Travel Channel's "Bizarre Foods America" Returns 7/9

via press release:

Travel Channel's "Bizarre Foods" series with Andrew Zimmern marks its 100th episode next month!  To commemorate this milestone, Travel Channel is premiering a fun-filled one-hour retrospective special, "Bizarre Foods Celebrates 100," on Monday, July 9 at 8:00 p.m., ET/PT.  Then get ready to dive into pigeon pie in Austin, barbeque some armadillo in Central Florida and eat lambs tongue at a one-night only pop-up restaurant in Los Angeles in season six of the "Bizarre Foods" series.  Host Andrew Zimmern once again ditches his passport and explores the bizarre foods and cultures in our own backyard in the new season of "Bizarre Foods America" with Andrew Zimmern at 9:00 p.m., ET/PT.

Also, a tune-in reminder:

**TUNE-IN REMINDER FOR THE WEEK OF JULY 9**

“BIZARRE FOODS AMERICA” WITH ANDREW ZIMMERN KICKS OFF SEASON SIX WITH THE 100^TH EPISODE

TRAVEL CHANNEL COMMEMORATES “BIZARRE FOODS” MILESTONE WITH RETROSPECTIVE SPECIAL “BIZARRE FOODS CELEBRATES 100”

SEASON FINALE OF “MYSTERIES AT THE MUSEUM” PREMIERES TUESDAY, JULY 10 AT 9 P.M. ET/PT

NEW ORIGINAL SERIES “TOP SPOT” PREMIERES THURSDAY, JULY 12 AT 10 P.M. ET/PT WITH TWO BACK-TO-BACK EPISODES

SPECIAL “GHOST ADVENTURES” LONDON EPISODE PREMIERES FRIDAY, JULY 13 AT 9 P.M. ET/PT

PLUS, NEW EPISODES OF PRIMETIME SERIES INCLUDING:

“TRIP FLIP,” “ADAM RICHMAN’S BEST SANDWICH IN AMERICA,” “HOTEL IMPOSSIBLE” AND MORE

(Additional information, including airdates and times, listed in chronological order)

BIZARRE FOODS CELEBRATES 100

NEW SPECIAL:  Monday, July 9 at 8:00 p.m., ET/PT

Travel Channel’s “Bizarre Foods” series with Andrew Zimmern marks its 100^th episode this month!  To commemorate this milestone, Travel Channel is premiering a fun-filled one-hour retrospective special, “Bizarre Foods Celebrates 100.”  Andrew Zimmern, the two-time James Beard Award-winning TV personality, chef, food writer and teacher, and his crew look back over six years and 100 episodes to recount favorite memories, behind-the-scenes bloopers, travel mishaps, and of course, the foods and the memorable characters that have given “Bizarre Foods” its unique brand of flavor.  Interviews, show clips and behind-the-scenes footage will take fans through the wild ride that began with Zimmern eating a beating frog heart in Japan.  The special will also highlight some of the best and worst foods from around the world – including the one food he will never try again, as well as a look at the most important lesson Zimmern has learned from his travels.  “Bizarre Foods Celebrates 100” will also explore how the series has made viewers more curious about other cultures and more willing to sample new foods, culminating with a challenge for some lucky contest winners.

BIZARRE FOODS AMERICA

SEASON 6 PREMIERE:  Monday, July 9 at 9:00 p.m., ET/PT

Get ready to dive into pigeon pie in Austin, barbeque some armadillo in Central Florida and eat lambs tongue at a one-night only pop-up restaurant in Los Angeles in season six of the “Bizarre Foods” series.  Host Andrew Zimmern once again ditches his passport and explores the bizarre foods and cultures in our own backyard in the new season of “Bizarre Foods America” with Andrew Zimmern.  The sixth season, featuring eight one-hour episodes, premieres with Zimmern’s 100^th episode of the “Bizarre Foods” series.  In this all-new episode at 9:00 p.m., ET/PT, Zimmern travels to Las Vegas to uncover why this city is all about extremes – biggest, best, most expensive and elaborate.  From over-the-top-excess including $750 cupcakes, $1,000 sundaes, and a hamburger priced at $5,000, Zimmern goes behind the velvet curtain at some of “Sin City’s” top luxury hotels including the Bellagio and MGM Grand.  At the Bellagio buffet – feeding 4,000 people a day, armies of people turn out handcrafted perfection in quantity (over 16,000 pastries per day) with a supply of top quality items including 4,000 homemade sausages, 400 pounds of prime rib and 2500 pounds of fish – delivered fresh six days a week.  Over at MGM Grand, where special event parties happen year-round, Zimmern goes backstage at the celebrity-filled Muhammad Ali 70th Birthday Bash to see how they serve a world-class dinner to 1800 guests – each of whom needs to be treated like a star. 

