One of my all-time favorite food writers is Amanda Hesser, the co-founder of Food52 and author of The New York Times Cookbook, and it's a huge thrill to have her on Lunch Therapy this week. In today's session, I ask her all about Cooking for Mr. Latte (one of my all-time favorite food books), how she went from being a writer to starting a business, being super detail oriented, portraying herself as unlikable in her book, and the food writers that she read at the start of her career. We also learn about how she doesn't like lunch, the new Food52 offices, her lunch with Julia Child, and most fascinating of all: the CBS Mr. Latte sitcom that never was!

The James Beard award-winning biographer of James Beard, John Birdsall, swings by the office today for a lunch therapy session. We talk all about who'd be the best actor to play James Beard, how the pandemic interrupted his book tour plans, raw onions, working at Deborah Madison's Greens in a Zen Center in SF, and how his gentle temperament worked in a restaurant kitchen. We also cover being out as a chef in SF in the 90s, how the AIDS crisis played out in restaurants, Jeremiah Tower's lawsuit, and much more.

Jeff Gordinier is one of the most prolific, influential food writers in the biz: not only does he work on Esquire's Best Restaurants list every year, he contributes regularly to The New York Times as both a food writer and a poetry critic (!) AND he's the author of the book Hungry, for which he traveled around the world with René Redzepi, frequently hailed as the world's best chef. In today's session, we learn all about Gordinier's new interest in eating healthy (and the toll the Best Restaurants list took on his body), why the pandemic essentially ended fine dining as we knew it, and how a man who doesn't drink can choose the best bars in the US. We also cover growing up in Southern California, the impact (or lack of impact) René Redzepi had on his cooking, and his love for making tea. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Broti Gupta is way too accomplished for someone her age. Not only has she written for television (Speechless, Friends from College); she's also written for The New Yorker AND The New York Times. In today's lunch therapy session, we talk all about cooking for her boyfriend (and vice-versa), Mark Wahlberg's weird schedule, her mother teaching her recipes over FaceTime, and her need to please authority figures. We also cover Patti LuPone, growing up Indian in Kentucky, her love for cumin, cooking for her parents, and how hot it is in Southern India. 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

Kate Berlant is one of the funniest comedians out there -- you've seen her in "Search Party," "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood," "Sorry to Bother You" -- and she's the co-host of the hilarious podcast POOG. In today's session, we learn all about Kate's quarantine malaise, her dinner party anxieties, her linguine with clams, and where she sat in the school cafeteria. We also hear about her tendency to lean on yams, her recipe for a lycheetini, get a tour of her mother's kitchen, and how her screen name was almost CaperHottie. 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

He's the quintessential New York food writer and he's here to talk about the quintessential New York Lunch. Ed Levine, the founder of Serious Eats and author of Serious Eater (as well as New York Eats and Pizza: A Slice of Heaven) opens up in today's session about losing his parents at a young age, how restaurants took on a familial role for him, how his parents' communism affected his food writing, and the way these formative experiences shaped his psychology and career later in life. We also talk about the future of food media, the best bagels and bialys, Katz's pastrami, our grandmothers' pickles, Nathan's, and how he roasts a chicken. 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

Time Out New York once said of Isaac Oliver: "If David Sedaris and Fran Lebowitz had a baby who wrote about subways, theater patrons, and b*******s, he might be a lot like Isaac Oliver." The author of the hilarious book of essays, Intimacy Idiot, artist-in-residence at Joe's Pub, and television writer (High Maintenance, GLOW) joins us this week and boy is he in need of some serious lunch therapy. Find out why Isaac eats lunch at 5 o'clock, how he likes to be bossed around by Ottolenghi recipes ("he's got me up to my elbows in harissa!"), why his parents helped him choose a porn to watch on Christmas (!), his relationship to Baltimore crabs, and why he's terrified of cooking for others. 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

