Foodie and the Beast

  Hosted by David and Nycci Nellis.     On today’s show: ·         Molly Irani, cofounder and chief culture officer of the James Beard Award–winning Chai Pani Restaurant Group and author of her debut book, “Service Ready: A Story of Love, Restaurants, and the Power of Hospitality.” It’s about how Molly and husband Meherwan Irani (founder of Sp...

Hosted by David and Nycci Nellis.     On today’s show:   ·         Tae Strain is the most excellent chef-partner at Burnt Hill Farm and culinary director of the Old Westminster Winery, both owned by the same family team. We met him many moons ago when he was the head chef at D.C.’s gone, but not forgotten, Michelin-starred Momofuku. We met up...

  Hosted by David and Nycci Nellis.     On today’s show:   ·         Chris Swonger is president and CEO of the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States (DISCUS), the leading voice for distilled spirits across the U.S. market. He also holds the same positios with Responsibility.org, fighting drunk driving and underage drinking and pr...

Hosted by David and Nycci Nellis.     On today’s show:   ·         Regina McLinden , founder of RM Wellness in Georgetown – specializing in customized massage therapy, manual lymphatic drainage, and showcasing local art;                    &nbsp...

  Hosted by David and Nycci Nellis.     On today’s show:   ·         The Bethesda Fine Arts Festival is back May 9 and 10, filling the streets with artisans from all over the U.S. and their original artwork, sculptures, photography and much more. Stephanie Coppula of the Bethesda Urban Partnership tells us all about it;   &...

Hosted by David and Nycci Nellis.     On today’s show:     ·         Start-up and fledgling small businesses need all the helpful input and guidance they can get to succeed. Fortunately, the 2026 POWERUP DC Small Business Summit & Expo starts May 5. It’s designed to be an energizing, enriching event equipping small business owners and...

Hosted by David and Nycci Nellis.     On today’s show:     ·         Nevin Martell talks about Mess Hall NKOTB (that’s New Kitchens on the Block);                                &n...

Hosted by David and Nycci Nellis.     On today’s show:     ·         Kevin Tien, James Beard finalist and the owner of DC’s award-winning Moon Rabbit, is teaming for the second time with Alan Vo to open Chao Ban, bringing Vietnamese street food to Tysons Galleria. Kevin joins us in the studio;      &nbsp...

Hosted by David and Nycci Nellis.     On today’s show:     ·         2026 is the 50th Anniversary of the Judgment of Paris, where – for the first time – two Napa Valley American wines bested French wines in a blind tasting. That huge, seismic moment in wine is part of the nation’s 250th anniversary celebration, and Stephen Velasquez, cura...

Hosted by David and Nycci Nellis.     On today’s show:     ·         We say “Carla Hall” and you say, “ OMG – that’s celebrated chef, author, Top Chef All-Star, co-host of ABC’s The Chew, and former Howard U accounting major!” Then we say, “Micheline Mendelsohn, ” her partner’s name, and you say that she’s deputy CEO at the Sunnyside...

Hosted by David and Nycci Nellis.    On today’s show: ·         You’d have to be living under a rock not to know of Marcus Samuelson, a multiple James Beard Foundation award winner. His restaurant here, Marcus DC, opened and instantly became one of The Washington Post’s top five in the city. But Marcus takes global strides and isn’t there...

Hosted by David and Nycci Nellis.     On today’s show: ·         He’s a flavor explorer and a culinary storyteller - Emmanuel Laroche, the noted food and beverage industry executive, creator and host of the podcast “Flavors Unknown,” and author of “Conversations Behind the Kitchen Door” and “A Taste of Madagascar;"   ·   &n...

Hosted by David and Nycci Nellis.     On today’s show: ·         Celebrated for its mouth-watering, slow-smoked meats, Latin-inspired sides, and a no-shortcuts approach to craft, 2Fifty Barbecue is touted by many as the DMV’s best, including Washingtonian’s Top 100 Very Best Restaurants, where it comes in ranked at #22 overall. Not too shabby – so...

