Chef's Night Out

When Michael told us he had some cool stuff in store for the final meal, we had no idea it meant having his fisherman deliver us freshly caught trigger fish and lobster to the restaurant at 12AM. Michael and a few of the other chefs then proceeded to cook up a feast that consisted of lobster ceviche, grilled trigger, as well as other things. A meal that none of us will soon forget.

For our first foray into Lone Star State dining, we chose pastry chef Callie Speer of Swift's Attic in Austin, Texas. After a long shift of doling out dessert's with names like "Popcorn & a Movie" and "The Randy Watson," she grabbed her crew and headed out for a night on the town. The evening started with some pizza at Backspace in downtown Austin, and then some French inspired cuisine from Justine's. Like all good cooks prepping for a party, Callie steered her posse towards The Liberty Bar for whiskey shots to end their outing. Once she got back into the comforts of her own kitchen, Callie quickly put a poutine buffet of sorts. Hookem' Horns!!!!!

Seamus Mullen is a James Beard nominated chef and owner of Tertulia, a Spanish restaurant located in Manhattan's West Village. We dropped into the restaurant to pay him a visit, but Seamus was busy breaking down an entire lamb, so we sat down and watched him cut up some bones, meat, and organs while he discussed the finer points of Spanish cuisine. Once he finished cooking us a plate of cojonudo (which translates to "fucking great" in Spanish), we headed out with Seamus and three of his friends to El Colmado, his new spot in Gotham West Market. On the way over to the new space, we safely dodged a fitness-crazed herd of the un-dead who claimed to be involved with New York's "zombie run." Once safely settled into El Colmado's dining room, we sampled some generous portions of freshly-cut jamón and a round of drinks.

Bestia, the word "beast" in Italian, is the name of the restaurant featured in our latest episode of Munchies. It's owned and operated by the biggest promoters of PDA since Billy Bob Thornton and Angelina Jolie, Ori and Genevieve, who at the time of filming were expecting their first child. They're in charge of savory and sweet, respectively, for their Italian food, which is also heavily influenced by Ori's Israeli background. Our night started out at Craig Thornton's supper club, Wolvesmouth, then moved on to local watering hole Tony's. Since Genevieve was with child and couldn't participate in imbibing, she demanded to order three slices of pepperoni pizza from Pizzanista, which—in our eyes—is a great compromise. Once we got back to Bestia, Ori cooked up his dad's falafel recipe while Genevieve made what is quite possibly the best caramel popcorn we have ever seen, the snack she considers a pregnant woman's dream.

Anyone who is a fan of shoving deliciousness into their face already knows about Momofuku. Over the years, chef and owner David Chang has garnered respect for his empire of flavor not only in New York City—where his impeccable string of restaurants began—but the world over. In Canada, the peachy brand is still stretching its wings, which is why we felt like it was a good time to showcase Toronto's Noodle Bar, Daisho, Nikai, and Shoto—the four arms of Momofuku Toronto—to show how one of the planet's most tantalizing food brands has Canadianized itself in a seriously impressive way.

We don't know what's more impressive: That Erik Anderson and his three-person kitchen staff managed to cook, plate, and serve a fourteen-course tasting menu to about 40 people every night, or the amount of Fernet that Erik and his team drank on his night out with us. We ended up hanging out of his last nights as the chef at The Catbird Seat in Nashville, Erik took us out to Rolf and Daughters, Husk, and 308 Bar before heading back to his own restaurant for a late-night snack of smoked bologna sandwiches, steak tartare, ribs, scrambled eggs with caviar, and even more Fernet. This is some of the best (and some of the most) food and drink we've had in a while. Enjoy.

On this episode of Munchies, we follow Mikel López Itturriaga, editor of El Comidista, Spain's most beloved food blog, which is part of El Pais, Spain's most popular newspaper. Now that we have established that this is the most popular thing ever, let's get to the important part: where and what they ate on this episode. Even though the paper is based in Madrid, Mikel and his band of bloggers live in Barcelona, the city that has no shortage of good anything, especially mid-range eating establishments, which is perfectly illustrated by this episode.

