Special Sauce with Ed Levine

On June 27th we posted a great conversation I had with L.A. Taco editor-in-chief Javier Cabral about what's going on in California with the cruel, inhumane and dangerous ICE raids that have had a devastating effect on L.A.'s vibrant and diverse taco culture. I haven't been able to stop thinking about the situation both in California and all over the country. So I thought that this week would be an appropriate and even necessary moment to reheat Javier's episode. Obviously much has happened in LA and elsewhere in the ensuing weeks and months, none of it good, in fact all of it truly awful. And L.A. Taco continues to do some incredible reporting on the situation in L.A. It's also aggregating reliable news stories about the nightmarish anti-immigration crackdown from elsewhere. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

On this episode of Special Sauce we talk to the restaurateur's restaurateur Drew Nieporent about his lifelong love affair with restaurants. Nieporent partnered with Nobu Matsuhisa and movie star Robert DeNiro to open Nobu in NY. And even before Nobu, Nieporent played a leading role in establishing NYC's Tribeca neighborhood restaurant scene when he opened Montrachet in 1985.  Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Brazilian immigrants, who now comprise 20% of the year-round population, have added immeasurably to the quality of life on Martha's Vineyard. On this episode of Special Sauce we talk to Brazilian grocer, owner and compulsive entrepreneur, Elio Silva, about Brazilian foodways and life on the island. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

J. Kenji Lopez-Alt, a James Beard Award-winning chef and food writer, dives into the mouthwatering world of burgers just in time for Labor Day. He shares secrets for perfecting various types, from smash to turkey and black bean burgers. Kenji emphasizes the importance of quality ingredients and cooking techniques, including the art of browning proteins for deep flavor. He even unpacks vegan options, comparing traditional meats to plant-based alternatives. Get ready to elevate your cookout skills with his invaluable tips!

As Labor Day approaches my thoughts invariably turn to burgers. In fact, I have embarked on a quest to find the best burger to be had on Martha's Vineyard. And when I think of burgers the first person I think of is burger scholar and Hamburger America owner George Motz. George was such a great guest on Special Sauce a couple of years ago that listeners have been clamoring for us to reheat one of his episodes, so that's what we're posting this week. I just texted George, who told me that the fourth completely revised and expanded edition of his terrific book Hamburger America will be published next year. That's great news for burger lovers! Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Farms on Martha's Vineyard have been disappearing for a hundred years now. The land is just too valuable. On today's Special Sauce we hear how one farmstead, Morning Glory Farm, has managed to feed people year-round on the Massachusetts island for 50 years now.  Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Phil Rosenthal, the host and creator of Netflix's Somebody Feed Phil, works harder than just about any person I know in food media. What is he working on these days? A concert tour, a diner named after his parents (and co-stars) Max and Helen, a charitable initiative Somebody Feed the People, and so much more.  Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

There are so many compelling chef origin stories to be told, but I am hard-pressed to think of a more compelling and heart-rending one than today's guest on Special Sauce, Cristina Martínez, the James Beard Award winning chef-owner of two extraordinary world-class Philadelphia restaurants, South Philly Barbacoa and Casa Mexico. As she wrote on her website, "My name is Cristina Martínez, and my story is one of resilience, passion, and courage, full of deep and painful challenges." Listen to her story now.  Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

You wouldn't think I'd find some of the best fresh pasta I'd ever had on Martha's Vineyard, but I did. The maker of that pasta, Katie Leaird, tells serious eaters about how and why she ended up on an island raising two children under the age of 6 by herself while churning out pounds of fresh pasta every week. It ain't easy!  Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

It seems like every season of 'The Bear' is subject to more scrutiny and analysis than any play by The Bard himself,  Shakespeare. Every scene and every character's persona is being sifted through like cake flour. So like many serious eaters I know, I got hooked on the Bear. I have binge-watched all four seasons, including the latest, which I watched in two sittings. On a previous episode of Special Sauce I discussed the first season of 'The Bear' with Kenji Lopez-Alt and The New Yorker's Helen Rosner. As food writers, and in Kenji's case as someone who's cooked in restaurants like the one depicted in the series, they offered invaluable perspective. And though I have been devouring all the informed takes on season 4, one struck me as being particularly incisive and just spot on. That one is by James Poniewozik, the chief TV critic of The New York Times which means according to his NYT bio, that he has the largest beat in the world. And that beat now includes joining the conversation on Special Sauce.  Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices