Alan Peppard

We're still three weeks away from the premiere of season three of Top Chef on Bravo. But the Dallas plot – two almost-related Dallas chefs are competing for the top prize – is turning it into the Thrilla in Vanilla.

On Monday, I wrote that Shinsei co-owner Tracy Rathbun is pulling for her chef, Casey Thompson, even though Tracy's husband, Kent Rathbun, is chef-owner of Abacus. His chef de cuisine, Tre Wilcox, is also competing for the $100,000 prize. "It's a double whammy: She's a female, and she's my chef," Tracy said.

Not so fast, says Marguerite Hoffman, who is Kent's Abacus investor. (She is also board chairman of the Dallas Museum of Art.)

"If Tracy feels like she has a double whammy, Tre's got a trifecta," says Marguerite. "He is so immensely talented, he's remarkably telegenic, and he's got a great investor fan club."

Meow.

Dan Aykroyd, in town to perform with the Blues Brothers for the House of Blues opening, returned to Dallas' III Forks steakhouse on Friday.

"It's a regular stop," the SNL alum explained after he pulled up with 21 friends, many of them aboard Harley-Davidsons and wearing House of Blues jackets.

III Forks owner Gene Street served up 20 porterhouse steaks.

"They sat in the Captain's Room, and Dan had a New York strip this time," says Gene.

Spending more than $2 million to buy John Lennon's piano may have made headlines for British pop star George Michael, but he and his Dallasite partner, Kenny Goss, routinely drop big dollars on collectibles. Some estimates value their private art collection north of $150 million. They are two of the world's pre-eminent collectors of artworks by Damien Hirst.

While the couple spent much of the spring at their Highland Park home, they are now in London and making the rounds at the art auctions. Kenny owns Dallas' Goss Gallery.

They were just spotted giving covetous looks at Mr. Hirst's Lullaby Winter Pill cabinet and Cecily Brown's Pajama Game.

History dangled from the ceiling Tuesday night when Crystal Charity Ball chairman Vicki Chapman and her decorations chairman Peggy Sewell hosted a gathering at Arlington Hall in Lee Park to announce that the Dec. 8 gala would have a traditional holiday theme.

When Nancy Ann Chandler founded the ball in 1952, she chose the name because of the Crystal Ballroom at the Baker Hotel. The Baker was imploded on June 29, 1980, but the crystal chandeliers were removed first. Today, they hang in Arlington Hall, site of Tuesday night's announcement.

Ironically, Arlington Hall is clearly visible from the Turtle Creek penthouse that Ms. Chandler still occupies with her husband, Hap.

Hard to believe that it's been two years since Robert De Niro showed up at the Hotel Crescent Court for the grand opening of Nobu Dallas. The actor is one of Nobu Matsuhisa's original investors.

On Friday, Nobu Dallas will celebrate its second anniversary with an unveiling party for the new Nobu Courtyard Lounge.

Dallas native and St. Mark's alum Scott Gottlich has scored as the chef-owner of the new restaurant Bijoux. The June issue of Bon Appétit magazine names Bijoux one of the "Ten Hottest New Restaurants in America."

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