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....

Unlike the way things work on Geary, just south, the block of Post between Leavenworth and Jones features no low-budget street vendors hawking old sweat pants and older Singer sewing machines. If that doesn’t put the “Nob” in “TenderNob,” what does? Welcome to the neighborhood whose name would get you immediately escorted out of a proper English tea garden party. Post seems to be the southern border of this ‘tweener section of town: Nob Hill shines to the north, Union Square falls due east, while the Tenderloin lurks in the other two directions. A few walls here may still get tagged, but it’s a different game on this mixed-use stretch of Post: one part business, another part residence, and still another part lodging....

SomArts Cultural Center (934 Brannan St.) SF Open Studios Sat., Oct. 7 – Oct. 29 (Tue.-Fri., 12-4 p.m. / Sat. & Sun., 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.) This is a must-do, everyone! Every October, ArtSpan produces SF Open Studios, the country’s largest, longest-running free visual arts event and a model for open studios throughout the country and the world. During the event, over 800 local, practicing and emerging local artists open their art studios throughout the city to showcase their work for the public. So put on your tennis shoes and hit the pavement, because this year is going to be incredible! (Hint: pick up the San Francisco Bay Guardian each Wed. for a map of the weekend's open studios) ...

Attempting to recall who it was that said obsession wasn't cute, SFist Nico, your Barrespondent-on-the-scene, gets his answer tenfold this week. Knowing very little about why people obsess over the things they do, this tongue-thick reporter believes the owl isn't a bad choice when you come right down to it. We've always had a bit of thing for the wide-eyed, rat-eating, bird of prey. Maybe it's because of the old Tootsie Roll Pop mascot (three......