Chef Haidar Karoum (Proof, Estadio) was crowned the champion of last night's Capital Food Fight. But the real winner was DC Central Kitchen, for which the event raised over half a million dollars. more ›

D.C. restaurateurs and food fanatics alike turned out in droves for this year's sold out Capital Food Fight to benefit D.C. Central Kitchen–although it's unclear whether they were there for the food, the fierce competition or to see how long it would take José Andrés to lose his voice. (For the record: it started to give out sometime after Round 2.) Chef Michael Mina, creator of Bourbon Steak and the only out-of-town chef participating in the competition, took the crown from reigning champ Barton Seaver during a final round that featured coquitos (baby coconuts) as the secret ingredient. more ›

The event finally happened last week, but the interview didn't come up. Instead, Waters and Bourdain danced around the topic of local food prices and the recession, without ever fully addressing it. more ›

Everyone knows it's been a big week for chili, especially Ben's Chili Bowl. But we're not here to talk about Ben's, for once this week. Because whether you love or don't love the chili from Ben's, its squeeze-tap runny texture isn't quite comparable to most traditional chili. more ›

Anthony Bourdain is the acerbic host of No Reservations on the Travel Channel. His rise to fame can be attributed to Kitchen Confidential, his book exploring the seamy underworld of the restaurant industry. Since then he has written two more books, and has served as a guest judge on Top Chef. more ›

Where: Spices/Nooshi, Malaysia Kopitiam more ›

OK, he may not be Brad Pitt or George Clooney, but I'd bet $5 on Anthony Bourdain in a bare-knuckle boxing match. So, if you see him around town this weekend, filming segments for his Travel Channel show, No Reservations, best not tick him off. more ›

DCist spotted this camera crew at 13th and U Streets just now. A producer told us they're filming a promo for The Travel Channel's Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations around the U Street area until about 4 p.m. today, and looking for people on the street to appear in the spot. No speaking is required - they're mostly asking people to hold up signs they've made that promote the show. The crew is camped out at popular coffee shop Mocha Hut right now, but they'll be hopping around to different U Street locations for the next couple of hours, including Ben's Chili Bowl. And no, Bourdain himself isn't here. Sigh. more ›

So where does Anthony Bourdain – chef, writer, traveler - spend his night after bumping elbows with six of D.C.’s top chefs? Unsurprisingly, at Ben’s Chili bowl. Keeping true to his inclinations for “adventurous” eating, Anthony Bourdain visited famed Ben’s Chili Bowl Tuesday night after having MC’ed D.C.’s annual Capital Food Fight. “I loved it, it’s the kind of food I like,” responded Bourdain to a question during the Q&A session of his sold-out talk... more ›

>> No Reservations star Anthony Bourdain was reportedly at Ben's Chili Bowl last night, so if you're heading to his reading at GW's Lisner Auditorium tonight, be sure to try to ask him what he thinks of the chili half-smoke. For more information & to check on ticket availability (it's nearly sold-out), call Smithsonian Associates at 202-633-3030. $28, $14 for GW students at the Lisner box office. 7 p.m. >> Philadelphia quintet Dr. Dog... more ›

MONDAY: Jerome Groopman — a New Yorker staff writer, best-selling author and professor at Harvard Medical School — will be at the Historic Sixth & I Synagogue to discuss his latest collection of essays, How Doctors Think. If they're like our favorite television doctor, it's probably "What's the best way to humiliate my employees today?" 7 p.m. $6 TUESDAY: Min Jin Lee will be at the Johns Hopkins University-SAIS Bernstein-Offit Building to read from her... more ›

Standing on an elaborate stage in front of a sold-out crowd at Wednesday night's D.C. Food Fight, a surprisingly slight but eminently well-dressed Anthony Bourdain denied Chef Ris Lacoste her third win, instead crowning Roberto Donna as this year's champion. No, a threepeat wasn’t in the cards; Roberto Donna—who Bourdain referred to as "sweaty dude"—eked out two wins in preliminary rounds to barely top Lacoste in the final. The secret ingredient, Romanesco (which we presciently featured last week), was transformed into a spicy ragú with escargot and yogurt foam by Lacoste, but Donna's soup (the ingredients of which I couldn't catch, the sound was horrible) "reigned supreme" as they say. more ›

One of Washington's best food events, the Capital Food Fight, is a little over a week away, and I expect there is wanton smack-talking between the competition's 10 food-fighters. Bebo's Roberto Donna, Mie n Yu's Tim Elliot, Kinkead's Bob Kinkead, last year's winner Ris Lacoste, Jamie Leeds of Hank's Oyster Bar, Taberna del Alabardero's Santi Zabaleta, John Wabeck of Firefly, IndeBleu's Vikram Garg, Anthony Chittum from Notti Bianche, and Boston's Ken Oringer -- a pilgrim from that city's Clio -- will take to the International Trade Center for the third-annual benefit for D.C. Central Kitchen, and it promises to be smoking hot! more ›

In what could be described as either the rebirth of Fear Factor or Anthony Bourdain's dream come true, TasteDC.com -- that hard-hearted harbinger of haggis -- has organized the 1st Annual Unique and Unusual Food and Wine Festival. Scheduled for Wednesday, October 25 at the Women's National Democratic Club in Dupont Circle's Whittemore House, the festival will spotlight both rare ingredients and seldom seen animal parts that will make you moan with delight or squirm with disgust. more ›

Anthony Bourdain defines "food porn" as "the glorification of food as a substitute for sex." As with food porn, wine porn -- to paraphrase Bourdain -- describes certain mind-blowingly hedonistic and expensive wines for an audience that has little intention of actually drinking them. If Wine Spectator and Robert Parker's Wine Advocate are the respective Penthouse and Hustler of wine publications, then the 7th Annual Heart's Delight Wine Tasting and Auction -- running from Thursday, May 11 through Saturday, May 13 at locations in and around Washington -- is the industry's blockbuster AVN Awards Show. And if you're willing to shell out enough cash, you can buy yourself a role as a wine pornstar for a day -- or three. more ›

When you're pining for vacation travel that's still six weeks away, you have to get creative to avoid lighting something on fire for sheer kicks. I know last week I suggested visiting restaurants and bars that serve your favorite food and drinks to make it through March. But sometimes you'd rather have a little adventure. And for inspiration, you need look no further than Anthony Bourdain. more ›

MONDAY >> Monday welcomes the Fictionista Book Tour to Washington, D.C., featuring readings from Josie Brown (True Hollywood Lies), Kayla Perrin (Gimme an O!) and Stephanie Lessing (She’s Got Issues). Good gravy! All that chicklit in one place? Does it get any better? Oh, people. It does. The event is taking place at the Hard Rock Café -- and that means Aerosmith-themed quesadillas. 999 E. St NW., 7 p.m. TUESDAY >> In her book, Nickel... more ›