TELEVISION—At long last, the big night has arrived, so do remember to pry yourself away from Law & Order and/or set your TiVo for the Top Chef season finale, tonight at 10pm. The interwebs have been chock full of Bravo goodness all day, and throughout the season, there's been no better coverage than over at our SoCal colleague, so we recommend checking out her preview. For the last minute thoughts by the final three cheftestants, Zagat has a nice little pre-finale interview. Oh, and Frank Bruni thinks the whole thing is going downhill. [Eater LA, Zagat]
SOMA—Ms. Tablehopper touched on this, but more deets are trickling in on the goings-on at the Our Place-turned-Balompie at 525 7th Street (at Bryant). It's not a complete overhaul, more of a slight tweak with new management: "I went in and saw the changes. In terms of the facility, it's subtle. You now order from the counter. All the chairs along the counter are gone. There's an espresso machine installed ... The menu has been heavily simplified to emphasize Salvadoran platters, although you can still get a burger there." [Chowhound]
CASTRO—On the heels of Gavin's Halloween cancellation in the Castro, police will be handing out fliers and erecting posters in bars and clubs across the city in an effort to stop party people from flooding the Castro. Also included in the deterrent project: street sweeper hoses. Yes, hoses. [Chron]
EMBARCADERO—File this under the "whimsy" category: did you know that the Pier 1.5 site for Gaston Acurio's superstar-seafood eatery La Mar Cebicheria Peruana (opening early 2008) used to be a steamboat waiting room? Feel free to use this hot item at tonight's cocktail parties. It's a party in a sentence, guaranteed. [SMDJ]