Soleil Ho is the James Beard award-nominated food critic for the San Francisco Chronicle and one of the most important voices currently working today in food. In today's Lunch Therapy session, we talk about reviewing restaurants during Covid, what's fair game and what isn't, the food that her mother made for her growing up in New York, how she channels her anxiety into writing, how Ruth Reichl helped her overcome her fears about publishing reviews, how she sees her job as an opportunity to correct chefs' bad behavior, and what she puts on her avocado toast. 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

Tucker Shaw wears many hats: he's executive editor of Cook's Country Magazine, the former food critic for The Denver Post, the author of Everything I Ate, and, in a former life, a young adult novelist. In today's session, Tucker talks about his grandparents who were subsistence farmers in Maine, how he's coping in quarantine living above a Russian grocery, cooking from books in junior high school, and the night he saw me at Marie's Crisis. We also cover him getting tapped to be a professional food critic, how scary it was to write his first review, educating himself on wine lists (etc.), and moving to Boston to start work at America's Test Kitchen. 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

Karina Longworth is the creator and host of one of the most popular and beloved podcasts out there, "You Must Remember This," which focuses on the secret and forgotten history of early twentieth-century Hollywood. In today's session, Karina talks about growing up in Studio City in the 1980s, her obsession with old movies from a young age, her mother cooking her way through Bon Appetit Magazine, taking over the cooking duties after her mother's death, and trying to recreate the chocolate mousse pie from the December 1981 edition. We also cover bodies as commodities in Hollywood, going to art school, going to premieres with her husband, Knives Out & Star Wars director Rian Johnson, her love for soup and soft foods, and what Jay-Z and Beyonce ate at the Chateau Marmont. 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

Marco Canora is a true superstar chef: he's a James Beard Award winner (Best Chef New York), a celebrated cookbook author ("Salt To Taste," "A Good Food Day"), the chef/owner of one of New York's best restaurants, Hearth, and purveyor of the best broth in the country with his company Brodo. On Today's Lunch Therapy, we talk about his Tuscan mother's cooking, learning through osmosis, why real-world experience is more important than culinary school, and his early job making prepared foods at Dean & Deluca in SoHo. Then we talk the early days of Gramercy Tavern with Tom Colicchio, helping to open Craft (where the kitchen saw heavy-hitters like David Chang and Damon Wise), having his fish reviewed in The New York Times by Ruth Reichl, going out on his own to open his own restaurant, and how Hearth's identity continues to change with the times. PLUS: my friend Jonathan Parks-Ramage talks about learning how to cook in the Corona crisis during today's intro. 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

Molly Stevens has always been one of my favorite cookbook authors. Her cookbook "All About Braising" remains a desert island disc for me (that's a reference to another podcast) and her new cookbook "All About Dinner" is full of the kinds of recipes everyone should be making now to comfort themselves and their families. With mandatory social distancing, I was super disappointed that Molly's book tour was postponed and that she wouldn't be able to come to Lunch Therapy headquarters in person; but then I hit upon an idea: what if we used FaceTime? So in today's first-ever FaceTime Lunch Therapy session, Molly and I talk about her growing up in Buffalo, being the third of four children, seeking solace in the kitchen, her love for technique, and how she wound up in Vermont. We also cover her literary ambitions, how a food career crept up on her, working at Anne Willan's cooking school in France, realizing that a career in food could be meaningful, and how she got into publishing her own cookbooks. PLUS: as a bonus, my parents make a cameo from Boca in today's intro. 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

Bricia Lopez is the co-owner of Guelaguetza, one of L.A.'s most beloved Oaxacan restaurants (a favorite of the late, Pulitzer Prize-winning food writer, Jonathan Gold) and the co-author of Oaxaca: Home Cooking from the Heart of Mexico. In today's session (recorded two weeks ago, before mandatory social distancing), Lopez talks about growing up in a restaurant, her family's journey from Oaxaca to L.A., sharing a single bedroom in her aunt's house with six of her family members (her parents and her three siblings), and why that was ultimately a positive experience. We also cover her obsession with Saved By The Bell and Full House, meeting Mario Lopez in real life, not being allowed to get sick as a kid, how McDonald's was the ultimate status symbol, and why yellow mole holds a special place in her heart. 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

Welcome back to Lunch Therapy! We start this brand new season with Lee Sung Jin, the creator of Netflix's hit show BEEF. I worked with Lee several years ago on the ABC sitcom The Real O'Neals and since then he's gone on to write for Dave, Tuca and Bertie, and now his breakout, runaway hit starring Steve Yeun and Ali Wong. In today's session, we talk all about Lee's name change (when I knew him, he was Sonny Lee), the road rage incident (and bathroom incident) that inspired the show, and the terrible eating habits that he has when he's on set. We also cover his favorite Korean dishes, why Ali Wong's picture isn't on the wall at Park's BBQ, the best Japanese restaurant in L.A., how you know when to stop rewriting, and the time that he ate a dozen Krispy Kreme donuts in the writer's room and raced to a Best Buy to use the bathroom. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

"Fergus Henderson is the most influential chef of the last two decades, even though you have likely never heard of him." That's a quote from the late Anthony Bourdain and it helps put into perspective the craziness of today's episode of Lunch Therapy: one of the world's greatest chefs, Fergus Henderson, and his business partner, Trevor Gulliver, came to my apartment and let me ask them about their lunch. Our conversation runs the gambit from why Fergus loves offal ("I was drawn into a world of innards and extremities"), what Trevor thinks of natural wine, the link between Fergus's father being an architect and the architecture of the dishes he serves at St. John in London. We also talk about Fergus's Parkinsons diagnosis in 1997, the sense of loss in having to leave the kitchen, how his marriage works with his wife, Margo Henderson (also a celebrated chef), how he feels about their son becoming a chef, and whether or not he and Trevor are opening a restaurant in L.A. As a lunch therapist, I should apologize for one aspect of this conversation: booze may have been imbibed during the recording of this podcast. To my colleagues in the lunch therapy community, my humblest apologies. *burp* 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

Esther Tseng is a food writer in L.A. -- she writes for The L.A. Times, Food & Wine, Eater -- with a surprising secret: she works a normal nine-to-five job in retail finance. In today's session, we talk about her childhood in New Berlin, Wisconsin, her parents moving here from Taiwan, the Taiwanese food that her mother made at home (including delicious-sounding Bah Tzang), her being embarrassed by her father's accent, and how she attempted to assimilate by going to UCLA... only to find that she didn't fit in with the Asian community there. We also cover the realties of supporting yourself as a food writer, the ethics of taking free trips, getting mugged on the way to the farmer's market (!), and her favorite restaurants in L.A. 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

It's not every day that a rock star becomes a therapist and then eats lunch and comes on a podcast to analyze it, but that's precisely what happens in today's episode of Lunch Therapy with former Grizzly Bear front man, Ed Droste. Learn why Ed decided to give up the not-so-glamorous life of a musician, the kind of food he ate on the road, how he dealt with reviews and Tweets, how he got over his stage fright, and the role therapy played in his life. We also talk about Ed's parents' adventurous eating, loving lobster but hating the juicy explosions, how he makes a salad, Postematesing from Sqirl, his obsession with candles, and how his neighbor roasts a chicken. 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

I'm pinching myself, because Ruth Reichl -- former editor-in-chief of Gourmet Magazine, author of countless books (including "Tender at the Bone," "Comfort Me with Apples," "Garlic and Sapphires," and "Save Me The Plums), and the former food critic for both the L.A. Times and The New York Times -- is my patient today on Lunch Therapy. We cover her childhood in Greenwich Village, growing up with a mentally ill mother, learning to cook as a means of survival, and her resistance to being taken care of as an adult and how that informed her job as a restaurant critic. We also cover the role of criticism in general, why Alice Waters is such a polarizing figure, the heightened nature of her stories, knowing MFK Fisher and James Beard, and where she likes to eat in L.A. 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

