This Is TASTE

How cool to have our old friend and former colleague Talia Baiocchi on the show. Talia has one of the sharpest minds in food media, and we talk about the publication she has run for nearly a decade, PUNCH. We wanted to ask Talia about so many topics related to modern drinking culture, including the explosion of nonalcoholic drinks, the issues with natural wine, and her take on the future of the cocktail. We also talk about her cookbook, Pasta, that she wrote with New York City chef Missy Robbins. It was a blast having Talia on, and we hope you enjoy it.MORE FROM TALIA BAIOCCHI & PUNCH: Athleisure Now Comes Canned [PUNCH] Where to Drink in 2013 [PUNCH] Is Natural Wine Losing Its Cool Factor? [BA] TASTE Podcast 91: Missy Robbins [TASTE] FOLLOW, FOLLOW, FOLLOW: instagram.com/taliabaiocchi instagram.com/mattrodbard instagram.com/taste

Yay, it’s Smitten Kitchen day, and we’re really, really excited to welcome back our friend Deb Perelman. Deb is the writer, photographer, recipe developer, and driving force behind one of the internet’s most popular home cooking destinations. We talk about what she’s been cooking and how she’s been living her best life with two kids in New York’s East Village, and we discuss her wonderful new book, Smitten Kitchen Keepers. What makes a “keeper” recipe, you might ask. We get into that and a lot more on this really fun episode.Also on the show, Aliza and Matt talk about spice blends, and how they finally deserve much more respect.More from The Smitten Kitchen: Deb Perelman’s Work Diary [The New York Times]  Apple Cider Doughnuts [SK official] Black Bean Pumpkin Soup [SK official] You’re Gonna Need a Bigger Spice Rack [TASTE] FOLLOW, FOLLOW, FOLLOW: instagram.com/smittenkitchen instagram.com/mattrodbard instagram.com/taste

Indian chef and Unapologetic Foods cofounder Chintan Pandya is a James Beard Award–winning chef and runs some of the best restaurants in NYC, including Adda, Dhamaka, Semma, Rowdy Rooster, and his latest Bengali triumph, Masalawala & Sons. We invited Chintan into the studio because, dude, we wanted to know how he keeps opening hit after hit. We wanted to talk about regional Indian cooking and how most American Indian restaurants focus on such a narrow spectrum of the recipe canon. And we wanted to find out about expansion plans—and a cookbook. And an upcoming trip to India. We really enjoyed catching up with one of the bright stars in the New York City restaurant scene.Also on the show, Aliza and Matt talk about some recent favorites including S&P Lunch, pop rock cake pops for ravers, Queens SF, How Far the Light Reaches, and Cadbury Curly Wurly Squirlies.  MORE FROM CHINTAN PANDYA: Masalawala & Sons, Where the Food Is Bengali and the Mustard Oil Flows [NYT] F&W Game Changers: Chintan Pandya and Roni Mazumdar [Food & Wine] The Dish: Chef Chintan Pandya, Roni Mazumdar [CBS] FOLLOW, FOLLOW, FOLLOW: instagram.com/chefchintan instagram.com/mattrodbard instagram.com/taste

Yes, Bill Addison is back on TASTE. We’ve long been a fan of Bill’s writing, going back to his well-considered restaurant criticism in Atlanta, Dallas, San Francisco, Eater as a roving national critic, and for the past three-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 talk about what’s exciting about LA right now. We also get into his writing routine, some of his favorite slept-on gems, and what the hell is going on at The ROW? And what is up with Craig’s? This is such a great conversation, and we hope you enjoy it as much as we did.And to close out Restaurant Critic Week, Aliza and Matt talk about the state of the restaurant critic in 2023. Who are their favorites in the game? Which writers should be given a reviewing beat? And what about Tik Tok reviewers? There’s a lot to go over, and we cover it all.MORE FROM BILL ADDISON: The 12 Most Loved Restaurant Dishes of 2022 [LA Times] The Latest Blockbuster from the Couple Behind Bestia and Bavel [LA Times] How Damian grew to be one of L.A.’s finest modern California-Mexican restaurants [LA Times] The Year I Ate Pico Boulevard (Aliza was right!) [LA Weekly] MORE FROM RESTAURANT CRITIC WEEK: TASTE Podcast 192: The New Yorker's Hannah Goldfield  TASTE Podcast 193: Eater's Ryan Sutton FOLLOW, FOLLOW, FOLLOW: instagram.com/bill_addison instagram.com/mattrodbard instagram.com/taste

