Tonight’s the night that many local foodies have been anticipating: the premiere of the D.C. season of Top Chef at 9 p.m. on Bravo.

Hank Stuever has already panned the season (spoilers in the article), but we’ll just have to judge for ourselves. Will D.C. gain the foodie recognition it deserves? Will we be shown as more than just a town of wonks? Will this show counter the impending disaster that is the Real Housewives of D.C.? And, most importantly, what is the sexiest sounding word that will come out Eric Ripert’s mouth?

As for DCist, we’ll be covering the show through the best Washington tradition: polling! DCist will host weekly polls to track which cheftestants readers put on top and to find the pulse on other topics of interest. We’ll also be playing a little Monday morning quarterback, with Alyse Kraus (a former cook at Granville Moore’s) telling you how she would have competed.

So on to this week’s polls. We have two hometown folks to root for, Tamesha Warren (The Oval Room) and Timothy Dean (TD Lounge). Do you think they have what it takes to come out on top? Check out all the bios and cast your vote below the fold.