HOTEL IMPOSSIBLE

Monday, July 9 at 10:00 p.m., ET/PT

In this new original weekly hour-long series, Anthony Melchiorri, a hotel “fixer,” turns struggling hotels into bustling tourist destinations.  Each episode features a hotel that is having problems or not living up to its potential.  Melchiorri secretly scouts the property and identifies its biggest problems.  He then meets with the staff, from front desk receptionists to housekeeping to the owners themselves, to determine the key operation issues.  Some owners could risk losing their hotels if Melchiorri’s renovations do not work!  After coming up with a plan and prescribing the changes that need to be made, Melchiorri revamps and re-motivates the staff and transforms the hotel.  In an all-new episode at 10:00 p.m., ET/PT, Melchiorri travels to Billings, Montana where the historic Dude Rancher Lodge is out of touch – and almost out of time.  Melchiorri must jumpstart everyone to increase the hotel’s local presence for it to have any chance of survival.

MYSTERIES AT THE MUSEUM

SEASON FINALE:  Tuesday, July 10 at 9:00 p.m., ET/PT

Don Wildman journeys across the United States, going deep into the vaults of the nation's most revered institutions and unearthing wondrous treasures from the past.  Behind each extraordinary artifact are stories to be told and secrets to be revealed – all brimming with scandal, mystery, murder and intrigue.  In the season finale at 9:00 p.m., ET/PT, Wildman travels to Topeka, Fort Lee and Washington, D.C.  Hanging in storage at the Kansas Museum of History in Topeka, Kansas is what appears to be a well-worn naval uniform.  It actually belonged to a physician who practiced a bizarre and infamous surgery using the testicles of goats!  What common malady was this operation said to cure?  And did it really work?  The U.S. Army Quartermaster Museum in Fort Lee, Virginia displays a brass bell that was linked to legendary beast known as the Red Ghost.  What was this terrifying creature?  And how did it come to stalk the Arizona desert?  Within the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. stands an immense stone figure from a little-known corner of the globe.  Who made this mysterious statue?  And what role did it play in the collapse of an ancient civilization? 

ADAM RICHMAN’S BEST SANDWICH IN AMERICA

Wednesday, July 11 at 9:00 p.m., ET/PT

Travel Channel fan-favorite Adam Richman has sampled countless variations of this delectable and ingenious American icon, and now he is crisscrossing the country on a mission to find the most delicious sandwich ever created.  “Adam Richman’s Best Sandwich in America” is an 11-episode weekly series (10 half-hour shows with a special one-hour finale), which documents Richman’s nationwide quest to find the best thing since sliced bread ON sliced bread.  Using his own BITE SCALE (B=Bread, I=Interior, T=Taste, E=Eating Experience), Richman samples and judges the three most mouthwatering masterpieces a region has to offer.  After naming a regional favorite in 10 geographical locales, each winning sandwich moves to the finals, to face off against each other and two secret wildcards – earning a chance to compete in the ultimate national championship – and fight for the title of “Adam Richman’s Best Sandwich in America.”  In an all-new episode at 9:00 p.m., ET/PT, Richman’s nationwide hunt for the best sandwich in America has taken him to the Northwest!  Beginning his journey in Seattle, WA, Richman gets a taste of one of renowned chef Mario Batali’s favorites – the Oxtail Sandwich from Salumi, which has shredded pieces of oxtail braised in a vegetable-based ragu and topped with herbed oil. This special sandwich is only made every other month and sells out every time!  Next it’s off to Portland, OR for two of Richman’s favorite hoagies - Big Ass Sandwiches’ Roast Beef Sandwich loaded with homemade roast beef, béchamel sauce and packed with hand-cut fries, and Bunk Sandwiches’ Pork Belly Cubano with ham, Swiss cheese, pickles and mustard.  It’s a tough call between these three very unique sandwiches.  Although Richman would gladly elect all three as the best in the region, only one can move on to the next round and compete for the crowning title as Adam Richman’s Best Sandwich in America!

BAGGAGE BATTLES

Wednesday, July 11 at 10:00 p.m., ET/PT

In this new original weekly half-hour series, viewers get a glimpse into the very profitable business of bidding, buying and reselling unclaimed luggage from airport auctions, freight and shipping auctions and police and seizure auctions.  “Baggage Battles” follows three teams of savvy “auction specialists” – married couple Laurence & Sally Martin, Mark Meyer and Billy Leroy – who all own and run antique-related shops.  The auction experts travel to some of the most important and unknown auctions, and bid on items lost in transit or confiscated by the police from airports around the world – all based on sight-unseen instincts.  They don’t know if it’s junk or a jackpot until they win the bid and open the suitcase or freight container.  In an all-new episode at 10:00 p.m., ET/PT, Billy Leroy, Mark Meyer and Laurence & Sally Martin return to New York to attend a lost freight and shipping auction at the NY Port Authority.  This auction culls together personal property that’s been lost in transit in New York City’s vast transportation network including airports, trains, subways and buses. 