The Jordan Kahn episode of MUNCHIES: Chef's Night Out is one for the record books. It veers from conceptual, foraged dishes plated with cloches to bowls of ceviche to waffle cones and spicy tuna hand rolls as effortlessly as a hot knife through foam. We start out at Jordan's restaurant, Red Medicine, before he take his crew to some of the most diverse spots this series has seen. First up is Cevicheria, home of "the bloody clam" (we know), next to the high minded ice cream parlor Quenelle's, and then off to a Ajisai for a hand roll before heading backing for some of Jordan's take on southern cuisine. Enjoy.

Brains, balls, and burritos. The holy trinity of new Nordic cuisine. Well, maybe not quite, but this Munchies episode in Copenhagen proved to be an enlightening affair. Who knew there was such a place as the Chlamydia Castle? Our host for the day was Matt Orlando, the head chef and owner of Amass, the celebrated restaurant he opened last year in an old shipyard on the outskirts of Copenhagen. The San Diego-born chef, who previously headed up the kitchen at noma, cooked up a storm at Amass—including beef from the estate of an actual Danish prince—before taking us on a tour of his favorite places around town. First stop was restaurant Bror, where Matt and his friends devoured a whole lamb's head—including stuffed eyeballs—and washed it down with nuclear-strength pale ale. At Manfred's in Nørrebro, the menu included tartare and beef heart before the team tested their drinking boots at Mikkeller & Friends and its 40 tabs of primetime craft beer.

In a former Korean gambling den underneath the streets of London's Soho neighborhood, we met up with Coal Vaults' executive chef, James Knox Boothman, head barman Jerome Slesinski, and owner Martyn "Simo" Simpson. After cooking pulled rabbit, scallops, and sea bass—and mixing some unique white chocolate cocktails—we jumped into the "space bus" and hit up Shanghai Dalston to polish off some of London's best dim sum before heading down the road to restaurant, A Little of What You Fancy to meet James's mentor, Elaine, over padrón peppers and blood orange salad. The last stop was over at Milroy's, one of Soho's oldest whiskey shops, to pick up a bottle before a triumphant return back to Coal Vaults for fire breathing, knife throwing, and slow roasted lamb that was cooked in hay.

Who would've thought one of the best ramen shops in the country would be in the hot climate of Austin, Texas? We didn't either, but after we arrived at Ramen Tatsu-Ya, our minds were blown. These guys aren't fucking around, dishing out steaming bowls of incredible tonkotsu-style ramen—over 600 a day—to a line of hungry Texans that goes out the door and down the street. We figured that after such a busy day, everyone be utterly wiped and just want to go home—but not Shion Aikawa and his crew. They took us out for a revelrous night that included pork liver pate at Contigo, a 12-course tasting menu at Barley Swine, "Bernet" shots (half Fernet, half bourbon) at Shangri-La, and brisket ramen with dipping pizza—you read that last bit correctly—and some soft-shell crab sliders back at their shop. Enjoy!

When chef Joey Campanaro and his friends started humming the theme song of Rocky at the end of their night out with us, it actually seemed kind of fitting. That's because Joey and his crew crushed about 15 rum and cokes apiece, along with some tequila and a massive amount of food on their tour of lower Manhattan. And when we say "massive," we aren't kidding: There was pork ragu at Market Table, bacon-wrapped chicken hearts at The Harrison, pig's feet at NY Noodletown, and—in the grand culmination of this meat-centric orgy—meatball sliders and clams at Joey's restaurant, Little Owl. It was a night out even Rocky Balboa himself would be proud of.

State Bird Provisions, the wildly successful San Francisco restaurant birthed by chef/owners Nicole Krasinski and Stuart Brioza, is hands-down the most exciting restaurant we've ever filmed in; watching them open the doors for business is like the scene in The Wizard of Oz where they let Dorothy into the castle. When you walk inside, you're presented with a barrage of carts topped up with the most delicious assortment of appetizers and cooks circling around with trays heaping with incredible food that was prepared just seconds ago in the open kitchen. This dim sum/cocktail party vibe was so great that Nicole and Stuart had to pry us away from watching the spectacle so that we could go to their favorite places to eat, like Ramen Shop in Oakland, where we sampled most of the menu and took down a good portion of the Japanese whiskey behind the bar, and Amnesia in the Mission district. We ultimately headed back to State Bird Provisions to watch Nicole "roll the shit out of the roti" and St

