Beware of a Dieting Padma Lakshmi

"Top Chef" host and judge Padma Lakshmi dined at newly remodeled Fiamma in SoHo on Friday night with a male friend. And when the chef realized that she was in the house, he created a few special additions to her meal as a treat. Mistake!

"She was very rude to the waiter, and when he brought out the surprise dishes, she sent them all back to the kitchen saying she didn't want them," says a witness. "The chef had one more planned, and when it came out, she literally screamed at the waiter, 'Take it away! Don't you know I'm on a diet?'"

Coincidentally, Martha Stewart had been in just before Lakshmi, overtipped her waiter and complimented the staff and the food. "Everyone expected Padma to be the nice one," laughs our source.