podcast

It was really amazing to have Enrique Olvera in the studio. Olvera is the acclaimed Mexican chef behind Pujol in Mexico City, Cosme in New York (celebrating its 10th anniversary), and other acclaimed restaurants around the world. In this episode, Enrique shares his honest thoughts on how a global chef stays fresh, especially in the highly competitive restaurant scenes of New York and Mexico City. We also talk about the business of restaurants, which is always a hot topic with those running them.  Also on the show, we catch up with Ken Concepcion, from the terrific Los Angeles bookstore Now Serving. We discuss the busy spring season and what types of books Ken is most excited about. Do you enjoy This Is TASTE? Drop us a review on Apple, or star us on Spotify. We’d love to hear from you. 

Hawa Hassan is a chef, the founder of Basbaas Foods, and the author of the James Beard Award–winning cookbook In Bibi's Kitchen. She’s spent the past several years writing an ambitious new book, Setting a Place for Us: Recipes and Stories of Displacement, Resilience, and Community from Eight Countries Impacted by War, and we had her in the studio to talk about her research and reporting process.  Also on the show we have a great conversation with Maryam Jillani talking all about her amazing debut cookbook, Pakistan: Recipes and Stories from Home Kitchens, Restaurants, and Roadside Stands. Do you enjoy This Is TASTE? Drop us a review on Apple, or star us on Spotify. We’d love to hear from you.  Read more:Hawa Hassan Shares the Spicy Somali Pasta [Vogue]Maryam Jillani: TASTE Cook In Residence [TASTE]

The holiness of punk, finding God in psychedelics, coming back to emo and much more

Up In Smoke: The Science Behind Cannabis Inspired Relief

Dean Wareham (Luna, Galaxie 500) on old guitars, old friends, and his new sounds.

Is Scarr’s the best pizza in New York? Some may debate this, but if you ask anybody in the industry, Scarr Pimentel’s shop on Orchard Street takes the prize. In this episode, Scarr joins us in the TASTE studio to talk about his deep NYC pizzeria history, his dedication to ingredients (to an extent many may not recognize), and his new cookbook, The Scarr’s Pizza Cookbook. Also on the show, we have a great conversation with Craig Mod. Craig is a prolific writer, photographer, and author of a terrific new memoir, Things Become Other Things. Craig’s walks around rural Japan are legend, and we talk about how walking allowed him to tap into a much deeper story. This interview was recorded live at Rizzoli Bookstore in New York City, and part of our ongoing live interview series with the bookseller. Do you enjoy This Is TASTE? Drop us a review on Apple, or star us on Spotify. We’d love to hear from you. 

Giovanni Cervantes and Tania Apolinar are partners in life and in two amazing New York City taquerias: Taqueria Ramirez in Greenpoint and Carnitas Ramirez in the East Village. Formerly professional photographers, the duo is dedicated to making some of the most delicious tacos in New York’s ever-expanding scene, and it’s so fun to have them on the show today to talk about how it all happens. And, at the top of the show, it’s the return of Three Things, where Aliza and Matt talk about what is exciting them in the world of restaurants, cookbooks, and the food world as a whole. On this episode: The Observer's Guide to Japanese Vending Machines, coffee drinks with fruit at Not As Bitter in the East Village, How to Cook the Finest Things in the Sea, Wenwen in Greenpoint is sprinkling the Taiwan dust. Also: A great new Substack, NONGLUTEN, tackles gluten-free cooking in a cool way, the Americano Bianco at Bar Americano is our spring drink.       Do you enjoy This Is TASTE? Drop us a review on Apple, or star us on Spotify. We’d love to hear from you.  Read more:Taqueria Ramírez Brings a Mexico City Specialty to Brooklyn [New York Times]Our Gluten Rumspringa [TASTE]