Jean Cohen, who owns the lovely restaurants Bandol Sur Mer and 3 Minutes Sur Mer, and his carnivorous friends eat their way through Berlin—and through a lot of meat, namely blood sausage, foie gras, pork confit, deer a la bourguignon, pork belly, pork sandwiches, Texas-style ribs, pastrami, brisket, and bacon. And this was only devoured at two restaurants, Lamazere and Chicago Williams. Then, the night moved onto fish, starting with a deep discussion about Ariel (a.k.a. the little mermaid) while en route for a nightcup at Themroc, and ending with a huge ocean of bouillabaise back at 3 Minutes Sur Mer with the rest of his wasted friends that were still able to hold a spoon.

Andrew Carmellini is the wondrously pedigreed chef-owner of Locanda Verde. Prior to opening Locanda's humongous space in the Greenwich Hotel in Tribeca, he cheffed A Voce, Lespinasse, and Café Boulud and wielded some of the most respected French technique in the business. Thankfully he got bored of all that, headed downtown, and now makes simple and perfect Italian foodstuffs. Last night he was acknowledged for the move, earning a James Beard Award nomination for best new restaurant, but then was totally screwed out of winning the actual award. Still, we're obviously very excited about featuring him on our ramshackle little chef show.

After Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans in 2005, chef Tory McPhail was tasked with one of the greatest challenges of his career: rebuilding his restaurant, Commander's Palace, from the ground up. After some of the toughest work of his life, the famed New Orleans restaurant was reopened in 2006 and has been churning out some of the best food in The Big Easy ever since. In this episode of Chef's Night Out, Tory and his crew eat and drink their way through the French Quarter, starting with his newest restaurant, SoBou, which he calls "the best cocktail bar in the South." After some bourbon-based cocktails and snacks made by executive chef Juan Carlos Gonzalez, they headed to Chart Room for more whiskey, then Sylvain for champagne, fries, and tapas. To cap off the night, chef McPhail whipped up a munchies meal of his own: smoky pork tacos with fried oysters, pickled veggies, and foie gras aioli. Let the good times roll.

Dominique Crenn, of Atelier Crenn in San Francisco, is the first and only female chef to be awarded two Michelin stars. While that alone is impressive, what we admire most about her is that she took us cheese shopping at 11PM. Dominique shows us her favorite spots all over SF, and heads back to Atelier Crenn with a treasure trove of fromage, where she whips up a late night classic: grilled cheese.

Tannis Ling is an ex-bartender and chef Joel Watanabe is a French Japanese ex-Montrealer. Together, they run Bao Bei Chinese Brasserie in Vancouver's historic Chinatown district. They let us follow them around for a night to their favorite Vancouver haunts—Keefer Bar, Damso Modern Korean Cuisine, and Cascade. But to finish off the night right, the crew headed back to Bao Bei, where Joel cooked up copious amounts of fried chicken and pork belly.

John Mike Leblond came up with the idea for an offal-and-cocktail based menu while he was still in cooking school. After realizing his true passion for cooking with ingredients many people don't think to eat, Chef Leblond launched a pop-up, Tripes & Caviar, that has now evolved into a brick-and-mortar restaurant in Montreal's Verdun neighborhood. We followed John Mike and his team to St. Henry's, Grumman '78, Ludger, and then finally to Bethlehem xxx where things got wild. And what's the perfect end to this crazy night filled with drinking and eating? A whole suckling pig and curried salmon heads at Tripes & Caviar, of course.

Chef Daniel Patterson is best-known for his San Francisco restaurant Coi, which he opened in 2006. The restaurant was first awarded two Michelin stars only a couple years later, and this year appeared on the San Pellegrino World's 50 Best Restaurants list for the first time, debuting at number 49 Those accolades surely speak well for the restaurant, but they fail to communicate exactly how Patterson articulates his intelligence and his vision through cuisine. We spent an evening in San Francisco filming with him and were completely struck by his odd sense of humor and his ability to explain his food and the ideas behind them seamlessly. Chef Patterson forged his own path in Chef's Night Out country, taking his wife to dinner on his first stop at Corey Lee's Benu. But things loosened up when the chef and his crew dove into pastrami, gin, and an impromptu meal for 26 people. Enjoy.