Jen Agg has been called "the most influential restaurateur in Toronto" -- she currently owns Grey Gardens, Rhum Corner, Le Swan, and Bar Vendetta -- and her book, "I Hear She's A Real B***h," was praised by Anthony Bourdain as: "A terrific, beautifully written, frank, and funny memoir." During today's session, Jen talks about her attention to detail, dealing with prickly customers, what it felt like publishing such a confessional memoir, and her ambition to open the best restaurant in Toronto. We also cover her unattainable standards, the food scene in Toronto, serving horse (!!), the secret to her tomato sauce, and whether or not she'd hire me as a server. 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

As The Carpetbagger for The New York Times, Kyle Buchanan covers the awards season with profiles of nominated actors (including recent ones of Brad Pitt, Adam Driver, and Renée Zellweger) and in-depth analysis of the movie industry's biggest nights. He also happens to be our neighbor (our dogs are best friends) and in today's session, Kyle makes himself vulnerable in a way he never has before: by talking about food. We talk about his favorite foods as a kid, saying a prayer for the lamb before eating lamb chops, why he thinks his relationship to food is "deranged," and his aversion to vegetables. We also cover his favorite food movies, ordering a Seamless Sizzler steak, the relationship between food and "self-care," and the solitariness of cooking just for 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

Nik Sharma is the award-winning author of the cookbook "Season," the creator of the pioneering food blog A Brown Table, and a regular recipe columnist for The San Francisco Chronicle. In today's session, Nik talks about his recent move to L.A., how the food scene here compares to the food scene in San Francisco, growing up in India, his early interest in science, how science impacts his cooking, and why he detests turnips. We also talk about his coming out, how it was a criminal offense to be gay in India, his family's reaction, his moving to the States to go to grad school, and how and why he quit his PhD program to become a food writer. 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

Turn on your TV and there's a good chance you'll see Barrett Foa: he's been playing Eric Beale on NCIS: Los Angeles for eleven years. In addition to that, Barrett's been on Broadway (Avenue Q! Spelling Bee!) and he most recently played Prior Walter in Angels in America at the St. Louis Rep. In today's session, Barrett describes "The Foa Philosophy," talks about growing up in New York City, learning etiquette at fancy restaurants, his pet peeves on dates, and why it wasn't such a stretch for him to enjoy Burning Man. We also talk about him losing his mom four years ago, her own involvement in the food world (she's in the Le Cirque documentary), bulking up and losing weight for various parts, why he enjoys planning trips, and whether or not this podcast will get him a boyfriend. 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

Susan Feniger is a force to be reckoned with in the food world. Along with her business partner Mary Sue Milliken, Feniger has received countless awards (including the prestigious Julia Child Award and the Jonathan Gold Award), opened several legendary restaurants (including The Border Grill), co-hosted one of the first Food Network shows (Too Hot Tamales), appeared on Top Chef Masters, and authored countless cookbooks. I'm so thrilled to have her as my patient on today's Lunch Therapy and our-hour session covers her early years in Ohio, her mother's midwestern Jewish cooking, her living in a teepee that she sewed for herself in Vermont, meeting her first husband there, realizing she was gay, separating from him and then setting him up with her business partner (Mary Sue) who's still married to him today (!!!). We talk about working for Wolfgang Puck at Ma Maison (where she'd see Orson Welles on the regular), working for a closeted gay chef in Chicago, working at a Michelin three-star restaurant in La Napoule, France (where she learned a killer salad dressing), and how she began to gravitate to Indian food and Mexican food through her travels. We also cover her brand new restaurant, Socalo, where she works the line (sometimes fifteen hours a day) and still finds the time to do meaningful charity work (she's helped raise $48 million dollars for scleroderma research). 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

