Hispanic Heritage Month is here, and around the DMV that means a month of good food, live music, and culture as communities show up to celebrate what makes them, well, them.It runs September 15 through October 15, not the 1st, cause September 15 is Independence Day for five Latin American countries (Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua), with Mexico's right behind it on the 16th and Chile's on the 18th. What started as a one-week observance in 1968 became the full month we know now in 1988, and ever since, it's been a chance to celebrate the history, culture, and contributions of Hispanic and Latino communities in everything from food and music to art and business.See our calendar of events for events and celebrations all month long.

Nycci has 24 years of industry tea, and she's spilling it here.

Nycci Nellis joined WTOP to preview the return of Summer DC Restaurant Week, which features nearly 400 participating restaurants across the DMV. She explained that diners can enjoy three-course lunch and brunch menus priced between $25 and $35, along with three-course dinners ranging from $40 to $65. Nycci encouraged guests to review Restaurant Week menus before dining, make reservations in advance due to high demand, and tip servers based on the full value of the dining experience. She also highlighted several first-time participants, including Malabar, Rosselli, The Grace, Uchi, Catahoula, and Rye Bunny, while recommending the free Let's Eat DC website, which allows diners to easily search every Restaurant Week menu. Beyond DC, Nycci also spotlighted Falls Church's inaugural Summer Restaurant Week and Maxwell Park's annual Lambrusco Week, giving food lovers even more opportunities to explore the region's dining scene.

Chef Steven Fretz has spent two decades cooking in some of the best kitchens in the country, and now Michelin has finally noticed Utah. In this chef interview, he tells Nycci Nellis what actually happened when he got the email announcing it, and why his first reaction was pure disbelief. Chef Steven Fretz built his career across San Francisco’s Fifth Floor, the Michael Mina Group, and his own restaurant Church Key in LA before co-founding Coast Range, a Michelin recognized steakhouse in Solvang, California. Now he is home in Utah as culinary director and partner at South Hill, a luxury community on the Wasatch Back, where he is opening two restaurants, Montbleu and Charlay. On this episode of Industry Night, Nycci Nellis sits down with Steven right as the Michelin Guide announces its first ever Southwest edition, putting Utah on the map for the first time. They get into what Michelin recognition actually felt like the first time it happened, why he calls himself a resting chef who sears and rests a single steak up to ten times before it is served, and why he believes hospitality, not cooking, is the hardest part of running a restaurant. It is an honest conversation about accolades, ego, and building a serious hospitality business from the ground up, in California wine country and now the Utah mountains. This is a DC food podcast that goes wherever the best chefs and restaurateurs are, and this week that is Midway, Utah. Listen to the full episode, or watch it all here.