DISCUSSION/THEATER: Before Michael Bennett and Bob Fosse rose to fame with shocking original choreography, directorial genius, and having a penchent for abusing dancers, we had Jerome Robbins. The mastermind of steps behind such famous works as Gypsy, West Side Story, and Fiddler on the Roof, just to name a few, will be discussed in length tonight at "Words on Dance Celebrates the Life and Career of Jerome Robbins." The panel discussion will be hosted......

Gus Van Sant isn't the only one who might make you a shiny, coke-addled star here in San Francisco. Take, for example, MTV and NBC who want to use you for their up-and-coming reality programming....

Previously on "Project Runway" the models were forced to kowtow to the fashion whims of a celebrity. Thank god THAT'S over with! Heidi walked on to the runway wearing Uhura's "Star Trek" uniform--seriously--and told the designers they weren't going to need their models for this week's challenge. Ru-roh! She then sent them all to 10 Rockefeller Plaza where they met Tim Gunn who introduced them all to Tiki Barber. Wait. Who? Tim went on......

If you're a fan of "Project Runway" you probably know that season four premieres tonight on Bravo at 10 p.m. (And if you're not a fan, what is wrong with you!) We'd be watching not matter what, but we are doubly excited about this season because there are two--TWO!--designers from San Francisco competing this time around. First off is Chris March who once worked on "Beach Blanket Babylon" as their "wig master," and now works......

Hey, everyone -- once again, it's your contributions that have put the sheen on the apple that is SFist. Check out your editors' picks for Top 5 comments of the week -- and enjoy!...

The next season of Top Chef is looking for a few good contestants, right here in San Francisco. Applicants that aren't able to attend can submit video profiles instead, but Sunday brings you a chance for a little face time with producers. Either way, there's paperwork to fill out....

"'It's an embarrassment for me to be wearing this (expletive deleted) uniform 'cause of the way I'm playing. There, that's it. Now go away,' Bonds said at his locker" after yesterday's game, just before flipping over a laundry cart and then storming off. Bravo, Bonds! "Fuck 'em, fuck 'em, fuck 'em," as one punk-rock genius would always say in the wings just before every show. We know he's disliked by so many, but our......

So, last night on Bravo, four of the cheftestants from Top Chef season one went head-to-head against four cheftestants from season two. Eight chefs. Four courses. Head to head. Tom Colicchio, Gail Simmons, and often-guest (and apparent season 3 regular?) Ted Allen were there to judge. At stake? $20k to charity of the winning team's choice. All this one was missing was a cue card-reading contest between Katy Lee and Padma. And all we really want to say is "we told you so."...

For those who can't wait until next Wednesday's "Top Chef" season three premiere, Bravo is offering you a tasty appetizer (or would it be considered an amuse bouche?) tonight at 10 p.m. with a season one versus season two cook-off called "4 Star All Stars". Season one winner Harold is back, as are Tiffani (!), Dave ("I'm not your bitch, bitch!"), and Stephen the sommelier. Season two's team includes winner Ilan, Sam (the guy......

And by "tonight" we mean this afternoon...and then tonight. First off, if you haven't read The Road by Cormac McCarthy yet, drop everything and do it. It's a fast read. It's also one of the most amazing books we've ever encountered--don't let Oprah's choosing it for her book club turn you off of it. In fact, be thankful, because she has also managed to nab an interview with the incredibly press-shy author. You can......

Update: So hey! We just got this in our inbox. JetBlue is giving away round-trip tickets to the first 150 people who show up in Union Square tomorrow Saturday (we totally thought today was Friday) dressed up as their favorite New York icon and carrying two or more canned goods to give away to a local food bank. Contest starts at 10 a.m., line starts at 7 a.m. SFist will throw in your lunch for......

This season of Top Chef on Bravo has been marred by stupid controversy. The whole Otto/Marisa/stolen lychee thing. The "did someone cheat? Let's eliminate nobody" challenge results. Mia's going postal a few weeks ago. And now Cliff's attempted prank on Marcel gets him booted from the show. Shenanigans. ...

