At about 3:50 p.m. Tuesday, I spotted Casey, Joey, Sara N., Lia, Sandee and another woman (a producer, maybe?) milling about in front of the Starbucks on upper Michigan Avenue (at Grand Avenue), discussing where they should go for a bite and drinks. “Reagle Beagle?” Casey said into her phone. So I stepped up, introduced myself as the Nightlife Producer of metromix.com, and suggested that while they might enjoy the retro-sitcom vibe and cozy decor at the Beagle, the food might not be quite what this group of seasoned chefs was looking for. I suggested that instead, they head around the corner to Quartino for pizzas, Italian small plates and wine. Then I found out Casey was on the phone with fellow finalist, Chicago’s own Dale Levitski. She told him she’d run into me; I said hi. And then Casey handed me her phone so he could talk to me! (Yeah, I was kinda geeking out at this point.) We chatted briefly, and he told me he was on his way to meet up with the fellow contestants. The group was incredibly friendly and very smiley–you could tell they’d really bonded during filming. In fact, they were so likeable that I felt like I asking if I could tag along. But instead, I wished Casey well and said I couldn’t wait to watch tomorrow’s finale.

More: continued here

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