Reality on Bravo

Model Jesse Pavelka and Jackie Warner attended the “Tan for a Cause” celebrity mixer Sunday at Sunstyle Tanning in West Hollywood. Jackie hosted the event.

It’s one of the better reality shows on Bravo. And that’s all thanks to its star, Jackie Warner, and the entourage she keeps. Work Out returns April 15, and Jackie has been out on the town promoting the return of her sexed-up reality series.

The third season of the show appears to have just as much drama as the first two — more girlfriends and relationship woes for Jackie and some disputes with some of your favorite trainers are on the horizon, if the previews have anything to do with it.

On Sunday, Jackie was out a the Tan for a Cause celebrity mixer at Sunstyle Tanning in West Hollywood. The picture above is one of the more modest views of Ms. Warner. Let me just say the photos taken from the front show a little more than her curves.

Work Out, Jackie Warner, Bravo

The cast of The Real Housewives of New York City, Bethenny Frankel, Alex McCord, Countess LuAnn de Lesseps, Ramona Singer, and Jill Zarin.

For a group of women who seem to think they’re on top of their game, the five cast members of The Real Housewives of New York City certainly are trying to be someone else — at least if tonight’s episode was any indication. Each week, I find these women more and more entertaining. It’s just almost too ridiculous for words. But I’ll try.

First you have Bethenny Frankel, my personal favorite, who wants to be some kind of Rachael Ray … only maybe without quite so much girl-next-door quality. It seems she’s trying to land a wedding ring, not because she loves her boyfriend, but because she’s at a point in her career where it seems best to be married. Of course, this may not really be the case … it could have just been the booze talking tonight.

Alex McCord, who spent much of her childhood growing up in Kansas, has struggled to find her place in the mainstream acting world. She and her husband, Simon, both are trying so hard to be anyone but themselves. Really, it appears Alex wants to be fellow Housewives castmate Jill Zarin … or at least have Jill’s connections. That way, at least her children would be guaranteed a spot in a top Manhattan school.

Speaking of Jill, she may be the most sure of herself and the most comfortable in her own skin. I think she probably looks at herself in the mirror and says things like, “Wow, I’m perfect.” She does, after all, only vacation in the hottest spots when hotel rooms cost $2,000 a night. She’d never only spend $300 … that would just be tacky. (Sorry, Jill.)

Countess (I can’t get enough of that) LuAnn de Lesseps proved tonight she wants to be her 23-year-old niece. Why? Because when you have a housekeeper at home to raise your own children, you can go downtown and watch hip bands with people half your age and not have to face the fact you really should grow up. This is, of course, why I watch this show — for the comedy.

And, finally, there’s Ramona Singer. I’m not exactly sure what’s she’s trying to prove, other than the fact she thinks celebrity is everything. She clearly wants to be her daughter. Her daughter, clearly, wants to be a regular kid. She doesn’t want to miss school so that her stage mom can be satisfied by having her working as a child actor. No, she wants to get an education … and clearly that’s wrong. Right Ramona?

Maybe I’m wrong about these uptown gals. This is, after all, reality television. And, if you know anything about the creative editing that can go on behind the scenes, these would could all be being cast in a completely different light than what it appears … of course, it’s pretty hard to choreograph this kind of jealousy.

Real Housewives of NYC, Ramona Singer, Bethenny Frankel, Alex McCord, LuAnn de Lesseps, Jill Zarin

Chloe Dao’s Lot 8 is at 6127 Kirby Drive in Houston, Texas.

If you haven’t been to Houston lately — and you probably haven’t — you may not know what Project Runway Season 2 winner Chloe Dao is doing.

During a recent trip to the city, I took a trip by Dao’s boutique, Lot 8, which is in the midst of one of the city’s many shopping districts. The shop was buzzing with women trying on the latest designs from Dao’s multiple collections, which include a variety of purples and whites for the current seasons.

Dao wasn’t at the store when I was there, but at least one of her sisters was running around helping get customers in fitting rooms to try on their finds. Lot 8 opened in 2000, and it continues to be a favorite spot for Dao fans and those just looking for something to wear to some of Houston’s hottest nightspots.

After winning Runway, Dao continued to grow her fashion collections, and she even recently sold some styles as a special collection on QVC. But buying something online can’t compare to walking into the Houston boutique and salon — after all, there were a few talking Tim Gunn dolls for sale behind the counter. And Runway-related magazine clippings are framed and decorate the walls. It’s clear Dao hasn’t forgotten what really got her career moving.

Project Runway, Lot 8, Chloe Dao

Ben DiChiara

Even though his statistics — four times in the bottom three and only one win — would suggest otherwise, there’s no doubt Ben DiChiara should be crowned the winner of Make Me A Supermodel.

The first reason? America has saved him four times, which also is how many times they have saved fellow finalist Ronnie Kroell. Even if he hasn’t been at the very top of the first 11 challenges, he certainly has enough fans to put him in front of Ronnie (or at least even with), as well as Perry Ullmann and Holly Kiser, the show’s other two finalists. While the judges only put Perry and Holly in the bottom three one time each, that also means America only has had one chance each to eliminate those contestants.

