This Is TASTE

The Four Horsemen is a restaurant in Brooklyn. Have you been there? Have you drank some wine there? Had some of the restaurant’s bread and cultured butter? It’s an amazing place up on Grand Street in Williamsburg, and it has marked ten years in the game with an incredible new cookbook. In this episode, we speak with the restaurant’s longtime chef, Nick Curtola. Nick is one of New York’s most consistent and skilled chefs and a real culinary force. We talk about the restaurant’s legacy and how its humble beginnings have led to greatness, and we dig into his own personal journey in the restaurant business.

Also on the show, Aliza and Matt pay tribute to the iconic Williamsburg wine bar and share some favorite memories from dining there over the years.

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READ MORE ABOUT THE FOUR HORSEMEN:

• Remembering Justin Chearno, Natural Wine Advocate [F&W]
• This Is TASTE 48: James Murphy & Nick Curtola [Apple]

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Today is Christmas, and chances are that in the next week you will enjoy seafood of some kind—freshly shucked oysters, line-caught halibut, or perhaps some smoked salmon stacked atop a bagel. We love seafood to cook at home or to order at restaurants, but do we recognize the people who bring this incredible product to our fish markets and to Whole Foods? Enter Hannah Heimbuch, an Alaskan salmon fisherman with quite the story to tell. In this conversation, we find out about how she works tirelessly during the summer salmon run, and how wild-caught Alaskan seafood has a long journey to our ovens and grills. 

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We really enjoyed having our friend the chef Danny Lee into the studio. Danny is one of the most influential chefs and restaurant operators in Washington, DC, running some of our all-time favorite Korean restaurants in America, including Mandu and Anju, the award-winning restaurant he operates with chef Angel Barreto. In this episode, we talk about Danny’s journey and what it’s like to run a restaurant with his mom. We also discuss the rise of Korean American food and culture in the United States. It’s such a great conversation with one of the brightest stars in all of food. I hope you enjoy it.

Also on the show we have a terrific interview with Simon Kim. Simon is the guy behind some of the buzziest restaurants in New York, including Cote Korean Steakhouse and the new fried chicken palace Coqodaq. Simon and Matt go way back, and this conversation covers Simon’s rise through the restaurant ranks, having worked for Jean-Georges Vongerichten and Thomas Keller before debuting with the stellar Piora in 2013. We talk about how he grew up on Long Island and helped his mom open the pioneer Tribeca Korean restaurant Kori, while finding out what the rise of Korean food in America has meant to him. 

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Dan Keeling is the cofounder and editor of Noble Rot magazine, a restaurateur behind the Noble Rot restaurant group in London, and the cofounder of Keeling Andrew wine importer. He’s also the author of a great new book about wine: Who’s Afraid of Romanée-Conti?: A Shortcut to Drinking Great Wines. We spoke with Dan about his singular point of view on wine, his past life as head of artists and repertoire at Parlophone Records, and how to go about finding a great glass at the bar. 

Also on the show, Alana Yazzi tells us about her terrific new book, The Modern Navajo Kitchen: Homestyle Recipes that Celebrate the Flavors and Traditions of the Diné.

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MORE FROM DAN KEELING:

• How I Learned That Serious Wine Doesn’t Have to Be Stuffy [Slate]
• All the Natural Wine That’s Fit To Print [TASTE]

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It’s been a very busy year for our two guests, Chris Hansell of Chrissy’s Pizza and Brooks Headley of Superiority Burger. Brooks finally came back on the show! I really, really enjoyed this conversation with two big thinkers and, dare I say, dreamers. As former musicians, each is rooted in the punk-rock ethic and aesthetic, and we talk about how visual identity and dedication to craft dovetail with music and food in a unique way. Chris shares the story of his journey to pizza, from apartment pop-up to one of the buzziest openings in New York this year. And Brooks reflects on two years of Superiority Burger on Avenue A and his continued obsession for finding the highest-quality produce for his cooking in the East Village. What a fun talk!

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Kamal Kamal is a food collaborator and art director based in New York. He’s a co-owner of Baba’s Pantry, his family’s beloved Palestinian restaurant in Kansas City, Missouri, which is a flourishing community space that has won fans and acclaim since opening in 2022. It’s so special to have Kamal on the show to talk about his family’s food traditions and plans for expansion. 

Also on the show, Aliza and Matt go over some of their favorite meals from 2024, featuring both new and established restaurants. These include: Strange Delight, Lola's, Familyfriend, Yang's Kitchen, Quarter Sheets, Ruen Pair, Shang Artisan Noodle, Win Kee HK BBQ and Noodle, Pantera Pizza Garbatella, Taqueria Ramirez, Mariscos El Submarino, Agi's Counter, Shree Thaker Bhojanalay, Jeju, Flavourtown, and Cafe Yen.

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MORE FROM KAMAL KAMAL:

• It's 'Not Just a Middle Eastern Restaurant.' It's Palestinian [Bon Appétit]
• How One Family Dropped Everything to Help Their Father Open a Palestinian Cafe [Bon Appétit]

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We’ve long been fans of the Big Green Egg, the kamado-style ceramic charcoal grill and smoker that has a legitimate cult following. The fans are called Eggheads (for real), and leading the company is CEO Dan Gertsacov, who joins us for a really great conversation. Dan is the rare corporate executive who is truly a home cooking and food geek, in the best way. We talk to Dan about how we became fans of the Atlanta-based company, and its unique approach to generating loyalty. We also get into Dan’s world travels and his previous time leading strategy at McDonald’s.

Also on the show, cookbook author Bryan Ford tells us about his terrific new book, Pan y Dulce: The Latin American Baking Book (Pastries, Desserts, Rustic Breads, Savory Baking, and More)

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Mahira Rivers is a freelance writer and restaurant critic based in New York City. Formerly an anonymous inspector for the Michelin Guide, she’s now writing the desserts-focused newsletter Sweet City and contributing to many publications, including TASTE. We had Mahira on the show to talk about her distinct point of view on food culture today, from her childhood in Hong Kong to challenging Eurocentricity in restaurant writing. It’s a great episode for anyone curious about food. 

Also on the show, Jordan Michelman stops by for an entertaining chat about how mineral water is bubbling up in the zeitgeist (though not fast enough), as well as thoughts on his recent profile of a tea influencer, the Chateau Marmont, modern coffee, and many other topics.  

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MORE FROM MAHIRA RIVERS & JORDAN MICHELMAN:

• Turns Out Now Is the Golden Era for Fusion Cuisine [Resy]
• We Need More Shrimp Burgers In Our Lives [TASTE]
• The Extremely Online Tea Guy [TASTE]
• Mineral Water Gets the Silent Treatment [TASTE]

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Emily Schildt wants food shopping to be a more fun and mind-expanding experience, and with her company, Pop Up Grocer, she’s getting customers closer to that destination. Emily is back in our studio to talk about some of her favorite products that she’s selling at her amazing New York City store, and how she sorts through the thousands of new brands to land on her always-rotating shelves.

Also on the show is the founder of one of Emily’s favorite brands. PJ Monte is behind Monte’s Fine Foods, a historically rich (and legitimately incredible) New York City pasta sauce company. PJ has an amazing story to tell, and we get into how he took his family’s sauce recipe, made famous at their restaurant on Long Island, and hustled it onto the shelves of major retailers.

And finally, we hear from Tuệ Nguyễn, a.k.a. TwayDaBae, about her terrific new book: Đi Ăn: The Salty, Sour, Sweet and Spicy Flavors of Vietnamese Cooking With TwayDaBae.

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READ MORE ABOUT POP-UP GROCER AND MONTE'S FINE FOODS:

• The 2024 Guide to Holiday Gifting [Pop Up Grocer]
• How Monte’s Fine Foods is Embracing ‘Tomato Girl Summer’ [Marketing Brew]
• This Is TASTE 127: Pop Up Grocer [TASTE]  

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Snaxshot, the curatorial and slightly mercurial grocery newsletter and community, has grown into an industry force, read by CPG executives and members of food media on a near-religious level. (We are among these readers.) Andrea Hernández returns to the show to go over the big headlines from the year at the grocery store and in the CPG trenches. We cover so many buzzy brands and established warhorses in this conversation, and we tap into some generational divides when it comes to the quick-moving world of grocery. If you have any interest in the future of packaged foods as well as restaurant chains, this is the episode for you.

Also on the show, it’s the return of Three Things where Aliza and Matt discuss what is exciting in the world of restaurants, cookbooks, and the food world as a whole. On this episode: Culinary Class Wars hell yes, Vinson Cunningham's amazing debut novel, Great Expectations, is full of surprises, B&H Dairy in the East Village is a living legend, The Odeon kind of rules right now, Mezcla energy bars is plant-protein at its best, Tony's Chocolonely milk chocolate gingerbread bars leads to a conversation about Harry Potter!

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READ MORE FROM SNAXSHOT:

• The New Grocer [Snaxshot]
• Kardashian Snack Brand [Snaxshot]
• This Is TASTE 217: Snaxshot [TASTE]

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We had to break in on a Saturday with this very cool conversation with Melissa Clark. Melissa is a prolific cookbook author who wears several hats at the New York Times, where she’s currently a food reporter, recipe columnist, and the interim restaurant critic, serving alongside Priya Krishna. We’ve really enjoyed Melissa’s recent string of reviews, most of all her latest report from New York City and Napa, where she gave Thomas Keller’s pioneering restaurants, Per Se and the French Laundry, a fresh set of eyes. The review is a wild ride, and the internet was all over it. How did Melissa find her meals, and what does the current state of the Keller empire say about the modern age of fine dining? We go over it all in this great talk.

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MORE FROM MELISSA CLARK:

• Are the French Laundry and Per Se Still Worth a Splurge? [NYT]
• Iced Peppermint Cookies [NYT]
• This Is TASTE 454: Dining in Disguise with Priya Kirshna, Interim New York Times Restaurant Critic [Apple]
• This Is TASTE 216: Pete Wells [Apple]

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Yemi Amu is the founder and director of Oko Farms, a beloved community-based aquaponics farm cultivating fish alongside produce in New York City. After a decade of growing food in several locations across Brooklyn, including three years in Williamsburg, Oko Farms unexpectedly had their lease terminated this November. They’re forced to pack up the farm and find a new location, and today on the show, Yemi is sharing more about their search and the power of aquaponics.

Also on the show Matt has a great conversation with writer Joshua David Stein about Esquire’s Best New Restaurants in America package, which was released this week. We go over some of his favorite restaurants around the country. Cincinnati represent! We also talk about his recent cookbook work, and what it’s like to collaborate with Tom Colicchio.  

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MORE FROM YEMI AMU:

• A New Way of Raising Fish—and Vegetables—in New York [The Guardian]
• A Farm Grows in Bushwick Thanks to One Woman’s Vision [Vogue]

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Jon Bonné is an erudite observer of food and culture trends and the author of many books, including the monumental, two-volume The New French Wine. In this episode, we talk about what Jon’s been eating, drinking, and writing about in the world of restaurants, wine, and food culture. We discuss the many perceptions of the “wine bar,” and we dive into some of Jon’s restaurant reporting at Resy, where he serves as managing editor. 

Also on the show we hear from Leila Heller talking about her new book, Persian Feasts: Recipes & Stories from a Family Table.

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More From Jon Bonné:

• This Is TASTE 213: Jon Bonné [TASTE]
• 10 Changes That Defined the Last Decade of Dining in America [Resy]
• Is Oregon Wine’s True Soulmate the Loire Valley? [PUNCH]
• A Good NA Martini Is Possible [TASTE]

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Vaughn Vreeland is a supervising video producer overseeing the test kitchen studio team for NYT Cooking. He’s also a passionate baker and home cook, and he develops recipes for the Times. Today we had Vaughn in the studio to talk about what happens behind the scenes and about bringing the annual cookie package to life.

Also on the show, Aliza and Matt talk through their go-to holiday baking recipes, as well as mention a couple they each will be trying out. Lastly, they strategize their entries for the 2nd annual Crown Publishing Group office cookie contest, which they will be entering in.

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MORE FROM VAUGHN: 

• Meet Your New Thanksgiving Pie [NYT Cooking]
• How to Make the Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie ... Even Better? [YouTube]

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All fall, Aliza and Matt have been talking about many of the season’s new cookbooks, from the biggest “influencer” books to baking, memoir, biography, and the return of restaurant books to the mix. Here is a recap of some of their favorites from the busy fall—and a solid reminder that cookbooks make amazing gifts! If you like one of the titles mentioned, pick up a copy at one of our favorites stores, including Now Serving (Los Angeles), Omnivore Books (San Francisco), Kitchen Arts & Letters (New York City), Book Larder (Seattle), Golden Hour Books (Newburgh, NY), Bookbug (Kalamazoo, MI), or your preferred independent bookstore.

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David Gelb is the the creator of Chef’s Table, the long-running Netflix documentary series that takes viewers inside the world of restaurants and chefs. David is also the director of Jiro Dreams of Sushi, the acclaimed documentary capturing the idiosyncratic world of master sushi chef Jiro Ono. In this episode, we talk about the creation of Chef’s Table and how the show invented a new vocabulary for food documentary filmmaking. We discuss the latest season as well as special seasons dedicated to barbecue, noodles, pizza, and French chefs. David is one of my favorite creators in the food world, and I loved catching up with him.

Also on the show, it’s the return of Three Things where Aliza and Matt discuss what is exciting in the world of restaurants, cookbooks, and the food world as a whole. On this episode: The horchata latte at Ursula in Brooklyn, Mundos Roasters in Traverse City, Michigan is doing great work. Also, Lucas Sin's Street Eats series on YouTube is such a great resource, a Chrissy's Pizza scene report, and there's a new NA Negroni in town: Lapo's. Lastly, an Oscars race update with Clayton jumping on the mic.

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Gary He wrote the coolest book! Gary is an accomplished journalist and photographer who has contributed memorable stories to Eater for years. But his book about McDonald’s, McAtlas: A Global Guide to the Golden Arches, is truly groundbreaking in its scope, telling the story of the multinational chain from Mexico and Denmark to India and Japan. In this episode, we talk about Gary’s travels to McDonald’s in over 50 countries on six continents, and we get to hear more about how specialty menu items change with the culture and terroir. It’s a fascinating deep dive into one of the world’s most iconic brands.

Also on the show we hear from Alexander Smalls talking about his new book, The Contemporary African Kitchen: Home Cooking Recipes from the Leading Chefs of Africa. 

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It’s our 500th episode! Thank you to everyone who has been following along since 2018 and to those who are brand-new to our universe. We had to mark this big episode with one of our absolute favorites in the world of baking, business, and cookbook writing. Christina Tosi is the founder of the singular Milk Bar bakery and the author of many must-own cookbooks. Her latest is her best one yet: Bake Club: 101 Must-Have Moves for Your Kitchen tackles all the baking questions (and perhaps struggles) home bakers might have. We talk about what makes a great weekend baking project and how some recipes are ideal for the time-strapped. Tosi talks about the good-old Momofuku days and how a big life change is making her rethink her own cooking habits. Also, the holiday Reese's ranked! Thank you again for all the wonderful messages over the years! We love hearing from you and bringing you our show a couple times each week.

Also on the show, it’s the return of Three Things where Aliza and Matt discuss what is exciting in the world of restaurants, cookbooks, and the food world as a whole. On this episode: Aliza's birthday, including trips to Pastis and the Alvin Ailey retrospective at The Whitney, the Baldor x The Sussmans collab is really fun, as is The Shirtosphere. Also, a box grater PSA, Malcolm Livingston II's August Novelties is incredible, JJ Johnson is previewing a cool new restaurant concept, Aquavit's bar room menu is the perfect way to try high-caliber Swedish cooking in NYC.

