Before I got into a host of hijinx at TCA, I started off the week hanging with Top Chef 4 alum Spike Mendelsohn at the opening his new restaurant, Good Stuff Eatery, in Washington D.C.

While my friends gorged themselves on Coletti’s Smokehouse burgers, fries with gourmet dipping sauces and champagne, I found out why a chef classically trained in French cuisine had opened a burger joint.

“Who doesn’t like burger, shakes and fries,” Spike declared.

He also wanted to give back to his fans.

“I didn’t want to open up a fine dining restaurant where only certain people could come and eat. I wanted every one to enjoy the experience and have a good time.”

Some fans may still be fuming over Spike’s sneaky ways during Top Chef 4. (Remember the boxed lunch and block party episodes?)

The chef laughs it off.

“The challenge for me on Top Chef wasn’t to win the 100,000, it was to see how I fare in front of the camera,” explained Spike, who admitted he’s interested in having a TV career.

“At the end of the day, I wasn’t focused on winning the show, I was focused on having a good time and branding my name and personality.”

Still, he wants people to know he’s a good guy at heart.  

“I know I sometimes came off brash, but it was really all fun and games for me. It was nothing ever personal. I’m actually a laid-back, real nice guy. I just like to have fun. That’s why I opened up this place.”

Spike’s advice for the upcoming contestants Top Chef 5? (One was roaming around the party, but kept his/her identity under wraps!)

“You’ve got to capitalize on the opportunity after you’re on the show,” he advised. “I would have something set up or in the works [in the business] after you get off.”

Spike has some advice for the viewers as well.

“Don’t believe everything you see on TV. And come down and get a Good Stuff burger.”

If you ever thought So You Think You Can Dance judge Mary Murphy should put her footwork where there mouth is, your wish is about to be granted.

The TV Fanatic has learned that the show is planning a huge number for its two-part finale airing Aug. 6 and 7. And Mary may be taking to the stage to appear in it.

“I am working on something that is a secret for the finale, which will probably be the biggest surprise in ten years,” she told me at luncheon for the release of Core Rhythms dance exercise DVD at Dance Times Square Latin and Ballroom studio in New York City. “And it is something that involves me.”

Mary is definitely in shape to get her groove on. Since sweating with Core Rhythms instructors Jaana Kunitz and Julia Powers, who also teach classes at Mary's studio, the Champion Ballroom Academy in San Diego, Calif., Mary’s dropped 40 pounds.

“My favorite dessert when I was dancing, and I ate it almost every day, was a layers of Haagen Daaz ice-cream with hot Mrs. Fields cookies right out of the oven."

But with the pounds piling on, she decided to make a major change.

“The workout made it easy for me to go back to something I already knew how to do and it enabled me to stick with the program as well,” said the former ballroom competitor. “I lost 30 pounds in about four months.”

Mary loves to use her DVD on the road. “I’m so grateful that I have something that I can do if I can’t get to the gym,” she says.

As for the perfectly abled bodies on SYTYCD, Mary knows who she wants to take the crown this season. “I’d like to see a hip hop dancer win the show,” she confesses. “I think Twitch and Josh have brought so much to the show... either of them would be a great dance ambassador.”

So You Think You Can Dance, elimination round, airs Thursday at 9 p.m. on Fox.

The red eye cross-country can suck the life out of you. I should know.

It's how I made it back from my last day at TCA in sparkly Beverly Hills to the gritty, sticky, crowded streets of New York City, the place I gladly call home.

As I settle back into my studio apartment that I'll have to clean on my own (oh, sweet housekeeping at the Beverly Hilton, I'll miss you!), there are moments from my first TCA I'll never forget. Here are my most memorable highlights from NBC Universal's two days of presentations.

• Having host Deborah Norville, who is celebrating 20 years of Inside Edition this year, pointing out that I'm the reporter "giving out hugs" at her luncheon. 

• Listening to Chuck's Zachary Levi extol the praises of his new iPhone 2 at the NBC party Sunday night. "I'm a little crazy with it," he admitted. "I've got my Sudoku and crossword puzzles on there. It's great."

• Swapping workout tips with Adrianne Palicki of Friday Night Lights (the new season debuts on DirecTV Oct. 1). "I do this one class in Los Angeles called Yoga Booty Ballet. It kicks your ass. It's great," she said.

• Discovering my mutual love of bar-b-que soy crisps with Saturday Night Live's Will Forte. Let's split a bag soon!

• Spotting Gary Busey chowing down on oatmeal at the Sports Club LA in Beverly Hills.

• During the Deal or No Deal syndication luncheon, watching host Howie Mandel ask a reporter if he "wanted to get a room," as set journalist kept pestering the pretty Deal or No Deal model wielding the question microphone.

• Getting a one-on-one with Coolio from the new Oxygen series Coolio's Rules and in the middle of the conversation, him blurting out, "I like the way you're shaped." Guess that morning workout paid off.

• Watching Kath and Kim star Molly Shannon, who wore booty shorts at the series' presentation, strut her long, lean legs in Christian Louboutins to get into her town car. I wanna work out where she's working out.

No wonder I slept Tuesday away!

Until TCA next summer,

TV Fanatic 

Who's smarter than a championship athlete?

Maybe a couple of school children.

While the news has yet to be confirmed by the network, I'm hearing that boxing legend Sugar Ray Leonard and retired basketball player-turned-actor Rick Fox will return to the classroom as they join the next celeb roster for the Fox game series Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader.

They wouldn't be the first star athletes to test their grade school recall against a group of precocious tweens. Professional skateboarder Tony Hawk appeared last season, as well as American Idol alums Kellie Pickler and Clay Aiken (and we know that stage is kind of a sport in itself!).

Well, if Sugar Ray doesn't do so great, he can always blame his lapse of memory on the post-work hazard of a couple of blows to the head. I don't know what Rick will do if he doesn't get things right.