Chef's Night Out

Simone Tondo, chef/owner of Paris restaurant Le Roseval, takes us out on the town with his friends in the City of Light. First, he shows us how to make life-changing butter-seared lobster—magnifique!—and scallops with red currants before heading out into the city. The first stop is La Buvette for wine and oysters, and then it’s off to Caffé Dei Cioppi—a tiny, local Parisian spot for the Italian crowd—for black truffle linguine, goose saucisson, and more wine (naturally). The night continues (drunkenly) at Gare Au Gorille in the 17th arondissement, where Simone’s pals cook up lamb with harissa sauce for a late-night “snack” … and throw back some shots. The last stop for the gang is Dersou, a French-Asian restaurant/cocktail bar that serves just five special dishes and five cocktails. On tonight’s menu: torched marrow (and more shots). Then it’s back to Le Roseval: time for champagne-spraying and Tondo’s own cooking to take center stage.

Bakers tend to work very different hours than you and me—they often start while some of us are still at the bar. So when we approached the ladies of Greenpoint bakery Ovenly to do an episode of Chef's Night Out, they let us know that it would probably be more appropriate to call this episode Chef's Afternoon Out.

In this episode of Chef's Night Out, we get to follow around Daniel Meteo Peters—one of the four owners of Berlin restaurant Zum Mond—on his culinary tour of the city.

Badass brothers, Arjun and Nakul Mahendro, co-owners of LA’s Indian gastropub Badmaash (helmed by father/Chef Pawan Mahendro) head out for a night of flawless food and drinks in Downtown LA. Friends Lele Massimini (Sugarfish), Alvin Cailan (Eggslut) and Ryan Aguilar (Badmaash) join the crew too. First stop is Ari Taymor’s, Alma for a tantalizing tasting menu. Next, they grub and grab beers at Texas BBQ joint the Horse Thief at their perfect patio.

EscaLa’s Chris Oh takes us out for a night of culinary adventures in LA’s Koreatown. The crew gets their fill of grill-it-yourself meats and shake-it-yourself kimchi fried rice at Korean BBQ hotspot Kang Ho Dong Baekjoeong, spicy fried chicken butt at Dan Sung Sa, and gallons of soju to wash it all down before heading back to EscaLa for a plate of classic Korean streetfood: spicy ramen and rice cakes with pork belly and a fried egg.

Executive chef Michael Hung, and his team at Faith & Flower, have won about every accolade a restaurant can achieve in its first year. In this episode of Chef's Night Out, Michael and the crew head out from their Downtown LA location to cover some serious ground in just one night—and eat a ton of food along the way. With the foie gras ban in California recently lifted, the guys chow down on the delicacy at the newly opened Terrine in Beverly Hills. Then its off to Union in Pasadena, where chef Bruce Kalman nearly destroys the group with a massive 16-course meal (and more foie gras). Finally, we trek back to Hollywood to polish off a magnum of Champagne at Pour Vous before arriving back at Faith & Flower for our final meal, which—surprise!—features even more foie gras. How's that for a little decadence?

You often hear people lament that you can't get a good slice of pizza in LA—and for the most part, that's true. Except in the case of Pizzanista!, a pizza place in the city's arts district started by former pro skateboarder Salman Agah and his wife Price. We follow Salman and Price for a night out in LA as they hit up some of their favorite local spots. First, we head to Roy Choi's new restaurant Commissary at the Line Hotel, where the group sips on drinks and chows down on some interesting vegetables described as "carrots that taste like hot dogs." Then it's off to Ruen Pair for the papaya salad that Salman swears by. Our last stop is Monty Bar for drinks, and then it's back to Pizzanista!, where Price celebrates her birthday by cooking up a stinging nettle pizza for their friends.

Alisa Reynolds—owner and chef of Mid-City LA’s health-conscious soul food haven My Two Cents—takes us out for a night of hitting up her favorite hidden gems across the city. With friends and LA creatives Steven Gerstein and Mayasha Long along for the ride, our first stop is Canelé in Atwater Village for Mediterranean-inspired farmers' market fare where the standout dish is a delectable salted branzino. Next up is an obligatory taco session at La Otra Escuela Taquería in Beverly Grove for—wait for it—branzino tacos. Finally, the trio swings by Bar Stella in Sunset Junction for a few rounds of St. Germain champagne cocktails, whiskey shots, and cigs. ("Sorry, Mom!") Back at My Two Cents, Chef Alisa whips up the Creole-inspired snack that everyone craves at 2AM: fried shrimp grilled cheese. Yes, please.