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Every year we await the release of The Best American Food Writing. It’s a sharp collection of works from around the world of food media, and it always brings surprises. This year was no different, and the collection’s new editor, Jaya Saxena, tells us about her selection process. We also dig into her own journalism career. She’s one of our favorite writers at Eater, and we talk about some memorable stories she’s written there as well as for TASTE.  

Also on the show, it’s the return of Three Things where Clayton and Matt discuss what is exciting in the world of restaurants, cookbooks, and the food world as a whole. On this episode: the B.O. Boys, Saturday Night is actually good, the Seoul Meets Bagel at Between the Bagel, Bruce Eric Kaplan's look inside Hollywood screenwriting in They Went Another Way. Two more books: Mammoth by Eva Baltasar and William by Mason Coile. Also, a reminder that Zingerman's has the best holiday gifts, Little Flower Cafe in Astoria is a lovely place, Daniela Galarza's broccolini parmesan soup rules, and Mombard has invented quite the sandwich.

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What a fun conversation with the one and only Bobby Flay. Bobby joins us in the studio to talk about his New York City restaurant career, including highly memorable restaurants Mesa Grill, Bolo, Gato, and Bar Americain. We dig into why Mesa Grill was such a groundbreaking idea in the early 1990s and how his cooking there brought Southwest flavors into the mainstream. We also discuss how beating Bobby actually means beating Bobby, and we talk about some classic Iron Chef episodes as well as his great new cookbook, Bobby Flay: Chapter One.

Also on the show, it’s the return of Three Things where Aliza and Matt discuss what is exciting in the world of restaurants, cookbooks, and the food world as a whole. On this episode: It's persimmon season (we have thoughts), Atlanta's Breaker Breaker is extremely chill, New York's 99 Favor Taste is the best birthday spot, Camilla Marcus wrote a really cool book, My Regenerative Kitchen. Also, some thoughts on cooking beans, when are beans really a "meal", and a reminder about how much we love the book Cool Beans. Lastly, the chicken Big Mac is very bad, and the new episodes of Chef's Table are very, very good. Stay tuned for an episode with Chef's Table creator David Gelb very soon.

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MORE FROM BOBBY FLAY:

• Bobby Flay Taught Ina Garten His Go-To Easy Pasta [F&W]
• Bobby Flay owes his career to an Easy-Bake Oven [Today]
• Don't Sleep on Pinto Beans [TASTE]

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We’ve long been fans of cookbook author and creative thinker Molly Baz, and many of you have too. With a signature voice and absolutely wild recipe development skills (as well as years of professional cooking under her belt), Molly has won over millions of fans worldwide. Her cookbooks Cook This Book and More Is More are both New York Times Best Sellers, and she returns to the show to give us some big updates, including what restaurants she has been enjoying in Los Angeles. We also talk about her jump into the CPG game with the launch of a new line of flavored mayonnaise: Ayoh!

Also on the show, Clayton and Matt taste their way through Ayoh! to see if the dill pickle flavor is really hitting.

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MORE FROM MOLLY BAZ

• A Cacio e Pepe Gets Drunk and Breaks the Rules [TASTE]
• Molly Baz Shares the Must-Have Recipe of the Season [Glamour]
• Baz to Basics [TASTE]

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As we approach our 500th episode, we are bringing back two memorable episodes from 2018, our first year of the podcast. Samin Nosrat is a chef and the author of the legendary cookbook Salt Fat Acid Heat. This episode was our very first, and it was recorded at Books Are Magic in Brooklyn on July 12, 2018. We talked to Samin about “too-mami” (cooking with too much umami), angry letters, and the differences between brands of kosher salt—that is, not all kosher salt is the same. 

Also on the show is a great conversation with Flynn McGarry. He’s the chef-owner of Gem Wine and Gem Home in New York City. In this episode, we discuss his time working at Los Angeles restaurant Alma at age 13, while being homeschooled, and his famous pop-ups even earlier in his career. The journey is all documented in the great film Chef Flynn, and we get into Flynn’s many travels and eventual business opening in NYC—the most competitive and cutthroat restaurant city in America.

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Nicola Lamb is a pastry chef and recipe developer based in London. After training in some of London and New York’s top bakeries, like Dominique Ansel, Ottolenghi, and Happy Endings, she launched the pop-up bakery lark! and the popular newsletter Kitchen Projects—and now she’s written a wonderful debut cookbook, Sift, that’s truly the most comprehensive baking book I’ve read in years. It’s so fun to have Nicola on the show to nerd out about pastry process and much more.

Also on the show, Matt has a great conversation with Hetal Vasavada discussing her great new cookbook, Desi Bakes: 85 Recipes Bringing the Best of Indian Flavors to Western-Style Desserts.

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MORE FROM NICOLA LAMB & HETAL VASAVADA:

• Kitchen Projects [Substack]
• A crash course in better baking: Ella Risbridger meets Nicola Lamb [Financial Times]
• Badam Burfi Bark [NYT]

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Lisa Kyung Gross is the founder and CEO of the League of Kitchens, an immigrant-led, home-based cooking school that launched in New York City in 2014. Its instructors are 14 mothers and grandmothers from Indonesia, Mexico, Lebanon, Burkina Faso, and beyond, and now their culinary wisdom is being preserved in a new book: The League of Kitchens Cookbook. It’s truly so special having Lisa on the show to talk about how she finds these instructors and how the book came to life. 

Also on the show we hear from Rogelio Garcia talking about his new book Convivir: Modern Mexican Cuisine in California's Wine Country.

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Tom Colicchio joined us in the studio for a really amazing conversation. Tom is a longtime chef and behind the restaurants Craft, Gramercy Tavern, and dozens more. He’s also the longtime head judge on the show Top Chef. Tom just released his memoir (with recipes), Why I Cook, and we get into how he’s long been at the heart of culinary innovation and policy. We talk about his early days cooking in New York City and how he came together with Danny Meyer and many others to invent a new style of restaurant cooking that is still influential today. We also discussed the recent election—and his thoughts on possibly running for US Congress. 

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MORE FROM TOM COLICCHIO:

• Caviar and Cocaine [Town and Country]
• Tom Colicchio on how cooking saved his life [MSNBC]

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Angelo Sosa is one of the most talented chefs we’ve gotten to know, and he’s currently the chef at the new restaurants Tía Carmen and Carmocha at the Grand Hyatt Indian Wells Resort & Villas near Palm Springs, California. Angelo was also the runner up on Top Chef and has worked with some of the biggest names in the game, including Jean-Georges Vongerichten, Alain Ducasse, Stephen Starr, and Masaharu Morimoto. In this episode, we talk about his move to the Greater Palm Springs area and the exciting high desert cuisine he’s serving. 

Also on the show, Matt talks about his recent visit to Palm Springs and digs into the region's restaurants, both established and brand-new. Palm Springs is such an underrated food town, and we have some great recommendations including Bar Cecil, Tia Carmen, Lola Rose at the new Thompson Hotel Palm Springs, The Modern Tour, Maleza, and Billy Reeds forever.  

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MORE FROM ANGELO SOSA:

• Angelo Sosa, Richard Blais Open New Restaurants in the Coachella Valley [Palm Springs Life]
• This Is TASTE 350: Angelo Sosa [TASTE]

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James Beard Award–winning pastry chef Dominique Ansel has shaken up the pastry world with innovation and creativity at the heart of his work. As chef-owner of eponymous bakeries around the world, Ansel has been responsible for creating some of today’s most popular pastries, including the Cronut, the Cookie Shot, the Frozen S’more, and the Blossoming Hot Chocolate. But where did Dominique Ansel come from, and how did his time working with Daniel Boulud and throughout France help him create the most iconic foods of a generation? It’s a great talk with the great Cronut Daddy about his new book, Life’s Sweetest Moments.

Also on the show, Matt has a great conversation with Emma Impavido, Director of Educational Travel Programs at Academic Travel Abroad. Emma and Matt work together on TASTE Travels, and they discuss why organized travel is as popular as ever. They also dig into the countries people are visiting specifically for the food, as well as talk about the upcoming TASTE Travels in 2025, including a spring trip to Mexico City.

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MORE FROM DOMINIQUE ANSEL:

• The Cronut Flavor Dominique Ansel Is Dying To Make [Chowhound]
• The Mind Behind the Cronut Just Launched a Dessert Soup Dumpling [F&W]
• TASTE Travels Mexico City [TASTE]

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Amadou Ly is the baker-owner of ALF Bakery, a destination for delights like mushroom danishes and laminated baguettes in New York City’s Chelsea Market. After 18 years of jobs in restaurants, from dishwasher to pastry chef to chocolatier, he apprenticed under Roger Gural at the iconic Arcade Bakery. Arcade closed, and now he’s making some of the most exciting bread and pastries in the city at ALF. In this episode, we talk about the craftsmanship, technique, and passion that guides his work.

Also on the show, Aliza and Matt talk about their home bread baking journeys. Does one co-host (hint: Matt) aspire to bake more bread in the coming months, and start a bread practice? Does Aliza have a “bread person” past? They also talk about some great recent bread baking books that can help kick-start this journey.  

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MORE FROM AMADOU LY:

• Meet the West African Baker Reshaping French Pastry [Atlas Obscura]
• ​​Inside the Menu at the New Spot From an Alum of the Legendary Arcade Bakery [Eater]
• This Is TASTE 488: There's a Bread Baker Inside All of Us with David Tamarkin [TASTE]

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Julia Turshen is the author of four cookbooks, including the new release What Goes With What: 100 Recipes, 20 Charts, Endless Possibilities. It’s a comprehensive guide to building cooking intuition and transforming odds and ends into a meal, and we had a great conversation live at Rizzoli bookstore all about making the book come to life, plus things like body acceptance and what constitutes queer food. We hope you’ll enjoy it. 

Take our listener survey! We'd love to to hear who we should invite into our studio for an interview and TASTE Check.

MORE FROM JULIA TURSHEN:

• Keep Calm and Cook On [Substack]
• My Mom Was a Magazine Editor in the ’90s. We’re Finally Talking About What It Did to Our Body Image [SELF]
• This Is TASTE 22: Julia Turshen [TASTE]

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Wow, we love David Tamarkin so much, and this is such a great interview. We’re old friends and have been reading David since he worked at Time Out Chicago and Epicurious—and he’s now the editorial director at King Arthur Baking Company. He returns to our studio to discuss the company’s terrific new book, a real doorstop called The Big Book of Bread. As the title suggests, this is the cooperative flour company’s bread magnum opus, and we talk about all of it with David.

Also on the show, it’s the return of Three Things where Aliza and Matt discuss what is exciting in the world of restaurants, cookbooks, and the food world as a whole. On this episode: Le Veau d'Or scene report, Bawi has an amazing new flavor, Z&Z za'atar & manoushe company did a great pop-up in NYC, and has a very cool story. Also, a reminder that Dayglow sells an amazing selection of coffee and is making the most-exciting cold coffee drinks on the planet.

Also! The Fort Greene dog parade had some food-themed costumes, and an Erewhon scene report including some new discoveries from Kelsi's Kitchen, Mid-Day Squares, Lexington Bakes, Cove Soda, and Zab's pepper sauce.

Take our listener survey! We'd love to to hear who we should invite into our studio for an interview and TASTE Check.

MORE FROM DAVID TAMARKIN:

• No-Knead Crusty White Bread [King Arthur]
• We Don’t Need to Be Saved From Making Smoothies [NYT]
• This Is TASTE 162: David Tamarkin [TASTE]
• We Hit Peak Beverage [TASTE]

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Nicolas Jammet is a cofounder of the megapopular salad and protein plate seller Sweetgreen and the company’s chief concept officer. We’ve been reporting on Sweetgreen since its early days, witnessing its evolution from a humble Washington, DC, storefront to a publicly traded company. How has Nic negotiated this incredible trajectory? We find out about his journey, his deep connection to the restaurant industry, and what gets him excited to show up to work each day. We also learn about some of the company’s big plans for the future, and how he thinks about culinary development for a restaurant chain with over 250 locations across the United States. This is such a great talk with somebody I deeply admire in food. I hope you enjoy it.

Also on the show, Aliza takes a trip to Seattle and Portland, with stops at: Sophon, Familyfriend, Hatyai, and some crabbing! 

Take our listener survey! We'd love to to hear who we should invite into our studio for an interview and TASTE Check.

MORE FROM NIC JAMMET:

• Is Steak a Health Food Now? [GQ]
• How Old-School French Food Inspired Sweetgreen [Bon Appetit]
• For America’s Best Teriyaki, Head West (and Bring Napkins) [TASTE]

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We really, really love what Rob Martinez is doing on YouTube and TikTok. Rob is behind the voice and visuals of Eating With Robert, a delightful series of dispatches from restaurants around the world. As we find out in this interview, Rob has a film background and started his own feed as a way of highlighting his favorite New York City pizzerias, diners, Egyptian fish grills, and Turkish kebab sellers. Rob is doing the work, scouting and shooting the types of places journalists like Jonathan Gold, Ligaya Mishan, and Robert Sietsema became famous for writing about. Rob is as much of a “food writer” as any of us in the industry, and it was cool to learn about his approach, and some of his favorite places around the world.

Also on the show, it’s the return of Three Things where Aliza and Matt discuss what is exciting in the world of restaurants, cookbooks, and the food world as a whole. On this episode: The re-opening of Brooklyn’s Kellogg’s Diner in Brooklyn, Lola’s is one of our favorite new NYC restaurants, Famille du Vin canned wines are so good (and shoutout to Leitz Eins Zwei Zero Non-Alcoholic Sparkling Riesling too), Eater LA published a terrific package of stories about the new restaurant influencers, and how TikTok is transforming Los Angeles’s dining scene one swipe at a time. Also, some thoughts on the new New York Chinatown restaurant Bridges, and we finally made it to Yang’s Kitchen in the San Gabriel Valley and it totally delivers.

Take our listener survey! We'd love to to hear who we should invite into our studio for an interview and TASTE Check.

MORE FROM ROB MARTINEZ:

• Lodi’s Pizza [TikTok]
• Kebab Cafe [TikTok]
• The Original Influencers [Eater LA]

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Ben Mims is a cookbook author, food writer, and recipe developer based in Los Angeles. He’s worked at major media outlets like the Los Angeles Times, Food & Wine, Saveur, and Lucky Peach, and he’s the author of the great new baking book Crumbs: Cookies and Sweets from Around the World. Crumbs is something of a cookie encyclopedia, sharing the old-world history and contemporary adaptations of global cookie traditions like Italian Waffle Cookies and Okinawan Brown Sugar Shortbread. In this episode, Ben goes deep on his lengthy research and recipe development process.

Also on the show Aliza and Matt talk about a recent trip Philadelphia, a great food town. Mentioned on the episode: Cookbooks and Convos, Palizzi Social Club, Ray's Cafe & Tea House, South Philly Barbacoa, Meeting House, High Street, Zahav, Kalaya.

Take our listener survey! We'd love to to hear who we should invite into our studio for an interview and TASTE Check.

MORE FROM BEN MIMS

• Crumbs [official]
• It’s Comfort Cooking Season: Recipes for the Start of Fall [LA Times]
• This Is TASTE 481: Fall Cookbooks with Nok Suntaranon of Kalaya's Southern Thai Kitchen

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Betül Tunç is one of the true breakout food stars of the past couple of years. But do you really know Betül Tunç? We’re thrilled to have Betül on the show for her first podcast interview to talk about how she brought her iconic recipes to life via social videos that transport viewers to destinations both near and far. We talk about her life growing up in Turkey and her move to the United States, first to Wisconsin and later Virginia. Finally, we cover her terrific debut cookbook, Turkuaz Kitchen: Traditional and Modern Dough Recipes for Sweet and Savory Bakes. It’s a book based around cooking (and baking) with dough, a unique approach that unlocks a new world of home kitchen adventures. 

Take our listener survey! We'd love to to hear who we should invite into our studio for an interview and TASTE Check.

MORE FROM Betül Tunç:

• Turkish Chicken Döner [IG]
• Meet Culinary Virtuoso Betül Tunç of Turkuaz Kitchen [Anthropologie]

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Justine Doiron is on the show today, and we have a great conversation about all areas of her very cool career. Justine is the founder, recipe developer, and food stylist behind the viral social media accounts @Justine_Snacks. In this episode, we of course talk about her terrific new book, Justine Cooks, as well as what gets her up and cooking each day. 

Also on the show Aliza and Matt talk about fall cookbooks they are enjoying, all from restaurants! These include: Mangal II, Café Cecilia, The Four Horsemen, Kalaya's Southern Thai Kitchen.

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MORE FROM JUSTINE DOIRON:

• Butternut Squash Pizza with Crispy Sage & Hot Honey [Justine Snacks]
• My Most-Used Items! [Justine Snacks]
• Everyone Likes a Different Chocolate Chip Cookie [YouTube]
• The Balthazar Cookbook: My Personal Cooking School [TASTE]

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Sue S. Chan is an expert marketer, brand builder, and all-around busy bee on the global food scene. She was Momofuku’s first brand director, and in this episode we go back to her time helping to build the David Chang empire (and figuring out how to tell DC what to do). She later founded her own agency, Care of Chan, which has become a go-to for major fashion and retail brands looking to engage with the food world.

Also on the show is PJ Vogt, a recognizable figure in the world of public radio and podcast. He’s currently the host of one of our favorite shows today, Search Engine, and we talk about his recent food-related episodes, digging into sushi fraud and airplane coffee. We also chop it up about so many topics in food, including his ongoing coffee journey and some of his favorite NYC restaurants.

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Today on the show, we speak with two authors of terrific new cookbooks. First up is Nok Suntaranon, the chef and owner of Kalaya, a celebrated Thai restaurant in Philadelphia. A former flight attendant, Nok reinvented herself at age fifty to become a James Beard Award–winning chef, and we talk about her journey as well as her excellent new cookbook, Kalaya's Southern Thai Kitchen.

Also in this episode, we have a great talk with Caroline Choe. She is a recipe developer and the author of Banchan: 60 Korean American Recipes for Delicious, Shareable Sides. We love this book, and we get into how the Korean small plate staple can open up so many Korean cooking adventures in the home kitchen.

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MORE FROM NOK SUNTARANON & CAROLINE CHOE:

• Esquire gives Philly's Kalaya Top Spot [Philly Voice]
• It Takes a Village to Teach Someone to Cook With Love [Simply Recipes]

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In a terrific new book, Taste in Music, musician Alex Bleeker (of Real Estate) and food and travel journalist Luke Pyenson (former drummer of Frankie Cosmos) cover the world of music through the foods bands eat while touring the world. In this episode, we speak with Alex and Luke about a book that brings a lot of heart and empathy to a subject that has been covered since the advent of food blogging. Any working band worth its salt cod enjoys food as much of the rest of us, filling their touring riders with subtle culinary flexes. Sure, food is the new rock and roll—and rockers love their food—but as we find out, this collection of essays from legends like Mark Ibold of Pavement, Chris Frantz of Talking Heads, and Natalie Laura Mering of Weyes Blood is more than a collection of “where bands eat”; it’s an essential addition to the music writing canon and one of our favorite books of the year. 

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MORE FROM ALEX BLEEKER AND LUKE PYENSON:

• Robin Pecknold: My Savior, My Destroyer, the Subway Veggie Patty [Rolling Stone]
• Our Pop-Up Could Be Your Life [TASTE]

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For years, Ryan Sutton was the chief restaurant critic at Eater New York, before his position was recently eliminated. Ryan is one of the most respected critics in the game, and we wanted to invite him to the studio to talk about the LO Times, his Substack covering the New York City restaurant scene. We talk about modern pizza by the slice, the economics of sushi, and some of his favorite restaurants in this great restaurant city. We also dig into the state of restaurant criticism, and how social video accounts and changing the way we get our restaurant intel.

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MORE FROM RYAN SUTTON:

• NYC’s Best Slice Pizza: The New Wave [The LO Times]
• This is TASTE 193: Ryan Sutton [TASTE]
• The Best Sushi Spots to Splurge on This Fall [The LO Times]

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Many of us subscribe to NYT Cooking, the decade-old recipe emporium and offshoot of the venerable New York Times Food desk. This week marks the release of a new cookbook from the New York Times, Easy Weeknight Dinners, and we were thrilled to speak with Ali Slagle and Emily Weinstein, two core members of the NYT Cooking crew. Emily is the editor in chief of New York Times Cooking and Food and the author of the New York Times recipe newsletter Five Weeknight Dishes, which reaches millions of readers every week. Ali Slagle is a cookbook author and a key contributor to NYT Cooking. We spoke with them at a recent live event we hosted at Talea Beer Co. in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

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Franco Fubini is the founder and CEO of Natoora, a high-end greengrocer connecting chefs and home cooks with some of the world’s best heritage produce through direct grower relationships. He’s also a professor of sustainability management at Columbia University and the author of the book In Search of the Perfect Peach, detailing Natoora’s quest to find flavor-first food and impact food systems in the process. 

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MORE FROM FRANCO FUBINI

• This Chef-Favorite App Is Now Delivering Fresh Produce to New York City Doorsteps [Vogue]
• A Passionate Rallying Call for a Change of Mindset [Daily Mail]

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Sarah Fennel is the self-taught baker and photographer behind the widely popular Broma Bakery, a “mostly” baking blog that she launched in 2010. In this episode, we are introduced to Sarah’s incredible exuberance for baking, sharing, and baking more. We talk about the early days of her writing and how Broma has grown to become one of the most popular food publications online. We also get into her debut cookbook, Sweet Tooth, which was more than a decade in the making and has been one of our favorites of this busy season.

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MORE FROM SARAH FENNEL:

• Irresistible Dutch Caramel Apple Pie [YouTube] 
• The Best Cheesecake Brownies [Broma Bakery]

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Today’s interview is so great. Dan Barber is the chef and co-owner of Family Meal at Blue Hill in Manhattan and of the legendary Blue Hill at Stone Barns. He’s also the founder of Row 7 Seed Company, a seed company built by chefs, farmers, and breeders that is pushing the boundaries of modern agriculture. We talk about his Row 7 vegetables, including red Badger Flame beets and the semi-viral produce of the season, Sweet Garleek. We also discuss his day-to-day cooking at Stone Barns and how his aversion to tweezers has led to a philosophy that is both fresh and timeless. I so enjoyed catching up with Dan, and I hope you enjoy this conversation.

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MORE FROM DAN BARBER:

• Dan Barber Feeds the Farm to His Customers [Restaurant Hospitality]
• A New Nutrient-Dense Lettuce [Food & Wine]
• Katz’s Deli Debuts a Vegan Pastrami Sandwich [NY Jewish Week]

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Samantha Irby is a humorist, a TV writer, and the author of an incredible new essay collection, Quietly Hostile. In this episode, we talk about so many things: Chicago pizza, living in Michigan, Bosnian food in Grand Rapids, car wash dudes in Kalamazoo, and what it’s like to write lines for Carrie Bradshaw (as well as give her diarrhea). 

Clare de Boer is the chef-owner of Stissing House, a restaurant located in New York’s Hudson Valley that we like very, very much. Clare is also the chef-owner of two New York City restaurants, King and Jupiter. In this episode, we speak with Clare about her time cooking at the River Café in London and her journey to the United States to open some of the country’s best restaurants. We also talk about her great Subtack, The Best Bit.

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Ina Garten joins us in the studio for a really fun conversation that dips into her excellent new memoir, Be Ready When the Luck Happens, which is out this week. While the story covers Ina’s whole technicolor life—from a difficult childhood through her time working at the White House, to opening her specialty food store, Barefoot Contessa, to her cookbook and television work—we wanted to focus on Ina as entrepreneur, splitting time between 1970s New York City and the Hamptons. It was a different era, and she even tells a story about being held up at gunpoint. This is a wide-ranging conversation, and I think you will learn a lot about the Ina that came before the Ina we all know. I hope you enjoy it.  

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MORE FROM INA GARTEN:

• Ina Garten, Fig Cake, and One Fun Phone Call [TASTE]
• Ina Garten and the Age of Abundance [The New Yorker]

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Casey Lewis is an expert on Gen Z and writes the colorful Substack After School, which covers youth culture and trends. We wanted to have Casey on the show not just to talk about “how the kids are eating and drinking and shopping for food” but to dig into her reporting on today’s rapidly shifting culture. It’s a fascinating talk about CPG, restaurant trends, and how social media is changing the way we all eat and drink.

Also on the show, Matt catches up with the B.O. Boys to talk about their excellent movie box office podcast, how food movies have performed (and not performed) at the box office, some overrated/underrated food movies, and we talk about a series of live events they are doing this fall.  

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MORE FROM CASEY LEWIS:

• Don't Get Your Financial Advice on TikTok
• Camo Hoodies and Crocs Clompers
• Gatorwine and dELiA*s Zines

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Joe Yonan is the food and dining editor of the Washington Post. It’s a big job, covering an outstanding food city, so it’s pretty remarkable that Yonan finds time in the margins to write cookbooks every couple years. Much respect, Joe. In this episode, we talk about his latest cookbook, the ambitious Mastering the Art of Plant-Based Cooking, among other topics. It’s a really great talk, and we dig into the Washington, DC, dining scene, this impossible-to-figure-out Beyond Meat world we live in, and many recipes from his terrific new book. I hope you enjoy our conversation.   

Also on the show, Aliza and Matt talk about three things they are into right now! These include: Arbitrary Stupid Goal by Tamara Shopsin, Il Totano is Harold Dieterle's big NYC return and it rules, 886 in NYC has a great new menu, Romy Gill's India is a great new cookbook, check out Rodeo, an exciting new wine bar in Brooklyn, Channels with Peter Kafka is the return of one of the best podcasters in the game.

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MORE FROM JOE YONAN:

• Beans, Beans, Let’s Talk About Beans [TASTE]
• Keith Lee (Politely) Dunks on D.C.’s Food Scene [WP]
• Big Crisp Energy [TASTE]
• Chef’s Night Out with Lucas Sin & Eric Sze [Vice]

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Jessie Sheehan is all about baking. She’s host of the baking podcast She’s My Cherry Pie on Radio Cherry Bombe and the author of four baking cookbooks, including her newest: Salty, Cheesy, Herby, Crispy Snackable Bakes. This book ventures into all-savory territory, from biscuits and scones to what she calls “toasty handhelds,” kinda like fancy hot pockets, and this episode will have you craving them all. 

Also on the show, it’s time to talk about cool new fall cookbooks. All season Aliza and Matt are previewing some of their favorites, category by category. Next up is books by people we follow and love. These include Good Lookin' Cookin' by Dolly Parton, Soups, Salads, Sandwiches by Matty Matheson, What Goes with What: 100 Recipes, 20 Charts, Endless Possibilities by Julia Turshen, Life's Sweetest Moments by Dominique Ansel, Pass the Plate: 100 Delicious, Highly Shareable, Everyday Recipes by Carolina Gelen, Justine Cooks: A Cookbook: Recipes (Mostly Plants) for Finding Your Way in the Kitchen by Justine Doiron, Sweet Tooth by Sarah Fennel.

Do you enjoy This Is TASTE? Drop us a review on Apple, or star us on Spotify. We’d love to hear from you.    

MORE FROM JESSIE SHEEHAN:

• Salty, Cheesy, Herby, Crispy Snackable Bakes
• She’s My Cherry Pie [Radio Cherry Bombe]
• How to Make Snackable Bakes [WNYC]
• TASTE Live at Rizzoli: What Goes with What by Julia Turshen

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Paola Velez is an award-winning chef, activist, and author based in Washington, DC. She’s the cofounder of the viral grassroots bake sale Bakers Against Racism and the author of a great debut cookbook, Bodega Bakes. We brought Paola into the studio to talk about her impressive career, including acting as a culinary diplomat for the State Department, and the unforgettable recipes in her book, like pecan-plantain sticky buns.

Also on the show, Aliza and Matt talk about some of the things they have been cooking in the peak produce period of late summer, as well as other kitchen adventures. These include the egg yolk saga continues, Zoë François key lime pie has a twist, the sardine deserves the tuna melt treatment, more sardines but this time as a stove-top pasta sauce, a kitchen floor renovation tip, a fun recipe from Koreaworld.

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MORE FROM PAOLA VELEZ:

• Pecan-Plantain Sticky Buns [Food and Wine]
• Selena + Chef: Paola Velez [HBO]

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Cookbook author and online personality Carolina Gelen is on a mission to share her love of food, which comes into focus in a great new cookbook, Pass the Plate: 100 Delicious, Highly Shareable, Everyday Recipes. Carolina’s journey began in Transylvania, Romania, where she was born and raised. In 2021, she immigrated to the United States to pursue her passion for food full time. She is a recipe developer and food content creator with work featured in the New York Times and on the Food Network and Food52. In this episode we hear about Carolina’s journey to her debut cookbook and what makes her recipes unique and cookbook-able. I hope you enjoy our conversation.

Also on the show, Matt covers four great books being released this fall that are about food, but not quite cookbooks. These include: Why I Cook by Tom Colicchio, Taste in Music: Eating on Tour with Indie Musicians by Alex Bleeker and Luke Pyenson, A Thousand Feasts by Nigel Slater, Be Ready When the Luck Happens: A Memoir by Ina Garten.

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MORE FROM CAROLINA GELEN:

• Scraps [Substack]
• Seared Chicken Thighs With Cherry Tomatoes and Olives [NYT]
• Lemon Olive Oil Cake [official]
• This Is TASTE 396: Robert Sietsema & Luke Pyenson [TASTE]

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Zoë François is a professional pastry chef, recipe consultant, cookbook author, food photographer, and baking instructor and the host of Zoë Bakes on Magnolia Network. We recently spoke with her live at Rizzoli Bookstore in New York City to talk about the subject of her latest book: cookies. Her new book is Zoë Bakes Cookies, and it’s one of our favorite cookie books of all time. We get into so many great tips for baking the perfect chocolate chip cookie, snickerdoodle, peanut butter cookie, and other Midwestern favorites. We hope you enjoy our conversation.

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Today we have two great conversations with two of our favorite recent cookbook authors. Have you found your way into the world of Suzy Karadsheh and the megapopular YouTube channel and website The Mediterranean Dish? We sure have, and it’s changing the way we cook. Born and raised in the cosmopolitan Mediterranean city of Port Said, Egypt, Suzy grew up just a boat ride away from countries like Italy, Turkey, Lebanon, Greece, and Israel. In this episode, we hear about Suzy’s terrific new cookbook, The Mediterranean Dish: Simply Dinner. 

Also on the show, we have a great talk with Jeremy Salamon. He’s the James Beard Award–nominated chef behind Agi’s Counter, one of our favorite restaurants in all the land. We talk about his life as a young chef, the near-universal praise for Agi’s Counter’s unique approach to modern Hungarian cooking, and his debut cookbook, Second Generation: Hungarian and Jewish Classics Reimagined for the Modern Table. I hope you enjoy these conversations.

