Lunch Therapy

The Washington Post calls Mary Roach "America's funniest science writer" and the fact that she's the author of six NYT bestselling books (including Stiff, Gulp, and her latest, Fuzz), pretty much confirms it. I fell in love with her voice recently when I picked up Gulp on a whim -- the book is disgusting, hilarious, and fascinating -- so imagine my delight when she agreed to come on my Lunch Therapy. In today's session, Mary talks about her "reckless" adventures, including the time she became somebody's "pee buddy" to study bashful bladders, the time she accidentally chatted up a Yakuza in Tokyo, eating fetal duck bills at a Chinese restaurant in San Francisco, and bungee jumping (which she says is way safer than skiing). We also cover rebelling against her traditional family, cursing at the dinner table, whether or not her mother farted (spoiler alert: she didn't), how her palate expanded when she moved to San Francisco, and what, exactly, a narwhal tastes like. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit amateurgourmet.substack.com/subscribe Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hello from New Orleans! We've been having a blast and eating ourselves silly, but one of the friends we're traveling with, Jonathan Parks-Ramage (author of Yes, Daddy), is a VEGETARIAN which is pretty challenging here. So, seeing as we're in the same hotel, I invited him on today's Lunch Therapy to talk about being a vegetarian in New Orleans, how the menu at the first restaurant where we went literally had zero vegetarian options, the carrot bolognese he ate at Coquette, whether or not he's missing out on a major cultural experience, etc. We recorded over Zoom and for some reason, I sound like I'm underwater and I almost didn't post this, but it's a great convo... so try to ignore the technical issues and enjoy yourself! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit amateurgourmet.substack.com/subscribe Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

One of my oldest food blogging friends is Luisa Weiss of The Wednesday Chef, who went on to write the books My Berlin Kitchen and Classic German Baking, and is currently working on Classic German Cooking as well as her new Substack newsletter, A Letter from Berlin. In today's session, we talk all about the link between Luisa's food writing and her emotions (something she's always excelled at), how homesickness led her into the kitchen, the specific West Berlin community where she grew up, and how she sought it out again later in life. We also cover people's perception of German food, what she loves about it, her other culinary identities (American, Italian), taking on the mantle of her cookbooks, and which foods she misses the most from the U.S. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit amateurgourmet.substack.com/subscribe Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hey, guess what? We're headed to New Orleans this Sunday to visit our friend Ryan O'Connell, who's been there for a few months filming the reboot of Queer as Folk (which he both stars in and helped write). Obviously, I've been OBSESSING over where we're going to eat, and constantly texting Ryan about it, so hear us talk about the plan, as well as what Ryan's been eating there, how he deals with all of the excess while filming nude scenes, and why you might catch him eating at Houston's. We also cover non-food topics such as the Sex and the City reboot, how Kim Catrall is playing his mom (!), and his brand new novel, Just By Looking at Him. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit amateurgourmet.substack.com/subscribe Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Whether you you know Drew Droege from his viral Chloe Sevigny parodies, his critically-acclaimed plays Bright Colors and Bold Patterns & Happy Birthday, Doug, or his numerous appearances on shows like Drunk History, Search Party, and Bob's Burgers, chances are you're a fan. In today's session, learn all about Drew's cooking habits (spoiler alert: he hasn't turned on his stove in six years), growing up in South Carolina, how his family doesn't think he's funny, and his dad's snobbery at Wendy's. We also cover his hatred for papaya, the time he was Harvey Weinstein's waiter at the Emmys, how he got his revenge when he got stiffed at a Brazilian steakhouse, and the life lessons he's learned from teaching improv at The Groundlings. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit amateurgourmet.substack.com/subscribe Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

L.A. Times food critic Bill Addison recently published his list of the 101 Best Restaurants in L.A., an annual tradition that started with Pulitzer Prize-winning food writer, Jonathan Gold. So today I invited him on the pod to talk through his process, which restaurants made the cut, which ones didn't, how the pandemic influenced his decisions (how do you evaluate a restaurant if you're only eating their food from a carton?), and how the recent reckoning in the food world regarding race and representation impacted his decision-making. He also tells us which restaurants he suggests visitors to L.A. to hit up first, why it's so hard to get a reservation at the Times' Restaurant of the Year, and which restaurant would've been #102. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit amateurgourmet.substack.com/subscribe Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tejal Rao is The New York Times' restaurant critic for California, a cooking columnist for The New York Times Magazine, and the author of the Times' weekly vegetarian newsletter, The Veggie. In today's session, Tejal opens up about losing her sense of taste and smell when she had Covid, what it felt like to get it back, how she's adjusted to life in Los Angeles, and being a picky eater as a child. We also cover the start of her career as a food critic, how she goes about writing a review, whether she worries about hurting a chef's feelings, going with her mom to Noma Tokyo and eating raw shrimp covered with ants (spoiler: her mom liked it!), and setting the internet on fire with her article claiming that California's bagels are better than New York's (I agree). See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit amateurgourmet.substack.com/subscribe Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bestselling cookbook author and blogger David Lebovitz swings by the pod today to talk about his recent announcement that he's shifting from his food blog to his Substack newsletter. This resonated for me because David and I started our food blogs around the same time (him in 1999, me in 2004) and I've been on a similar journey, fully embracing my newsletter which goes out twice a week (you can sign up here!). David and I get into the nitty gritty: how food blogs have changed, the tediousness of dealing with Google recipes, the relentlessness of some commenters, the casual nature of writing a newsletter, and how we're all handling the shift into video. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit amateurgourmet.substack.com/subscribe Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What does a veteran Saturday Night Live writer eat? Find out on this week's Lunch Therapy when Sudi Green joins us for a session. Not only is Sudi an accomplished writer and comedian, but she also happens to be my across-the-street-neighbor! Find out how we met, what she ate when she worked at SNL, whether or not she likes her routines, being from Delaware, and how she's adjusted to living in L.A. We also cover her mother's Iranian background, the food that she ate growing up, visiting Iran with her family, her father's love for ice cream, lima beans as a snack, and how she's going to deal with the yappy dogs next door. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit amateurgourmet.substack.com/subscribe Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Lots of us (including myself) are starting the new year with a diet. The question becomes: will we stick to it? Should we stick to it? Are all diets problematic to begin with? What's the point? For today's bonus episode, I invited my friend Dr. Deanie Eichenstein (@drdeanie) to talk about all of these issues and more. We cover everything from the way we perceive ourselves vs. the way the world perceives us, what constitutes "healthy," our fat-phobic society, Lena Dunham, why I shouldn't feel shame about eating pasta, Selling Sunset, and her ultimate advice for eating "healthy" in the new year. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit amateurgourmet.substack.com/subscribe Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices