Podcast

Today on the show we have a great double episode with two serious dudes in the restaurant game. Arjav Ezekiel is co-owner of Birdie’s, a beloved restaurant and wine bar located in Austin, Texas. On this episode we talk about Arjav’s immigrant upbringing in Portland, Oregon, and what brought him to the exciting world of wine. Also on the show we have a really great conversation with Harris Mayer. Harris is a New York City chef and the owner of Pulkies, a really terrific restaurant serving Jewish-style barbecue to go—that would be ’cue centered around the smoked turkey leg. His “I can’t believe it’s not pork” pulled turkey leg sandwich is one of my favorite things in all of NYC. 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 ARJAV EZEKIEL & HARRIS MAYER:The 2023 Restaurant of the Year [Food & Wine]The Powerhouse Duo Behind Birdie’s [Austin Monthly]Harris Mayer-Selinger Puts His Own Stamp on Jewish Barbecue [Tablet]

UK singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Amber Bain aka The Japanese House sits down with Carmel Holt to discuss her newest album, In The End It Always Does, her journey from getting her first instrument (a ukelele) at three years old to getting signed to the 1975's record label Dirty Hit, the transformative experience she had working with Chloe Kraemer as her producer, and why she wants to work almost exclusively with women and queer people.

"Let's give the audience that much respect. Let's get a little scared that you're gonna fucking suck."

interview with respected hip-hop producers Da Beatminerz

Kanchan Koya will forever change how you look at your spice drawer. The chef, author, podcast host, and nutrition coach has a PhD in biomedical sciences from Harvard Medical School, which she uses to champion the science-backed benefits of ancient spices. We invited her into the studio for a truly fascinating conversation answering our many questions about health claims around spices—such as, what is inflammation, actually? Find out now. Also on the show, Matt shares some highlights from his recent trip to Seoul, including stops at Buto, Sancheong Sutbul Garden, Flavourtown (100% free of spikey blonde hair), Meal-do, Honeybee, Magazine F. To name just a few! The full list will be dropping later this year.         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 KANCHAN KOYASpice Spice Baby [official]Radical Vitality [Apple Podcasts]

Matthew Schneier is currently the chief restaurant critic at New York magazine and previously reported on fashion and culture at The Cut and the New York Times. Matthew joined us in the studio to talk about the job he took over a little more than six months ago. We discuss putting his own unique stamp on the coverage, what he looks for in both old and new NYC restaurants to review, and how he came to the job in the first place. Matthew is one of our favorite writers around, and it was so great catching up. Also on the show, Aliza and Matt catch up about three things they each are into right now, including: Patita at Spoon & Pork in Los Angeles, the forthcoming cookbook from Los Angeles restaurant Kismet, Kismet: Bright, Fresh, Vegetable-Loving Recipes, clam kalguksu at Hangari Kalguksu in Los Angeles, Mom’s Touch Lab in Seoul, Little Fatty in Los Angeles, and come to France this summer with Matt and Marissa Mullen!   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 MATTHEW SCHNEIER:Will Four Twenty Five Kill the Grill [NY Mag]Not-So-Plain Slices [NY Mag]Keith McNally, to Go [NY Mag]The Good Used Book Edition [WITI]

Himanshu Suri is best known by his rap name Heems. We wanted to have Heems on not just because we are a fan of his former group Das Racist (you may remember their song “Combination Pizza Hut and Taco Bell”) but because we wanted to talk to him about Punjabi food. About growing up in Queens. About his new passion for gardening. Check out his very cool new album, Lafandar.  Also on the show is James Harris, one half of Throwing Fits, a very funny podcast and online community dedicated to all things menswear. We wanted to invite James in not just to talk about chef fashion but also to find out about where he’s eating and drinking around his hometown of New York City. We also get into Fanelli vs. Lucien, not being able to get into Gem Wine thanks to TikTok, eating fried prawn heads, Japanese food at home vs. in restaurants, and eating the miso black cod at Nobu as a kid. We also get the Throwing Fits line on Dimes Square. This is a great talk with James, a real one-of-one guest. MORE FROM HEEMS AND THROWING FITS:Dosa Hunt! [official]Heems on Rap, Race and Identity [NPR]Throwing Fits for Men’s Fashion [NYT]From Nike to Nautica, Here Are the ’90s Brands that Defined the Decade [Complex]