No Beast, no problem. I flew solo behind the mic this week, and the hour was stacked enough without him: four guests, one hour, and enough wine, cocktails, chicken, and Japanese-Mediterranean magic to keep us all busy. -Sipping with Dhiandra Olson (Namak) - Dhiandra Olson, General Manager of Namak, kicked things off pouring bottles — an Evolucio Furmint, a Casa Jipi Barbera Rosé, and a Castel Pujol "Folklore" Naranja orange wine — while dishing on Wine Not Wednesday and the brand-new Sunday Feast. She's WSET Level 3 and Court of Master Sommeliers Level 2, and her hospitality-first philosophy (treat every guest like they're at your own dinner table) runs through everything Namak does, from pairings with Chef Lindsey Flowers' Pikilia and Lamb Smashburger to the Effendi cocktail.  Tales on Tour Comes to DC with Charlotte Voisey - Charlotte Voisey,  who helped open Apartment 195 in London, won UK Bartender of the Year, and now leads the Tales of the Cocktail Foundation and brought big news: Tales on Tour lands in DC September 21–22 at The Square, following stops in LA, Chicago, and Dallas (Miami's next). Expect serious programming for bartenders and hospitality pros, including a Crafting a Seminar Proposal Workshop Charlotte's co-leading with John Gakuru. Tickets are on sale now. Chef Rob Sonderman Talks Chicken and a Second Little Engine - Rob Sonderman, a Capitol Hill native, built his name on barbecue (Hill Country BBQ, Federalist Pig, Honeymoon Chicken) before turning to rotisserie chicken at Little Engine, now wrapping year one at Eastern Market with its retro Formica-and-baseball-cards vibe. The big news broke live on air: Little Engine is opening a second location in the old Pupatella space at 18th and S Street in Dupont Circle. Also new this fall, tenders, wings, football takeout bundles, and yes, the cult-favorite weekend breakfast burrito pop-up is sticking around through winter. Chef Joevel Magpantay Introduces Oribu - Closing out the hour: Chef Joevel Magpantay of Oribu, the new Japanese-Mediterranean spot downtown. He came to DC from Abu Dhabi with over a decade in luxury hospitality, and Oribu — named for the Japanese word for "olive" — is his love letter to the Maritime Silk Road. The space, designed by Johnson Studios by Cooper Carry, sets the tone before the food even arrives: Milk Bread, Wagyu Tataki, Melon and Feta, Burrata, a Citrus Roll  and a private omakase table unlike anything on the à la carte side. Huge thanks to Dhiandra, Charlotte, Rob, and Joevel for a jam-packed hour. Beast will be back next Sunday. Tune in every Sunday at 11AM on 1500AM or here. 

Nycci has 24 years of industry tea, and she's spilling it here.

Nycci Nellis joined WTOP to preview the return of Summer DC Restaurant Week, which features nearly 400 participating restaurants across the DMV. She explained that diners can enjoy three-course lunch and brunch menus priced between $25 and $35, along with three-course dinners ranging from $40 to $65. Nycci encouraged guests to review Restaurant Week menus before dining, make reservations in advance due to high demand, and tip servers based on the full value of the dining experience. She also highlighted several first-time participants, including Malabar, Rosselli, The Grace, Uchi, Catahoula, and Rye Bunny, while recommending the free Let's Eat DC website, which allows diners to easily search every Restaurant Week menu. Beyond DC, Nycci also spotlighted Falls Church's inaugural Summer Restaurant Week and Maxwell Park's annual Lambrusco Week, giving food lovers even more opportunities to explore the region's dining scene.

Ashok Bajaj and Chef Vikram Sunderam built the modern Indian dining scene in Washington DC, and in this chef interview they tell Nycci Nellis exactly how, starting with the night Ashok found out his landlord thought a building worth 40 million dollars still deserved a rent increase.Ashok Bajaj is the founder and CEO of Knightsbridge Restaurant Group, the man Forbes calls DC’s gastronomic power broker. Since opening the Bombay Club in 1988, he has built a ten restaurant empire that includes Rasika, Bindaas, Sababa, Rosselli, and his newest concept, Malabar, a coastal Indian seafood restaurant in Van Ness. On this episode of Industry Night, Nycci Nellis sits down with Ashok on location at Malabar, along with his partner of two decades, James Beard Award winning Chef Vikram Sunderam. They talk about Ashok’s path from hotel management in India and London to building an empire in Washington DC, why he tore down a struggling concept called Rosedale to build Malabar in its place, and his honest read on downtown DC’s post pandemic restaurant economics. Vikram walks through his own path from Mumbai to Rasika, the technique behind the restaurant’s famous palak chaat, and what excites him about coastal Indian cooking at Malabar. This is a DC food podcast conversation with two of the people who actually built the DC dining scene, thirty five years and ten restaurants in the making.Listen to the episode here, or watch it all unfold, here.