TRIP FLIP

Thursday, July 12 at 9:00 p.m., ET/PT

In this new original 13-episode series, professional fun-seeker and travel expert Bert Kreischer turns the tables on would be vacationers and offers them a fantasy vacation of a lifetime –all they have to do is say “yes” and enjoy the adventure. Each weekly half-hour show features Kreischer as he surprises two people with the most unbelievable trip beyond their imaginations, convincing them to seize an opportunity of a lifetime and add a large dose of spontaneity into their lives.  Kreischer becomes the ultimate tour guide providing an all-expense-paid three-day vacation that goes well beyond any normal travel guide.   In an all-new episode at 9:00 p.m, ET/PT, Kreischer surprises two tourists in Maui with an amazing vacation upgrade, including lodging in a private beach cottage, a helicopter tour, paragliding, speed sailing and driving a submarine!

TOP SPOT

NEW SERIES PREMIERE:  One-Hour Season Opener to Feature Back-to-Back Episodes on Thursday, July 12 at 10:00p.m. and 10:30p.m., ET/PT

How do you plan the perfect vacation?  In each episode, travelers reveal their ideal vacation and test drive three different locations.  From hotels with private cabanas just steps away from Miami beaches to the rich culture of London, each destination will be exciting, but will make the choice very difficult.  Viewers play along by guessing which vacation will be chosen.  The winning spot is revealed at the end of each show, along with whether or not the travelers stayed on budget.  On the series premiere at 10:00 p.m., ET/PT, a family of four from Pittsburgh is taking a dream vacation in Miami.  With a $2,500 budget, they will take a whirlwind tour of three amazing hotel locations.  Will they choose trendy, swanky or a towering resort?  Then at 10:30 p.m., ET/PT, celebrating their wedding anniversary, an Ohio couple is on the hunt for the perfect romantic getaway in London.  They explore three different luxury resorts to find just the right accommodation that meets everything on their wish list – and falls within a $10,000 budget.

GHOST ADVENTURES

SPECIAL NEW EPISODE:  Friday, July 13 at 9:00 p.m., ET/PT

In celebration of the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, the “Ghost Adventures” crew – Zak Bagans, Nick Groff and Aaron Goodwin – head across the pond to investigate two of England’s most haunted & terrifying locations.  The trio interviews eyewitnesses and historians at each location, arming themselves with the stories of the ghosts they later confront during their dusk-to-dawn lockdowns.  Then they review and analyze their findings with some the most-respected experts and specialists in the paranormal field.  In the first of the two all-new episodes at 9:00 p.m., ET/PT, Bagans, Groff and Goodwin go deep inside the Hellfire Caves outside London where they recreate one of the infamous secret rituals known to have occurred there.  While attempting to conjure spirits of 18^th century English royalty (said to still roam the catacombs), the crew experiences mysterious and unexplained activity – audio, visual and even physical. [Note: A second all-new special London episode will premiere the following week on Friday, July 20.]

XTREME WATERPARKS

Sunday, July 15 at 8:00 p.m., ET/PT

Hold on to your trunks, because we're taking an all-access, adrenaline-filled ride on the wildest, over-the-top and exhilarating water rides in the world!  From a high-speed, gravity defying water ride in Orlando, Florida to the world’s tallest water slide in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, we're trotting the globe to reveal the most insane, nail-biting and “Xtreme Waterparks” that will thrill even the greatest adrenaline junkies.  In an all-new episode at 8:00 p.m., ET/PT, take a ride down the world’s tallest water slide in Brazil; ride a monster tube that throws you down three stories in 12 seconds in Texas; and race down a slide built for speed with the world's fastest slider in Germany.

INSANE COASTER WARS 

Sunday, July 15 at 9:00 p.m., ET/PT

Roller coasters promise a terrifying trip full of death-defying drops, spine-torqueing twists and stomach-churning inversions – but which ride is better?  This series invites thrill seekers everywhere to settle the battle once and for all by voting for their favorite coasters.  Each episode features four coasters in a total of six different categories.  Coaster experts will argue the pros, cons, advantages and weaknesses of each ride, while viewers experience the ride firsthand through specially mounted cameras.  The fan-favorites will be announced on air at the end of each episode, and in the one-hour finale, we count down the top ten coasters with the most votes!  In an all-new episode at 9:00p.m., ET/PT, wooden coasters shake, rattle and roll riders out of their seat as they thunder through savage turns and rumble around ferocious bends like a runaway train!  Which coaster will turn their competition into kindling?  Four of the most rip-roaring wooden coasters have been chosen to compete in one timber-shredding category called Splintering Speedsters.  Experience the thrill of the longest wooden roller coaster in the country on The Beast at Kings Island in Mason, Ohio; twist and turn through a maze of timber on Thunderhead at Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee; take a whirlwind tour of the new world on The Voyage at Holiday World in Santa Claus, Indiana; and saddle up for the ride of your life on El Toro at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, New Jersey.  Fans all across the country have voted and we will find out which bark-built coaster has the most bite!