We took our "Top Chef Masters" complaints straight to the top last night, corralling Bravo's senior vice president of original programming and development, Andy Cohen, on the red carpet for the National Magazine Awards at Lincoln Center.

Look, we said, we love seeing star chefs face off against each other in the tried-and-true "Top Chef" format, but there's been an inconsistent lack of drama that a typical episode featuring Robin and Eli bickering might provide. We asked Cohen whether he could, you know, jazz up the show a bit.

Long ago, we went on a date with a strikingly gorgeous creature, only to blurt out that we'd really just to prefer to look at them, not hear them speak. (There wasn't a second date.)

That's a bit how we would describe our feelings for Ludo Lefebvre, who, along with five other Top Chef Masters Season One-ers returned last night. On the one hand, he's tall, dark, and dreamy. On the other, where's the mute button? Oh, wait, they added subtitles. We can't win. (To be fair, most of the time, Ludo appears to be joking but then there are the moments when he's rather insufferable. We are, however, very open-minded and quite willing to test any theories that Chef Lefebvre is tres charmant in person.)

Top Chef Masters' second episode was a lot more watchable than the premiere, with a come-from-behind, against-the-odds surprise win. Chef Carmen Gonzalez lost her food (and precious preparation time) when, upon arriving at the elimination challenge, she realized she had to drive back in Los Angeles traffic to the Top Chef kitchen to pick up the stew she'd left behind.

But we get ahead of ourselves. In this week's lineup, three New York-based chefs (Gonzalez, Aquavit's Marcus Samuelsson and David Burke) faced off against Houston's Monica Pope and Seattle's jolly Thierry Rautureau.

We struggled to stay awake during the last fifteen minutes of last night's "Top Chef Masters" premiere. Sure, it was nearly midnight and we're creaky old people, but it's worth mentioning because it points to a longstanding complaint about the series.

The show, which features established chefs competing against each other in its tried-and-true "Top Chef" format, sounds like a great idea on paper but in action... it's a bit of snooze. Last night's chefs included Tony Mantuano (chef of Spiaggia, also known as Obama's favorite Chicago restaurant), Govind Armstrong (of L.A.'s 8oz Burger Bar) and Oleana's Ana Sortun. Because we are New York snobs and we immediately favor anyone whose restaurant we have visited, we threw our karma behind The Red Cat's Jimmy Bradley (we live for his zucchini appetizer). Poppy's Jerry Traunfeld and Street's Susan Feniger round out the first cast of six.

See what happens when I go on vacation? Speakeasy's Top Chef favorite, Jen Carroll, gets kicked off. I take full responsibility. As the Top Chef Las Vegas finale kicked off, we threw our support behind Kevin, as he and the Voltaggio brothers meet Padma and Tom in a lush vineyard to receive final instructions.

I so dearly wished that last night's "Top Chef" had featured a Turducken, that unholy dish that could serve as the illustration of "gluttony" in a dictionary or, at least, Wikipedia. The remaining Top Cheffers were whipped into shape by one Gavin Kaysen, of Cafe Boulud and "Iron Chef" fame. Kaysen challenged our bedraggled bunch to look lively, and produce, in 90 minutes, a protein stuffed with two proteins, also known as a ballotine. "Like a Turducken!," I squeaked, just as Jen said she was considering making one. Alas, she was joking, but I was happy she flashed some of that personal charm that I haven't seen in a few episodes now.

Vice magazine launched a new video series, "Munchies," in which celebrity chefs are hauled out of the kitchen and filmed while on the town. If the first episode is any indication, lots and lots of alcohol will be involved. (And as the series name suggests, maybe even some pot-smoking -- which upsets our family-paper standards so we'll just pretend we didn't hear that.)

There were morsels aplenty at New York's Chocolate Show, from freshly roasted chocolate beans to strawberries dipped to order into a chocolate fountain. But it was the non-edible confections, such as Swedish chocolatier Hakan Martensson's gothic sculptures, that captured the lion's share of attention.

It's episode 10 and our chefs are looking bedraggled, showing signs of long nights, stress and constant drama on their no-longer fresh faces. We're feeling their pain a bit, too. After Restaurant Wars' fireworks, episode 10 was one long denouement.