Phet Schwader—owner and executive chef of NYC's only Laotian restaurant, Khe-Yo—takes us for a night out in Manhattan with his closest friends. After meeting up with partners Marc Forgione and Nick Bradley and friend Cassie Pallas at Khe-Yo in TriBeCa, the crew heads over to the East Village to hit up Motorino for some pizza. After downing two pies and some beers, it was then just a jaunt around the corner to Filipino gastropub Jeepney. The Kamayan feast there is something to behold, with banana ketchup ribs, fried snapper, pork shoulder, and mussels all served on a bed of rice—and eaten with your hands only. Following the massive feast, the gang heads back to TriBeCa to grab some PBRs and whiskey shots at their local bar Reade Street Pub & Kitchen. Upon arrival back at Khe-Yo, Phet goes back into the kitchen to whip up some crispy pork face and Dungeness crab in black-bean garlic sauce—another feast to behold on this awesome Chef's Night Out.

When we met Han Chiang—owner of the Han Dynasty restaurant empire—at a shoot in Philly a few years ago, we knew he would eventually need to have his own episode of Chef's Night Out. Well, we finally got around to it—and Han absolutely delivers.

Luke Bereuter is one of three co-owners of Ludwig & Adele—a restaurant inside the well-known Künstlerhaus and the Stadtkino Vienna. In this episode of Chef's Night Out, he takes us out for a night of hitting up his favorite spots across the city of Vienna. With friends along for the ride, our first stop is Ludwig & Adele, where we take a peek in the kitchen to see chef Ludwig Lindser preparing a tranche of salmon belly and braised beef cheek with pickled mustard seeds.

When we visited chef Diego Hernandez at his restaurant Corazón de Tierra—located in the Guadalupe Valley in Ensenada, Mexico—we knew we were in for a night of delicious food and fine wine tasting, but we didn't know we were about to step into an almost fraternal community of local chefs, winemakers, and entrepreneurs that all work together and share a life of food, drinks, and good times. Diego gives us a tour that begins in his vegetable garden, where he chooses his everyday ingredients, then takes us to Laja, Jair Tellez's restaurant that started it all. We visit a local wine cellar where we taste the finest Mexican sparkling wine, and end the day back in Corazón de Tierra, where Diego and Jair are in charge of the music and prepare some of the best carne asada ever tasted by mankind.

In this episode of Chef's Night Out, Marc Vetri—of the Vetri family restaurant empire—takes us out for a night to show us his go-to spots in Philadelphia.

In this episode of Chef's Night Out, we join Nick Erven of LA restaurant Saint Martha to eat our way through a booze-fueled feast of seafood, chicken wings, and crispy pig ears.

Benito Molina is a Mexican superstar chef from Mexico City who decided to leave the big city behind for a fresh new start—and when we mean fresh, we do mean fresh: fresh fish, fresh wine, fresh air, and the fresh ocean. Benito's restaurant, Manzanilla, resides in Ensenada, Baja California and they prepare, obviously, the freshest food out there. Benito takes us to Ensenada's fish market—which is basically just across the street from his restaurant and is where he gets his everyday ingredients—and then shows us La Guerrerense, where you can find the damn best street food in the world ... or at least that's what the multiple international prizes that they have won have to say. We also head down to Hussong's, Mexico's first cantina ever which actually has a replica in Las Vegas, and then get some cold ones at Wendtland, a local brewery. Finally, it's back to Manzanilla for a huge party with norteño music, friends, and delicious calamari tacos.

Jesse Koide—formerly of Mission Chinese and the current owner and chef of Pink Zebra, a small "Mediterrasian" restaurant—takes us out for a night on the town in San Francisco with his wife, Angela; his sushi chef, Ryo; and his friend Reilly.

In this episode of Chef's Night Out, Gail Simmons—judge on Bravo's 'Top Chef' and Special Projects Director of Food & Wine Magazine—takes us out to some of her favorite New York spots. The night starts with mussel toast and ceviche at Navy in Soho, followed by eight cocktails (yes, you heard that right) at ZZ's Clam Bar in Greenwich Village. We then cruise to Miss Lily's 7A for some curried goat neck, and to end the night, the crew heads back to Talde in Park Slope for a late-night meal of Vietnamese shrimp, nasi goreng, and Bánh xèo prepared by Gail and chef-proprietor Dale Talde. To top it all off, Gail pours 30 whiskey shots, in one fell swoop, for all of her friends.

