My friend Lon Symensma, who worked the camera on my first video, introduced me to my wife Jill, was one of the groomsmen at my wedding, and who supplied me many times with fine meals when I was his Kramer-like mooching next-door neighbor, is currently one of the two finalists for the “Hottest Chef in NY” contest at Eater.com.

After stints at Jean Georges and Spice Market, Lon is now the executive chef at Buddakan, one of the top restaurants in NYC. (If you’ve never been there, you might have seen part of the restaurant’s interior in the Sex and the City movie.)

Lon made it through several rounds of voting to end up in the two finalists. If you are so inclined, you can cast your vote for the final round at Eater.com.

Voting ends at 1PM today.

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Update: Oh well, Lon didn’t win. I blame ACORN.