Foodable Top 25 restaurant Work & Class, located in Denver’s River North (RiNo) neighborhood on Larimer Street, is packaged differently than most concepts we’ve seen on “Table 42” thus far. For one, the Latin-American casual restaurant is adamant about “good food, no fuss,” and includes no bells and whistles. Its to-the-point nature is one of the first things you’ll notice on its website: “quality food, no fuss, no reservations, open at 4 p.m., closed Mondays.”

Just like the attributes of its pasta, Seattle’s Cascina Spinasse is where luxury and comfort converge. And like the ethos of most restaurants in the Pacific Northwest, making the most of local, seasonal ingredients is a no-brainer.

“We have a lot of farms and dairies here, and we try to use as much of that produce and the fish and all of our game,” says Stuart Lane, Spinasse’s executive chef. “That is probably one of the biggest similarities of this scene — everyone’s trying to be as local and as farm-driven as possible. It’s so common that it’s almost overlooked; it’s a no-brainer that we all do that.”

Spinasse is a nearly 8-year-old restaurant that specializes in traditional Northern Italian cuisine. And Chef Lane seems to be a perfect fit, given his background.

Let’s take things back to Brooklyn in the ‘90s for a second. The timestamp evokes visions of a raw, gritty borough filled with pockets of poverty. It represents rawness in all of its forms: an authentic, eclectic arts culture, a melting pot of diversity, and a time when Brooklyn was still the little sister on the block compared to “the” city, Manhattan. But during this time, before the cool, gentrified borough that we know BK as today, few people saw what Brooklyn was capable of, and embraced it early on. Michelin Starred chef Polo Dobkin is one of those people. And judging by the success of his restaurant Meadowsweet, which was awarded a Michelin Star in both 2015 and 2016, it was the right move.

In Arabic, Mamnoon translates to “thankful” or “grateful.” In Seattle, it’s an establishment in Melrose Square that explores the intersection of Lebanese, Syrian, and Persian cuisines, an ode to the heritage of co-owners Racha and Wassef Haroun.

“We’re in the middle of a really vibrant community,” says Jason Stratton,Mamnoon’s chef and general manager. “People come here for lunch everyday, and it’s really an expression of that we’re so grateful to be here, to be representing this ancient cuisine, thankful for our guests, thankful for each other, and thankful for the opportunity to really showcase a lesser known cuisine in this part of the world.”

It’s always been essential for chef-operators to find the right balance of showcasing their culinary capabilities without surpassing the comfort zones of guests. Of course, diners’ comfort zones continue to expand as more trust is invested into chefs, perhaps a byproduct of the profession’s glamorization by the media. 

“People are excited [about] having something something spicy…something fermented, excited about experiencing different cultures and different cuisine,” says Rachel Yang, the chef and owner at restaurant Joule in Seattle.

In this “Table 42” episode, Yang takes viewers into the kitchen to whip up one of Joule’s colorful prized dishes: grilled wagyu tri-tip steak with pickled persimmon and charred treviso. “The bitterness of the treviso and the persimmon work really well with the meatiness of the steak,” notes the chef.

Ten hours. That’s the sweet spot for pastrami perfection at DGS Delicatessen, a modern Jewish cookery and a Foodable Top 25 restaurant in Washington, D.C.

DGS is not your typical deli. In fact, it’s so much more.

Watch the episode as we give viewers a closer look at the delicatessen that’s driving D.C. diners to come back for more.

Chef Tom Douglas is helping to evolve the sustainability movement in foodservice — at least in Seattle, where he owns more than 10 full-service restaurants.

His 13th, The Carlile Room, pays homage to the ’60s and ’70s. It’s hip, unique and, especially in a culinarily sustainable sense, much needed.

“Sustainability utilization is all part of the lexicon of today’s restaurants,” says Chef Tom.

The Carlile Room menu utilizes high-quality meats and Alaska Seafood to enhance its plant-based dishes.

