EATS

Top Chef season two hottie, er, cheftestant Sam Talbot will be the guest judge on tonight's episode. I've been all aflutter since I saw the preview for this during last week's episode. And I'm not alone: In that preview, current contestant Antonia said something like, "Tall, dark, handsome – and he can cook!"

Talbot, who's diabetic and wears an insulin pump, will help judge health conscious versions of the quick fire challenge (rumored to be about salads) and the elimination, which features the remaining contestants serving Chicago police officers.

I've really enjoyed the guest judges this season, but not just for the eye candy factor. Anthony Bourdain, Wylie Dufresne, Rick Bayless, Daniel Boulud, Ming Tsai, Johnny Iuzzini and Gale Gand have appeared so far. I can't wait to see who Bravo has lined up for the rest of the season.

I know I must look peculiar sniffing peaches. But that's the only way to tell if you're talking real peach or baseball wannabe. I was at the Lomo Alto Whole Foods Market, dithering between the Mexican organic peaches, which were outta the park last year, and the California conventionals. Experience said pick the Mexicans; nose said give the Californians a chance.

The nose won, and the flesh was perfume incarnate. (Sorry for the purple prose. No, wait. Not sorry.) I bought two, had one for breakfast, and even now am dallying with the other. This is a good an introduction to peach season as I've had - with Texas yet to come - and why it's worth the wait. Anybody else had a drooler peach yet?

Guys, it is time to grab your shopping totes and small bills and head to a farmer's market. The farmers are out there if you know where to look -- namely, anywhere on this list of farmers markets in and around Dallas-Fort Worth.

Saturday is still the best day to shop, although a few markets have added or plan to add other days. The Dallas market is open daily, but you'll find the most interesting vendors on Saturday there too.

What will you find? Squash, berries, onion and other regional produce items are coming into season. But at various markets you'll also find extras like pastured meats, eggs, fresh baked goods, jams and jellies and more. Take the time to look around and meet the vendors -- they're happy to tell you about their products.

The Dallas market is experimenting with new signs to help shoppers identify true farmers. The one shown on this basket of potatoes is an early experiment, but the final signs will be different.

Remember, we don't grow pineapples in Texas, so anybody selling pineapples is probably not a local farmer. It's simple when you think about it.

Tell us: What cool stuff have you found at local markets?

Spotted today: Cosmic Cafe's "welcome back" sign. A DMN staffer drove by this morning and saw it. The Oak Lawn restaurant's sign used to say "closed for renovations." Bring on the dahl!

It's hard to think about on such a dreary day, but Tina Danze has been scoping out new treat shops around town.
Sorbeteria, across from NorthPark, sources as much fruit as they can from Texas growers. Thumbs up on that.

If you're thirsty, head to Cassis in Plano, where you'll find sophisticated non-alcoholic sips like the Evil Princess, a green-apple and grapefruit juice cocktail (shown).

Then there's Natsumi, dishing out gelato and frozen yogurt on the trendy Henderson strip.

Photo by Rex C. Curry/Special Contributor