We feel it's time to remind folks of our motivation in writing these short reviews of Top Chef, a fine cooking-based reality show on Bravo. First and foremost, we (usually) like it and want to help keep it on the air. We figure that sharing what happened last week on the day a new episode is about to air may prompt viewers to tune in. We needed to remind ourselves why, because we found last week's episode pretty disappointing. Contestants we enjoy watching keep getting knocked off and guys we thought were cool are progressively turning into total dicks....

Mikey, Mikey, Mikey -- we've been poking fun at this guy, mostly because we like him. He's a goof. Reminds us of some of our college buddies. Forgets his eggs in a breakfast challenge. Is overly thrilled at his sloppy, greezy steak sandwhich in the firehouse challenge. Enjoys throwing out somewhat tired concepts like a twice-baked potato (during the "Thanksgiving innovation" challenge, no less) and surf & turf appetizers. And who can forget the snicker/cheeto lollipop? ...

Hey, folks! Been a while! But since we only post our thoughts on Bravo's Top Chef on the day a new one's coming out, this review is anything but fresh. Hopefully it'll help you recall what's going on on the show and help to re-establish the narrative. So, no reason to bury the lead here: Mia went home. Mia--the spunky, outspoken firecracker who made a bunch of good-looking comfort food with ridiculous names ("Mamma Mia's this, Mamma Mia's that"), really sort of went nutso in this episode. ...

Ha ha -- so, there was a week hiatus of Bravo's Top Chef -- a perfect chance for your correspondent to get ahead of the game and start writing these reviews shortly after the episode. Alas, we didn't take that chance. So, here's the deal as always: we're talking about last week's episode to psych you up for tonight's. And, wow, last week's ep. was pretty fun! First comment: how is it we've avoided talking about Padma's strange outfits heretofore? Cuz, dude, she's really smokin', obviously, but I think the ladies from Gofugyourself are missing out on a potential Fort Knox of comedy if they aren't taking advatage already....

Oy, gee. We're sick today. We feel like grade-A crapola, and it may color our review of the last episode of Top Chef just a tad. Not to mention that we're about 10 lbs. heavier than when we watched this episode last Wednesday on Bravo, which is making us even more pissy. This episode was a 'very special Thanksgiving' episode. And it was pretty special--Tony Bourdain, the well-known chef and world-traveler, was the guest judge, and yes, we love his bad-boy image, his wry personality, and he writes a hell of a good fictional book along with his spectacular non-fiction. Sorry if we're judging this man on his image, folks, along with his writing and cooking pedigree. Oh, P.S. -- he's had some swell adventures recently with our own Mary Ladd/Jalepeno Girl, which you should check out here and here....

Hey, folks -- what better to whet your appetite for the most food-laden of holidays than an episode of Top Chef, tonight on Bravo. And what better to whet your appetite for tonight's Thanksgiving-themed episode than a reminder of and our take on what happened last week? You may recall a bunch of bitching in our last review -- the short reminder is NOBODY WENT HOME. Well, as some even predicted, this week made up for that (at least in terms of numbers) by sending two of the chef-testants home. Obvious foreshadowing by the show's editors: Josie telling the camera's that she and Marisa are the only ones that trust each other. Hmph. ...

If "a foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds," then the folks over at Bravo's Top Chef sure have some huge brains. Because this season reeks of inconsistency. And it's starting to piss us off. Major, major misstep, Tom, Gale, and co. (Let us state up front: it's only because this show can be, is often, and should always be so freaking good that these missteps get to us). Let's give credit to some of elimination-style reality shows--we've seen episodes of The Apprentice and Rockstar where the judges weren't afraid to make a bold move and eliminate more than one contestant. But never -- NEVER -- have we seen a show like this wimp out and send NOBODY packing....

Welcome to our thoughts on last Wednesday's episode of Top Chef on Bravo, which we hope will help psych y'all up for tonight's episode. We must say that this episode was a vast improvement over the previous one, and we're again psyched to continue watching season two. You might even say this episode kicked four teeth and a gigantic ass....