We spent a boozy and boisterous evening with the crew from Rita's, including chef Gabriel Pryce, resident cocktail expert Missy Flynn, and their business partner and "papa" Deano Jo. The trio takes us on a meat- and alcohol-heavy tour of Hackney, London, and introduces us to a few of their regular haunts, finishing the night with raucous live music from Riddles at everyone's favourite dive bar: The Alibi.

Justin Brunson, self-proclaimed “meat head” and Executive Chef and Owner of Denver’s Old Major, takes us out in the Mile High City for a night full of smoked meats, raw oysters, and an excess of bourbon.

When you think of a chef hard at work, one typically doesn't envision a desk, a laptop, and endless blueprints for restaurants. But this is the life of Tien Ho, corporate chef for Morgans Hotels. We teamed up with Tien, who's in the midst of developing restaurants in Morgans Hotels all over the world, for a night out in his hometown of NYC. The first stop is L'Apicio in the East Village for some negronis and lamb ragu. Then it's off to Corkbuzz in Union Square for some French cuisine and first-class wine. After that, we head to Cannibal in Murray Hill for a serious charcuterie feast. With a whole group now in tow, it's back to the Hudson Hotel for the final meal, where Tien shows us that even though he's not in the kitchen these days, he still has his chops.

Las Vegas is world-renowned for its all-you-can-eat buffets and celebrity chef restaurants. However, there's more to Vegas than just what lies on the Strip, and Josh Smith—executive chef of Bardot Brasserie at the Aria—is here to show us the other treasures of the entertainment capital of the world. Our first stop is Other Mama, a new Japanese-inspired seafood restaurant located in a strip mall in the Spring Valley neighborhood. Next up is Lotus of Siam for what some consider to be the best Thai food in the country, including Isan sausage, white wine, and mango sticky rice. Then it's off to downtown Vegas for whiskey and beers at "the last neighborhood bar in Vegas": Dino's Lounge. We then end the night back at Bardot Brasserie, where Josh whips up a seriously decadent feast of fried chicken, burgers, and foie gras rice pilaf.

Jersey City is rarely mentioned when people discuss the New York City area—and it is almost never mentioned when people discuss the New York culinary world. But Kevin Pemoulie of Thirty Acres in downtown Jersey City is changing that. Coming from the NYC restaurant world, Kevin has been picking up tons of praise and business in Jersey City since his restaurant opened. We followed Kevin for a night out to hit up some of his favorite spots in both Manhattan and Jersey City. We start the night at Modcup in Jersey Heights, where the group gets buzzed on highly caffeinated coffee cocktails. Riding a caffeine high, we head through the Holland Tunnel for some Thai food at Uncle Boons, then it's back to Jersey City for some beers at Lucky 7 and pork loin tacos at home sweet home, Thirty Acres.

The Lower East Side of Manhattan has been a hotspot for NY dining for quite some time now, but there are still lesser-known gems in the neighborhood. For this episode of Chef's Night Out, we tag along with Leah Cohen—owner and executive chef of Pig & Khao—to her favorite local spots. After jumping on the line real quick, Leah and her crew head out from Pig & Khao just down the street to Taquitoria for some taquitos and rum 'n' cokes. Then it's off to Edi and the Wolf a few avenues over for some spaetzle, schnitzel, white wine, and whiskey shots (this is where things begin to get fuzzy for Leah). Next, the crew hops in a cab to visit their friends at Black Crescent and see how their renovations are going, and after stumbling in and stumbling out, Leah walks back over to Pig & Khao and is welcomed by a party very excited to see her. She starts to cook some pad Thai, but thankfully, her staff is there to help out and finish it off.

