Weekend Watchlist: Food edition

Weekend Watchlist is back! In honor of this week’s Dining Guide, TPN staffers picked their favorite food-related shows that are currently available to stream.

Street Food (Netflix) // Justin Gardner, Staff Writer

“Street Food” is a tantalizing glimpse into incredible foods and diverse cultures. Each episode of this Netflix Originals docuseries highlights a different country and its street food. It touches on each country’s food culture, as well as its best individual dishes — but the heart of the show lies in its characters.

Each episode follows a single street food chef and their business. Chefs discuss their early and adult life, how they became cooks, their signature dishes and their day-to-day tasks. “Street Food” brings to light the struggles and triumphs of these people, while capturing their passion for cooking. The result is a show with an intimate feeling, weaving together fascinating cultures with very personal stories. At the center of these cultures and people is an array of diverse, mouth-watering foods. This show is great for anyone that enjoys learning about different kinds of cuisine and the stories behind the people that make them.

Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives (Hulu, Food Network) // Mary Rose O’Donnell, Digital Manager

A large Italian man with sunglasses driving a vintage red convertible appears on your television screen. He looks into the camera and utters, “I’m Guy Fieri and we’re rollin’ out, lookin’ for America’s greatest diners, drive-ins and dives.” You have now entered the world of “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives,” a show where chef, Food Network celebrity and Mayor of Flavortown Guy Fieri travels around the country literally visiting the best diners, drive-ins and dives.

The show’s simple premise mixed with Fieri’s extravagant personality and catchphrases (“funkalicious,” “flavortown” and “put it on a flip flop” are my personal favorites) creates a jam-packed 22 minutes of food-filled fun. Each episode, Fieri visits three food joints around the country, talks to their owners and customers and even tries the food himself. The best part of Triple D, besides Fieri of course, is the fact the restaurants featured are all real, affordable places to eat that you can go and visit yourself — the closest probably being Kelly O’s in the Strip District. “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” takes you on a food road trip without ever having to leave your couch.

The Chef Show (Netflix) // Thomas Wick, Senior Staff Writer

Ever wanted to know what happened to Happy Hogan from the MCU after “Avengers: Endgame?” He decided to leave his stressful life chauffeuring for a superhero by taking up cooking with his friend Roy Choi — a famous Korean American chef known for creating the Mexican/Korean Taco Truck chain Kogi.

Jon Favreau (perhaps best known for his character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe) made a film back in 2014 called “Chef” (currently available on Netflix), and he consulted with Choi about the film several times. Choi even taught Favreau how to cook — both for the film and in general. After the film ended, Favreau wanted to find a way to continue cooking with Roy, which led to the creation of “The Chef Show.” Join these two as they travel across America, visiting people in their kitchens or food trucks, and cooking all kinds of cuisine with all kinds of cool guests such as Robert Rodriguez, Dave Filoni, Seth Rogen, Tom Holland, the Russo Brothers and many more. Of course, just make sure you don’t watch it on an empty stomach.

Chopped (Hulu, Food Network) // Tamara Alchoufete, Staff Writer

Do you love watching shows that have you sitting on the edge of your seat while — and I don’t recommend this — mindlessly biting your nails? Then “Chopped” is the show for you! This Food Network OG is filled with betrayal, success and some insane food combinations. Four chefs from all over the country — and in some seasons, all over the world — come into this high-stakes cooking competition and fight to make it to the end. There are three timed rounds that correspond to the order of meals — appetizer, entree and dessert.

To give the show a crazy turn, the chefs are given a basket with the most random ingredients like oysters or Twinkies and have to make a viable meal that’ll wow the judges. One chef is eliminated each round, and only one will win in the end, receiving cold hard cash and a champion title. If you’re feeling the midterm scaries, I would suggest being whisked away to this topsy-turvy world of intense carrot chopping, anxiety-induced baking and holding your breath until the timer countdown is over. Another pro-tip: if you’re ever bored with friends, choose three or four ingredients you have lying around and make your own “Chopped” competition.