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MORE FROM SUZY KARADSHEH & JEREMY SALAMON:

• White Bean Shakshuka [The Mediterranean Dish]
• A Crown Heights Lunch Counter Stirs New Life Into the Nostalgic Egg Cream [Eater]
• This Is TASTE 139: Suzy Karadsheh [TASTE]

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Today on the show we are talking all about restaurants in America with two talented editors. First up is Kate Kassin who along with the staff at Bon Appétit just released their list of the best new restaurants in America. Kate talks about the rigorous process that goes into selecting the restaurants, shares stories from the road, and offers some great restaurants we should be visiting, from New York City to Columbus to Seattle.

Also on the show is Raphael Brion. He’s the Restaurant Editor at Food & Wine and a longtime reporter covering food around the globe. It was great catching up with Raphael about the magazine’s latest Best New Chefs class, and about how he personally traveled the country, tasting and tasting more, to bring this incredible group of talents to the surface.

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Elyse Inamine is a writer and editor based in New York. A former restaurant editor at Bon Appétit and Food & Wine, she’s now writing some of our favorite food stories across the internet, including here at TASTE. It’s so fun to have Elyse on the show to talk about her TASTE story on the rise of cute food, her view on restaurant reporting, and more.

Also on the show it’s the return of three things where Aliza and Matt discuss exciting food and drink on their radars. These include: A visit to Funke in Los Angeles, Untitled Art is maybe the best NA beer on the market today, Fluffy McCloud’s is the ice cream of our dreams, thoughts on the new memoir from Griffin Dunne, The Friday Afternoon Club, tacos at Lincoln and Rose, Industry season 3 is the best things on TV.

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MORE FROM ELYSE INAMINE

• Food Is Identity. For Korean Chefs Who Were Adopted, It’s Complicated. [New York Times]
• Everything You Need to Make Hot Pot at Home [Bon Appetit]
• It’s Cool to Care About NA Beer [TASTE]

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As the cofounder of online restaurant watchdog and chronicler Eater, as well as reservations booker Resy, Ben Leventhal has been at the center of all things dining out for nearly 20 years. On this episode we catch up with Ben about his latest company, Blackbird, a restaurant loyalty program that is rethinking the way hospitality and online culture converge. We talk about the company’s big expansion, what makes a good restaurant diner, burger nights in NYC, and thoughts on the city’s most controversial new restaurant: the good, the bad, the froggy. It’s always so great having Ben in the studio.

Also on the show, it’s time to talk about cool new fall cookbooks. All season Aliza and Matt are previewing some of their favorites, category by category. Next up is cuisines and cultures, featuring: The Contemporary African Kitchen by Alexander Smalls, Banchan by Caroline Choe, Wafu Cooking by Sonoko Sakai, My Egypt by Michael Mina, The Chinese Way by Betty Liu, Moroseta Kitchen by Giorgia Goggi, Classic German Cooking by Luisa Weiss.

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Ellen Marie Bennett is the founder and chief brand officer of Hedley & Bennett, a beloved apron and kitchen gear company that’s found in top restaurants around the world. She’s also a chef and the host of Kitchen Glow Up, a new kitchen renovation show from Tastemade. It’s so fun to have Ellen on the show to talk about Hedley & Bennett’s evolution, the CPG cookware boom, her proudest kitchen renovations, and more.

Also on the show it’s the return of three things where Aliza and Matt discuss exciting food and drink on their radars. These include: Paola Velez’s plantain sticky buns are at all Nordstrom Cafes, Hebel & Co. is doing great halva, rejoice because Mariscos El Submarino is now open in Greenpoint, Just Salad wraps are actually good, Jake’s Gouda is now doing a new cheddar called Moo Echo, YAO in FiDi is a hidden Cantonese gem, and some thoughts on the passing of Justin Chearno.

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Fall cookbook season has arrived, and there’s nobody better to talk about the busy time than Rebecca Flint Marx, editor of Eater at Home. Rebecca just dropped Eater’s thoughtful fall cookbook preview, and we go over a number of her selections in this episode. We also talk about Rebecca’s journalism career and what she has been excited about in the world of restaurants, home cooking, and product trends as well as the changing face of food media.

Do you enjoy This Is TASTE? Drop us a review on Apple, or star us on Spotify. We’d love to hear from you.

MORE FROM REBECCA MARX:

• Cooking’s New Minimalism [TASTE]
• The Untold Story of the Lady From Louisville and the Bubbe Who Wasn’t There [TASTE]
• SF Chron Critic and His Partner Become the Subject of a Major Takedown [Eater SF]

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Giada De Laurentiis is in the studio for an all-time classic conversation. She is the Emmy-Award-winning television personality of Food Network’s Everyday Italian (among many other shows) and the author of nine New York Times best-selling cookbooks, including her most recent, Eat Better, Feel Better. And check out our online retail store, Giadzy. It's really cool.

Also on the show is Julius Roberts. Julius is a chef and farmer living in the idyllic English countryside off the Dorset coast. He’s also the author of The Farm Table, a new cookbook chronicling his life cultivating crops and animals and cooking with this bounty.

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We are always so happy to hang out with Jenny Rosenstrach, the talented writer and editor behind a highly enjoyable newsletter and a series of cookbooks. On this episode, we talk with Jenny about her terrific new book, The Weekday Vegetarians Get Simple. We get into some of the recipes that drive this creative cooking plan, and how the challenge to eat less meat is hardly that—it’s a fun adventure using spices and crafty plant-forward techniques. We also talk about the upcoming TASTE Travels trip to Mexico. For info on the trip write us: [email protected].

Also on the show it’s the return of three things where Aliza and Matt discuss exciting food and drink on their radars. These include: We wanted to not like the Honey Deuce at the US Open, Carlotto is a hidden gem for pasta in NYC, a Flushing food crawl, Trust Me, I'm a Doctor: A Visual Catalog of Generic Dr Pepper-Style Soft Drink Logos, 1995-2020, John's of 12th Street is a great choice for NYC group dining, a reminder that late-summer is the best time for apples.

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Melissa Urban is the cofounder and CEO of Whole30, a megapopular 30-day elimination diet program. She’s a six-time New York Times best-selling author and just released a new book: The New Whole30. We had Melissa on the show to reflect on the Whole30 universe and how it’s evolved alongside food culture over the past 15 years.

Also on the show, it’s time to talk about cool new cookbooks. All fall Aliza and Matt are previewing some of their favorites, category by category. First up is baking and desserts, featuring: Desi Bakes by Hetal Vasavada, Crumbs by Ben Mims, Richard Hart Bread by Richard Hart and Laurie Woolever, Breaking Bao by Clarice Lam, and The King Arthur Big Book of Bread. Tune in for more great new cookbooks.

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Matt Goulding is in the studio, and we have a great chat about his new series on Apple TV+, Omnivore. Matt has known Matt for years and really love his writing, which came to life in a series of memorable travel books as well as in the online magazine he cofounded, Roads & Kingdoms. We talk about Spain, Italy, Japan, and how he covered each country with memorable prose. And we discuss his extremely cool collaboration with René Redzepi. Omnivore is food TV at its most visually stunning, and we talk about the process of getting the show made. It’s a fun conversation with Matt, and I hope you enjoy it.

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MORE FROM MATT GOULDING:

• This Is TASTE 435: René Redzepi
• Rice Noodle Fish: Deep Travels Through Japan's Food Culture [KAL]

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Pearl Jones is a food stylist based in New York City. She’s spent over a decade making food look delicious in commercials, magazine editorials, cookbooks, and more, and she’s also one of Aliza’s close friends. I’ve obsessed over the contents of Pearl’s food stylist kit and kitchen for years, and it’s so fun to have her on the show to pull back the curtain on food styling as a career. 

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MORE FROM PEARL JONES:

• A Cookbook Shoot Recap! It Takes a Village. [Colu Cooks]
• Pearl Jones [Instagram]

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Oddball is an exciting new product that aims to reinvent jelly snacking, taking away market share from the dominant Jell-O with a vegan superfood snack. On this episode, we catch up with Oddball's amazing founder, Sophia Cheng. We met Sophia earlier this year on the floor of the Natural Products Expo West trade show, where she was hustling the pouches of berry, mango, and grape jelly out of her backpack. I was impressed and invited her into the studio to talk about her journey to bringing this traditional Asian dessert to the masses. I love the product as well as catching up with the company’s founder. I hope you enjoy this conversation.

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MORE FROM ODDBALL:

• BTS: Behind the Snax with Oddball [Snaxshot]
• Meet Sophia Cheng [Canvas Rebel]
• Oddball breaking the Jell-O mold [Food Business News]

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Priya Krishna is a reporter and video host for New York Times, where she’s currently acting as the co–interim restaurant critic. She’s the author of the best-selling cookbooks Indian-ish and Priya’s Kitchen Adventures: A Cookbook for Kids and the host of the YouTube series “On the Job.” We’ve all been admirers of Priya’s work for years, and it’s so special to have her back on the show to talk about stepping into the role of restaurant critic, and much more, the char siu

Also on the show it’s the return of three things where Aliza and Matt discuss exciting food and drink on their radars. These include: Long Island Compromise is the top of Taffy Brodesser-Akner Mountain, Osakana in the East Village is great for a picnic, Kato in Los Angeles is serving the country's best NA cocktails, the Frozmopolitan is the Cosmo in its best form, congratulations to Yes Plz on your 300th coffee, Brooklyn's Montague Diner is our new favorite diner in Brooklyn, the char siu pineapple bao at Mei Lai Wah is a perfect food.

Do you enjoy This Is TASTE? Drop us a review on Apple, or star us on Spotify. We’d love to hear from you.

MORE FROM PRIYA KRISHNA:

• No More Butter Chicken: Where Indian Food Finally Gets to Be Itself [NYT]
• Why Do American Grocery Stores Still Have an Ethnic Aisle? [NYT]
• Was Cast Iron Almost Canceled? [TASTE]

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Today on the show we’re sharing two singular conversations, one with chef and cooking personality Ham El-Waylly and one with novelist C Pam Zhang. Ham is a staple on the NYT Cooking YouTube channel, with an all-star restaurant résumé from Momofuku’s Ando to the new Fort Greene seafood destination Strange Delight. C Pam Zhang is the author of the transportive novels How Much of These Hills Is Gold and Land of Milk and Honey, and she writes about food like no one else.

Do you enjoy This Is TASTE? Drop us a review on Apple, or star us on Spotify. We’d love to hear from you.

MORE FROM HAM EL-WAYLLY & C PAM ZHANG:

• Chicken Stroganoff [New York Times Cooking]
• The World’s Smelliest Fruit? Sohla and Ham Try Cooking With Durian [Mystery Menu]
• See It Slant [The Cut]

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Robert Maleski opened Milly’s Pizza in the Pan in 2020 as a way to show Chicago pizza fans that there was more going on in their city than deep-dish. Now, of course, any true Chicago local knows this, but nonetheless, when Matt first tasted Robert’s pie at his Uptown location, he was blown away by its understated excellence. In this episode, Robert shares his story and discusses how the legendary pies of Burt Katz as well as his grandmother’s cooking inspired what many consider the city’s top pie. 

Also on the show it’s the return of three things where Aliza and Matt discuss exciting food and drink on their radars. These include: Stone fruit in the summer of 2024 is working, Dog Day Afternoon is doing Chicago-style hotdogs in Brooklyn in the best way, Real Americans by Rachel Khong is a great summer read, brown sugar boba at Xing Fu Tang in the East Village, Langer's in Los Angeles might be the pastrami GOAT, double yolks are amazing, Daisy Alioto of the great publication Dirt gave an incredible talk about the Taste Economy. Watch it!

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It’s so much fun when Alison Roman drops by the studio. We recently had her in to talk about her excellent newsletter writing—you should be subscribing—and her newly relaunched YouTube show, Home Movies. We also talk about where she’s been dining out in New York City, her life upstate in rural New York, who she is reading on Substack (Jason Stewart, Clare De Boer, Christina Chaey), and all the things you wanted to ask Alison about what is good in and out of the kitchen. Also, cookbooks! It’s a really fun catch-up, and we hope you enjoy it.

Do you enjoy This Is TASTE? Drop us a review on Apple, or star us on Spotify. We’d love to hear from you.

MORE FROM ALISON ROMAN:

• Alison Wants You to Eat the Shells on Your Shrimp [YouTube]
• Spanish Tortilla with Aioli and Friends [official]
• Alison Makes The Best (and Easiest) Tomato Tart You’ll Eat This Year [YouTube]

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Nicholas Morgenstern is the owner and operator of Morgenstern’s Finest Ice Cream, a beloved small-batch ice cream parlor in New York City with nationwide delivery. After a decade of operations in the city, he stopped by the show to talk about how the cult-followed ice cream gets made, and how ice cream tastes have shifted over the past few years.

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MORE FROM NICHOLAS MORGENSTERN:

• Nick Morgenstern Explains Each of His Shop’s 40 New Flavors [Grub Street]
• Nick Morgenstern Goes ‘Bananas’ for Dairy-Free Soft Serve [New York Times]

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Jon Fine is here! He’s a longtime journalist, cultural critic, and touring musician, and now he’s the editor in chief of The New Wine Review, an exciting publication that digs into the world of low-intervention wine. In this conversation we talk about what’s exciting in wine today and how The New Wine Review is changing the way wine is written about—the voice, the language, the attitude. I hope you enjoy this talk.

Do you enjoy This Is TASTE? Drop us a review on Apple, or star us on Spotify. We’d love to hear from you.

MORE FROM JON FINE:

• If The Bear Was a Real Restaurant, It Would Be a Wine Bar [NWR]
• What’s Wine Really Worth? [NWR]
• How Good Wine Rewards Your Attention [NWR]

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Priyanka Mattoo is the author of Bird Milk & Mosquito Bones, a wonderful memoir about food and place and how moving around the world inspired volumes and volumes of stories. We so loved having Priyanka into the studio, and we covered some serious ground. We discuss her upbringing in the UK, Saudi Arabia, and Ann Arbor, Michigan, and her journey to Hollywood, where she worked as a talent agent and studio executive. We talk about food on TV, The Bear (naturally), but also what excites her on television today.

Also on the show, Matt talks about his recent trip to India with chef Meherwan Irani of restaurants Chai Pani and Botiwalla. They visited Mumbai, Pune, and Ahmednagar and experienced so much including stops at Shree Thaker Bhojanalay, Cafe Yezdan, and Parsi Dairy Farm.

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MORE FROM PRIYANKA MATTOO:

• The Best Restaurant in Town [TASTE]
• ‘We Never Moved Back to Kashmir, Because We Couldn’t’ [NYT]
• The Monday Media Diet with Priyanka Mattoo [WITI]

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Sahra Nguyen is the founder of Nguyen Coffee Supply, a progressive coffee company that is bringing Vietnamese coffee into focus in the coolest way. On this episode we talk with Sahra about why she decided to focus on robusta, a species of coffee that is grown widely in southeast Asia but lesser known in the United States. This is rapidly changing thanks to Sahra and we get into why her work at Nguyen is bringing this delicious coffee to the mainstream.

Also on the show it’s the return of three things where Aliza and Matt discuss exciting food and drink on their radars. On this episode: The Formosa Cafe in Los Angeles got a reboot, Hark is our new favorite podcast app, Eel Bar is one of the NYC restaurants of the year, Bar Contra is very intriguing, we really like Haven’s Kitchen aioli, Phoebe Tran is making moves with Bé Bếp, Martha: The Cookbook is Martha Stewart’s 100th cookbook!     

Do you enjoy This Is TASTE? Drop us a review on Apple, or star us on Spotify. We’d love to hear from you.

