Podcast

interview with DJ D-Sharp

It’s a simple promise in a land of broken ones: no booze, no added sugar, no nasties. Ghia, founded by a French former investment banker named Mélanie Masarin, has played the NA spirits game straight, and we find out so much about the brand in our interview. We hear about Mélanie’s journey from banking to working with brands like Dig Inn and Glossier to working in the world of spritz. It’s a fun 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 MELANIE MASARIN:This Is My New Non-Alcoholic Go-to for Weeknights [Food & Wine]Ghia’s Mélanie Masarin Doesn’t Define Her Sobriety [The Cut]Pucci Skirts, Steak Knives, and Vintage Balenciaga [Glamour]   

New season coming April 11.

Michael McCarty is the owner of two restaurants, Michael’s in Santa Monica, which opened in 1979, and Michael’s on West 55th Street in Midtown Manhattan, which followed a decade later. McCarty is truly the father of California cuisine, at the center of a culinary movement that produced top Los Angeles chefs like Jonathan Waxman, Mark Peel, Nancy Silverton, and many others. I had so much to ask Michael, and he was happy to go over his deep history in the American restaurant scene. We hear about how he moves between the coasts with ease and how he thinks about the legacy of Michael’s after more than 40 years in the game. Michael McCarty is a living legendy, and we hope you enjoy this conversation. 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 MICHAEL MCCARTY:Did This Man Invent the Modern Restaurant? [Los Angeles Times]  Awkward Run-Ins, Big Deals Revealed by 27 VIPs in Dishy Oral History [HW]Still Busy After All These Years [Forbes]

Felix Salmon has lived in and around NYC for over 25 years, and he’s one of the sharpest observers of food culture and trend without officially writing about food. He’s the current chief financial correspondent at Axios and host of the terrific podcast Slate Money. He’s also the author of The Phoenix Economy: Work, Life, and Money in the New Not Normal. On this episode we talk about NYC dining, in and out, and his family’s fascinating history in the London food world. We also discuss the early snark of Eater, the Keith McNally legacy, early 2000s dining trends, and what he thinks about the future of food media. What a great talk! Felix is one of our faves, and we hope you enjoy it. Also, did you read our big story about Trader Joe’s this week? It got a lot of attention and we are joined by the piece’s terrific writer, Adam Reiner, to talk about the company’s questionable private label practices. 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 FELIX SALMON: The Real Reason Cocoa Prices Have Soared [Axios]Slate Money [official]We Need to Talk About Trader Joe’s [TASTE]

This week Laura Lee Ochoa, best known as the bassist and founding member of Khruangbin, sits down with Carmel Holt to discuss Khruangbin's brand new album, A LA SALA - or, to the living room - and shares her journey from her own childhood living room that inspired the title. From her pursuit of visual art, to picking up the bass and starting the band, the role of her alter ego Leezy and how that is evolving, and integrating her newest role as a mother into her life as a touring musician with her chosen family of Khruangbin.

"The book is like cake, you don’t want to eat it too fast!"