Chef Dave Bohati of the Calgary restaurant Market is redefining the word "local" with in-house baked bread, homegrown micro greens, on-site butchery, and homemade cheese. It's safe to say that every dish at Market is hand crafted. On this episode of Chef's Night Out, Chef Bohati hits the streets of Calgary with his best friends and fellow cooks in the kitchen, Daniel “Papi” Ramon (pastry chef) and Brandon Dashney (sous chef). The night begins with mouthwatering ramen at Shiki Menya, followed by foie gras butter at Brasserie Kensington (just wait till you see it...), and hydrated with Negronis at Milk Tiger Lounge. The crew ends the night back at Market with pork that has been brined for seven days, smoked for six hours, and braised for 12 hours. Plus, there is a bison strip loin and some churros thrown in for good measure. Get ready for meat envy.

We've dug into the MUNCHIES archive to bring you a Chef's Night Out with rock star chef Enrique Olvera of Mexico City's Pujol restaurant. What we love most about Chef Olvera is his fearlessness in the kitchen, exemplified by one his signature dishes: a pumpkin filled with baby corn covered with mayo mixed with coffee and ants. After this episode you'll want to hop on the next flight to Mexico City, but until then you can live vicariously through this video.

Toronto chef Anthony Rose is taking over Dupont Street one restaurant at a time with Rose and Sons, Big Crow, and now, his Middle Eatery focused eatery, Fat Pasha. Whether you try their signature dishes of roast cauliflower topped with tahini, pinenuts, pomegranate, and halloumi or a their take on the chopped liver of famed NYC establishment Sammy’s Roumanian Steakhouse, the food at Fat Pasha's is a winner. Watch as the crew heads to Rodney's for oysters, Northwood for negronis, and a party filled with chopped brisket at Big Crow. Time to teleport to Toronto.

Kavita Goodstar is a co-founder of “Street Food Thursday” at Markthalle 9—Berlin’s first real attempt to open its borders to the world of food truck cuisine/international street food, located in a former market in Kreuzberg. Kavita and her friends set out to convince us that Kantstrasse (philosopher, not pussy) offers the best Asian cuisine in town. After a visit to "Papaya", a Thai restaurant that specializes in food from the North, they move on to Lon Men’s —a family-run, hand-pulled Taiwanese noodle house. After some chili wontons drowned in a secret sauce the owner won’t reveal, he offers the guests some shots of a strong mystery schnapps. They then stumble into a Russian supermarket, buy some novelty vodka, take it back to the Markthalle and before closing the night the rest is kind of a blur…

Back in 2009, as undergrad students at USC, Alex Chang and Bobby Kronfli started Paladar, an illegal, underground restaurant for their friends and fellow classmates. Now, a few years later, Alex and Bobby have entered the real world, where they are running and cooking in their own, legal restaurants. After a night of service, we hit the town with the Paladar crew. Starting with some good bar food at Freddy Smalls, drinks at Redwood Bar and Grill, and a MUNCHIES meal of chicken katsu at Bacaro LA, Bobby's restaurant, it's clear that these recent college grads still know how to party.

On our brand new episode of Chef’s Night Out, we head to The Motor City to pay a visit to chef Craig Lieckfelt, owner and operator of the acclaimed pop-up restaurant Guns & Butter, a spot set to open a brick and mortar location in the near future. After wrapping service at a pop-up held at the Shinola store, we hit the town with Craig and friends to visit some truly unique spots around Detroit. From sipping white whiskey at Two James Distillery to devouring chili dogs at Lafayette Coney Island and dancing to live music at Cafe D’Mongo’s Speakeasy, Craig showed us the real Detroit, a city filled with great food and even greater people. And, in true MUNCHIES style, the night ended with a good meal of arancini, chicken parm, and gnocchi from Detroit’s Supino Pizzeria. Enjoy.