Hosted by David and Nycci Nellis.     On today’s show: Geraldine Mendoza is the founder of Taquería Xochi, which just opened a fourth location in the Navy Yard. Not bad for a place that started out as a pandemic-era ghost kitchen. Known for Mexican favorites including tacos, cemitas, tlayudas, and aguas frescas, Taqueria Xochi gets universal praise – even from the hard-to-please Tom Siet...

Hosted by David and Nycci Nellis.     On today’s show:   ·         Scott Drewno, partnered with Danny Lee in the Fried Rice Collective, here to take about food for the Big Game and the Upstate New York foods he grew up with that he’s now able to offer;              &nbs...

Hosted by David and Nycci Nellis.     On today’s show:   ·  Diane Gross, chair of the board, RAMW, She and her husband, Khalid Pitts, have also opened a Cork in Cleveland Park; ·          Stephanos Andreou and Constandina Andreou, cofounders of D.C.’s hit, new make-your-own-pasta place, Gigi’s, in the Western Market near Th...

Hosted by David and Nycci Nellis. We’re closing out 2025 with a show we’re calling State of the Plate, because if there’s one thing this year demanded from the hospitality industry, it was honesty. So today, we’re setting the table for an honest, forward-looking conversation: What actually happened in 2025? What’s broken? What’s changing? And what does it take for restaurants not just to survive —...

Hosted by David and Nycci Nellis.   On today’s show:   ·         Monica Evans, beverage director, the Coquito Bar, a tropical holiday cocktail oasis inside La Cosecha in the Union Market District;                         &nbs...

Hosted by David and Nycci Nellis.     On today’s show: ·         The SNAP mess created during the recent government shutdown threatened 40 million Americans – among them, 16 million kids – with the loss of desperately needed funding for food. Food they count on for survival. Hunger across America – and across the DC area – remains a challenge. Radh...

Hosted by David and Nycci Nellis.     On today’s show: ·         He’s a true Renaissance man in the food world. You’ve seen him on PBS and all sorts of national media … and now Chef Gregorio Fierro is here on Foodie and the Beast. He is a certified master Instructor for the Scuola Italiana Pizzaioli, an authority on Mediterranean and Japanese cuisi...

Hosted by David and Nycci Nellis.     On today’s show:   ·         One of the hottest new restaurants in D.C. is K Street’s Barbouzzard, French for “secret agent”. Inspired by the French Riviera, this place is just as hot. Barbouzzard’s creator and principal managing partner, Nasr El Hage, and executive chef and partner – and one of our favori...

Hosted by David Nellis.     On today’s show:   ·         So timely a guest and a subject. Brian Mulholland, chairman of the John S. Mulholland Family Foundation, whose mission is very straightforward -- to ensure local food pantries have the resources they need to support food-insecure families with dignity and respect. He is joined by Christi...

   Hosted by David and Nycci Nellis. On today’s show:   ·         A grecophile is someone with a strong affinity for Greek culture. Well, no one has a stronger affinity for Greece -- and Greek and Mediterranean cuisine -- than chef, cookbook author and beloved PBS TV host Diane Kochilas. She has a lot to share -- a new book just out titled “At...

Hosted by David and Nycci Nellis.     On today’s show:   ·         Dr. David Nutt is the chief scientific officer of both GABA Labs and SENTIA Spirits. A world-renowned neuropsychopharmacologist, he founded GABA Labs in 2016 to develop scientifically validated alternatives to alcohol by targeting the GABA system, the brain’s natural mechanism...

Hosted by David and Nycci Nellis.     On today’s show:   ·         Confused about “eating vegan” or what a vegan lifestyle – like beauty, skincare, or clothing - includes and excludes? Not to worry. Joining us is Angela Yvonne, host of Vegan Pop Eats;   ·         Viyas Sundaram is the founder of the...