Top Chef

The women - in twos and threes and sixes - are on a mission. Spot Michael Voltaggio, the famously tattooed winner of Season 6 of Bravo's "Top Chef. " They linger at the door, waiting, hoping for a seat or a table. Sigh of relief. There he is, in the open kitchen of his new - and long delayed - restaurant Ink. No other restaurant in recent memory has set the blogosphere roiling in anticipation as much as this one. Voltaggio has some 126,000 followers on Twitter as of this writing and, until very recently, it's been so difficult to get reservations at the restaurant, it seems every one of those followers is intent on trying Ink at 7 or 8 p.m., cellphone cameras at the ready.

All you need in your pocket or purse to find a hot restaurant. Name: Chef's Feed Available for: iPhone, iPod touch and iPad; Android coming soon. What it does: Profiles award-winning chefs and their favorite dishes at specific restaurants in certain cities. From there, you can map the restaurant, add it to your profile and itinerary, rate the dish and tell your friends about it using Twitter or Facebook. Cost: Free. What's hot: This app is becoming a better tool for business travelers.

Hot to talk about: the finale of "Top Chef"? Kevin, FTW. (No, that's not a spoiler. It's a hunch. I wouldn't be upset if Mike pulled off an upset though. He can be cocky, but I rather like watching him concoct all sorts of delicious-looking craziness.) (Wednesday) Please do talk about: "A Single Man" Not since Mr. Darcy has Colin Firth been so extraordinary. The film, a potent examination of regret, heartbreak and desire from fashion designer-turned-director Tom Ford, follows a single day in the life of George (Colin Firth)

Being surrounded by delicious food all day sounds like a decent way to make a living. And according to Gail Simmons, a judge on Bravo's "Top Chef" and "Top Chef: Just Desserts," it is — but it requires some conscientiousness to not overindulge. Simmons is also a director of special projects for Food & Wine magazine and recently released a memoir, "Talking With My Mouth Full. " The 35-year-old culinary expert explained to us how she manages to stay healthy amid a sea of gourmet delights and with a very hectic schedule.

A roundup of entertainment headlines for Thursday. Richard Blais is the new "Top Chef" All Star. ( Los Angeles Times ) The Church of Scientology is reportedly interested in buying KCET's studios. Will it become K-LRON? ( Los Angeles Times ) HBO viewers have had enough of other people's problems -- the channel has canceled "In Treatment. " ( Los Angeles Times ) Craving your "Mad Men" fix? Jon Hamm is filling part of his downtime with an L.A. stage performance.

Should I admit this? I don't follow Bravo's "Top Chef," and so when I heard that Stefan Richter, runner-up to the crown on Season 5, was looking for a spot to open a restaurant in L.A., it didn't really register with me. I have no opinion of the chef from watching him on television, and I'm thinking that's a good thing. Richter finally did find a spot, in Santa Monica, the old L.A. Farm, which is now dubbed Stefan's at L.A. Farm. He spent four months clearing out the place, bringing in new furniture and creating an alluring new look for the patio that features a high-flying cloth-draped ceiling and twin leather sofas with matching fire pits.

In his thick Italian accent and broken English, former "Top Chef" contestant Fabio Viviani spoke of his dream, his secret dream, to a crowd huddled under a tent at the Farmers Market. It was, he said with a bowl of cilantro nearby, to "be filthy rich, grow 20 acre of cilantro, and drop a bomb on it. It tastes like soap." The audience of eager foodies laughed. Last season's winner, Hosea Rosenberg, shook his head and chuckled.

Contenders on the hit show "Top Chef" aren't known for being humble. That's why some L.A. foodies were surprised to hear that Alex Eusebio -- a Season 5 contestant and a hometown favorite -- had quietly opened an unassuming gourmet sandwich shop in Toluca Lake called Sweetsalt Food Shop. Before being cast on "Top Chef," Eusebio, who is of Dominican descent and moved to L.A. from New York, was the chef at an Echo Park restaurant called 15. The place had been transformed from a pupuseria into a homey bistro and Euesbio's sharp flavors and precise cooking style soon made 15 a popular neighborhood destination with a seemingly bright future.

Good taste finally put an end to an "Amazing" winning streak. Bravo's cooking competition "Top Chef" scored one of the Emmys' biggest upsets when it beat out "The Amazing Race" for the reality-competition program prize. The international chase show had won seven consecutive times in the category and had been the only winner in the division since it was established eight years ago. The win marked the first Emmy for the producers of the cooking series, who appeared entirely stunned when they crowded onstage to accept the award.

For a "Top Chef" finalist, 36-year-old Stefan Richter comes out like a lamb at his new restaurant, Stefan's at L.A. Farm. He's not out to shock or provoke. He's out to cook food that's squarely within most people's comfort zones. Good for him. Richter, after all, doesn't have a lot to prove. He's been there, done that as executive sous chef at the Bellagio in Vegas, chef at Enoteca Drago in Beverly Hills and executive chef at Bacara Resort in Santa Barbara. He's no wannabe. He's been around and is more of a pragmatist in his cooking than a showoff.

