DeRusha Eats is on the road in Aspen, Colorado at the 41st annual FOOD & WINE Classic in Aspen. Hear from the three finalists in Bravo's Top Chef TV Culinary competition: Milwaukee’s Dan Jacobs, North Carolina's Savannah Miller and New York City's Danny Garcia. Plus, are restaurants taking themselves too seriously? Maybe we all are. Chef Kwame Onwuachi reminds us: "It's just dinner." Minnesota's Gavin Kaysen talks about fine dining and the culture of rating restaurants instead of being restored within. And Luke Shimp from Red Cow / Red Rabbit tells me why he keeps coming back to Food & Wine every year.

Sameh Wadi was a culinary prodigy in his low 20’s.Competed on Food Network’s Iron Chef at age 24. Had his own fine dining Mediterranean restaurant, Saffron at age 23. But after a decade, he was burned out and closed it. In the interim, his fast-casual World Street Kitchen and ice cream shop Milkjam have taken his energy. But now, post-COVID, he’s returning to his roots and rebooting his first love. Why now and what role his identity as a Palestinian-Minnesotan has in his food in this extended conversation.

What is Minnesota barbeque? Is it a thing? We have seen more and more success in the upper midwest as pitmasters try to create their own flavors and businesses. In the North Metro, both Smokey’s BBQ and Jellybean and Julia’s have found large audiences and more than a decade of success. Chris Leibel talks about Smokey’s Pub & Grill in the East Bethel area. Koli and Cory Swap run Jellybean and Julia’s - they share their love story and how they are moving locations and hoping to move their audience with them.

Two of my favorite restaurants in the 651 of St Paul Minnesota share their stories of Refining St. Paul food in DeRusha Eats. Jason Hansen and Peter Sebastian talk about their Spanish-inspired bar and restaurant Estelle and their sandwich and pizza shop Mario’s. Meanwhile on the East Side, Tongue In Cheek has been getting it done for a decade.

Leonard Anderson, his wife, Ashleigh Newman, and Ryan Huseby own and run a neighborhood spot with a regional reputation.