Episodes

  • 26. The New Miami: How KYU is Elevating the Food Scene in Wynwood

    26. The New Miami: How KYU is Elevating the Food Scene in Wynwood
    Nov 4 2022
    KYU (pronounced “cue” like in barbecue) opened its doors in early 2016 in the art district of Miami, Florida known as Wynwood. The wood-fired Asian-American concept, brought to Miami by Chef Michael Lewis and Steven Haigh, has cemented itself as a cornerstone of the Miami’s burgeoning food scene. The culinary explosion is in part because of the development of the city. With more exciting spaces opening up Miami-wide — new ideas, customers, and money are pouring into developing areas and renowned chefs and restaurateurs are seizing the opportunity.

    Chef Michael Lewis is the co-founder and executive chef at KYU. Lewis has cooked all over the world; leading teams, opening restaurants, and working with chefs like Jean-Georges. Lewis was Chef de Cuisine at Jean Georges restaurant on Central Park West which earned three Michelin Stars at the time.

    In 2016, Lewis teamed up with Steven Haigh a 20-year restaurant and hospitality veteran to open KYU. One year after opening, KYU was nominated for its first James Beard for “Best New Restaurant”.

    One of the biggest draws of KYU, outside Chef Lewis’s mouthwatering food, is the environment and the amazing service. When you’re there it just feels good. KYU is the new Miami — upscale and sexy, not overpriced, and just looking to have a good time.

    On this episode of Table 42, Paul sits with Chef Michael Lewis and Steven Haigh to talk about how the restaurant connects with the community, the thoughtful design, and KYU’s unique name. Not to mention we get a behind the scenes look at popular menu items like the roasted cauliflower with goat cheese, shishito, and herb vinaigrette and the Wagyu beef brisket with black shichimi pepper.
    Show More Show Less
    9 mins
  • 25. Award Winning Chefs Jeff McInnis and Janine Booth Return to Miami with Stiltsville Fish Bar

    25. Award Winning Chefs Jeff McInnis and Janine Booth Return to Miami with Stiltsville Fish Bar
    Oct 21 2022
    In this episode of Table 42, we visit Stiltsville Fish Bar and meet Chefs Janine Booth and Jeff McInnis. The chef couple met on the line at Gigi’s in Midtown Miami before opening up the critically acclaimed Root and Bone in NYC. Their newest venture, Stiltsville Fish Bar, opened in 2018 and has quickly become one of the most talked about new concepts in South Florida, ranking in Foodable's Top 25 just a few weeks after opening. Inspired by Chef Jeff McInnis’s childhood, growing up fishing in Niceville Florida, Stiltsville Fish Bar is a neighborhood restaurant focusing on bringing locals a hometown feel complete with great food and Key West inspired cocktails.
    Show More Show Less
    7 mins
  • 24. SUR: The Restaurant Behind Bravo TV’s Hit Reality Show Vanderpump Rules

    24. SUR: The Restaurant Behind Bravo TV’s Hit Reality Show Vanderpump Rules
    Oct 7 2022
    On this episode of Table 42, Paul Barron takes us to his hometown, Los Angeles. Amidst the hustle and the bustle of the city, you will find starving artists and celebrity actors– all looking for a little camera time. And there’s one place you can find it without an audition, you just need a reservation.

    SUR, which stands for Sexy Unique Restaurant, is a high-end concept, known for its deliciously composed dishes and perfectly shaken drinks. The attractive waitstaff might look a bit familiar to you, too. That’s because SUR is also the set of the wildly popular reality Bravo TV show “Vanderpump Rules” and occasionally makes an appearance on “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.”

    Guillermo Zapata opened and ran the restaurant for 10 years before partnering up with the Real Housewife cast member, Lisa Vanderpump Todd and her husband, Ken Todd. Since then the restaurant has expanded to an over 8000 square feet space– giving the trendy concept tons of space to welcome guests. Guillermo is always looking for new projects and challenges, so a second SUR Restaurant & Lounge locations might be on the horizon.

    “I’ve always said to every man Villa Blanca is where you take your wife. Sur is where you take your mistress. And now Pump can be where you take your boyfriend,” said Vanderpump in the past about the concepts.
    Show More Show Less
    7 mins
  • 23. From Seed to Rind, Watermelon Transcends Summer Menus

    23. From Seed to Rind, Watermelon Transcends Summer Menus
    Sep 23 2022
    In this episode of Table 42, we meet Co-Founder of At Your Service Hospitality Group, Evan Rosenberg, and Executive Chef Brad Warner at their new restaurant Shay and Ivy in New York City. We are exploring watermelon as it has become a year-round ingredient for many restaurants and their chefs. Executive Chef Warner is experienced with progressive American fare that pulls influences from all over the world to create truly approachable global flavor dishes at Shay and Ivy, and his culinary creations showcased in this episode are no different. Want to know more? Watch the episode above!
    Show More Show Less
    10 mins
  • 22. Curtis Stone’s Maude Is Seasonal, Intimate, and Has a No-Tipping Model

    22. Curtis Stone’s Maude Is Seasonal, Intimate, and Has a No-Tipping Model
    Sep 9 2022
    A tiny Beverly Hills eatery serving a creative menu to about two dozen guests is Chef Curtis Stone’s life-long dream. Its name, Maude, pays homage to his first culinary mentor — Curtis’ late paternal grandmother. Her influence can be seen throughout the restaurant fixtures and china used to serve food.

