View Top Chef DC in a larger mapAs of yesterday, Tom, Padma, and Gail were cutting down chefs at their judges' table—and by that we mean taping the next season of Top Chef in our city. Bravo tries to keep the challenges and contestants under wraps, but based on past seasons, we're guessing you'll see them shopping at Whole Foods, racing through farmers markets, and maybe even going door to door in one lucky neighborhood.
That's where you, dear reader, come in. Just like we did with the Real World: DC cast, we're tracking the whereabouts of the white-coated chefs on a map that's updated with the tips you send us. If you run into the cheftestants, judges, crew—or even Padma's baby!—let us know by e-mailing topchefdc@washingtonian.com or using #topchefdc on Twitter.
UPDATE (5/10): Latest update: A tipster says the crew was at Marvin last night, but Twitter user @topchefdcnews says the filming is basically over.
UPDATE (5/6): Twitter user @kasdc said there was a Top Chef event at Nationals stadium today.
UPDATE (5/3): According to a tipster, Tom Colicchio hung out with former Top Chef contestant Spike Mendelsohn and his girlfriend at Mendelsohn's Capital Hill burger joint, Good Stuff Eatery. Gail Simmons dined at Palena Friday night. The Washington Post's Tom Sietsema tweeted that Colicchio has eaten at 2 Amys and José Andrés's home.
UPDATE (4/30): A number of commenters and tipsters saw the film crew at Redwood in Bethesda last night and think they were shooting Restaurant Wars there.
UPDATE (4/29): A tipster saw Gail Simmons and some friends eating dinner at Zaytinya last night. Chef Mike Isabella, a contestant last season, came out to hug her and say hello.
UPDATE (4/28): Last night, Tom Colicchio tweeted about being at the Los Campesinos! concert at the 9:30 Club.
UPDATE (4/27): According to a tipster, Gail Simmons had dinner at Proof with a couple girlfriends last Friday.
UPDATE (4/27): "Gail and I had a wonderful meal at rasika" tweeted Tom Colicchio.
UPDATE (4/27): A tipster spotted the lovely Padma Lakshmi sweating it out on a stationary bike at the Washington Sports Club near Dupont Circle bright and early this morning. And another tipster saw Tom Colicchio at the same gym on April 28.
UPDATE (4/26): Gail Simmons ate at Sweetgreen in Dupont Circle and at Cork Friday and a tipster saw her eating at the Majestic in Old Town Sunday night.
UPDATE (4/23): Last night on Twitter, Tom Colicchio asked his followers to guess where he was based on this photo. He then confirmed it was Ben's Chili Bowl.
UPDATE (4/22): The crew was busy last night: A reader says Spike Mendelsohn greeted Gail Simmons at Good Stuff Eatery, his burger joint on Capitol Hill. And DCist reports that CulinAerie hosted a competition with judges Derek Brown, Rock Harper, and Carla Hall.
UPDATE (4/21): We got a tip that Padma ate dinner at Restaurant Nora Saturday, April 17.
UPDATE (4/19): A tipster saw Tom Colicchio at Union Station boarding an 8 AM Acela train to New York this morning.
UPDATE (4/16): We hear from a reader that Tom Colicchio and Eric Ripert had dinner at Zaytinya, and chef Mike Isabella, who was a contestant on Top Chef last season, greeted them.
UPDATE (4/15): A tipster told us Padma ate lunch at Raku in Dupont Circle today.
UPDATE (4/15): A reader saw Tom Colicchio eating yogurt at Sweetgreen in Dupont Circle yesterday, and the Washington City Paper reports Padma had dinner at Westend Bistro by Eric Ripert.
UPDATE (4/14): Chef Jamie Leeds wrote on Twitter that Gail Simmons, Mike Isabella, Spike Mendelsohn, and 8 others ate at Hank's Oyster Bar, her seafood restaurant.
UPDATE (4/13):Latest update: A tipster tells Twitter user @topchefdcnews that there was an orange "oval office" set decorated with pots, pans and knives, Top Chef flag, and a statue of liberty with a chef's knife at 650 Massachusetts Avenue, Northwest.
UPDATE (4/12): A commenter on this blog post says the chefs were filming at Mount Vernon, and a reader saw the production team setting up for
a taping at 13th and K streets, Northwest.
UPDATE (4/12): A reader saw judge Gail Simmons at Oyamel.
UPDATE (4/8): A reader tells us he saw the chefs going into a 5-bedroom, 5-bathroom house at 2121 Leroy Place, Northwest, that's on the market for $4 million.
UPDATE (4/7): Twitter user @cajunjen rode the elevator with Padma at the Hilton Embassy Row.
UPDATE (4/6): One of our readers says the crew is using the former Farrah Olivia kitchen and living in a penthouse in the Meridian Apartments at 450 Massachusetts Ave., NW.
UPDATE (4/6): Twitter user @JGH spotted a sign at the Whole Foods in Silver Spring that says Magical Elves will be filming a show called "The Mission."
UPDATE (4/5): Twitter user @amazzara snapped this photo of the crew on the roof of the Newseum, home to Wolfgang Puck's DC outpost, the Source.