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 his career and some of the memorable stories he’s worked on. Does Ryan have any reviews that he regrets? How does he stay excited about dining out each and every night? And what is next for Ryan Sutton? He answers most of our questions in this amazing episode. We hope you enjoy it.MORE FROM RYAN SUTTON: How to Get Into the Restaurant You Can’t Get Into [Eater NY] The Case Against Hudson Yards Dining [Eater NY] Manhattan’s Next Great Steakhouse Isn’t a Steakhouse [Eater NY] Eleven Madison Park Isn’t Ready to Be a World-Class Vegan Restaurant [Eater NY] MORE FROM RESTAURANT CRITIC WEEK: TASTE Podcast 192: The New Yorker's Hannah Goldfield  TASTE Podcast 194: The Los Angeles Times' Bill Addison

After working as a fact checker for years at the New Yorker and contributing to the magazine’s Tables for Two column, Hannah Goldfield was named the magazine’s first full-time restaurant critic in 2018. We welcome Hannah back to discuss her life as a New York City restaurant critic. We talk about some of her recent reviews and get some of her thoughts on that little film called The Menu—where a big-city restaurant critic is portrayed in the most curious of ways. Does Hannah find it accurate? Our producer Pat Stango joins to discuss. MORE FROM HANNAH GOLDFIELD: The Hannah Goldfield New Yorker archive [TNY] Your Food’s Alter Ego [TNY] Le Rock Goes Long on Midtown [TNY] B.O. Boys [Apple Podcasts] FOLLOW, FOLLOW, FOLLOW: instagram.com/hannahgoldfield instagram.com/mattrodbard instagram.com/taste MORE FROM RESTAURANT CRITIC WEEK: TASTE Podcast 193: Eater's Ryan Sutton TASTE Podcast 194: The Los Angeles Times' Bill Addison

On this very special episode, we catch up with the one and only Cathy Erway. Cathy is a prolific writer and cookbook author behind the great new book Win Son Presents a Taiwanese American Cookbook, which she wrote with the cofounders of Brooklyn restaurant Win Son. During this wide-ranging conversation, we find out about Cathy’s cookbook writing career and her James Beard Award–winning work on TASTE. We also dive into her column, Shelve It, and find out how grocery store shelves tell us so much about our modern culture.Buy: Sheet Pan ChickenMORE FROM CATHY ERWAY: Let’s Unpack Sardines [TASTE] The Case for the Supermarket Supershopper [TASTE] The Korean Immigrant and Michigan Farm Boy Who Taught Americans How to Cook Chow Mein [TASTE] FOLLOW, FOLLOW, FOLLOW: instagram.com/cathyerway instagram.com/mattrodbard instagram.com/taste

Justin Smillie is the chef of Il Buco Alimentari and the author of the now-classic live-fire cooking book Slow Fires: Mastering New Ways to Braise, Roast, and Grill. We wanted to have Justin on the show to talk about his life in and out of the kitchen and what is currently exciting him while running one of New York’s most popular restaurants. We also discuss his previous restaurant, Upland, and what it was like to have the Obama family as frequent diners. What was it like having an official Presidential taster alongside him at the pass? We always love catching up with Justin Smillie, and we hope you enjoy our talk.MORE FROM JUSTIN SMILLIE: The 10 Dishes That Made My Career: Justin Smillie of Upland [FWF] Montauk Squid seared with fermented yuzu, parsley, moscatel vinegar [IG] TASTE Podcast 68: Donna Leonard [TASTE] FOLLOW, FOLLOW, FOLLOW: instagram.com/chefjsmillie instagram.com/mattrodbard instagram.com/taste

We’re thrilled to welcome Sohla El-Waylly to the show for the first time. Sohla is a prodigious recipe developer, a fixture of food YouTube, and a judge on HBO’s cooking competition The Big Brunch—plus a friend of Aliza’s. This week, Aliza and Sohla unpack Sohla’s background before becoming one of the most viral stars in food media today, her thoughts on the ever-controversial brunch, the concept behind her debut cookbook, and much more.  MORE FROM SOHLA EL-WAYLLY: Sohla and Ham Turn Hot Pockets Into A 3-Course Meal [The New York Times] Caramelized Onion and Toasted Rice Porridge [Hot Dish with Sohla] The Big Brunch [HBO]

On this episode, we catch up with Ben Van Leeuwen, the cofounder of a namesake chain of ice cream shops with an accompanying grocery store freezer section line. We invited Ben on the show to talk about what inspires his exacting, hypercreative flavor creation. We also talk about the ups and downs that come with running a growing consumer food brand. Was he freaked out about the Halo Top takeover a few years back? Most certainly. We also talk about flavor booms and busts, and how to sell ice cream in winter. Stick around to hear one of the more inspiring stories in food.Also on the show, Matt and producer Shalea Harris talk about Shalea’s recent kitchen journey making mchuzi wa nyama ya mbuzi, and shopping for fresh goat meat. MORE FROM BEN VAN LEEUWEN: Food Truck Week: Van Leeuwen Ice Cream [PBS] Finally Ready to Go Big [Brooklyn Magazine] The Summer of Halo Top [TASTE] FOLLOW, FOLLOW, FOLLOW: instagram.com/benwvl instagram.com/mattrodbard instagram.com/taste