Padma playmates

Top Chef Seattle whips up Hollywood-worthy dishes for celebs Anna Faris andChris Pratt

Chef/judge Rick Moonen grabs some face time with celebrities Chris Pratt and AnaFaris before Padma horns in.
Photo courtesy of Bravo
Chef Josh Valentine, a self-styled authority on pork, seasons four servings withjust a teensy bit of salt.
Photo courtesy of Bravo
Danyele McPherson experiences fear, nervousness and self-doubt, but not theheartbreak of psoriasis — as far as we know.
Photo courtesy of Top Chef

Is it just because we're from Dallas that we find the most intriguing Top Chef Seattle plot points involve the three chefs from Dallas? Danyele's adoption! Tesar's redemption. And that awful, awful mustache.

Episode 6, annoyingly titled, "Even the Famous Come Home" (famous people, just like us!), features real-life celebrity couple Anna Faris and Chris Pratt. Their northwestern roots bring them to Seattle, just in time for a freebie Top Chef spread. Well, nothing's free: They have to hang with Padma.

The quickfire challenge is a cringing ad for Stevia or Truvia or Nivea or some bogus sweetener that Padma eagerly shills, as does the guest judge, an octogenarian critic from North Dakota who became a momentary Internet sensation with a review she wrote of Olive Garden. (Of course, cheese-whiz Anthony Bourdain offered her a book deal.)

Old people on TV, aren't they cute? You can't understand a word they say.

The challenge, which also hawks the heck out of Prius (the winner gets one), has a few Dallas high points:

All the judges must share one knife, which provokes this classy line from Josh Valentine: "I'm a pretty good sharer, as long as I'm done with it."
Danyele McPherson makes the Days of Our Lives revelation that she's adopted.
And the worst moment, the one we've been dreading, comes nine minutes in when Josh fulfills the nightmare that anyone in their right mind has about that mustache of his: He twirls it.

For the elimination, Anna and Chris show up pregnant and hungry for grub that reminds them of home. John Tesar says, a-ha, I'll make the chowder I learned from famed seafood chef Rick Moonen. Minutes later, Moonen shows up as guest judge. How fishy is that?

"People think it's nice to have a judge you worked for, but it's the opposite," Tesar says.

No worries. His chowder is a top contender; Moonen goo-goos over how good it is. But the other two Dallas chefs land at the bottom and only narrowly escape elimination.

Danyele, who is nervous as a puppy, bungles her wild boar. And the pork from self-styled swine expert @chefporkbelly is under-seasoned and over-portioned. Or as Chris Pratt says, "Josh's pork might not be great, but there's a lot of it."

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Uptown Dallas hotel debuts pet-friendly outdoor plaza near Katy Trail

Courtesy photo

Meet y'all on Y'all Plaza.

In time for patio weather, the Marriott Dallas Uptown hotel has unveiled a new outdoor space with a flexible design and a folksy name: Called Y’all Plaza, it's a 4,000-square-foot outdoor gathering place in Uptown Dallas, near the Katy Trail.

According to a release, the plaza is designed to be an alternative to traditional indoor meeting rooms, with an open-air layout intended to accommodate a variety of uses including networking events, wellness programming, and community gatherings. Hotel personnel say they're aiming to encourage movement and interaction in a more casual environment.

But it's not just for hotel guests.

“At our core, we are in the business of creating memorable experiences, and Y’all Plaza is an extension of that commitment,” says Robbie Tawil, general manager of Marriott Dallas Uptown, in the release. “We are proud to open this space to our guests and the community after years of thoughtful planning. We envision it as a vibrant setting for events, connection, and celebration, and we’re excited to see how people make it their own.”

The space is also pet-friendly, and within dog-walking distance of the popular Katy Trail.

“Y’all Plaza was designed with flexibility in mind, allowing us to host everything from corporate meetings and client receptions to weddings and wellness programming,” says Hannah Finger, director of sales at Marriott Dallas Uptown. “It gives groups a unique alternative to traditional event spaces, with the ability to create more engaging, customized experiences for their guests.”

Developers say the plaza will function as a community-oriented space within a dense, walkable district.

“Our intent is to create a vibrant outdoor community gathering space in what has become the core of Uptown," says Matt Segrest, president of Alamo Manhattan. "We hope that our hotel guests relish this unique amenity and that our neighbors embrace the plaza as their own. Great neighborhoods have great public spaces and we hope this is a worthy contribution.”

The plaza will offer regular programming and is available for public bookings. For more information, upcoming programming, or booking inquiries, visit the website or email dalmu.sales@marriott.com.

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