You’ve probably met a few writer types who say they don’t own a TV. Well, I’m here to tell you I’m not one of them. In addition to being a bona fide The Office addict (I even have a Dwight Shrute bobblehead), my TIVO never misses an episode of Top Chef. Our friends Dianne and Ben Fong-Torres are fans of the show as well, so when we asked them to suggest a place for our dinner get-together this week, they selected Mission Beach Cafe, where the Executive Chef is one Ryan Scott of Top Chef fame. If you’re in San Francisco, you should stop by, especially if you’re into corn. The food was delicious, the atmosphere intimate and casual, and, best of all, Ryan Scott is so much hunkier in person. Dianne snapped this one of Ryan and me in the kitchen.

On another note, Ben recently interviewed me for Backstage with Ben Fong-Torres. We talked about his role in NO ONE YOU KNOW, and about coffee, and about the once-promising Billy Boudreaux, who was a rock-star-on-the-rise with Potrero Sound Station in the seventies until his career was cut short by drug addiction. Ben spun a whole hour of tunes relating to NO ONE YOU KNOW and THE YEAR OF FOG. Think Townes Van Zandt and Cat Stevens with a little Rod Stewart thrown in for good measure. Listen to just the brief interview portions of the podcast here, or listen to the whole show, music and all, here (click on the link to the 7/13/08 show).