This episode of Chef's Night Out includes multiple burgers and fries, so we love it even more than usual. Seattle chef and restaurateur Josh Henderson shows us his favorite places in The Emerald City, from French Creole-inspired cuisine at Restaurant Roux to drunken (and high) burgers at Loretta's Northwesterner. Topped off with a late night snack of fries 'n' queso, this Seahawk-obsessed crew did not let us down.

We spent a boozy, boisterous evening with chef Tom Adams, famed pig-lover and co-owner of Soho's tiny, yet completely terrific Pitt Cue Co.—a place where they do the kinds of smoky, American barbecue-style things to pig that other restaurants can only dream of. Tom took us out with his fellow chefs and trusted farmer, Charlie, for an evening of burning chopping boards, duck hearts and, er, some questionable late-night television.

This episode of Chef's Night Out is a little bit unique. We're in Paris, but with two expatriate English-born chefs: Anna Trattles and Alice Quillet. Anna and Alice offer a slightly French take on traditional British cuisine at their restaurant, Le Bal Café, which is attached to a gallery and bookstore of the same name. After a quick pitcher of Pimm's Cups, we're off to Bones to hang with chef James Henry and dine on lamb's head and raw fish. Then, we take our low-key rager over to Le Mary Celeste, where we enjoy chef Haan Palcu-Chang's signature beetroot rice cakes. Anna and Alice finish the night with some "dirty Jameson shots" at Chez Ammad before heading back to Le Bal to cook for the hungry hoard.

We followed Shay Ola, chef and owner of London's Death By Burrito, to some of his favorite spots around Paris. We went to Candelaria, a great little taco shop; Pierre Sang, a Michelin star contemporary French cuisine restaurant; and The Fish Club, a modern seafood restaurant. The next evening, Shay worked with a local chef to create a new ceviche taco and some of his signature dishes.

We follow Dong Phuong, owner and chef of Vietnamese street food restaurant District Mot, through a multicultural food journey all across Berlin. Our first stop is District Mot itself, which is considered the Vietnamese hotspot of Berlin Mitte. After enjoying some silkworms, chicken legs and phở, the journey continues to the heart of the Turkish migrant area: Kottbusser Tor in Kreuzberg. At Adana Grill, with is tiny but jam-packed, Phuong and his friends enjoy proper Turkish barbecue such as kefta, lamb ribs, and hummus. Then it’s time for another drink (or three) at Kantine Kohlmann. Last stop is Muret La Barba, for all of the best wine, cheese, and ham. After that, it’s time to return to District Mot for a hot pot extravaganza.

Rajat Parr—esteemed sommelier, wine director of The Mina Group, and co-owner of Domaine de la Côte and Sandhi—knows a thing or two about the food and wine of Santa Barbara wine country. Throughout the evening, Raj takes our taste buds on a journey around the world: grapes from Burgundy, grilled avocados and fresh wasabi from California, Mexican-inspired kati rolls from India, and 80-year-old apple brandy from Normandy—all from this picturesque coastal region. And as a bonus, he manages to make road sodas classy.

Parker Bowles is living proof that Kreuzberg is slowly becoming the place to be for top-notch cuisine in Berlin. In this episode, Parker Bowles' co-owners Oliver Rother and Quirin Schwanck—together with their friends Michel and Flo from the nightclub Prince Charles—take us out to their favorite food hot spots. Our first stop is Good Friends in Charlottenburg , one of the oldest and tastiest Asian restaurants in Berlin, where we dine on crispy Peking duck and fried halibut. After that, it's back home to Kreuzberg and to Cocolo Ramen, where we were welcomed with sake and Asahi by Chef Yoska, who whipped up Japanese delicacies like tender, braised kakuni, sake-glazed king oyster mushrooms, and, of course, rich noodle soup. Then it's off to La Raclette, just around the corner, for Waldmeister shots with owner-bartender Steffen. The night ends back at Parker Bowles, where the party is roaring with and a late-night MUNCHIES dinner and the sounds of Dear Us. Now that's a night out in Berlin.