UNDERRATED Louis C.K.'s online experiment : Though initially most notable among fans of FX's "Louie" and those who enjoy stroking their chin about Internet commerce, Louis C.K.'s recent effort to film and self-release a downloadable stand-up concert from his website was a victory for the good guys. Selling it for $5 a copy with no digital rights restrictions, Louis made enough money to try it again, which is good news for comedy as well as for human nature. The Roots' 'Undun' : Although the Philadelphia group is one of the top live bands and a longtime critical darling, its latest album seems to have floated under the radar amid all the year-end listmaking and holiday hype.

Foodies, spoil yourselves. Sit down to a five-course meal by candlelight at the Ahwahnee Hotel created by Suzanne Goin from Lucques  in L.A or Rick Moonen of RM Seafood  in Las Vegas. It's all part of the Chefs' Holidays sessions that bring 25 cooking pros to the chilly climes of  Yosemite National Park in January and February. Guests can sign up for one (or more) of eight sessions that feature face-time with a top chef who will share his or her talent and techniques as well as a moderator and two other professional cooks.

The women - in twos and threes and sixes - are on a mission. Spot Michael Voltaggio, the famously tattooed winner of Season 6 of Bravo's "Top Chef. " They linger at the door, waiting, hoping for a seat or a table. Sigh of relief. There he is, in the open kitchen of his new - and long delayed - restaurant Ink. No other restaurant in recent memory has set the blogosphere roiling in anticipation as much as this one. Voltaggio has some 126,000 followers on Twitter as of this writing and, until very recently, it's been so difficult to get reservations at the restaurant, it seems every one of those followers is intent on trying Ink at 7 or 8 p.m., cellphone cameras at the ready.

SERIES The Big Bang Theory: Leonard and Penny spend time alone when Sheldon tries to overcome his fear of birds. (8 p.m. CBS). Community: Annie (Alison Brie) moves in with Abed and Troy (Danny Pudi, Donald Glover), but her new roommates' lifestyle soon grates on her nerves in this new episode (8 p.m. NBC). The Office: Pam (Jenna Fischer) suspects that Jim (John Krasinski) is attracted to the temp (Lindsey Broad) who'll be replacing her while she's on maternity leave in this new episode (9 p.m. NBC)

Asking leading chefs to cook low-fat versions of their renowned food is asking them to take a big leap of faith. But that's what we did while working on the story "Chef, Can You Help?" in Monday's Health section. Here's the lowdown: A 2010 study in the journal Obesity asked 432 chefs if they could reduce the calories in their food by 10% to 25% without customers noticing, and 93% thought they could. That study served as the catalyst for a real-life test with high-end chefs -- could they pull it off?

Restaurant diners are accountable for what they put in their mouths. Fried chicken too fattening? Order a salad and ask for the dressing on the side. Giant potato with mushroom gravy fit to see you through a marathon? Skip it and get the steamed artichoke with vinaigrette. But what if chefs helped us out - and lowered the fat and calories in their favorite dishes by as much as 25% while preserving the deliciousness? Photos: Dining out the smart way That's the experiment we did with chefs at three high-end restaurants in L.A. Each made a dish on their menu two ways: the usual way and then with calories, fat and sodium content trimmed to an extent they thought customers wouldn't notice.

I would like to comment on the review of the "Top Chef" cookbook [ “In a Reality Show Gone Hardback — Who Wins?” by Betty Hallock, April 9]. I am a member of two very different gourmet dinner clubs, and both clubs bought the cookbook upon its release. The recipes aren't intended to inspire anyone who is a gourmet cook, obviously. But the recipes and articles are amusing and interesting to viewers of the show. I think a "Top Chef" fan should have reviewed the cookbook.

An all-star cast of bartenders and mixologists have come to nest at a new den of drinking and dining called Black Market Liquor Bar on Ventura Boulevard in Studio City. The bar team is headed up by Pablo Moix and Steve Livigni, who previously cast mix-craft spells on La Descarga Rum Bar and Harvard & Stone, and also claims professor of alcohol Tricia Alley of Eva and B Side along with a crew from Providence, Bouchon, 1886, Cole's Red Car Bar and Waterloo & City. And that's just behind the bar. The kitchen is the province of "Top Chef" alum Antonia Lofaso, who is turning out a careful menu of reasonably priced small plates with global influences.

Any number of television's competition shows seem to take special — perhaps sadistic — pleasure in dispatching their also-rans to reality's netherworlds. "The Apprentice" sends the defeated off with "You're fired!," the vanquished in "Survivor" have their torches snuffed out and the unlucky in love on "The Bachelor" are left without a single red rose. "Top Chef" has its own exit strategy — "Please pack your knives and go," host Padma Lakshmi gently tells the culinary castoffs — but like the small group of reality shows that celebrate artistry more than delight in failure, the cooking series succeeds best when its contestants excel at the task at hand.