Is the sheen off the apple, or was this crappy episode just a one-time thing? Gosh, we hope it's just the latter, because we'd like for this to remain our favorite show. Why were we displeased this show? Guest judge Ming Tsai was kind of a schmuck.Marcel, who we hoped to continue loving to hate, seemed to take a pill. Oh, and the ridiculous "steal the crate of fruit" melodrama? Handled poorly by everyone....

Man, we loved last season of Top Chef. So much so, that we're gonna keep writing about it, even though it's made the move to Los Angeles. Top Chef, for those who don't know, is a show on Bravo that's basically The Apprentice with less jargon, more food, and a lot less suckage. And it used to be based here in our fair city. Alas . . . In any case, it airs every Wednesday night; due to our inability to write quickly, we've committed to posting reviews of the prior week on the day that the new episodes are set to appear, to hype lovers of food-based TV for that night. ...

When we read the description of the First Zionist Bunny, we thought it would be a laugh-filled romp full of hot Israeli women. Man, were we wrong. Instead, this movie was nothing but a sad little documentary about sad little people and their sad little quest for fame. The movie really isn't about Israel and it really isn't about Jews and it really isn't even about sex, but about what it is that drives people to go after their fifteen minutes of fame. Which, in it's weird sort of way, makes it pretty gosh darn relevant. ...

Last Friday night, Kathy Griffin, star of the Bravo reality show "My Life on the D-List" and heir apparent to the Sandra Bernhard/Joan Rivers style of snark and dish comedy -- without the singing and the dead husband -- brought down house at the Warfield with her second sold-out San Francisco show.

Onstage doing standup, Griffin is energetic and totally comfortable, with a loosely structured conversational routine that could seemingly go on forever. Her Robin Williams-like manic energy leads the audience on a frenetic, often disjointed, but always piercingly funny walkabout through American pop culture.

While some consider Memorial Day the official start of summer, we know it is marked by a different occasion: the premiere of crappy summer TV shows! While last week was a nice little vacation from TV slavedom, complete with even more deletions from the TiVo Season Pass list, those empty spots are quickly getting filled up. Let's see what the evening has to offer, shall we? Tonight is devoted to slightly nightmarish plastic surgery-laden......

The "top mixologists" at SFist feel that Bravo's Top Chef has given us to much in terms of culinary excellence, intrigue, and bitchiness (not necessarily in that order), that we thought it was time to give back. Tonight at 10 p.m., Top Chef is due to have a reunion show, wherein all the chef/contestants are in one room, reminiscing about the show (the finale -- and thus winner of which -- has yet to air). Without further ado, here's SFist's Top Chef "Quickfirewater" challenge--can you remain standing?...

Ahhh parrots, lambs, and pepper monkeys -- welcome back to our review of the Top Chef animal farm. Another Top Chef episode in the can; the season will be over shortly, so watch it while you can. Although, as we told you last week, that the show's been picked up for another season, this is the last chance for this cast of characters (and this is the last chance to see the epitome of evil amongst food-based game show contestants. Sadly, there won't be much regarding our fair San Francisco in the next few episodes: tonight's episode is a reunion (and presumably something of a clip show), and the finals are in Las Vegas....

Before we delve into what happened last week, we must share with you some exciting news: Bravo's Top Chef has been renewed! (Hat tap to our very own Rain, TYVM) . Huzzah! Thus, rather than our usual practice of begging you to watch as to keep the show on the air, we'll just encourage you to do so because it's a damned good show. And, hey, it's here in San Francisco! (Though there's no indication yet where next season will take place). ...

Oh, man, we're coming down to it--Bravo's Top Chef just keeps getting better and better. Watch this San Francisco-based series tonight at 10 p.m. before it's too late! Someone is walking away from this competition with a bunch of stuff, including money and a spread in Food & Wine. As usual, we're reminding you what happened last week to hype you up for tonight's episode. ...

We love Top Chef. We hope you will too -- here's our weekly recap of last week's episode, which we hope will prompt you to watch the new one tonight at 10 p.m. on Bravo. Hey, Ted Allen, from Queer Eye was the guest judge! This is the first time the guest judge has not been a local San Francisco chef. ...