The sizzle

Flavor Palm Beach launches Friday on the Great Lawn of West Palm Beach’s beautiful new waterfront, drum-rolling a month of dining deals in September. The party – the live music, dance, strolling painted models, light show – runs from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. and is free and open to the public.

For $30 you can feast on signature dishes and cocktails from participating "Flavor" restaurants – and benefit the American Red Cross. To purchase tickets, call the West Palm Beach Downtown Development Authority at (561) 833-8873.

More than 30 restaurants are taking part in Flavor Palm Beach, offering special three-course menus at $20 for lunch and $30 for dinner. They include B.B. King’s Blues Club, Il Bellagio, McCormick & Schmick’s, Morton’s The Steakhouse, Pistache, Reef Road Rum Bar, Ruth’s Chris and Thai Jo. Visit www.FlavorPalmBeach.com for the complete list of restaurants or to reserve a table.

- Liz Balmaseda

Kenny Gilbert had been executive chef at PGA National only since July. (NBC Universal)

PGA NATIONAL’S ‘Top Chef’ bids adieu.

Oh, Kenny! We hardly knew ye!

Just six weeks after Top Chef: D.C. contestant Kenny Gilbert took the job as executive chef at PGA National, he’s announced that he’s leaving for his "dream job" – as an owner for a Jacksonville restaurant group that hopes to open eateries all over Florida.

"The PGA was great, although short-lived," says Gilbert, who will be the guest of honor at a farewell party today in the resort’s lobby, to coincide with its monthly Girls Night Out. "I was really excited about being (here), but this opportunity came along and I really couldn’t pass it up. When someone says, ‘We’ll publish your book, give you immediate ownership and lock you into a solid contract,’ it’s hard to say ‘Let’s give it up.’ These opportunities don’t come around all the time."

Gilbert will be part owner in Culinary Adventure Capital LLC, which will be, he says, "the starting point for many fabulous things," including a Jacksonville restaurant called Nipper’s that will be have an upscale island theme. He says that he hopes to open as many as 15 Nipper’s around Florida in the next five years.

Nipper’s is just one of the opportunities that Gilbert’s time on Top Chef has brought his way. "It totally paid off," he says, adding that he’s read up on blog comments around the Web by fans who were stunned he was told to pack his knives and go so soon.

"I think I represented myself very well, and showed a lot of leadership and skill," he says. "That carried through the show. It’s really reality TV at its best."

- Leslie Gray Streeter

THE 411 ON DOWNTOWN WEST PALM: There’s a nifty new iPhone app to access a comprehensive list of downtown restaurants, shops, events, even parking spaces.

Dreamed up by the Carey O’Donnell PR Group for the Downtown Development Authority, the application (keyword: WPBGO) is the iPhone companion to www.wpbgo.com, which lists more than 100 eateries and retailers in the Clematis District and CityPlace.

The DDA says 1,900 users already have downloaded the free application.

Openings

THE BLIND MONK, a funky new wine bar, has opened at 410 Evernia St. in West Palm Beach. The brainchild of wine connoisseur and Marine Corps veteran Ben Lubin – son of Mayor Lois Frankel – the small, eclectic bar boasts the decorating fancies of local designer Nate Galui. (Galui, who was featured on HGTV’s Design Star, owns nearby Mesh art studio. He now heads to Los Angeles to work on ABC’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.)

In addition to an extensive list of wines, the bar offers a selection of tapas. The Blind Monk is open daily from 5 p.m. to 1 a.m. (561) 833-3605. Website: www.TheBlindMonk.com.

- Liz Balmaseda