‘The Best Thing I Ever Ate’ returns, just

By Andrew Warren TV Media

By now, Thanksgiving is firmly in the rear-view mirror and both Christmas and New Year’s are visible up ahead. With three major holidays all grouped so closely together, it’s definitely a time of year when plenty of us eat a lot more than we usually do (guilty!). That also makes it the perfect time of year to check out what foods those in the culinary know get excited over.

Just in time for Christmas and New Year’s, another season of “The Best Thing I Ever Ate” arrives on Cooking Channel, with a Monday, Dec. 11, premiere, and continuing Monday nights through the holiday season and beyond. Just like in seasons past, each episode queries Cooking Channel and Food Network personalities on a variation of the show’s titular statement. In the season premiere, the big question is: “Which foods are worth the wait?” These are the dishes that chefs will gladly wait in line for, and Alton Brown (“Iron Chef Showdown”) dishes on where he gets his favorite beef Wellington. Then, former “Worst Cooks in America” host Beau MacMillan gives the lowdown on the Phoenix, Arizona, pasta restaurant where he’ll always wait as long as it takes to get a table, and Duff Goldman (“Ace of Cakes”) fills us in on just why he’s more than happy to wait in line at a special hot chicken joint.

Next week’s episode, airing Monday, Dec. 18, is all about the