Skip to Content
Talkhouse home
Talkhouse home
Podcast

507: Melissa Clark Wrote a Very Critical, Extremely Buzzy New York Times Review of Per Se and the French Laundry

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. 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 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]

Note: this podcast contains explicit content.

Episode Info

  • Episode507
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.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 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] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Podcast

Explore Podcast

Mike Campbell

The legendary Heartbreakers guitar player talks meeting most of his heroes, the “it’s just the normal noises” intro to the Heartbreakers classic “Even the Losers,” and gratitude.

June 24, 2026

Transmissions :: Don Was

Don Was on Detroit legend Ted Lucas and much more.

June 24, 2026

961. – Matt Spicer

June 24, 2026

Nobody’s Ever Asked Me That: Goran Stolevski

The prodigiously talented filmmaker behind You Won't Be Alone, Of An Age and Housekeeping for Beginners tells it like it is.