We spent the night with Melbourne’s culinary darling Andrew McConnell, the chef behind the city's restaurant empire of Supernormal, Cumulus Inc., and Cutler & Co. His crew—which includes his brother Sean, colleagues Chris and Jayden, as well as his hairdresser Frank—starts at Yu-U, a Japanese gem hidden in one of Melbourne’s iconic laneways, for eel tempura, yakitori, and a lot of sake. Next, it’s Bar Exuberante in Richmond for rum, and then to soak up the booze, back into the city to eat at late-night Chinese food institution Supper Inn, for beer and doughnuts dunked in XO pippie sauce. Tipsy, the gang then heads back to Andrew’s kitchen after-hours at Cumulus Up, where they fry up some Camembert, porcini mushrooms as big as your head, and caviar on waffles. Or was it waffles on caviar? Either way, delicious.

You would expect a chef who runs one of the world's top 50 restaurants—serving some of the most meticulously crafted dishes you ever seen—to be very professional, if not uptight. That's not to say that Esben Holmboe Bang of Maaemo isn't professional, but after a night out with him, we can most definitely say he is not uptight. We start things off at Maaemo for a couple of beers with friends, then head out to Taco Republica for some of the best Mexican food in Oslo—and a ton of mezcal. Next stop is Arakataka for more traditional Norwegian cuisine, followed by No. 19 for cocktails and Norwegian folk metal. We then end the night at home sweet home, Maaemo, for a feast of sheep ribs. Enjoy this very boozy and funny adventure through Oslo.

Roberta's, the pizza-centric restaurant in Brooklyn, has become so popular that Jay-Z and Beyonce are regular diners. But Roberta's had humble beginnings as a pizza place in a neighborhood that people once disregarded. Fast-forward a few years later, and their massive compound now includes a bakery as well as tasting-menu restaurant Blanca. Roberta's head chef Carlo Mirarchi let us tag along for a night out as we hit up some NYC's best spots. First off was The Ten Bells wine bar for a couple of bottles of vino with friends. We then head down the street to the newly reopened Mission Chinese to meet up with head chefs Danny Bowien and Angela Dimayuga and eat some wings and oysters. After that is Enrique Olivera's restaurant Cosme for duck carnitas and a ton of mezcal. Finally, we wrap things up back at Blanca with a Roberta's staff reunion, some porchetta, and steak. Enjoy this peek into one of NYC's most popular and influential restaurants.

While working in his way through law school in restaurants, the dean of Robert Bohr's program took notice of his passion for working with wine and the service industry and advised him to quit school and pursue what he really loved. Fast-forward some years later and a few stints as a sommelier at some of New York City's finest restaurants, and Mr. Bohr now runs his own restaurant—Charlie Bird—in SoHo and is one of the most well-respected figures in the wine world. We tagged along for a night out with Mr. Bohr and some of his buddies to see what a group of sommeliers eat and drink on a night out. The first stop was NoMad in the Flatiron for some decadent food to match an impressive wine list. For the occasion, Thomas Pastuzak, wine director at NoMad and good friend of Robert, broke out what Mr. Bohr refers to as the "Unicorn Wine." We then head to Brooklyn to meet up with Daniel Kessler at his restaurant Bergen Hill for crudo, cocktails, and white wine. Daniel joins as the guys head a

We head out for a night with Chef Javier Plascencia, who knows Tijuana all too well. From high-end restaurants to food truck lots, we try a little bit of everything the city has to offer, including its unprecedented craft beer boom and local party scene. From yellowfin tuna to fondue-dipped hot dogs, and ending with the original recipe for the Caesar salad, this is the ultimate food guide to everyone's favorite sin city south of the border.

Michael Voltaggio of Ink. takes his star-studded crew out on the streets of Hollywood where bowling competitions, enormous pork shanks and yards of beer rule the night. The evening ends with an epic sandwich-off and tattoos by Dr. Woo.

Gonzalo Guzman has really climbed the ranks as a chef. When he first came to the United States from Mexico, he worked as a dishwasher at several different restaurants. Since then, he has worked his way up to become a head chef and partner of Nopalito, which has two locations and is one of the most popular restaurants in San Francisco.