In this episode of “Table 42,” brought to you by Alaska Seafood, host Paul Barron joins Chef Tom in the kitchen to explore some of the underused approaches to different types of Alaska seafood that him and his team are implementing at The Carlile Room. Halibut cheeks and wok-fried King Crab steal the show.

Watch the full episode as we explore the best in seafood, and to learn how Chef Tom has evolved as a sustainable-focused chef over the years.

Each guest at Jack Rose Dining Saloon starts with a cube of fried pork headcheese (alternative options are available for non-meat eaters). From there, it’s common to order a whiskey cocktail considering this D.C. joint, also a Foodable Top 25 restaurant, houses 2,300 different whiskeys. In fact, Jack Rose hosts the largest whiskey collection in the western hemisphere.

Because of this factoid, it was a vital mission for Executive Chef Russell Jones to make food that pairs well with the bar. Classically trained in French cuisine, Chef Russell fuses his background style with a southern slant, paying homage to his South Carolina roots. 

The result? Menu items like rabbit atop a bed of marrow fat beans, ingredients he sources from an Amish farmer’s co-up in Pennsylvania. He also keeps up with the classics of bar food with a more chef-driven twist, like the sweet yet mildly spicy smoked whiskey wings. Like many chefs these days, Chef Russell, with previous ties to Restaurant Eve, puts a lot of emphasis on simplicity and high-quality products. 

In this vignette, brought to you by the Foodable WebTV Network, we bring viewers into Jack Rose Dining Saloon to explore all of the above, and more. Bottoms up!

“We can’t make Parmesan, but if we could we would,” says Chef Chris Leahy of Parm in New York City.

With four outposts in New York, including one in Yankee Stadium, Parm has been a hit to locals and to visiting diners with a hankering for Italian-American food since 2011. “We always put a unique spin on our cuisine, so it’s not 100 percent Italian food; it’s more of an Italian-American take on the food,” says Chef Leahy.

Parm’s menu is made up of dishes using the freshest ingredients possible (bread is delivered twice a day), and the team makes all house-made ingredients — from pastas to mozzarella — on a daily basis. Mozzarella is made in-house twice a day.

In this “Table 42” vignette, brought to you by the Foodable WebTV Network, we join Chef Leahy in Parm’s Battery Park location, where he shows us how to make Parm’s famous chicken parm sandwich (and we learn of a secret ingredient to help seal in flavors). Parm sells roughly 200 of these sandwiches to diners every single day of the week. He also gives us the lowdown on The Ozersky sandwich, a tribute to the late, great NYC-based food writer and enthusiast, Josh Ozersky. A roast beef aficionado, The Ozersky is fittingly made up of Parm’s house roast beef, mozzarella, and pepperoncini.

In a city where cutthroat competition can be found on just about every other block, filled with a melting pot of honest consumers — some of which have grown up in authentic Italian households themselves — how does Parm keep itself above the water? What does Leahy attribute to its success, and what inspires him to cook? And what does the chef want diners to take away from their Parm experience? Check out the full episode above to find out!

“Table 42” is a Foodable Network WebTV show that brings viewers inside high-end restaurants around the country that are redefining their respective markets and beyond. Each chef, each dish, and each venue has a story to tell unlike the last. Giving our audience a front-row seat into the goings on of culinary creation, “Table 42,” hosted by Foodable Founder/CEO and Executive Producer Paul Barron, is filled with valuable knowledge for chefs and operators, with top-line executive chefs giving us access into their kitchens.

In this 2015 compilation of “Table 42” footage, brought to you by the Foodable WebTV Network, we’re bringing you back into some of the best establishments we had the pleasure of filming at this year — from Peasant in New York City, an Old World, Tuscan-style restaurant helmed by Chef DeCarlo (fun fact: it’s Marc Forgione’s favorite restaurant to eat at when he’s not working), to Counter 3. Five. VII in Austin, a restaurant built on a non-traditional, no-waitstaff model. Watch the full episode to learn more.