MORE FROM SAHRA NGUYEN:

• You’ve Probably Drunk Vietnamese Coffee Without Ever Knowing It [TASTE]
• A Bond Built Over Coffee Leads to Success in Love and Business [NYT]
• This Is TASTE 338: Haven’s Kitchen [TASTE]
• This Is TASTE 25: Jeremiah Stone & Fabian Von Hauske [TASTE]

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Today on the show we have two conversations from two of our favorites from the cookbook and online world, Claire Saffitz and Andy Baraghani. Claire is the author of a great recent cookbook, What’s For Dessert, and she’s truly one of our favorite cooking instructors and personalities on the internet. Andy’s rich story and sharp recipe writing chops come together so beautifully in his book, The Cook You Want to Be, published two years ago. So what has Andy been up to this year? It turns out, plenty—both online and offline.

Do you enjoy This Is TASTE? Drop us a review on Apple, or star us on Spotify. We’d love to hear from you.

MORE FROM CLAIRE SAFFITZ & ANDY BARAGHANI:

• I Tried Making Homemade Strawberry Shortcake Bars [YouTube]
• Challah Bread [NYT Cooking]
• Warm Chickpea Bowl with Lemony Yogurt [official]

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Cree Myles is the curator of the Black literature community All Ways Black and the host of The Baldwin 100, a new podcast from Vintage Books examining James Baldwin’s life and words to commemorate one hundred years since his birth. She’s also one of our favorite sources of book recommendations, and it’s so fun to have her on the show to go deep on the intersection of food and literature. 

Also on the show it’s the return of three things where Aliza and Matt discuss exciting food and drink on their radars. On this episode: Indian snack attack from Doosra and Confusion Snacks, Island Creek Oyster Farm’s tinned clams are our home cooking go-to, Hey Champ hand-dipped snacks, a visit to Brooklyn’s Montague Diner, Lexington Bakes has a new brownie format and it rules, Strange Delight might be the NYC restaurant of the summer, and long live the Seashore Flats.      

Do you enjoy This Is TASTE? Drop us a review on Apple, or star us on Spotify. We’d love to hear from you.

MORE FROM CREE MYLES

• How One Book Influencer Championing Black Authors Is Changing Publishing [NPR]
• The Baldwin 100 [Apple Podcasts]
• Strange Delight Channels New Orleans in All the Best Ways [The New Yorker]

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We welcome back our good friend Akira Akuto to the show. Akira is the Los Angeles–based chef who was behind the acclaimed LA sandwich and pastry counter (and so much more) Konbi, which closed up shop in early 2023. In this episode we speak with one of the more clairvoyant voices in the restaurant world. Akira is brutally honest about why a seemingly successful restaurant was anything but. We talk about the difficulties chefs and operators face on a daily basis and why California in particular is a challenging landscape for small-business owners. We also chat about what he’s been up to recently and the Japanese citrus he’s backing in a major way. 

Do you enjoy This Is TASTE? Drop us a review on Apple, or star us on Spotify. We’d love to hear from you.

MORE FROM AKIRA AKUTO:

• Konbi, Home to the Best Egg Salad Sandwich in L.A., to Close Both Locations [LA Times]
• America's Best New Restaurants 2019 [Bon Appetit]
• This Is TASTE 164: Akira Akuto [TASTE]

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Olive Odyssey is a Palestinian olive oil collective working to build demand, supply chains, and economic power for Palestinian farmers since 2022. Today cofounder Aya Faour, a professional olive oil taster, is on the show to share how Olive Odyssey is working to build collective power and partnering with groups like Rose Los Angeles to create special collaboration products that are funding aid in Gaza.

Los Angeles listeners! Reserve a ticket for Koreaworld x Caldo Verde on August 15. Matt will be joined by chefs Deuki Hong and Suzanne Goin for a really fun collaboration dinner.

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MORE FROM OLIVE ODYSSEY:

• Olive Odyssey [official]
• Foragers [official]
• High-Minded Edibles for the Farm-to-Table Era  [TASTE]

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The title of this episode is “the last original food blogger,” and this is no exaggeration. Titus Ruscitti has been writing his influential blog Chi BBQ King for more than a decade, publishing dispatches from the Chicago food scene on the no-frills Blogspot platform. It’s a throwback publication, tipping to Chowhound and the original Serious Eats, and it’s so fun catching up with Titus about all the exciting restaurants he’s visited around the Midwest. We talk about Chicago beef, tavern pizza, tacos, barbecue, The Bear (naturally), and his intense interest in Midwestern foodways that has had him visiting Wisconsin, Indiana, and West Michigan regularly. This is a great conversation about one of the world’s greatest food cities, and I hope you enjoy it.  

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MORE FROM TITUS RUSCITTI OF CHI BBQ KING:

• Empanadas in Chicago
• Big Eating in Southwest Michigan
• Indienne

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Jim Meehan is here for a wide-ranging and highly entertaining conversation. Jim is the legendary barman and pioneer in the modern cocktail movement. He's also a journalist and the author of three excellent books, including The PDT Cocktail Book, Meehan’s Bartender Manual, and the brand-new The Bartender’s Pantry. In this episode, we go back in time to the dawn of the modern cocktail movement and relive some of the big openings and stories of the age. Jim also reflects on his book writing career, and how there’s much more to a cocktail pantry than you think. It’s fun catching up with Jim, and we hope you enjoy this conversation. 

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MORE FROM JIM MEEHAN:

• Celebrity Booze Tasting with Danny Brown and Jim Meehan [YouTube]
• Jim Meehan’s Deep Dive into the Cocktail Kitchen [Portland Monthly]

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This one is a long time coming, and we're thrilled to welcome Sam Sifton into our studio. Sam has held various key roles at the New York Times including food editor, culture editor, national editor, and restaurant critic. He’s also the founding editor of New York Times Cooking, which has become one of the paper’s biggest financial successes in decades. In this episode, Sam talks about the world of food media, his appetite for news and culture, his prolific newsletter output, and some of his most memorable reviews when he was working as a critic. Sam is a true one of one, and it was such fun to have him in for a conversation.

Do you enjoy This Is TASTE? Drop us a review on Apple, or star us on Spotify. We’d love to hear from you.

MORE FROM SAM SIFTON:

• Cherries for Black Forest Cake, Tomatoes for Gazpacho [NYT]
• The Reviewing Life [NYT]
• Nello [NYT]
• Torrisi Italian Specialties [NYT]

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Today we’re revisiting two of my favorite conversations with food folks who make their own rules. DeVonn Francis is a chef, recipe developer, and events producer based in Brooklyn. His culinary events studio, Yardy World, has developed a cult following around vibrant, lush experiences rooted in Caribbean cuisine with some of the best vibes and playlists around, and now they’re joining the CPG boom. 

Arielle Johnson is a flavor scientist who advises some of the top restaurants and chefs in the world on how to turbocharge their cooking with chemistry. She’s currently the science director of Noma Projects, and she’s sharing all her wisdom in a new book: Flavorama. It’s a delight having her on the show to answer all our questions about the science behind what we eat—truly a must-listen episode for anyone interested in food.

MORE FROM DEVONN FRANCIS AND ARIELLE JOHNSON

• Welcome to the DeVonn Francis Dinner Party Multiverse [TASTE]
• How This Jamaican American Chef is Redefining Hospitality [LA Times]
• Do You Know How Flavor Works? [NY Times]

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Today on the show we have a great double episode. First up is the Los Angeles–based chef, recipe developer, and writer Chloe Walsh, author of Anchovies and Soup, a terrific Substack that muses about food life in LA, in the writer’s native England, and at points in between. 

Also on the show, we catch up with our old friend, the amazing photographer and director Eyal Yassky-Weiss. We talk about some of Eyal’s recent travels, our collaboration while on assignment in Ethiopia, and his new travel recommendation project, Unnamed Traveler. I hope you enjoy these two great conversations.  

Do you enjoy This Is TASTE? Drop us a review on Apple, or star us on Spotify. We’d love to hear from you.

MORE FROM CHLOE WASH & EYAL YASSKY-WEISS:

• Honey Poached Strawberries [Substack]
• Me, Myself & Milan [Substack]
• The Musakhan Queens of Ramallah [TASTE]
• From the Mouth of the Gods [TASTE]

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Cake Zine is an independent print magazine exploring society through sweets, cofounded by Tanya Bush and TASTE contributing editor and the show's co-host Aliza Abarbanel. Their fifth issue, Candy Land, explores candy’s connections to the natural and unnatural world. On the show, Aliza and Tanya unpack how they made the issue and the many cultural connotations of candy. Also on the show, Amy Rose Spiegel reads a piece from the latest issue.

Do you enjoy This Is TASTE? Drop us a review on Apple, or star us on Spotify. We’d love to hear from you.

MORE FROM CAKE ZINE

• Candy Land [official]
• This Is TASTE 329: Cake Zine’s Tough Cookie [TASTE]

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Kareem Rahma is a comedian and media host based in New York City. He’s the mind behind several popular online series, like Subway Takes and Keep the Meter Running, where he provides an insider look into the hot takes and taxi driver dining destinations that power the city. It’s so fun to have him on the show to talk about his new show The Last Stop, his media POV, and his past as a teenage delinquent McDonald’s employee. 

Also on the show, Aliza and Matt discuss what they are loving in the world of produce. What's great at the farmer's market, Row 7's exciting garleek, and how it all works into recent cooking projects.

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MORE FROM KAREEM RAHMA

• How a Subway Talk Show Won Over the Internet (and Olivia Wilde) [GQ]
• The Empath: How Kareem Rahma Took Over Your Feed [Brooklyn Magazine]
• Baby Boomers have ruined the world..it's time for REVENGE! [YouTube]

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It was fun having chef René Redzepi in the studio to talk about his great new (and first) television show, a sweeping food documentary series called Omnivore, streaming now on Apple TV+ and perfect for a weekend binge. In this episode we hear about the future of Noma, Jeremy Allen White and René’s workout routine while filming The Bear in Copenhagen, and why coffee is truly one of the food world’s greatest miracles. We also dig into some of the big topics covered on Omnivore, including how tuna went from trash fish to Japanese treasure, and why bananas are one of the most misunderstood foods.

Also on the show Aliza and Matt cover three things they each are into right now. These include: Edith's and Cait's Key Lime Pies collaborating on the best slushy of the summer in Brooklyn, Matt finally visits new NYC Korean restaurant Kisa and is blown away, support restaurants in the summer! Also: Nico Villasenor popping up at Little Egg, Philadelphia's Mighty Bread Company might make the best cherry pie, scene report from Mag Culture, and Gary He's McAtlas is a book about McDonald's that says so much more. It's very cool and you can pre-order it now.

Do you enjoy This Is TASTE? Drop us a review on Apple, or star us on Spotify. We’d love to hear from you.

MORE FROM RENE REDZEPI:

• Omnivore Takes a ‘Planet Earth’ Approach to Food [FDL]
• Apple TV+ Food Series Has the Right Ingredients [Observer]
• Noma, Rated the World’s Best Restaurant, Is Closing Its Doors [NYT]

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Khushbu Shah is a journalist and the author of a terrific new book, Amrikan: 125 Recipes from the Indian American Diaspora. She was most recently the restaurant editor at Food & Wine magazine, where she crisscrossed the United States several times over on the hunt for the country’s best new chefs. In this very impressive debut book, Khushbu covers Indian-American home cooking through a very personal lens, offering recipes that blend South Asia with suburban Michigan sensibilities. In this episode we talk about what inspired her to take this journey, and about her deft recipe development chops. And, of course, we talked a little bit about restaurants, something we both share a great deal of love for. It’s so great having Khushbu on the show.

Also on the show, Aliza and Matt talk about three things they are into right now. These include Agi’s Counter in Brooklyn hitting new gears, the Gjelina pop-ups in New York City, and an early look at the terrific upcoming Ina Garten memoir, Be Ready When the Luck Happens. And more: it’s cold noodle season at Noodlecraft in Queens, Sufjan Stevens’s Illinoise on Broadway is incredible, the final issue of MOLD magazine has arrived, and Cake Zine’s new issue is here!   

Do you enjoy This Is TASTE? Drop us a review on Apple, or star us on Spotify. We’d love to hear from you.

MORE FROM KHUSHBU SHAH:  

• Khushbu Shah Wants Her Seltzer Bubbles to Hurt [Grub Street]
• Cheesy Masala Corn Pizza [Food & Wine]
• Get to Know Masa, the Bedrock of Mexican Cuisine [Food & Wine]
• Fudgetown, USA [TASTE]

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What a fun conversation we have with Caroline Chambers, the author of the popular Substack What To Cook When You Don't Feel Like Cooking, as well as an upcoming cookbook of the same name. Caroline has had such an interesting career in food media, and we dig into how she went from relative obscurity to running the number one ranked Substack in the competitive food category. We talk about what makes a great Internet recipe, and how she worked social media hard during the pandemic to speak with an audience that was looking for just what she was cooking - when many didn’t feel like cooking. We also talk about her life in California, her time living in New York City, and sneak a little sports talk into the mix as well. Caroline is a new favorite of ours and we hope you enjoy this talk.

Do you enjoy This Is TASTE? Drop us a review on Apple, or star us on Spotify. We’d love to hear from you.

MORE FROM CAROLINE CHAMBERS:

• The WTC vacation house meal plan [Substack]
• Tuna cottage cheese avocado salad [IG]

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Today on the show we have two great conversations. First up is Molly Baz. With a signature voice and absolutely wild recipe development skills, Molly has won over millions of fans worldwide and she talks about her latest book, More Is More, which taps into the food world’s more maximalist urges. Also on the show is Dwight Garner. Dwight has been a book critic at the New York Times since 2008, and he has now written one of our favorite food books in years (not an exaggeration). The Upstairs Delicatessen is a book about “eating, reading, reading about eating, and eating while reading.” This is completely, 100% Matt’s bag, and Dwight’s style and rhythm had us reading until we were full (and then some). In this extremely fun episode, Dwight shares the book’s origins and digs into some of his most memorable meals and books, and books about meals, and meals…you get the point. 

Do you enjoy This Is TASTE? Drop us a review on Apple, or star us on Spotify. We’d love to hear from you.

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The Chicago Hospitality Accountability and Advocacy Database, or the CHAAD Project, is an organization created by and for hospitality workers in Chicago to advance accountability and end labor abuses within the industry. On this episode Aliza speaks with cofounder and director of communications Raeghn Draper on the show to talk about CHAAD’s work and about building a more equitable hospitality industry. It’s essential listening for anyone who loves food and restaurants.

Also on the show we talk about these booming NA beer times we are living in. TASTE columnist Jordan Michelman returns to the show to talk about the NA beer story he dropped this week. Jordan tasted over 60 alcohol-free beers from around the world. Which came out on top? Listen to find out.

Do you enjoy This Is TASTE? Drop us a review on Apple, or star us on Spotify. We’d love to hear from you.

READ MORE ABOUT CHAAD AND NA BEER:

• The CHAAD Project [official]
• Chicago Hospitality Workers Have New Digital Tool [BCC]
• It’s Cool to Care About NA Beer [TASTE]

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Today on the show we feature conversations with two extremely cool authors. First up is Jess Damuck, author of the new cookbook Health Nut. We catch up with Jess about a pivot away from salads, what she’s cooking at home in Los Angeles, and how she brought a lot of color to the book’s recipe development and striking photography. Also on the show we have a great talk with Sara B. Franklin. We discuss her new book on legendary cookbook editor Judith Jones, and how Jones’ great influence is still felt in cookbook publishing today. 

Do you enjoy This Is TASTE? Drop us a review on Apple, or star us on Spotify. We’d love to hear from you.