LA native Kris Yenbamroong’s defining moment came at age 13, when his parents sent him to Thailand’s Red Light District to marinate in his surging hormones. Following a stint editing porn for VICE contributor Richard Kern, Yenbamroong returned to the family business—restaurants—opening Night + Market Song, where he plates Thai delicacies like Strip Club Fried Rice for Silverlake’s “older, derelict, drunk uncle demographic.” Now a betrothed 30-something, Yenbamroong takes a page from his teen playbook for Chef’s Night Out with pals, getting blitzed on mezcal at Bar Amá, slurping nature’s aphrodisiac at L&E Oyster Bar, and dive-bombing Cheetahs’ stage with bills as his Future Mrs. catnaps in the car.

The best-known "27 Club" has some very well known members—Cobain, Hendrix, and Joplin, to name a few. But French-Basque chef Iñaki Aizpitarte has forged his own version of the 27 Club: he began his culinary career as a 27-year-old novice, and his self-effacing Parisian eatery, Le Chateaubriand, currently occupies the 27th spot on the world's best restaurants list.

Chef Alfonso Cadena is basically a genius. On a normal day, he works at his amazing restaurant, La Leche, in Puerto Vallarta—one of Mexico's most beautiful beach cities—and when he's done with work, he goes up to the second-floor bar and has some drinks with his friends. When he's totally wasted, he hops on a small stage on one side of the restaurant and plays music with his band for some of his diehard foodies, and finally, when he's tired, he goes out to the parking lot, has a burrito in==from one of his food trucks, and calls it a night.

Quino Baca, owner and chef of Williamsburg's Brooklyn Star, heads out with a few friends and colleagues for a New York night out. Staying close to home, the crew starts the night at Suzume for kimchi ramen and spam musubi, heads to Chinatown for a roast duck dinner at Peking Duck House, then returns to Brooklyn for a stop at one of their favorite local spots—Harefield Road. To end the night, Quino and friends whip up a late-night meal of cornbread, collards, mac 'n' cheese, fried chicken, and pork butt. Your late night cravings have been realized.

In this episode of Chef's Night Out, we hang out with one of Montreal's most famous chefs—Chuck Hughes—and the key crew at his fantastic seafood-heavy basement restaurant Le Bremner. Along with his energetic chef de cuisine Danny Smiles and lovably eccentric bartender Vito Ciocca, Chuck takes us for a wild night in Montreal. It starts at Barocco, a warm and rustic cocktail and snack spot in Old Montreal. We follow that up with a feast at Derek Damann's amazing gastropub-style restaurant, Maison Publique. And to cleanse our palates, we get a few rounds of cocktails in giant pineapples at Le Mal Necessaire, the new hotspot in Chinatown. In true Chef's Night Out fashion, we top it all off with a party at Le Bremner early the next morning. So, enjoy it! We sure did.

A MasterChef Brasil judge and lead singer of hardcore band Oitão, Henrique Fogaça is a big, tattooed, ogre-like dude. His look contrasts with Sal Gastronomia, a small restaurant he runs in São Paulo. As he makes soft-shell crab—the place’s most lauded dish—Fogaça gets his diners' palates ready: “You eat everything, the brains, the eyes, it’s really gross. But it’s good.” In this episode of Chef’s Night Out, we take a food tour around the city with Fogaça, Badauí (CPM22 member) and Checho Gonzales. Amidst dirty jokes and laughs, they eat up tapioca dumplings and have a cold beer at bar Aconchego Carioca, then gobble up a bloody bife ancho (ribeye steak) at restaurant Arturito.

When Spur Tree owner Sean John told us that he was going to bring his 60-year-old head chef Victor—who has never come out with him before, and almost never drinks—for his New York-based episode of Chef's Night Out, we knew we were in for an interesting night. Our first stop is uptown, to treat Victor to some fine dining at Beautique. There, the guys down piña coladas and trout before heading to Chinatown's Fung Tu for brisket fried rice and vegetable dumplings. We then head a few blocks down the street to The Grey Lady for vodka and oyster shooters. The night wraps up around the corner, back at Spur Tree, where Sean and Victor cook up an off-menu feast for friends who are partying in a loft above the restaurant.

When we arrived at New York City's Toro, Chef Jamie Bissonnette warned us that we were going to be in for a night of heavy drinking. He hadn't had a night off with his friends in a long time, and rest assured that he came through on that promise.