According to preliminary information released by the AC Nielsen ratings service, NBC served up some tasty numbers for the July 27 second episode of its new reality series “The Restaurant” (Sundays, 10-11 p.m. ET) with a 13 percent jump among adults 18-49 (3.5 rating/10 share, 8.4 million viewers overall) over its series premiere on July 20,

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Likewise, the behind-the-scenes peek at the opening of a stylish New York restaurant retained a healthy 95 percent of its 18-49 lead-in from “Law & Order: Criminal Intent” (Sundays, 9-10 p.m. ET) versus an 89 percent retention last week In addition, the new series beat the combined ABC and CBS competition among adults 18-49. “The Restaurant” also built by 14 percent on the “Law & Order: CI” lead-in among adults 18-34

Last week, after “The Restaurant” (featuring rising star chef Rocco DiSpirito) tied a repeat episode of CBS’ “CSI” for first place in the 10-11 p.m. (ET) hour among adults 18-49, the reality series maintained a strong advantage in all key adult categories and total viewers - up 133 percent versus the CBS movie version of “Picnic” among adults 18-49.