up an elevated, delicate take on chicken wings via his boneless chicken confit with curry and a blue cheese disc. And for his efforts, he was awarded a giant bottle of Terlato wine. Just as a cold beer may perfectly complement traditional hot wings, a top-shelf wine would be a fine companion to Michael V's upscale interpretation.

On the losing end, Eli's dish was a circus indeed, his caramel-apple-peanut soup with popcorn and raspberry froth a strange combination, while Jennifer continued to struggle with a tough "The Sword in the Stone"-inspired New York strip steak in a surprisingly bland red wine reduction with beets, truffles and herbs. Robin, inspired by the colorful Dale Chihuly art installations at the Bellagio, created a panna cotta with fruit sauce and a sugar flower (the latter of which couldn't stand up to the Las Vegas humidity and was left off the plate) that was too dense, not flavorful enough, and generally fell short of her muse, and the long hanging-by-a-thread chef was cut.

With just five cheftestants remaining, the finale is around the corner. Unless there's a secret saboteur in the ranks, it's all but a foregone conclusion that Kevin and the Voltaggio brothers will be competing for the ultimate prize. Eli is a nice enough guy (the tasteless comment implying that Robin won a quickfire as a sympathy prize for having survived cancer notwithstanding) and though he doesn't quite measure up to the rest of the competition, he may well last another week if Jennifer continues in the uninspired holding pattern of the past three or so episodes.

Chrysta Cherrie is the entertainment producer/copy editor for AnnArbor.com. Reach her at chrystacherrie@annarbor.com or 734-623-2526, and follow her on Twitter @chrystacherrie.