MORE FROM JESS DAMUCK & SARA B. FRANKLIN

• Coconut Tahini Toast Is the Only Thing We Want To See Before 8 a.m. [Well + Good]
• How to Make an Excellent Salad Dressing [FT]
• My Lunches with Judith Jones, the Queen of Cookbooks [TASTE]
• She Was More Than the Woman Who Made Julia Child Famous [NYT]

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Katherine Lewin is the founder of Big Night, an entertaining-focused home goods store with two locations here in New York City. She’s also the author of Big Night, the cookbook, which is a truly excellent new back-pocket hosting companion, with recipes and menu ideas. It’s so fun to have her on the show to talk about summer cooking, entertaining as an introvert, and more.

Also on the show, Aliza and Matt discuss three things they each are interested in right now. These include: The vibes at Greenpoint’s Million Goods, Korean drinking food at Bushwick’s Orion Bar, The Old Town Bar, a legend in Manhattan, Achilles Heel has a great new chef, Carolina Gellen’s debut cookbook Pass the Plate, The Bean Book by Rancho Gordo’s Steve Sando.       

Do you enjoy This Is TASTE? Drop us a review on Apple, or star us on Spotify. We’d love to hear from you.

MORE FROM KATHERINE LEWIN:

• Big Night, the Cult-Favorite Party Store, Now Has Its Own Cookbook [Vogue]
• I Own a Store Dedicated to Dinner Parties—Here’s Hos I Fight Pre-Company Stress [Domino]
• Welcome to the Shoppy Shop [NY Mag]

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Today on the show we welcome Steven Rinella. He’s an American outdoorsman, conversationalist, writer, and TV personality responsible for introducing the outdoor lifestyle to millions of fans. It was great talking with Steven about his latest work, the MeatEater Outdoor Cookbook, and how he likes to think about summer outdoor cooking. It’s not what you expect.  

Also on the show we have a great talk with Darin Bresnitz. He’s the co-host of the long-running podcast Snacky Tunes, and a great guy to know in Los Angeles. We talk about his career working in early food television, and how he’s been at the center of food and drink for nearly two decades. 

Do you enjoy This Is TASTE? Drop us a review on Apple, or star us on Spotify. We’d love to hear from you.  

MORE FROM STEVEN RINELLA & DARIN BRESNITZ:  

• A Texas Hog Hunt [MeatEater]
• Quarter Sheets & Wilderado [Snack Tunes]
• Matt Rodbard & False Prpht [Snacky Tunes]
• Los Angeles Plugs: Matt Rodbard [The Angel]
• This Is TASTE 48: James Murphy & Nick Curtola [TASTE]

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Valeria Socorro Velazquez Lindsten is the owner and head baker of Loba Pastry + Coffee, a beloved Chicago café. Originally from Guadalajara, Mexico, Valeria worked in pastry at several lauded spots across Chicago before creating her very own bakery with delights like green mole croissants and pineapple sourdough muffins. It’s so fun to have her on the show to talk about her pastry perspective, the struggles and successes of opening a small business, and more.

Also on the show, Aliza and Matt chop it up about three things they are excited about in food and drink, including: The new Cake Zine issue is dropping, Minhwa Spirits is opening a tasting room in Atlanta, the gelato carts are out in NYC, Peskesi Farm in Crete, Queer Aperitivo pop-ups, Mathimata Mageirikis cooking school in Athens.     

Do you enjoy This Is TASTE? Drop us a review on Apple, or star us on Spotify. We’d love to hear from you.  

MORE FROM VALERIA SOCORRO VELAZQUEZ LINDSTEN:

• What Happens When Crowdfunding Isn’t Enough? [Eater]
• Customers Help Loba, a Beloved Chicago Bakery [WGN]

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On this very special episode, it’s all about beef, and we have a number of experts talking about the subject. First up is George Motz, the chef-owner of Hamburger America, the wildly successful burger counter in New York City. George knows a thing or two about beef, but we didn’t only focus on the hamburger. We talked about all sorts of beef cuts and how George likes to shop for rib eyes and shoulders all summer long. We even got some expert advice for preparing beef before it hits the grill. 

Also on the show, we have a really great conversation with Dr. Phil Bass, a meat science professor at the University of Idaho. Dr. Bass has worked as a meat cutter and, later, in higher education, researching and teaching about the science of beef. We speak about innovations happening in the world of beef, as well as some brand-new cuts(!) that you will be finding in the grocery store in future. Finally, Matt and Clayton talk about how they like to cook with beef, including Korean stews, tacos, and slow-braising adventures. It’s a really fun episode that will certainly raise your beef IQ.

This special episode is supported by Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner on behalf of the Beef Checkoff. Beef should be cooked to a minimum of 145°F as registered by a meat thermometer. For help determining doneness, visit beefitswhatsfordinner.com.  

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Tony “Tonx” Konecny is on the show today and we talk about the coffee company he founded with Sumi Ali. It’s called Yes Plz Coffee, and if you’ve listened to this show, you know how much love we have for what Tony and Sumi have built—the bag is part of our show’s logo too, which tells you something. On this episode we talk about how Yes Plz is bringing exceptional blends and single-origin coffees to subscribers each week. It’s a really smart business model, and we get into how it all works, and how, in the end, it’s the coffee fans who win. 

Do you enjoy This Is TASTE? Drop us a review on Apple, or star us on Spotify. We’d love to hear from you.  

MORE FROM TONY KONECNY:

• The Coffee Issue [TASTE] 
• 20 Best Coffee Subscriptions [Bon Appetit]
• This Is TASTE 54: YesPlz [TASTE]

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Alice Jun is the founder and brewer at Hana Makgeolli, an artisanal Korean rice wine producer based in Brooklyn, New York. She’s dedicated her life to uplifting sool as an artisanal drink here in the US by using only organic rice, nuruk (fermentation starter), and traditional brewing methods to achieve complex flavors, and it’s so fun to have her on the show to go deep on this special, rising beverage category. 

Do you enjoy This Is TASTE? Drop us a review on Apple, or star us on Spotify. We’d love to hear from you. 

MORE FROM HANA MAKGEOLLI

• American Makgeolli [Grub Street]
• Fruity, Sweet, and a Little Sour, Makgeolli Is Perfect for Springtime Sipping [Food and Wine]
• Makgeolli Magnate Alice Jun Is Spreading Korean Culture, One Bottle at a Time [Saveur]

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Dennis Lee is the iconoclastic Chicago-based food writer and newsletter daddy behind two great sends: Food Is Stupid and the Party Cut. On this episode, we have a great talk about the Chicago restaurant scene, Dennis’s unique place in food media, and how his Korean-American heritage informs so much of his work. We also dig into the Chicago hot dog and how it might just be one of the world’s most perfect foods. Also on the show, Matt, Aliza, and Clayton pay a visit to the legendary Chicago hot dog stand Superdawg for a This Is TASTE field report. What a fun, tube-steak-centric episode with a true original.

Do you enjoy This Is TASTE? Drop us a review on Apple, or star us on Spotify. We’d love to hear from you. 

MORE FROM DENNIS LEE:

• The Olive Garden Hot Dog [Food Is Stupid]
• Trot to Niles for a Deeper Cut of Korean [The Party Cut]
• The Cult Recipe Newsletter About Inedible Foods [Bon Appetit]

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How cool was it to have Joan Nathan into our studio? Joan is a longtime chronicler of Jewish food culture around the world and the author of many cookbooks on the topic, including her latest (and final) book, My Life in Recipes: Food, Family, and Memories, which she put out this spring. In this episode we talk about Joan’s long journalism career, including working at the Washington Post and the New York Times, and writing across the world of food. We also get into some of her favorite lasting recipes from Jewish households discovered through her world travels.

Got a question, comment, future guest idea, fact to share, fun fact to share, less-fun fact to share? Send us a voice memo and we will listen to it, and may feature your message on the show!

MORE FROM JOAN NATHAN:

• What Joan Nathan Taught Me About the Power of Showing Up [NYT] 
• Joan Nathan is more than a Jewish cookbook writer. [LA Times]
• A Warsaw Bakery Seeks to Preserve Jewish Food Where It Was Nearly Lost [NYT]

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Mike Lata is chef and co-owner of the restaurants FIG and The Ordinary in Charleston, South Carolina, and one of the most respected voices in Southern cooking. It was really exciting to have Mike into our studio to talk about his journey to opening FIG more than 20 years ago and how he defines Southern cuisine in 2024. It’s so great catching up with Mike, and we hope you enjoy this conversation.

Also on the show it's the return of three things, where Aliza and Matt talk about three things that gets them excited. On this episode: Jim Meehan's new book, The Bartender's Pantry, the new modern Korean diner Kisa in NYC, the amazing pizza at Chicago's Milly's Pizza in the Pan, the summer of granita, hop water is getting even better with St. Elmo and others, and horseshoe crab festival was incredible. 

Got a question, comment, future guest idea, fact to share, fun fact to share, less-fun fact to share? Send us a voice memo and we will listen to it, and may feature your message on the show!

MORE FROM MIKE LATA:

• Eating and Drinking Around Charleston [This Is TASTE; starts at 51:20]
• If You Want to Eat Local Seafood, You Can’t Do Better Than Charleston [FW]
• For Chef Mike Lata, Food Is Good. Really Good [Garden & Gun]

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Our great Wisconsin Cheese road trip continues! We caught up with iconic Wisconsin chefs Tory Miller of L’Etoile and Graze in Madison and Luke Zahm of Driftless Cafe in Viroqua about how they harness the power of Wisconsin Cheese to make distinctly local cuisine. We also talked with Ken Monteleone of the beloved Madison cheese shop Fromagination about selling craft cheese on the Capitol Square for over 17 years. And, we put our cheese-tasting skills to the test with American Cheese Society–certified cheese professional Shannon Berry. Finally, it’s three things, Wisconsin cheese edition.  

This very special episode is supported by Wisconsin Cheese

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On this very special episode of This Is TASTE, it’s a TASTE road trip! Aliza, Matt, and producer Clayton traveled all across the great state of Wisconsin to dig deep into the wide world of Wisconsin Cheese, from fresh to aged to blended with Indian spices. We visited Mark Crave and the farmstead creamery of Crave Brothers Farmstead Cheese in Waterloo, and we peeked inside the cheese caves at Roelli Cheese Haus in Shullsburg, where award-winning cheddars and alpine cheeses are aged by Master Cheesemaker Chris Roelli. Tandoori gouda? It’s as good as it sounds, and we spoke with Huma Siddiqui-Seitz of White Jasmine about creating her unforgettable cheese.

Also on the show, we caught up with John Jaeggi to talk about the Wisconsin Master Cheesemaker Program and what goes into grading and judging cheese. Finally, we spoke with Rachel Kerr, senior director of brand marketing for Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin, about how Wisconsin cheese got to where it is now. 

This very special episode is supported by Wisconsin Cheese.

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We welcome back into the studio James Harris, one half of Throwing Fits, a very funny podcast, Instagram account, and online community dedicated to all things menswear. TF is not just one of Matt’s favorite podcasts around, it’s a sneaky great look at the NYC food and drink scene, with James bringing big opinions about New York restaurants and nightlife culture. We hope you enjoy this very entertaining episode with one of our favorite guests around.

Also on the show, Aliza and Matt are back in the studio together to talk about three things they each are into, including: Pop-ups at Callisto Farm in the Hudson Valley, Thumbody Coffee, strawberry olive oil cake from Julie Saha, Khushbu Shah's terrific book, Amrikan, collectable olive oil with Tacapae, and three great cheeses from the Hudson Valley including Cooperstown, 5 Spoke Creamery, and Jake's Gouda.

Got a question, comment, future guest idea, fact to share, fun fact to share, less-fun fact to share? Send us a voice memo and we will listen to it, and may feature your message on the show!

MORE FROM THROWING FITS:

• Throwing Fits for Men’s Fashion [NYT]
• From Nike to Nautica, Here Are the ’90s Brands that Defined the Decade [Complex]

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Sara Kramer and Sarah Hymanson are the co-owners of Kismet and Kismet Rotisserie, two beloved Los Angeles restaurants that have won plenty of fans with the power of herbs, seasonal vegetables, and feta. They’ve recently released the first Kismet cookbook, and they stopped by the studio to talk about adapting their recipes for home cooks, their favorite ways to treat spring vegetables, and more.

Got a question, comment, future guest idea, fact to share, fun fact to share, less-fun fact to share? Send us a voice memo and we will listen to it, and may feature your message on the show!

MORE FROM KISMET:

• In Los Angeles, a Hilltop Garden Party With a Tower of Crudités [T Magazine]
• At Kismet, Your Culinary Destiny Might Come in the Form of Rabbit Kebabs [LA Times]
• How Female Chefs Are Changing Restaurant Kitchen Culture [Vogue]

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Where has the founder of Chipotle been eating around New York City, and what does he have to say about the future of restaurants? It’s really fun having Steve Ells into the studio to cover some serious ground, including his early cooking career working with Jeremiah Tower at Stars in San Francisco and what led him to open a single burrito shop on the campus of the University of Denver in 1993. We also find out about his latest big idea, an exciting new restaurant called Kernel, that has a robotic arm in the kitchen and an amazing plant-based chicken sandwich. We talk about it all with one of the strongest minds in food.

Got a question, comment, future guest idea, fact to share, fun fact to share, less-fun fact to share? Send us a voice memo and we will listen to it, and may feature your message on the show!

MORE FROM STEVE ELLS:

• Steve Ells Is Still Trying to Solve Lunch [NY Mag]
• Steve Ells raises $36M for new Kernel [Restaurant Business]

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Our Las Vegas week continues! Gina Marinelli is the chef and partner of La Strega, a coastal Italian restaurant charming Las Vegas’s Summerlin neighborhood. She’s worked in Las Vegas kitchens since 2006 for chefs like Michael Mina at Nobhill Tavern and Scott Conant at D.O.C.G. Enoteca, and now she’s doing Italian food her way. Also on the show, we visit Fontainebleau Las Vegas and check out the growing food and drink options at the new opening.

Lastly, it’s our recurring three things segment, where Aliza and Matt discuss the three things they each took away from their exciting week in Las Vegas. 

These very special episodes of This Is TASTE are supported by Las Vegas.

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Our Las Vegas week continues with a fun conversation with Marc Vetri. We wanted to talk with Marc about opening a restaurant in Las Vegas, Vetri Cucina at Palms. What’s it like to move his Philadelphia-based operation across the country to cook on the 56th floor overlooking the Strip? Not easy. We get into how Marc has settled in and some of the exciting regional Italian dishes he is preparing. 

Also on the show, Aliza catches up with Josh Smith, executive chef of Delilah, the Art Deco–themed supper club at Wynn Las Vegas. They talk about what it takes to maintain buzz in the desert and how there is only one Las Vegas when it comes to the showmanship of dining out. I hope you enjoy this very special Las Vegas episode of the show.

These very special episodes of This Is TASTE are supported by Las Vegas.

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Our Las Vegas week continues! Penny Chutima is the next generation of Lotus of Siam, an iconic, James Beard Award–winning restaurant serving up regional Northern Thai food in Las Vegas since 1999. The daughter of chef Saipin Chutima, Penny is dedicated to preserving and expanding Lotus of Siam’s legacy, beloved by chefs like Anthony Bourdain and just about everyone else who comes to Vegas. 

Also on the show, Matt talks with Amanda Signorelli about running the Golden Steer, an iconic Vegas steakhouse founded in 1958, frequented by Elvis Presley and Frank Sinatra, that’s been in her family for years.

