New Series On Hulu: The High Road With Mario Batali

Mario Batali's new twelve-episode series, The High Road with Mario Batali, launches Thursday, June 12, on Hulu and Hulu Plus. Each episode, shot as a short black and white film, will feature the chef (and member of our very own Daily Meal Council) with a special guest as they explore New York City.

New episodes will be uploaded each Thursday, and guests will include Isabella Rossellini, Liv Tyler, Anthony Bourdain, New York Times columnist Frank Bruni, and others.

In the first episode, Batali and political correspondent George Stephanopoulosmeet up for a shuffleboard match at The Royal Palms Shuffleboard Club in Gowanus, Brooklyn. George dons a pair of orange slippers for the game that bring to mind Mario's own shoe of choice.

Batali, who has been honing his interview skills on the Batali Inquisition, reflects with George on watching the rise of social media, looking forward to the next professional chapter, and their deep affection for New York City.

"It fills me with the optimism that I felt when I started my very first business back in 1993," says Batali of each time he sees the Manhattan skyline from LaGuardia airport. "I knew that this was the place for me. I think it still is."

The episode ends with a return to the pair's shuffleboard match, during which Batali finds that Stephanopoulosis a worthy shuffleboard opponent. "Deep inside you lurks a competitive shuffler. Shuffle-opagus, you."

Karen Lo is an associate editor at The Daily Meal. Follow her on Twitter @appleplexy.