If You Can't Stand the Heat. . .

How much longer can the celebrity chef craze last? When is one more celebrity chef one too many?

I'm undecided as to whether the chef-cum-tour guide phenomenon or amateur-cum-chef is worse. Neither one is really food-focused; both are entirely personality-driven, chef-in-your-face orgy of self-indulgence. I will admit to a certain soft spot for Anthony Bourdain, with his dry wit, fondness for smoking and drinking a lot, but still, his advice is hardly practical. But I think the whole genre took a step down with that Andrew Zimmern guy, who's basically just eating raw fish on TV, and it feels like reruns of "You Can't Do That On Television" in more exotic locales.

The flurry of amateur chef shows is perhaps more disturbing, in the same way that all "reality" TV shows are: if there are this many morons running around on TV, how many more must there be in real life? Layer upon layer of obnoxious personalities, uncalled-for weeping, complete unwillingness to take responsibility or make a decision. For sheer guilty pleasure, Hell's Kitchen is the best (worst?), but there's something intriguing about watching other celebrity chefs handicap the next one to join their ranks. I have little use for Top Chef's somewhat random celebrity panel.

Like the "cupcakes with publicists" phenomenon, reality-food-TV seems like another way to unnecessarily complicate what should be simple. Everybody loves food, and you'd love to think you'd cook it for yourself. But instead, you zap a SmartOnes in the microwave so you have time to watch Hell's Kitchen, and dream about cooking--and lots of other people make a whole lot more money in the process.

No Place Like Komi

Yes, that is indeed DC's own Johnny Monis' cute button nose on the cover of Food and Wine's Best New Chefs issue. The accolade is well deserved--Komi's cuisine is some of the most satisfying and inventive I've had in recent months. I can think of no better way to spend an evening and a couple hundred bucks in DC than experiencing the Komi tasting menu that manages to be both comforting and exotic. The chef isn't the only talent in the house, either--the service is impeccable, and sommelier Derek Brown's pairings were spot on and adventurous. I never would have thought to pair the sardines with a superbly dry sherry, but I'm sure glad he did.

F&W features Komi's signature dish of homemade pappardelle with milk-roasted baby goat ragu, but I would highly recommend placing yourselves in the hands of the master.