These very special episodes of This Is TASTE are supported by Las Vegas.

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Our Las Vegas week continues with a very fun interview with Michael Mina, a legendary Bay Area chef who has deep roots in Las Vegas. We talk about how the city has grown into a world-class culinary destination and get into what he is cooking up at his restaurants there, including Bardot Brasserie, International Smoke, Orla, StripSteak, and his namesake restaurant at Bellagio. This guy has serious range, and we discuss how he sources California produce and seafood and gets it to his Las Vegas restaurants in a snap. We also get a locals-only tour of restaurants off the Strip from the point of view of a world-class chef who also happens to be a local. 

Also on the show, Aliza and Matt pay a visit to Sphere, the now-legendary Las Vegas performance venue. We attended a recent Dead & Company show and wanted to check in with the food! It’s actually quite good, and we share some highlights from the concession stand, including good pizza, great pretzels, craft beer for days, and a thoughtful approach to modern stadium food. It’s yet another example of how Las Vegas is getting food right. 

These very special episodes of This Is TASTE are supported by Las Vegas.

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Influential and esoteric celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck has been operating restaurants in Las Vegas for more than 25 years, earning a following through his creative cuisine and sense of showmanship at restaurants including Caramá, CUT, and Spago. On this entertaining episode, we hear how Wolfgang was initially drawn to Las Vegas when opening Spago, his first restaurant there, in 1992, and how he’s seen the Las Vegas dining scene develop into an internationally acclaimed destination.

Also on the show, Aliza and Matt take a tour of Las Vegas’s bustling Chinatown, making visits to some really cool places, including Ping Pang Pong, Gäbi Coffee & Bakery, Shang Artisan Noodle, and the 24-hour cocktail bar Golden Tiki. We also experience Cantonese barbecue nirvana at Win Kee HK BBQ and Noodle and catch up with the restaurant’s owner, Ida Shek. 

These very special episodes of This Is TASTE are supported by Las Vegas.

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We’re so happy to feature two great friends: chef Deuki Hong and New York Times columnist and cookbook author Eric Kim. We had a great conversation about the new book Koreaworld, a cookbook and cultural study that Matt wrote with Deuki. This conversation was recorded live at Rizzoli Bookstore and touches on many topics related to modern Korean food in both Korea and the United States. We hope you enjoy the conversation.

Got a question, comment, future guest idea, fact to share, fun fact to share, less-fun fact to share? Send us a voice memo and we will listen to it, and may feature your message on the show!

MORE FROM DEUKI HONG:

• Buy: Koreaworld
• The Seoul Train of Inspiration Runs Through Los Angeles [Eater]
• Koreaworld: A Culinary Revolution [NBC Washington]
• Chef Deuki Hong Talks New ‘Koreaworld' Cookbook [NBC Bay Area]

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St. Agrestis has had a couple very big years in the competitive nonalcoholic drinks arena, and it’s long overdue to have the brand’s cofounder Louis Catizone on the show. The Phony Negroni is a near-perfect NA cocktail, and on this episode we talk about how it was born and how NA bottled cocktails are appearing in bars and restaurants at record levels. This is a great talk for anybody interested in hearing the story of an emerging brand in the drinks world.

Got a question, comment, future guest idea, fact to share, fun fact to share, less-fun fact to share? Send us a voice memo and we will listen to it, and may feature your message on the show!

MORE FROM ST. AGRESTIS:

• A Nonalcoholic Amaro ‘Falso’ From St. Agrestis [NYT]
• St. Agrestis Debuts the Phony Mezcal Negroni [Appetito]

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Benjamina Ebuehi is a London-based recipe developer and food stylist who rose to fame as a quarter-finalist in the 2016 Great British Bake Off. She’s also the author of three baking cookbooks, including the new release I’ll Bring Dessert, and it’s so fun to have her on the show to talk about the differences between London and NYC bakeries, developing recipes, and more.

Got a question, comment, future guest idea, fact to share, fun fact to share, less-fun fact to share? Send us a voice memo and we will listen to it, and may feature your message on the show!

MORE FROM BENJAMINA EBUEHI

• Double Chocolate and Mascarpone Tray Bake [Guardian]
• Sweet Things [Substack]
• Buy: The New Way to Cake

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Aaron Lindell is the chef and co-owner of Quarter Sheets, the wildly popular Los Angeles restaurant he runs with his wife, Hannah Ziskin. Now, listen, you’ve probably read about Quarter Sheets. You may have even had Hannah’s iconic princess cake. But this is a conversation about Aaron’s pizza. It’s…amazing. And it has a great backstory. On this episode we hear about Aaron’s wild career as a private chef for NBA stars and tech icons, and how the pandemic led to his amazing pop-up and restaurant. It’s such a great talk, and I hope you enjoy it.

Got a question, comment, future guest idea, fact to share, fun fact to share, less-fun fact to share? Send us a voice memo and we will listen to it, and may feature your message on the show!

MORE FROM AARON LINDELL:

• This Is TASTE 152: Hannah Ziskin [TASTE]
• One of L.A.’s Best Pizzerias is Finally Taking Reservations [Time Out]
• How Quarter Sheets Conquered LA, One Pan Pizza and Slab Cake at a Time [Eater]

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Celina Baljeet Basra is the Berlin based author of Happy, a sweet and surreal postmodern novel released last year. It follows a young man named Happy from his family cabbage farm in Punjab to his clandestine journey to Europe, and the service jobs he works along the way. I’ve never read a book quite like Happy and it's so fun to have Celina on the show to talk about unconventional food writing, her favorite restaurants in Berlin, and more.

Got a question, comment, future guest idea, fact to share, fun fact to share, less-fun fact to share? Send us a voice memo and we will listen to it, and may feature your message on the show! 

MORE FROM CELINA BALJEET BASRA:

• Happy [Literary Hub]
• The Tragic Exploitation that Puts Food on Our Plates [Washington Post]

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Rocco DiSpirito is an iconic Italian American New York City chef, television personality, and highly acclaimed author of 14 cookbooks, including three New York Times bestsellers. On this episode we go way back to his star turn on one of the first food reality TV shows on air, and we talk about his time in the kitchen at Union Pacific, his acclaimed New York City restaurant from the early 2000s. We also discuss what excites him about food in New York City and beyond. 

Do you enjoy This Is TASTE? Drop us a review on Apple, or star us on Spotify. We’d love to hear from you. 

MORE FROM ROCCO DISPIRITO:

• Where'd You Go, Chef Rocco DiSpirito? [Food & Wine]
• How Rocco DiSpirito, Chef, Spends His Sundays [NYT]

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Alan Sytsma is a longtime observer of the New York City dining scene who is behind New York magazine’s formidable food coverage. On this episode we dig into Alan’s take on the current NYC restaurant scene and hear about New York mag’s amazing “Who Ate Where” issue, which digs into the cultural history of eating out in New York City. It’s really fun talking restaurants with Alan, and I hope you enjoy this conversation.

Do you enjoy This Is TASTE? Drop us a review on Apple, or star us on Spotify. We’d love to hear from you. 

MORE FROM ALAN SYTSMA:

• Who Ate Where [NY Mag]
• 48 Scenes From a Century of New York Dining [NY Mag]

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Aaron Goldfarb has been a journalist for over a decade, frequently writing on the subjects of cocktails and drinking culture for such publications as the New York Times, Esquire, Playboy, and PUNCH. His latest book, Dusty Booze: In Search of Vintage Spirits, digs into our ongoing obsession with old spirits and the people who chase them. We talk about the real bourbon grails and the fake ones, and if there is any remaining Stitzel-Weller juice to be drunk. It’s fun catching up with Aaron. 

Do you enjoy This Is TASTE? Drop us a review on Apple, or star us on Spotify. We’d love to hear from you. 

MORE FROM AARON GOLDFARB:

• The Craze for ‘Dusty’ Liquor [WSJ]
• Why Anyone Who Loves Rare Bourbon Should Visit Japan [Matador]

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MacKenzie Chung Fegan is the new restaurant critic at the San Francisco Chronicle. She’s a former Bon Appétit editor who returned home to the Bay Area to shape food coverage at her hometown paper, and it’s so fun to have her on the show to break down her first few months on the job, the state of modern restaurant criticism, and more. 

MORE FROM MACKENZIE CHUNG FEGAN

• Your New Restaurant Critic Won’t Be Anonymous. Here’s Why [SF Chronicle]
• I Loved My Food at S.F.’s New Waterfront Restaurant — Until Dinner Abruptly Ended [SF Chronicle]
• Are My Expectations of Restaurant Hospitality Outdated? [SF Chronicle]

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Erin Patinkin is the cofounder of Ovenly and has advised some of the food world’s most interesting brands (almost exclusively female-founded), including Kismet, White Moustache, Pop Up Grocer, Great Jones, and Seed + Mill. Erin is an old friend of ours, and she has one of the sharpest minds in the consumer packaged goods world. We talk about so many topics, including some of the brands that excite her and the common mistakes founders can’t help making. We also hear about her time running Ovenly and what is next for her. It’s great having Erin in the studio.

Do you enjoy This Is TASTE? Drop us a review on Apple, or star us on Spotify. We’d love to hear from you. 

MORE FROM ERIN PATINKIN:

• This Year the Grocery Store Does Better [TASTE]
• Christina Tosi: From Artisan to Business Leader [Start to Sale]

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Giada De Laurentiis is in the studio for an all-time classic conversation. She is the Emmy-Award-winning television personality of Food Network’s Everyday Italian (among many other shows) and the author of nine New York Times best-selling cookbooks, including her most recent, Eat Better, Feel Better. On this episode we talk about her panettone chops, what running her own media company and e-commerce brand, Giadzy, is really like, and her first time on television. There’s so much to cover, and we got to it all! What a great talk. It’s our 400th episode, and we are just getting started. Thanks for following along, writing us nice notes, and being such a smart and engaged community. We really appreciate it.

Do you enjoy This Is TASTE? Drop us a review on Apple, or star us on Spotify. We’d love to hear from you. 

MORE FROM GIADA DE LAURENTIIS:

• Layer-free Lasagna [Today]
• How to Get it Right [Fast Company]

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Today on the show we have some really cool conversations about European butter from France. First up is David Lebovitz, a cookbook author and baker extraordinaire. Our lively conversation is all about cooking with good European butter and why using the good stuff is essential in baking and other kitchen adventures. David is such a pro, and we loved catching up with him about one of his favorite products.

Also on the show, we have a great interview with Charles Duque, managing director (Americas) for the French dairy board. We hear about trends in European butter and how sustainability and animal wellness are top of mind with butter production in Europe. He also answers the question “How do you actually taste butter?”

Finally, Aliza, Matt, and Shalea share some of their favorite ways to cook with quality butter, including some unexpected twists and turns.

This episode is presented by Taste Europe, Butter of France.

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Rachel Dratch is an actor, a Broadway star (and has the Tony nomination to prove it), and a comedian, and she was a cast member on Saturday Night Live from 1999 to 2006. She is also the host of a great podcast, Woo Woo with Rachel Dratch. This is a really fun conversation, and we get a sense that Rachel is quite the fooooooodie! For real, we talk about her favorite places to eat in New York’s East Village, how her cooking skills are “nice,” and why she has been hanging out at the new Second City location in New York City. 

Do you enjoy This Is TASTE? Drop us a review on Apple, or star us on Spotify. We’d love to hear from you. 

MORE FROM RACHEL DRATCH:

• Will Ferrell: Not Now, Ghosts!! [Apple Podcasts]
• Rachel Dratch on Marrying Seth in a Dream [Late Night with Seth Meyers]
• This Is TASTE 60: Donna Leonard [TASTE]

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Tama Matsuoka Wong is a renowned forager who supplies top New York City restaurants like Atoboy and Daniel with the good stuff: wild delicacies like chickweed, stinging nettles, and American sumac. She’s the author of Foraged Flavor; Scraps, Wilt, & Weeds; and her latest book, Into the Weeds; and it’s a delight to have her on the show to get real about ramps hype, gardening like a forager, and more.

Also on the show, Aliza and Matt talk about three things they each are feeling right now. These include the banana ketchup char sui pork from Fruitsomm x Pica Pica, My Life In Recipes by Joan Nathan, exciting times for Hana Makgeolli, the plant-based robotic restaurant Kernel, Doritos Blazin' Buffalo Ranch, and the Flavourtown pop-up at Seoul Salon.

Do you enjoy This Is TASTE? Drop us a review on Apple, or star us on Spotify. We’d love to hear from you. 

MORE FROM TAMA MATSUOKA WONG

• Into the Weeds [Hardie Grant]
• How I Went from Finance Lawyer to Professional Forager for Top Restaurants [The Guardian]
• Meet Tama Matsuoka Wong, the Forager Who Brings Weeds to Top Restaurants [Resy]

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It’s really fun having two food writers we respect, in different sections of their careers, on the show. First up is Robert Sietsema. Robert is a longtime New York City restaurant critic and neighborhood wanderer who has written for the Village Voice and Eater and who, prior to that, ran the influential underground food zine Down the Hatch. We talk about the early days of food writing and what is exciting him in NYC right now. Luke Pyenson is a food and travel writer based in New York City. His work has appeared in the Boston Globe, the New York Times, and TASTE, where he recently wrote about telephone menu hotlines. We talk about his career, drumming in the band Frankie Cosmos (where Starbucks was his tour stop of choice), and his upcoming book, Taste in Music.

Do you enjoy This Is TASTE? Drop us a review on Apple, or star us on Spotify. We’d love to hear from you. 

MORE FROM ROBERT SIETSEMA & LUKE PYENSON:

• The Delight of the Indian Combo Platter [Eater NY]
• ‘The Best Fries I’ve Tried All Year’ Can Be Found in the East Village [Eater NY]
• Please Listen Closely, as Our Menu Options Have Changed [TASTE]

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Does Ruth Reichl really need an introduction? Ruth has been on the show many times, and we just love catching up with her to talk about the day’s food news, where she is dining out, and what is giving her inspiration to write her great newsletter, La Briffe. On this episode we talk about Paris, which is at the center of her new novel, aptly titled The Paris Novel. We talk about her time in France as a child and how Paris played a starring role in a number of Gourmet feature articles. It’s so great having Ruth in the studio.

Also on the show, many listeners are starting to think about summer vacations and Aliza and Matt talk about some of their favorite destinations to visit for exciting food during the warmer months. These locations include places Chicago, Portland, OR, Kingston, NY, Los Alamos, CA, and Northern Michigan. 

Do you enjoy This Is TASTE? Drop us a review on Apple, or star us on Spotify. We’d love to hear from you. 

MORE FROM RUTH REICHL:

• Power Player Past [La Briffe]
• Ruth Reichl’s Ultimate New York City Snack Crawl [The Infatuation]

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Pizza is at the center of this lively episode. First up is Ali Stafford, one of our favorite recipe writers on the internet. Ali is behind Alexandra’s Kitchen and is the author of a great new book, Pizza Night. We talk about Ali’s favorite styles of pizza and what inspired her to write an entire book dedicated to homemade pizza adventures (you need to pick this one up). Also on the show, we have a great conversation with Emily Hyland, the founder of Pizza Loves Emily and Emmy Squared, two wildly successful pizza outfits that bring Detroit-style pies (and burgers) to the masses. It’s great catching up with Ali and Emily and hearing about their cool pizza journeys.

Do you enjoy This Is TASTE? Drop us a review on Apple, or star us on Spotify. We’d love to hear from you. 

