Tim Carman gets the scoop that former Top Chef contestant Mike Isabella will be departing from the head chef position at Zaytinya to open his own place. Isabella has been the head chef at Zaytinya since March 2007, and will not depart until August 7. Carman notes that Isabella's new restaurant will be located in Penn Quarter. The new venture -- which will reportedly focus on Venetian small plates, called cicchetti -- sounds like a fairly natural transition; we'll be interested to see what comes of it. more ›

WARNING: This post contains Top Chef spoilers, albeit from last week's episode. Read no further if you are behind on this season. more ›