🇺🇸 Washington

Beloved institution in DC that serves chili dogs

"Big daddy of the DC restaurant scene," says Tony of Jose Andres

This used to be Chadwicks, where Tony had beers and burgers with a former US spy

Chesapeake Bay crabs

Tony talked with a retired spy and visited the museum

Training facility that gives second chances to convicted felons out of prison. They take leftover ingredients from restaurants and hotels and make food for the needy

A D.C. institution since 1958 that survived the 1968 riots, the crack epidemic, and gentrification. Bourdain orders the half-smoke — D.C.'s signature chili-topped sausage — and pays homage to a restaurant that is the living history of the U Street corridor.

José Andrés' temple of molecular gastronomy — a six-seat counter inside his flagship restaurant where 20+ courses of avant-garde Spanish cooking unfold over two hours. Bourdain experiences edible cocktails, deconstructed classics, and the genius of one of his favorite chefs.

Washington's oldest saloon, founded in 1856. Bourdain stops for oysters at the mahogany bar and reflects on the power lunches, deal-making, and history that have unfolded in this room for 150+ years. A D.C. institution where the raw bar is the real draw.

America's oldest continuously operating soul food restaurant, open since 1944. Bourdain has breakfast here — grits, eggs, scrapple, and biscuits — in a room that has fed the Black community of D.C. for generations. Real food, real history.

Bourdain explores D.C.'s Ethiopian food scene — the largest Ethiopian community outside Africa. At Dukem on U Street, he eats injera with doro wat and kitfo, experiencing the communal, hands-on dining tradition that defines Ethiopian cuisine.

Bourdain visits D.C.'s historic Capitol Hill market, operating since 1873. He explores the weekend food stalls, the fresh produce, the artisanal vendors, and the Market Lunch counter — where the blueberry buckwheat pancakes are legendary.