MORE FROM ALI STAFFORD AND EMILY HYLAND:

• How to Make Detroit-Style Pizza [YouTube]
• Thin and Crispy Gluten-Free Pizza Crust [Alexandra's Kitchen]    
• NYC Pizza Queen Becomes Santa Fe Yoga Teacher [Santa Fe New Mexican]

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Two Los Angeles food podcasters have entered the studio, and the opinions are flowing. It was so great catching up with the dynamic duo of Jordan Okun and Max Shapiro, the voices behind the Air Jordan podcast and some of the LA food scene’s spiciest takes. On this episode we hear all about what is good and what is extremely bad in the Los Angeles dining scene, before taking the TASTE check. It’s a memorable conversation.

Do you enjoy This Is TASTE? Drop us a review on Apple, or star us on Spotify. We’d love to hear from you. 

MORE FROM JORDAN OKUN & MAX SHAPIRO:

• Everything Sucks [Apple Podcasts]
• The Best Restaurant Awards [Apple Podcasts]

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Today on the show we have conversations with two exciting spring cookbook authors. First up is Tiffy Chen, the creator behind the popular Tiffy Cooks platforms and the author of a great new book, Tiffy Cooks: 88 Easy Asian Recipes from My Family to Yours. Also on the show, we catch up with Toriano Gordon, the Bay Area chef and rapper behind the popular food truck, Vegan Mob. We chat about his debut cookbook, Vegan Mob: Vegan BBQ and Soul Food. These are great talks!

Also on the show, Aliza and Matt talk about three things they each are really feeling right now. This includes: A bridge seas avo, green beans and tinned fish salads, Hamburger America's first signature burger drop from Solly's Grille in Glendale, Wisconsin, chopped cheese in NYC, New York Magazine's Who Ate Where issue, MáLà Project hot and sour soup, Happy two years to Cake Zine!

Do you enjoy This Is TASTE? Drop us a review on Apple, or star us on Spotify. We’d love to hear from you. 

MORE FROM TIFFY COOKS & VEGAN MOB:

• What I Eat in a Day [Tiffy Cooks]
• Taiwanese Fried Wings 2 Ways With Creamy Green Sauce [Tiffy Cooks]
• Cookbook Review: Plant-Based Comforts, with a Hip-Hop Beat [AJC]

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Koreaworld is here! It’s a new cookbook from Deuki Hong and TASTE’s Matt Rodbard, and this week we are looking at the modern Korean food movement from all angles. Today on the show we have Simon Kim in the studio. Simon is the guy behind some of the buzziest restaurants in New York, including Cote Korean Steakhouse and the new fried chicken palace Coqodaq. Simon and Matt go way back, and this conversation covers Simon’s rise through the restaurant ranks, having worked for Jean-Georges Vongerichten and Thomas Keller before debuting with the stellar Piora in 2013. We talk about how he grew up on Long Island and helped his mom open the pioneer Tribeca Korean restaurant Kori, while finding out what the rise of Korean food in America has meant to him. 

MORE WITH SIMON KIM:

• Famed NYC Office Tower Lures Michelin-starred Chef [NY Post]
• Simon Kim Wants Coqodaq to Be the Champion of Fried Chicken [Observer]

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Koreaworld is here! It’s a new cookbook from Deuki Hong and TASTE’s Matt Rodbard, and this week we are looking at the modern Korean food movement from all angles. Today we have a great interview that has been years in the making. Matthew Kang is the longtime editor of Eater LA and is plugged into all things in LA’s Koreatown. In this conversation, we get into the big topics of the day in Los Angeles and have a spirited NYC vs. LA Koreatown debate. 

The Koreaworld crew is hosting book release events in New York City (April 24), Los Angeles (May 4), San Francisco (May 10), and many other cities. Check out all the cities and dates. See you out there!

Do you enjoy This Is TASTE? Drop us a review on Apple, or star us on Spotify. We’d love to hear from you.

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Koreaworld is here! It’s a new cookbook from Deuki Hong and TASTE’s Matt Rodbard, and this week we are looking at the modern Korean food movement from all angles. Today we have two really great conversations. First is a talk with Katianna and John Hong, the chefs and co-owners of the groundbreaking Los Angeles Korean restaurant Yangban. We speak about the chefs’ paths to the restaurant industry and what makes modern Korean food in LA so exciting.

Also on the show, we have a wonderful talk with Nadia Cho, the coauthor of an excellent new book, Jang, and one of our most well-connected friends in food. Nadia and Matt have traveled to Korea many times together, and they get into their stories from the road as well as how Korean food has evolved in New York City over the past decade.

The Koreaworld crew is hosting book release events in New York City (April 24), Los Angeles (May 3), San Francisco (May 10), and many other cities. Check out all the cities and dates. See you out there!

Do you enjoy This Is TASTE? Drop us a review on Apple, or star us on Spotify. We’d love to hear from you. 

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Koreaworld is here! It’s a new cookbook from Deuki Hong and TASTE’s Matt Rodbard, and this week we are looking at the modern Korean food movement from all angles. Today we have Susan Kim in the studio. Susan is a chef, a food stylist, and the proud Korean American business owner behind Doshi. Susan was born in Seoul and raised in California, and she cooked at Chez Panisse before moving to NYC in 2016. We get into her take on the modern Korean food scene and her journey working both in restaurants and in food editorial. It’s great having Susan in.

The Koreaworld crew is hosting book release events in New York City (April 24), Los Angeles (May 3), San Francisco (May 10), and many other cities. Check out all the cities and dates. See you out there!

Do you enjoy This Is TASTE? Drop us a review on Apple, or star us on Spotify. We’d love to hear from you. 

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Koreaworld is here! It’s a new cookbook from Deuki Hong and TASTE’s Matt Rodbard, and this week we are looking at the modern Korean food movement from all angles. Today we have Alex Lau in the studio. Alex is a food photographer who has shot covers and magazine spreads for some of the most interesting clients in the world—including traveling to Korea multiple times to work on Koreaworld. Alex spent four years working at Bon Appétit, and we get into his truly amazing journey from fashion closet intern to one of the most gifted shooters around. What a great talk.

The Koreaworld crew is hosting book release events in New York City (April 24), Los Angeles (May 3), San Francisco (May 10), and many other cities. Check out all the cities and dates. See you out there!

Do you enjoy This Is TASTE? Drop us a review on Apple, or star us on Spotify. We’d love to hear from you. 

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Koreaworld is here! It’s a new cookbook from Deuki Hong and TASTE’s Matt Rodbard, and this week we are looking at the modern Korean food movement from all angles. To kick things off, we are catching up with Francis Lam, editor in chief of Clarkson Potter and host of The Splendid Table. Francis is Deuki and Matt’s longtime editor, and he speaks about how they collaborated on the book. We also hear about Francis’s journey through journalism, including working in TV, in radio, and at the legendary Gourmet magazine. It’s great having Francis in the studio.

The Koreaworld crew is hosting book release events in New York City (April 24), Los Angeles (May 3), San Francisco (May 10), and many other cities. Check out all the cities and dates. See you out there!

Do you enjoy This Is TASTE? Drop us a review on Apple, or star us on Spotify. We’d love to hear from you. 

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Abi Balingit is the author of Mayumu: Filipino American Desserts Remixed, a delightful cookbook full of maximalist personality and transfixing sweets, like the adobo chocolate chip cookie. She’s a singular force in the NYC baking scene, and it’s so fun to have her on the show today to talk about what she’s been up to since publishing her first book, her love of kitsch, and more.

Do you enjoy This Is TASTE? Drop us a review on Apple, or star us on Spotify. We’d love to hear from you. 

MORE FROM ABI BALINGIT:

• Adobo Chocolate Chip Cookie [NYT]
• Ube Macapuno Molten Lava Cake and More Maximalist Filipino Desserts from 'Mayumu' [KCRW Good Food]
• Telling Delicious Filipino Food Stories With Chef Abi Balingit [Forbes]

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It’s a simple promise in a land of broken ones: no booze, no added sugar, no nasties. Ghia, founded by a French former investment banker named Mélanie Masarin, has played the NA spirits game straight, and we find out so much about the brand in our interview. We hear about Mélanie’s journey from banking to working with brands like Dig Inn and Glossier to working in the world of spritz. It’s a fun talk!  

Do you enjoy This Is TASTE? Drop us a review on Apple, or star us on Spotify. We’d love to hear from you. 

MORE FROM MELANIE MASARIN:

• This Is My New Non-Alcoholic Go-to for Weeknights [Food & Wine]
• Ghia’s Mélanie Masarin Doesn’t Define Her Sobriety [The Cut]
• Pucci Skirts, Steak Knives, and Vintage Balenciaga [Glamour]   

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Michael McCarty is the owner of two restaurants, Michael’s in Santa Monica, which opened in 1979, and Michael’s on West 55th Street in Midtown Manhattan, which followed a decade later. McCarty is truly the father of California cuisine, at the center of a culinary movement that produced top Los Angeles chefs like Jonathan Waxman, Mark Peel, Nancy Silverton, and many others. I had so much to ask Michael, and he was happy to go over his deep history in the American restaurant scene. We hear about how he moves between the coasts with ease and how he thinks about the legacy of Michael’s after more than 40 years in the game. Michael McCarty is a living legendy, and we hope you enjoy this conversation.

Do you enjoy This Is TASTE? Drop us a review on Apple, or star us on Spotify. We’d love to hear from you. 

MORE FROM MICHAEL MCCARTY:

• Did This Man Invent the Modern Restaurant? [Los Angeles Times]  
• Awkward Run-Ins, Big Deals Revealed by 27 VIPs in Dishy Oral History [HW]
• Still Busy After All These Years [Forbes]

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Felix Salmon has lived in and around NYC for over 25 years, and he’s one of the sharpest observers of food culture and trend without officially writing about food. He’s the current chief financial correspondent at Axios and host of the terrific podcast Slate Money. He’s also the author of The Phoenix Economy: Work, Life, and Money in the New Not Normal. On this episode we talk about NYC dining, in and out, and his family’s fascinating history in the London food world. We also discuss the early snark of Eater, the Keith McNally legacy, early 2000s dining trends, and what he thinks about the future of food media. What a great talk! Felix is one of our faves, and we hope you enjoy it.

Also, did you read our big story about Trader Joe’s this week? It got a lot of attention and we are joined by the piece’s terrific writer, Adam Reiner, to talk about the company’s questionable private label practices.

Do you enjoy This Is TASTE? Drop us a review on Apple, or star us on Spotify. We’d love to hear from you. 

MORE FROM FELIX SALMON: 

• The Real Reason Cocoa Prices Have Soared [Axios]
• Slate Money [official]
• We Need to Talk About Trader Joe’s [TASTE]

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It’s really great to catch up with Cree LeFavour, a novelist, cookbook author, and chef who just returned from four months at the South Pole, as documented in her excellent Substack. What is it like to bake bread at elevation in the world’s largest freezer? Her story is pretty entertaining, and we hear about how the world’s harshest environment can inspire creativity in the most interesting way. We also talk about her cookbook career and some of the cool projects she is working on since returning from the Pole. 

Also on the show, Aliza tells us all about her recent trip to New Orleans. Fewer oysters and more…roti! Visits include carrot yogurt at Molly’s Rise and Shine, the “White Claw of cheese” at Mister Mao 😭, the “fajita effect” (but with bananas foster) at Brennan’s, good hurricanes at Cane & Table, and the griddled biscuit at Panola Street Cafe.

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MORE FROM CREE LAFAVOUR:

• My Antarctica [Substack]
• Private Means [Grove Atlantic]

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Yes, Bill Addison is back on the show. We’ve long been a fan of Bill’s writing, going back to his well-considered restaurant criticism in Atlanta, Dallas, and San Francisco, for Eater as a roving national critic, and for the past four-plus years as the head restaurant critic at the Los Angeles Times. Bill is our favorite critic, writing about our favorite food city in the United States, and we catch up with him in Los Angeles about some of his recent reviews and tap into his thoughts on LA’s modern Korean food scene. It's a grab bag of topics. Bill also gamely takes our TASTE check, which is one of our favorites four minutes in audio. Bill is always welcome back on the show, and this is one for the books.

Also on the show, Matt shares details from his recent trip to Los Angeles, including some of the places he dined at including: Sicilian corners and GOAT cheesecake at Quarter Sheets, celery salad at Stir Crazy, creative banchan and the new flow at Yangban, soba at Otafuku, 💯 grilled sweet potato and miso butter at Budonoki, Majordomo is still really good, and a final stop for the ages. Or, this age.    

Send questions, comments, hot takes to: [email protected] and we may read it on a future episode.

MORE FROM BILL ADDISON:

• Inside NYC’s Korean Wave [Los Angeles Times]
• A Destination Restaurant in the High Desert [Los Angeles Times]
• 21 of the Best Bagel Shops in Los Angeles [Los Angeles Times]
• This Is TASTE 194: Bill Addison [TASTE] 

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Joshua Weissman is one of the strongest (and largest) voices on the food internet and the host of a series of YouTube shows that clock more than nine million subscribers. He has an abounding love of food and proper technique, and we get into what makes a great cooking video, how Joshua likes to spend his off time in Austin, Texas, and his great cookbook, Texture Over Taste.

Wylie Dufresne is a legendary force in the New York City chef world. As the owner of wd~50, he pioneered a form of cooking, sometimes called modernist cuisine, and brought it to worldwide attention. And now he’s turned his attention to pizza with the opening of Stretch Pizza on Park Avenue. In this lively conversation, we talk about Wylie’s pandemic pizza project that went to the next level. We also discuss cookbooks and our shared love for the New York City shop Kitchen Arts & Letters.

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Today is JG day, and we are thrilled! Jean-Georges Vongerichten is the man behind his eponymous Midtown restaurant as well as some of the most influential dining in the canon of American gastronomy: Spice Market, JoJo, 66, Vong, Matsugen, the Tin Building. When JG stopped by the studio on Monday,, we didn’t have a detailed plan for our talk. We wanted to go back in time, mostly, but also to talk about how the guy stays fresh when operating restaurants in over 16 countries. We discuss the drive to earn back a third Michelin star at the flagship, and where he likes to dine out for inspiration. We also talk about how JG travels, creates signature dishes, and remains one of the strongest voices in food—without doing much press at all. Plus, we talk about Wendy’s. What a joy it was having Jean-Georges in the studio, and we hope you enjoy the conversation.

Also on the show, Aliza and Matt talk about three things they are feeling right now, including Sri Lankan milk tea from Kola Goodies, Westholme Australian Wagyu, and Potluck gochujang. Plus, Manischewitz debuts a new look, and don’t sleep on Raisinets. Lastly, Koreaworld NYC events are coming up! April 23 at Rizzoli Bookstore, with an April 24 launch party at Seoul Salon. In Los Angeles, May 3 at the Butcher, the Baker, the Cappuccino Maker. Check out the full Koreaworld world tour schedule.  

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MORE FROM JEAN-GEORGES VONGERICHTEN:     

• The Fifth Season [NY Mag]
• Jean-Georges Celebrates 50 years of Culinary Excellence [Today]
• Can Dried Fruit Get a Facelift? [TASTE]

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Olga Massov and Sanaë Lemoine are the authors of Hot Sheet, a delightful new cookbook dedicated to the wide world of possibilities unlocked by the humble sheet pan. They’ve conjured up seriously smart recipes for breakfasts, starters, dinners, and desserts, and today they’re going deep on their process for developing creative yet accessible sheet pan staples.

Do you enjoy This Is TASTE? Drop us a review on Apple, or star us on Spotify. We’d love to hear from you.  

MORE FROM OLGA MASSOV AND SANAĔ LEMOINE

• The Thanksgiving Sheet Pan [Voraciously]
• This Is TASTE 311: Sanaë Lemoine [TASTE]
• Hot Sheet

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