The rest of the reasons? Ben has a great story. He’s a 22-year-old from Nashville, Tenn., who left his job of two years as a prison security guard to pursue his chance on Supermodel. He’s improved throughout the season. And, most important to this contest, he has a look that actually works for a variety of modeling platforms — runway, print and other campaigns.

This Thursday the contestants gather for a Supermodel reunion. Then, the next week, we’ll see what happens. So, who do you think should win?

Make Me A Supermodel, Perry Ullmann, Holly Kiser, Ronnie Kroell, Ben DiChiara

Bethenny Frankel

She’s Bethenny Frankel, and she may be the least offensive of all the Real Housewives of New York City. And here’s why she’s my favorite — she has the best one-liners of all of the ladies.

On tonight’s episode, as she and Alex were getting ready for the Pamella Roland runway show during New York Fashion Week, Bethenny delivered this classic line — “Tell him he’s in a deep homosexual depression, and he should go with his instincts.” I’m still laughing at that line.

Bethenny delivered the punch after Alex’s husband sent her a text message debating what kind of boots to wear with his outfit. It was certainly the best line of the episode.

The newest episode of the NYC Housewives further proves these East Coast ladies are a little more sassy than those gals from the other side of the country. With a stage mom in training, a cranky gal or two and at least one woman who’s trying entirely too hard (c’mon, Alex, pull yourself together!), this season of Housewives is guaranteed to continue bringing joy and entertainment to my life.

So, do you have a favorite?

Bethenny Frankel, Real Housewives of New York City

SPOILER ALERT: If you haven’t seen the premiere episode, some surprises will be ruined if you read more than the first few sentences of this post …

Chicago, otherwise known as the Windy City, is the culinary centerpiece of the Midwest. The city is known for many styles of cuisine — the most casual being the deep-dish pizza. So what better way to start off Top Chef Chicago than with a Quickfire challenge where the 16 contestants make that signature dish?

For these chefs, who came from around the world to compete for this season’s title, making a pizza would seem easy, right? Well, as with many Top Chef challenges, it proved a bit more, well, challenging than even these experienced chefs expected.

Each took their own spin, and many of the pizzas fell apart. Some had issues with the crust overgrowing the pan. Others had crust sticking to the pan. In the end, it was 26-year-old Nimma who came up short in the Quickfire challenge.

For the Elimination Challenge, contestants were put up against one another to make classic dishes, including things like lasagna and Eggs Benedict. There were some amazing-looking dishes in the end — it makes you want to reach into the TV and taste what they’re making — but the judges ultimately came to the decision Nimma would need to pack her knives.

“Unfortunately, no one will know I’m a very good cook,” Nimma said before leaving the show. “… I’m not going to stop cooking. This is what I love to do. I know I have a God-given talent …”

Even though Nimma already is gone, you can get to know her by watching her introduction video from bravotv.com:

The first challenge winner was … well, I’ll keep at least one surprise in case you didn’t have a chance to see the premiere you recorded on your DVR.

Top Chef, Top Chef Chicago

Alex? Bethenny? Jill? Luann? Or Ramona? Perhaps you’ve fallen in love with the Real Housewives of NYC just like you did with the women on the East Coast. But which one would you be?

Among the many features at the Bravo Web site is a 10-question quiz that will help you determine the NYC housewife you would be.

Chances are, if you’re watching the show, you can’t get enough of the women getting at one another. They’re all trying to get their time in front of the camera. Whether they’re sending their daughter to detox (health detox, which happens to be kind of boring it turns out), hanging out at parties or taking on one another in a “friendly” tennis match, they always have some of the most ridiculous things to say. It’s perfectly mindless TV.

I’m not certain this pack of high-class (or so they think) ladies have the name-dropping down as well as the Orange County ladies that came before them, but they certainly have some interesting lives to follow. If you’re into that kind of thing.

So, which housewife did you turn out to be?

Real Housewives of NYC, Real Housewives of Orange County

If you’re a fan of Project Runway, you’ve seen the finalists’ collections by now. Buy you maybe haven’t seen this fun picture of this season’s winner, Christian Siriano.

In case you’ve been hiding under a rock, you already know the always fierce Christian Siriano won this season of Project Runway. If you ask me, there’s no question the designer will be able to turn his talent — and personality — into a successful career.

We could argue for weeks — and we probably will — about whether Christian should have won the show. The truth of the matter is this: He was amazing. His collection was incredible, and there’s no doubt he’s held his own and made a name for himself throughout the season. And he’s 21. So, what did you expect?

But enough about that week-old news. Today Bravo released the winner of the “It’s Sew Not Over” contest, where fans of the show could vote on special collections to help determine a $10,000 winner. And that winner was not Christian, who also took home the fan favorite prize a few weeks ago.

This time around, though, the fans voted on Jillian’s collection, earning her the cash prize. You can check out Jillian’s special collection at the Bravo Web site.

The Project Runway finalists gather with Tim Gunn to strike a pose at a finale party for the show.

Project Runway, Christian Siriano, Jillian Lewis