Chef Todd Fisher Takes a Bite Out of His "Bucket List" in Destination America's New Series UNITED STATES OF FOOD

SILVER SPRING, Md., June 19, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Everyone has a bucket list of things to accomplish in their lifetime. They usually look a bit like this: hike the Appalachian Trail, visit Graceland, go on a New Orleans ghost tour, get pulled onto stage at a Vegas magic show – but Chef Todd Fisher hungers for experiences with a bit more meat to them. As a life-long restaurateur, Chef Todd's passion for palate pleasers has him questing for the best bacon, burgers, and steaks at not just eateries, but meat temples, across the nation in Destination America's new original series UNITED STATES OF FOOD, premiering Sunday, July 8 at 10 PM E/P with "United States of Bacon." Subsequent episodes include "United States of Burgers" on July 15 and "United States of Steak" on July 22.

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"The story of America's love affair with food would not be complete without a chapter on our hearty hallmarks: bacon, burgers, and steak," said Marc Etkind, SVP of Content Strategy for Destination America. "With a tremendous zeal for all things meat and an appetite for inspiring taste buds through the TV screen, Chef Todd makes the perfect host for UNITED STATES OF FOOD and a welcome addition to the Destination America family."

Throughout the series, UNITED STATES OF FOOD visits venues with the best and most innovative menu items in the nation. Making Chef Todd's "bucket list" are pop culture mainstays like Chicago's Billy Goat Tavern, whose "cheeburgers" were made famous by Saturday Night Live, as well as trail-blazing small businesses like the Bacon Bacon Truck in San Francisco and their traffic-stopping grilled cheese, which oozes bacon jam in addition to containing a few strips of the real stuff. A visit to NYC's famous Crif Dogs proves serendipitous as record-holding hot dog competitive eater Takeru Kobayashi is spotted among the crowd of diners tasting his first bacon-wrapped hot dog. UNITED STATES OF FOOD rounds out its journey at venues as interesting as the dishes they concoct, such as The Grill House in Allegan, Mich., a grill-your-own steak joint that is also rumored to be haunted.

The three one-hour episodes include:

United States of Bacon
Premieres Sunday, July 8 at 10 PM E/P
Bacon is undeniably, irrefutably one of America's most favorite foods. But long gone are the days when all that greasy goodness was restricted to a measly side order at breakfast. Today, America is taking bacon to a wild, new extreme that has it popping up in meals and on menus you'd never expect and in ways your taste buds have only dreamed. Chef Todd Fisher samples bacon burgers at Slaters 50/50 in Los Angeles, learns how NYC's Crif Dogs crafts their bacon-wrapped hot dogs, nibbles a bacon and chocolate ice cream sandwich at Big Gay Ice Cream, and halts traffic to taste test the Bacon Bacon Truck's bacon jam-filled grilled cheese in San Francisco. These aren't just restaurants or eateries. They're bacon temples. One man.  One country.  One strip of bacon at a time.

United States of Burgers
Premieres Sunday, July 15 at 10 PM E/P
The hamburger is America's signature sandwich, but Chef Todd Fisher only has the best of the best on his burger bucket list. His food journey begins in Connecticut at Louis Lunch, the home of the hamburger's creation and then onto Boston where Bartley's Gourmet Burgers constantly adds a twist to the staple sandwich. Next, Chef Todd finds hamburger perfection in a New York City steakhouse and then hits Chicago for "cheeburgers," made famous by a Saturday Night Live skit but inspired by the grill masters at Billy Goat Tavern. The bucket list then brings Chef Todd to Memphis for a mouthwatering deep-fried burger from Dyer's On Beale, and finishes in Atlanta at Holeman and Finch, where the coveted "Burger Time" ritual offers 24 carefully assembled burgers each night.

United States of Steak
Premieres Sunday, July 22 at 10 PM E/P
Todd Fisher is on a mission to check the best steaks in America off of his bucket list. Kicking off in the Lone Star State, known for their cattle and cowboys, he tastes the perfect Texas T-Bone and samples a down-home classic: the chicken fried steak. In Michigan, Chef Todd cooks up his favorite cut of beef at a haunted grill-your-own steak joint then makes his way to Boston for the classic Yankee fare and a monstrous prime rib. Stopping in Brooklyn, Chef Todd finds out why Peter Luger's Porterhouse has been rated number one in New York for 28 years running before finishing his journey in Mississippi at the unlikeliest steak mecca you'd ever imagine.

UNITED STATES OF FOOD is produced for Destination America by Sharp Entertainment. For Sharp, Matt Sharp is executive producer. For Destination America, Fay Yu and Ron Simon are executive producers, Sara Kozak is SVP of production, Marc Etkind is SVP of content strategy, and Henry Schleiff is president and general manager.

ABOUT CHEF TODD FISHER
With more than 20 years' experience as a chef, restaurateur, and food columnist, UNITED STATES OF FOOD host Chef Todd Fisher is notorious for big flavors, exciting experiences, and dynamic entertainment. A fifth-generation Californian, Chef Todd began his craft at age 15 with a job at a local Chinese restaurant. Finding his talent quickly, he sought positions in a wide variety of kitchens to learn as much as he could about different cuisines and their associated technique. Chef Todd has worked for and owned some of central California's best restaurants. When not teaching cooking classes or catering intimate parties at his very own food education and entertainment venue, The Kitchen, Chef Todd can be found dazzling the crowd at prestigious food and wine festivals or doting on his wife and five children.

ABOUT DESTINATION AMERICA
Destination America is the first network to celebrate the people, places, and stories of the United States. The inclusive network targeting Adults 25-54 is available in 59.5 million homes, emblazoning television screens with the grit and tenacity, honesty and work ethic, humor and adventurousness that characterize our nation. Destination America features travel, food, adventure, home, and natural history, with original series covering such diverse subjects as American food favorites, mysteries like Jesse James' lost fortune and Area 51, American heroes and innovators, as well as iconic landmarks and wonders like Yellowstone National Park and the Everglades. Destination America is part of Discovery Communications (Nasdaq: DISCA, DISCB, DISCK), the world's #1 nonfiction media company reaching more than 1.5 billion cumulative subscribers in 200 countries and territories.

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SOURCE Destination America