Lazy Bear's head pastry chef Maya Erickson has accomplished as much by the age of 24 as some chefs hope to accomplish during the span of their entire career. Working in kitchens since the age of 14, then cutting her teeth under the tutelage of world famous pastry chef Elizabeth Faulkner, Maya's career has moved along remarkably fast. We hung out with the pastry prodigy for a night out in her hometown of San Francisco and checked out her favorite local haunts. The first stop was Al's Place, recently named the "Best New Restaurant in America," where Maya and her crew feast on salmon collar, seasonal vegetables, and wine. They then head a couple of blocks over to Namu Gaji for ribs, oysters, and a ton of soju, despite the fact that the crew made a promise not drink any earlier in the night. After getting crushed with food, they make one last stop at Hideout for shots and dancing, and then its around the corner back to Lazy Bear. They don't waste anytime getting to cooking everything from

Josef Centeno is the king of the downtown LA dining scene. He owns and operates four restaurants on a single street, all serving different cuisines—it's an impressive operation to say the least. We follow Josef for a very mellow night (to say the least) out in Los Angeles. The first stop is Silverlake Wine to visit with the owner Randy and sample a few top-notch wines and cheeses. Then it's a few miles down the road to Alimento, the new quasi-Italian restaurant run by chef Zach Pollack. Over dinner, we learn that Josef has been to over 250 Grateful Dead shows and only started cooking because Jerry Garcia died. And after Alimento, we roll over to K-Town to The Normandie Club for cocktails, and then wrap the night back at Orsa & Winston with egg salad sandwiches and some of the nicest crudités you've ever seen.

Guerrilla Tacos started as a two-person food cart in 2012, and has now become quite possibly the most celebrated food truck in country, earning the distinction to be the first food truck ever reviewed by legendary LA food critic Jonathan Gold. Head chef and owner Wesley Avila serves up some of the most unique and delicious tacos LA has to offer, so we tagged along with the LA native (on his birthday, no less) to see where he heads out to on his day off. The first stop of the night was Walter Manzke's Republique for serious French fare, with truffle pasta, caviar, and a ton of wine (even a Magnum bottle to go). After getting crushed with food, it was off to Cliff's Edge in Silverlake for some lighter dishes and few cocktails. We then headed all the way to the other side of town to Tonga Hut, Wes's favorite bar that he frequents so much his name is on the wall. The crew quickly downs some tiki drinks and they zips to Mexikosher to cook the final meal. There, Wes whips up lamb tacos fo

It’s not often that the father-son team behind some of LA’s favorite tacos gets a night out together for good ol’ family bonding. So when Armando De La Torre—Senior and Junior—take us on a food tour of Downtown LA and Boyle Heights, they hit all their favorites, new and old. We start the night at Bestia with rhum agricole daiquiris and dry Szamorodni bone marrow luges before heading to an old-school Mexican diner in Boyle Heights called Manuel’s Original El Tepeyac Café. The crew puts down a five-pound burrito filled with chile verde, rice, beans, guacamole, and oodles of cheese. We close out the night with cervezas and Morrissey karaoke at Eastside Luv before heading back to Guisados’ Downtown LA location for a mountain of carnitas ropa vieja tacos and chorizo quesadillas. Órale.

This episode takes us to the northwestern Vietnamese town of Sa Pa and a restaurant called The Hill Station, the region’s only restaurant serving traditional Hmong dishes. We join Danish owners Tommy Eggen and Soeren Pindstrup, along with head chef Giang Phay and a few friends, for a night sampling the best Hmong, Vietnamese, and French food in town.

We head to Manila, the capital of the Philippines, for this episode of Chef's Night Out. Justin Sarabia, the chef and owner of Rural Kitchen of Lilliw, Laguna, cooks food influenced by his lola's (grandmother's) cooking. Justin and friends head out for the night in Manila, beginning at Nikkei, a restaurant that serves Peruvian-Japanese cuisine, and then on to a speakeasy called Alcohol by Volume, a pregame to the one of the best parts of eating in Manila: street food. After lots of street food enjoyed with beer and gin, Justin heads back to his restaurant to cook sisig, a Filipino favorite made from pig's face. While the food in this Chef's Night Out is great, it's really the ride in Vin Diesel's Jeepney that sets it apart from the rest.

Mexico has one of the richest, most diverse food traditions of any country in the world. From north to south, east to west, you can find an infinite variety of delicious plates on your table. Even with this in mind, Toluca City—two hours away from Mexico City—is not exactly the first place you think about when you think of Mexico's food culture, but that's likely about to change. Chef Pablo Salas was born in Toluca, and is one of the first chefs to put the city's gastronomic style on the map, earning his restaurant Amaranta acclaim as one of the top five restaurants in Mexico. We visited Pablo at Amaranta for some of the best high-end versions of Mexican street food that we've ever tried. We miss you already, Toluca!