DC chef Spike Mendelsohn has traded some of his kitchen time for a podcast microphone this year, and Washington foodies have plenty else to track too.
A Top Chef Alum Turns Podcast Host
Mendelsohn, the Montreal born Capitol Hill chef who finished fifth on season four of Top Chef, now spends a good part of each week behind a microphone rather than a stove.
His In The Weeds Podcast drops a new conversation every Tuesday, and the guest list reads like a who’s who of the restaurant trade.
Recent sit downs include Chef Amanda Freitag of Food Network fame, Beat Bobby Flay champion Chef Chad Rosenthal, and Anthony Jones, the Marcus DC chef competing this season on Top Chef.
Shawn Townsend, president of the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington, has also joined Mendelsohn to talk through the pressures facing the DMV dining scene.
The show is free on Spotify and Apple Podcasts, and it has quickly become required listening for anyone who wants the unfiltered version of what happens after the dining room closes!
From Reality TV To The CIA Boardroom
On February 5, 2026, the Culinary Institute of America named Mendelsohn to its board of trustees, a return of sorts for the 2005 graduate. CIA President Michiel Bakker said Mendelsohn’s leadership and passion for food, hospitality, sustainability, and community minded food policy would serve the college well as it marks its 80th year.
Mendelsohn is also the executive producer behind The Inn at Little Washington, A Delicious New Documentary, which premiered at the Virginia Film Festival before airing nationally on PBS.
Between the board seat, the film credit, and roughly three decades in professional kitchens, Mendelsohn has built a resume that stretches well past the burger counter where most DC diners first met him.
What Still Carries His Name Around DC
The original Good Stuff Eatery on Capitol Hill, the burger counter at 303 Pennsylvania Ave SE that drew the Obama family after opening in 2008, closed its doors on February 9, 2026 and reopened on March 16, 2026 as bumblebirds, a Southern fried chicken and cocktail spot Mendelsohn’s family launched with fellow Top Chef alum Carla Hall.
The brand itself has not slowed down. Good Stuff Eatery still serves burgers, shakes, and fries at its Georgetown location, plus outposts in Arlington, at Reagan National Airport, in Chicago, and as far away as Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. We, The Pizza, the pizzeria Mendelsohn opened next door to the original Good Stuff in 2010, keeps slicing pies on Capitol Hill and in Arlington.
Santa Rosa Taqueria, which took over the old Béarnaise space in 2017, still pours margaritas on Capitol Hill and is now planning a second location in Arlington’s Clarendon neighborhood at the former Seamore’s spot on Clarendon Boulevard.
And Mendelsohn’s plant based ventures, PLNT Burger and the snack company Eat the Change, continue to expand well beyond the District.
So does Just Ice Tea, the organic, fair trade bottled tea line Mendelsohn co-founded with Honest Tea alumni Seth Goldman and Barry Nalebuff in 2022, where he serves as chief brewmaster. Inc. magazine named it the fifth fastest growing food and beverage brand in the country in 2025, and the company closed a $9 million Series B round this year to fund new flavors and national retail growth.
The Next Plate Lands At Capital One Arena
Mendelsohn’s newest venture opened away from a traditional dining room entirely. Arena Bar & Eats debuted on October 17, 2025 at Capital One Arena for the Washington Capitals’ home opener against the Minnesota Wild, built with Aramark Sports and Entertainment as part of Monumental Sports and Entertainment’s billion dollar arena overhaul.
Off the concourse, Mendelsohn keeps his policy hand active too. He was appointed the first chairman of DC’s Food Policy Council under Mayor Muriel Bowser in 2015 and still serves as chef ambassador to CARE International, work that runs alongside his restaurant and podcast schedule rather than behind it.
Good Stuff Eatery’s Georgetown location sits at 3291 M St NW, Washington, DC 20007, open daily with hours varying by day, and pricing that varies by item and location.
In The Weeds Podcast streams free every Tuesday on Spotify and Apple Podcasts, and Arena Bar & Eats is open to all ticket holders at Capital One Arena on game nights.
Follow The Washington Lobbyist for more on the chefs, hosts, and ventures shaping DC’s dining scene.
