Snap Judgment: 'Top Chef' Season 5 meet market

A taste of the five boroughs and the new season of 'Top Chef'

Tension, anxiety and a noticeable lack of searing and braising aromas filled the air at Grand Central Station as the fresh-faced "Top Chef" Season 5 chef-testants met the media and cautiously dished about the new season—the $1 million dollar shut-the-eff-up indemnity contract they signed made things a bit laconic at times.

What we did find out? That Quick Fires are as nerve-fraying as expected and that there is no lack of beef in this season's competition kitchen. And that Andrew D'Ambrosi, from Season 4, is as strange as ever. Later we stopped by the Taste of the Five Boroughs to catch up with "TC" alums Harold Dieterle, Camille Becerra and a guy who swears tuna tartar and Pringles is a wise combination. —Matt Rodbard