Speakeasy's erstwhile favorite, Jen, is looking in sore need of sleep and a day spa, and appears to never have fully recovered from her bout of sickness during the "Cooking at Home" episode. Certain shades of limelight can just wreck a girl's complexion.

Famed shoemaker Christian Louboutin has turned out heels in leather and silk, but he's adding a new material to his portfolio: glass.

For a new collaboration with champagne-maker Piper-Heidsieck, Louboutin created a glass slipper that evokes both Cinderella fantasy and Parisian decadence. The shoe flute is packaged as part of the $500 Le Rituel gift set, which also includes a bottle of champagne. It will only be sold in select Neiman Marcus stores and online at www.le-rituel.com.

Enough with Kamikazes and Sex on the Beach drinks, fratties. Publisher Assouline's new title, "Vintage Cocktails," came into being when founder Prosper Assouline grew frustrated with the low-brow state of bar options.

If we knew anything about gambling, we'd make a crack about "Top Chef: Las Vegas: upping the ante with the "Restaurant Wars" episode. Let's just simply say that Restaurant Wars was packed with stomach-clenching drama, making it the best episode of the season.

In this week's Quick Fire, sustainability guru Rick Moonen challenges the top eight into a cooking relay race, where each chef is given 10 minutes before having to hand off their dish to the next in line. The catch: no speaking and no watching (the waiting chefs wear blindfolds until their turn). Jennifer, Kevin, Mike Isabella and Laurine take on Michael and Bryan, Eli and Robin. To no one's surprise, Robin was picked last for teams. "I'm the mom here," Robin says, sounding exactly like our mom does when she's aggravating her children. "They're stuck with me."

Let's just get it out of the way: Yes, fashion people eat. Maybe not all the time, and never ever in the amounts touted in a typical restaurant commercial. But for some designers, a well-considered plate can be as satisfying as a hem that hangs just so.

Last night, the Council of Fashion Designers of America celebrated the release of its first cookbook with a party at Saks Fifth Avenue. The cookbook, edited by Lisa Marsh, compiles over 100 recipes such as Carolina Herrera's pommes toupinel, Cynthia Rowley's truffle mac and cheese, Diane von Furstenberg's Saturday night chicken and Tory Burch's Andalusian gazpacho.

For all of "Top Chef's" classiness, wherein it values work ethic over tackiness, it occasionally veers straight into Reality TV Cliche Land, which I guess is somewhat enjoyable, if it also calls to mind a certain failure of imagination.

We open the show with the contestants contemplating their own mortality. Mike Voltaggio will rise again from the bottom, he vows; Eli calls his mom, admits on national TV that he's a 25-year-old adult male that lives with his parents to save on rent, and Robin explains how she bounced back from cancer.

If last week was the Dividing Into Two Camps episode, last night's Top Chef was the Hubris episode. You know the one, where a series front-runner is cut off at the knees by a metaphorical Jeff Gillooly, and they are forever changed and humbled (for at least for two episodes' worth).

The producers tip their hand within seconds of opening, as we hear Ash wax on his boycrush Michael V. in tones typically reserved for the likes of a teen Joey McIntyre. Ash also confides his insecurity over not having attended culinary school. (More on both of these topics later.)

A handful of former "Top Chef" contestants gathered in Midtown last night to hawk the latest in Top Chef-ware, including knives, a Quickfire wine and a Quickfire cookbook. (Personally, we may have lingered too long over the coming "Top Chef" game, which combines a Trivial Pursuit-type format with little knife play pieces.)

Amid the cocktail chatter, we cornered a few cheftestants with two pressing questions: Who is your favorite Season 6 chef? What's your reaction to Gourmet magazine's closing?

Season five's Ariane Duarte professed her love for Kevin and Jennifer Carroll, calling Carroll "tough" and "talented." Top Chef Master's Anita Lo gave the nod to Jennifer, saying that Carrroll was a friend of a friend at Le Bernadin. "I'm rooting for Kevin," season five winner Stephanie Izzard confided. "He seems real sweet and genuine. I like his personality."

