The Winston Churchill High School class of 1996 is having a good week in the world of food media — Dhani Jones was on Man v. Food, David Freedenberg will be on No Reservations, and I was on the KGSR “Late Show” for my weekly Tasty Touring segment.

While a local radio gig may not be as big a deal as being a regular guest with Anthony Bourdain, or having your own show like Dhani Tackles the Globe, my mom still thinks it’s cool.

This Monday, Sept. 7 at 9 p.m. CT, Dave “Famous Fat Dave” Freedenberg will help Tony Bourdain eat his way through the Bronx on the next episode of No Reservations.

After graduating from NYU, Dave drove a bread truck, worked the barrels at Guss Pickles, and was a cheesemonger at Murray’s Cheese Shop, and sold hot dogs at a minor league ball park.

He also moonlighted as a NYC cab driver, discovering hidden culinary treasures tucked into the city’s burroughs. He now leads Famous Fat Dave’s Five Borough Eating tour in his classic white checker cab.

Dave is a regular on No Reservations, taking Tony to drink egg creams and Lime Rickeys at Eisenberg’s and eat sausage, head cheese, and drink beer out of a boot-shaped glass at Heidelberg earlier this year on the show. Check it out on YouTube here.

By trying his hand at sports from around the globe, Dhani explores the way sports help to define culture on The Travel Channel’s Dhani Tackles the Globe. The twist? Dhani, an NFL linebacker for the Cinncinati Bengal’s (and former player for my alma maters, Churchill and Michigan) gets a crash course in an international sport.

The Travel Channel featured Dhani Jones on Man v. Food last night as they competed as the Food Fighters in the Doughman’s Challenge, an event in Durham, North Carolina that combines competitive eating with a traditional triathlon. If you missed it, check the online schedule for reruns throughout the weekend.

Both of these guys have come a long way. I remember that Dave used to be close friends with a girl who put her hand over the lower half of her face when she chewed because she didn’t want people to see her mouth while she was eating.

Dhani used to sing at the top of his lungs in history class while we were taking mid-terms because he was finished while the rest of us were still working. Yes, he’s super smart in addition to being a ridiculous athlete and good looking. I was impressed to see him give Man v. Food’s Adam Richman the mike during the Doughman press conference [warning: contains spoiler]. Could it be that he has learned to give up the spotlight a bit?

And here I am this morning flanked by hosts Bryan Beck and Andy Langer in the KGSR studio just before we chatted with David Alan (aka The Tipsy Texan), about the craft of the cocktail and the new bar menu at Annie’s
on Congress.

We’ve been talking about the Austin food scene almost every Thursday at 8:30 a.m. since May and it’s been a lot of fun to get to talk about my favorite subject with such interesting guests like Nubian Queen Lola, Joe of Rockstar Bagels, Greg of Preservation Bacon, Tony from Little Deli, and more. If you missed it, you can listen in to today’s show by clicking on these links:

Congrats to everyone at KGSR for being named Best Music Station by readers in the annual Austin Chronicle poll released today. It was fun celebrating with the Chronicle’s Kate Messer as she joined us in tasting David’s morning “eye openers” like the Pepito made with fresh cucumber juice.

For those of you interested in reading more about making creative cocktails at home, David recommends you check out Drink Dogma, CocktailDB, and the Imbibe Magazine article on getting your bar started.