    Since opening in 2014, Foodable Top 25 Restaurant Maude has been serving a 10-course seasonal tasting menu, focusing on one key rotating ingredient each month.

    “The reason we do only a tasting menu format here at Maude is because some of Curtis’ experiences are going to restaurants that friends of his own, sitting down, they take off the menus out of your hands, and just cook for you…no decision to make, you just sit back and let brilliant people do what they do best,” Ben Aviram, general manager and wine director at Maude, said, explaining the premise of Maude’s mission to recreate that experience for all of its guests.

    In this "Table 42" Vignette, Maude Head Chef Justin Hilbert demonstrated for us a seasonal dish with pistachio as its star ingredient: Ravioli with Pistachio Ricatta and Broccoli De Cicco.
    Show More Show Less
    5 mins
  • 21. High Street on Market: 3 Unique Menus a Day, One Delicious Dining Experience

    21. High Street on Market: 3 Unique Menus a Day, One Delicious Dining Experience
    Aug 26 2022
    Foodable is back in the City of Brotherly Love and today we tell the story of High Street on Market. This restaurant ranks on our Philadelphia’s Top 25 Restaurants list, along with its sister concept, a.kitchen + a.bar. Together they are part of High Street Hospitality Group (HSHG) and our Table 42 host, Paul Barron, sat down with culinary director and semi-finalist for the James Beard Award for “Rising Star Chef” in 2015, Chef Jon Nodler.

    High Street is unique and ambitious in the way they run their operations because it offers three different menus at breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

    “When we started, we set out to offer three unique meal periods.... While it has its little challenges, it’s great because we are able to hit a much broader audience,” says Chef Nodler, who got his culinary start at a cafe in Madison, Wis., that specialized in coffee and crepes while placing high importance on ingredients.

    In this "Table 42" episode, Chef Nodler shows off his skills while demonstrating how to prepare his Angry Crab spaghetti, as well as a guest favorite, the Kennett Square mushrooms dish, which has been part of the menu since High Street on Market first opened.
    Show More Show Less
    10 mins
  • 20. Border Grill Making Waves Using Strictly Sustainable Seafood

    20. Border Grill Making Waves Using Strictly Sustainable Seafood
    Aug 12 2022
    Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger, chefs and co-owners of Border Grill, were inspired by authentic Latin flavors they first discovered in the kitchen of a French restaurant. During staff meals, the pair enjoyed Oaxacan and the Yucatecan home cooking prepared by their fellow cooks from Mexico.

    After falling for the cuisine, they traveled to Mexico to get a comprehensive understanding of the flavors. They then brought that knowledge back to California and put their own spin on it to create the Latin-fusion restaurant Border Grill.

    “Susan and I are just mostly focused on the flavor, and we’re not too caught up on authenticity. We love things to be authentic but, you know, over these 30, 40 years we’ve been cooking, we’ve seen that at one point fusion had a real bad name, and now I think that fusion can be done right, so we’re not hung up on what the dish has to be other than really delicious,” Milliken said.
    Show More Show Less
    13 mins
  • 19. Gusto 101’s Chef Zennoni Menu Offers Something For Everyone

    19. Gusto 101’s Chef Zennoni Menu Offers Something For Everyone
    Jul 29 2022
    Toronto is arguably one of Canada’s top foodie cities. Having 10 Torontonian restaurants listed in our Top 25 list alone, it’s not hard to believe why restaurateurs place such importance on not only its food, but architecture and restaurant experience as a whole, to stay ahead in the competitive market.

    That is the case for: Gusto 101— a five-year-old restaurant located in the heart of downtown Toronto, which serves up modern takes on Southern Italian cuisine. The casual eatery was born inside a repurposed garage, featuring concrete, metals and an overall industrial look to the space.

    “The Gusto design... Janet has quite the eye for that... it did win international design awards…,” said Gusto 101’s Executive Chef Elio Zennoni, who was referring to Janet Zuccarini, Gusto 101’s owner, and the Hospitality Design Award the restaurant and Munge Leung interior design firm won back in 2013 in the casual restaurant category.

    The space also features a retractable glass roof for the rooftop dining area that was allows Gusto 101 to provide a patio experience to its guests year round, especially during the fall and winter months.

    To complement the innovative restaurant design, Gusto 101 is equipped with a tech forward kitchen which Chef Zennoni, who has been cooking for over 20 years now, notes it is something that appealed to him from the beginning.

    “[This is] probably one of the most high-tech kitchens I’ve ever worked in. We have a full-induction burners, combi oven, so on and so forth…It’s at the top of the level of, as far as, the future of kitchens, and the future of restaurant design...,” says Zennoni.

    Chef Zennoni, who was first introduced to international cuisine through shows like Wok with Yan and Pasquale’s Kitchen Express, likes to keep the Gusto 101 menu light, fresh and accessible. The menu features creative salads, pasta (which they prepare in-house), flatbread pizza, grilled detailed dishes and sweet desserts. Their goal is to provide plenty of options, something for everyone who visits.
    Show More Show Less
    4 mins