The spot: Blink while cruising down Western Avenue, and you might miss Thai Eatery, a cozy spot on the edge Logan Square. Owners Panida and Trak Silapaduriyang run this little 3-year-old spot—and “little” is no exaggeration, with just seven tables seating 22 people total. Trak recommends his wife’s fresh crab rangoon ($4.95), made on site daily. One of Thai eatery’s newer appetizers is Shrimp in a Blanket ($4.95), a crispy spring roll wrapper stuffed with shrimp, crab meat and cream cheese. You’ll find the usual Thai entrees here, but we recommend the house specialties: red or green curry ($6.99 each). The bottle: Danny’s Liquors is just two doors down and, for a corner liquor shop, the wine selection is surprisingly broad. Find bottles from Australia, California, Chile, France, Germany, Italy, South Africa and Spain in sections labeled by country. The 2006 Burgans Albarino ($12.99) from Spain is a crisp white that pairs well with spicy curry dishes. Or drop a little more cash (and it is cash-only here, with an ATM on the premises) for the sweet 2005 Balthasar Ress riesling ($18.99) from Germany. Thai Eatery does not charge a corkage fee. –Emily Hiser Lobdell is a Metromix special contributor.

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File under: I think we could have guessed. TV’s foul-mouthed foodie, Gordon Ramsay, star of Hell’s Kitchen, has published an article on cnn.com that perhaps gives you some insight on where he learned to be such a mega jerk–Dear old Dad. “Growing up, my father was less than a perfect role model. I watched how he battled alcoholism and how he became terribly violent with my mum, to the point where she feared for her life…To this day, I will never understand why mum stayed with him. She deserved so much better and so much more; it still pains me to remember how badly he treated her. I have four young children of my own, and I could never see myself behaving the way my father did when I was a child. I want to be a role model for my children and have them look up to me.”Let’s just hope they don’t watch his show.

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The spot: Lebanese natives Sam and Lina Elakhaoui named their three-year-old restaurant Fattoush after what they call “the king of salads.” Available as an appetizer ($5.45) or an entree ($10.45), it’s made with a slew of chopped vegetables, parsley, mint and toasted pita chips. The humble dining room is small, but the north and south walls are spruced up with painted murals of old-world Lebanon. Familiar Middle Eastern appetizers such as hummos ($5.35) and falafel ($5.25) are great for nibbling. For heartier appetites, Elakhaoui recommends the kafta kabab, made from ground lamb patties ($13.50), and the shish tawouk, cubes of marinated chicken breast ($13.75). The bottle: Arak, the Lebanese version of ouzo, is the drink of choice with Lebanese cuisine. Sam’s Wines & Spirits carries Razzouk arak, distilled from grape juice with fresh aniseed ($19.99 for 750 milliliters). For $28.99, you can pick up a 750-milliliter bottle of Ksarak arak, which is matured for two years in clay jars. Typically, Lebanese diners mix part arak with two parts water before adding ice. If the cloudy concoction doesn’t float your boat, Elakhaoui says beer pairs just fine with some of the vegetarian appetizers on the menu. Head up the street to Park West Food and Liquor (2733 N. Halsted St. 773- 477-2099) for an assortment of chilled six-packs, such as the seasonal Spaten Munich Oktoberfest ($8.49) or Goose Island 312 Urban Wheat ($7.99) — Emily Hiser Lobdell, Metromix special contributor. metromix@tribune.com

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I’ll be at Melvin B’s, enjoying today’s summertime temps and sipping a vodka lemonade or two. And I’ll be chatting with Jackie Tranchida of “Metromix” on CLTV—we’re filming a segment for tonight’s 7 p.m. show live from the bar before it closes forever at the end of this month. So if you don’t have plans, join us for a last summer fling with Mel tonight. See ya there!

