'Top Chef' walks for 'dads'

"TOP CHEF" VICTOR Nick Elmi is set to fight Parkinson's disease under the banner "Team Elmi's Dads."

The name, he admitted, makes him giggle a little bit.

"It looks like I was raised by two dads," said Elmi, the owner of South Philly's Laurel (1617 E. Passyunk Ave.).

Elmi is instead referring to his dad and his stepfather, both of whom suffer from Parkinson's disease.

Elmi and his restaurant employees plan to walk in Moving Day: A Walk to Stamp Out Parkinson's on Oct. 11 (go to movingdayphilly.org).

He talked about his father's disease on the Bravo reality show but refrained from discussing his stepfather ("my second dad"), who has been in Elmi's life since he was 4 years old. Elmi's biological father was diagnosed with the disease last year, while his stepfather has been living with it for eight years.

"There are certain causes that are close to my heart," Elmi said. "My wife pushes me forward to do things that I believe. It's not just to get my mind and body out of the restaurant, but be able to contribute to the community."

Dawn Stensland, formerly of CBS3 and Fox 29, is teaching a class of potential Stenslands. This semester marks her first formal teaching gig as an adjunct professor at La Salle University. She teaches mainly juniors and seniors. Stensland still hosts "The Dawn Show" on WMCN and contributes to MeTV, where her husband, former anchor Larry Mendte serves as public affairs director.

Stensland isn't the only local media name to take a teaching job. NBC10's Keith Jones, for instance, teaches at his alma mater, Villanova.

Two Philly radio stations took home top honors at the National Association of Broadcasters' 25th annual Marconi Radio Awards in Indianapolis last week. MORE FM, formerly B101, took home Adult Contemporary Station of the Year, while 98.1 WOGL won Oldies Station of the Year.

ate bucco di beppo before she was crowned miss america

* So, you're about find out who's the next Miss America, what do you want to do? Apparently, eat a half-pound meatball. Before winning the ultimate crown (and not, unfortunately, revealing herself to be an undercover FBI agent a la Sandra Bullock in "Miss Congeniality") Miss New York Kira Kazantsev and other contestants chowed down at Buca Di Beppo at Bally's Atlantic City (1900 Boardwalk).

* Former "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" star, "Dancing with the Stars" contestant and Allentown native Carson Kressley made an impromptu stop at Valley Forge Flowers (503 W. Lancaster Ave., Wayne) over the weekend. Barbara King, president of Valley Forge Flowers, gave Kressley a tour of the place. Next time he's in town, Valley Forge Flowers plans to host a dinner party for him and friends at The Barn, the shop's new addition.

Feastival, the annual fundraiser hosted by Audrey Claire Taichman, Stephen Starr and Michael Solomonov, celebrates its fifth birthday on Thursday. The best chefs from all over the city gather at Penn's Landing to raise funds for FringeArts. Tickets to the foodie dream event are still available. Buy 'em for $250 ($350 for VIP) at phillyfeastival.org.

Congrats to Ann-Marie Nacchio who celebrated 25 years at movie publicity company Allied Integrated Marketing. I hear her co-workers put down a red carpet and blasted Cher's "If I Could Turn Back Time," the perfect gesture for a publicist who has ushered many stars down their own red carpets.

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