This past weekend, New York's foodies indulged in a bit of Parisian guiltless gastro-flirtation -- an affair without the air fare, if you will.

Le Fooding, a Parisian collective that aims to free fine-dining from stuffiness, set up camp in Queen's P.S. 1 Contemporary Art Center. Their inaugural event, Le Fooding D'Amour, brought together twelve star chefs from New York and Paris, including Wylie Dusfresne, David Chang and Daniel Boulud.

There's always that inevitable turning point in reality TV shows, especially in competition shows, where the contestants divide themselves into Those Who Deserve To Be Here and The Other Ones. That moment arrived within minutes into last night's Top Chef Las Vegas episode, when the cheftestants, still smarting from Mattin Noblia's expulsion, donned red bandannas in homage to the cute Frenchman. (There were that many red bandannas to go around? Really? Huh.)

It was no small dig at Robin, who is squarely in the Others camp, along with sweet but clueless Ron, Laurine and, increasingly, Ash. (Eli and Ashley drift between either camp, kind of like Juliet from 'Lost.') But it's clear, based on force of personality as well as winning records, that Jennifer, the Volt brothers, Mike Isabella and Kevin are the dominant clique.

As much as shows like Top Chef posture that they're all about the work, they're really about the personalities within the show. Although it takes place within a niche workplace like a high-end kitchen, viewers are bound to recognize characters that resemble people in their own lives. Which is why I was vindicated when the judges finally booted Preeti last night. She reminded me of those bland people who are perpetually two years too late but are too dull to realize just how provincial they really are.

Top Chef Las Vegas dug deep, like Old Testament-deep, for last night's themes. Maybe producers took a hint from the original dueling brothers -- whose fates, if you remember, didn't turn out so well -- for their approach to shooting siblings Michael and Bryan. The two appear to view the world only through the prism of sibling rivalry. Given that we're only two episodes into the season, the "beating my brother" this and "losing to my brother" that banter is already wearing thin. But given that both Brothers Voltaggio are distinguishing themselves from the pack with strong, thoughtful dishes, the rivalry trope ain't going anywhere soon.

The first part of Top Chef Masters' finale kicked off last night as the six semi-finalists met for the first time. They were Anita Lo, Art Smith, Hubert Keller, Suzanne Tracht, Michael Chiarello and Rick Bayless.

Just as the chefs were settling in, Top Chef host Tom Colicchio made a semi-grand entrance to kick off the Quickfire Challenge: two teams of three had to race against the clock to butcher four chickens, shuck 15 oysters, dice five onions and beat five eggs whites so they held upside down for five seconds. The race was tight until the final round when Rick Bayless, who said he had taught pastry classes, pulled ahead of Art Smith with a masterful whipped egg whites. Smith quipped that Bayless had all but morphed into a kitchen appliance.

Summer marks the middle of green tea season, which runs from late spring to fall. While it may seem counterintuitive to drink hot liquids in the heat, many Asian cultures believe that doing so will increase sweating and help cool you off.

Toasting local foods and culinary artisans, the nation's top chefs and foodies gathered Sunday night for the 2008 James Beard Foundation Awards at Lincoln Center.

Cuba Libre's dining room

Philadelphia's restaurant renaissance was born in the late 1990s, and it shows little sign of slowing down.

One of the charms of the city's foodie scene is the number of upscale ethnic restaurants, including a small village's worth of Cuban and Latin eateries, which tend to be less stuffy than their power-dining counterparts.

Whether eating solo or hosting a client, here are some suggestions for business travelers looking for a respite from the typical business lunch.

While the home kitchen is traditionally identified with women, men have dominated the star positions in the restaurant and hospitality industry over the years.

That inequality has been changing more recently however, as high-profile female chefs like Alice Waters and Ina Garten top best-seller lists with books related to food and host popular television cooking shows.

Along with a rise in female restaurateurs, women are exploring other careers in cooking and creating niche industries, like personal home instruction or cupcake-centric bakeries, that emphasize, rather than downplay, a "just like Mom used to make" aesthetic.