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A couple of weeks ago we thought that Sara and Dale would end up on the chopping block together (though we thought it would be last week, not this week), but we didn’t think it would be quite such a nail biter. In the end, it came down to execution issues (Sara) vs. conceptual issues (Dale). And somehow, miraculously, Dale edged our favorite cheesemaker out. It might have had something to do with this speech, possibly most eloquent rumination on the meaning of food and life that “Top Chef” ever has seen: “Cooking is love. You can taste it when a chef has not had their heart broken. And you definitely know who got laid last night. That’s how I cook. I’m the first one to notice my faults, because I don’t want to give them to you.” This, from the man who gave us this classic Dale-ism earlier in the evening: “I’m a big gay chef, and I’m gonna outcook your ass.” Of course, that’s precisely why we’ve come to love Dale. He has confidence and he has heart—and he knows when to let them shine and when to play it cool. Unfortunately, he also has a bit of forgetfulness problem, as evidenced by recent portioning and saucing snafus. Is it enough to keep him out of the final two? Or will he slide through? As we head into next week’s finale, let’s revisit our predictions from a couple of weeks back and see how we’re doing. Hung: We had him in sixth. He’s still around. So where did we go wrong? He slipped by last week, and we simply didn’t see this week’s challenge coming. It was tailor-made for Hung, a CIA grad who most recently logged time in the kitchen at Guy Savoy in Las Vegas. If he’d blown it we would have been shocked. And now that he’s made it this far, he’s gaining momentum. We’re pretty sure he’ll make it to the final two. Dale: We had him in fourth or fifth. He’s still around, but we think he’ll go next week. We love him, but he’s had too many mental errors, from forgetting an entire entree last week to forgetting to sauce his chicken this week. Sara: We were more or less right on this one. Anyway, she’s presumably off to Jamaica to open her own cheese dairy now, so we’re not terribly worried about her. Brian: We had Brian making it to the final four, but not the top two. We’re standing by this one. He’s been moving ahead simply by not being the worst, and that strategy becomes less and less effective as the number of competitors dwindles. CJ: Whoops. We had him in the top two, and he finished sixth. We’re still surprised he got booted last week. But at least his exit cleared the way for Hung, who will, if nothing else, will make the finale interesting. Casey: We had Casey finishing first. We’re standing by this one. Here’s why: After this week’s show, we think she’ll be going up against Hung in the finale. And whether he realized it or not, Dale’s already predicted the outcome of a Casey-Hung matchup: “In my world, the best food has heart. And when you don’t have one, it doesn’t taste good.”

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Years removed from Arnold Schwarzenegger in "Kindergarten Cop" and Vin Diesel in "The Pacifier," audiences are still happy to see a huge mass of muscle taking care of a kid. Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson’s "The Game Plan," a Disney comedy about a football star looking after the daughter he never knew he had, took the top spot at the box office over the weekend with $22.7 million. That means considerably more people wanted to see something derivative and escapist than a serious political thriller, as "The Kingdom" earned $17.7 million to place No. 2. Last week’s champ, "Resident Evil: Extinction," fell to No. 3 with $8 million. The only other major opener, "Feast of Love," starved for attention with $1.8 million to come in at No. 11. Is The Rock now officially a movie star? Did you take a trip to "The Kingdom"? Will next week’s Ben Stiller comedy, "The Heartbreak Kid," be funny or stupid?

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Another unnecessary horror flick not screened for critics, another box office champ. Milla Jovovich’s videogame-inspired sci-fi sequel “Resident Evil: Extinction” earned $24 million to take the top spot over the weekend. That’s more than the original movie, which made $17.7 million in its first week in 2002, and “Resident Evil: Apocalype,” which earned $23 million in its debut in 2004. Behind Jovovich and the army of zombies was the terrible Dane Cook-Jessica Alba comedy, “Good Luck Chuck,” with $14 million to land at No. 2. Amanda Bynes’ pathetic “Snow White” modernization, “Sydney White,” brought in only $5.3 million to place sixth. The best news of the weekend is that “Eastern Promises,” David Cronenberg’s terrific crime thriller, jumped to No. 5 with $5.7 million as it expanded to more theaters across the country. What did you see over the weekend? How many more “Resident Evil” movies will there be? Will anyone admit to seeing “Good Luck Chuck”?

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