Meeting with chefs taking center stage in the kitchen; from a D.C. deli, to breakfast in Baltimore, to Creole in Los Angeles, biscuits in Atlanta and a pork-lover's paradise in Portland, Ore.; pizza in Minneapolis and a crazy joint in Charlotte, N.C.

In Palm Springs, a barbecue joint piles up the meats; in Norfolk, a wing spot goes big with their buffalo and kills it with their Cajun; in Maui, a place dishes out lobster grilled cheese followed by a shaved ice specialty.