Buckle your seatbelts: for the first Lunch Therapy recorded in 2020, I decided to switch things around with an actual psychologist, Dr. Deanie Eichenstein, who puts my lunch under the microscope. Learn all about my pre-med years and my decision to go to law school, how I got from there to being a writer (meeting Craig in the process), and how choosing my lunch is often a question of shifting identities. We also cover how smell plays an important role for me, my fear of pooping in coffee shops, and how my people-pleasing instincts make it difficult not to go overboard at dinner parties. 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

My guest today is the creator of one of my favorite podcasts of all time, The Mystery Show with Starlee Kine. If you haven't listened to that, turn this off and go do that first. It's amazing. I asked Starlee if she had a favorite recipe and she didn't. I asked her if she had a favorite thing to eat in L.A. and she sent me to Griffith Park to eat the California Veggie Sandwich at The Trails in Griffith Park. Unfortunately, it was pouring down rain and I had a cold, so I couldn't actually make it there -- instead I recreated the sandwich at home. Find out how it went, why Starlee chose it, all about her childhood in California, how she forgets to eat, and the foods that she finds gross. We also cover her career, how she got started at This American Life, whether or not she wants to continue podcasting, and why, when I move to New York, I should live in Williamsburg. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You may remember Luke Matheny from the 2011 Academy Awards, when he won for Best Live Action Short and said: "Uh, I should've gotten a haircut." Since then, Luke's gone on to direct ten episodes of Marc Maron's Maron and to be the showrunner of Gortimer Gibbon's Life on Normal Street. Today's session is a surprisingly emotional one: we cover the night of the Oscars, why he thinks cheesesteaks are the most delicious of all meals, his relationship to authority, rushing his son to the emergency room after giving him peanut butter. We also talk about why you need rules before you can improvise (in both burgers and filmmaking), his love of pancakes as a kid, why he smiles big when he talks about sweet food, his grandmother's Pennsylvania Dutch Pot Pie, and learning that the person who he thought was his grandfather wasn't really his grandfather. 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

Ben Mims is a cooking columnist for the L.A. Times, a cookbook author (Air Fry Every Day), the former Test Kitchen Director of Lucky Peach magazine, and a former food editor at both Saveur and Food & Wine. In today's session, we cover Ben's childhood in Mississippi, his unwillingness to mix sweet and savory, why he loathes lettuce, and how he went to culinary school to become a food writer. We also discuss the link between his coming out and his distaste for pork tenderloin, the hazing he endured at Jean-Georges and Perry Street, whether or not he has OCD, and how he comes up with his recipes. 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

Rachel Shukert is one of the funniest writers I know -- she's written books, plays, recaps of Smash for Vulture -- and now she's an accomplished TV writer, having worked on shows like GLOW and the upcoming Babysitter's Club, for which she was the showrunner. Today's session (which came after her real therapy session) covers Rachel's ambivalence towards cooking, her butcher grandfather and vegetarian parents, her two year-old's attitude towards food ("Eating, yuck!"), and what it was like growing up Jewish in Omaha, Nebraska. We also talk about her eating disorder in college, how meat helped her overcome it, what she craved when she was pregnant (a sandwich from DaVinci's in Lincoln), her Lithuanian grandmother, and how she makes her savory kugel. 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

Zach Brooks is the founder of Midtown Lunch, an iconic food blog that helped people working in midtown Manhattan find a decent place to eat back in the early aughts. Since then, he's hosted the super successful podcast "Food is the New Rock" and become the general manager of Smorgasburg L.A. During today's session, we find out why asking about his lunch is "too dark," what the meal was that inspired him to start his blog, and why he thinks the late, great Jonathan Gold hated him. We also cover "authenticity," his parents' divorce, cooking for his children, and why L.A. beats New York as the better lunch city. 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

Punam Patel is the Emmy-nominated co-star of Netflix's "Special" -- she's also appeared on "Kevin From Work" and "I Feel Bad" -- and on today's Lunch Therapy she declares, right out of the gate: "I am food." Hear all about her two-part lunch (three-part, if you include the apple cider doughnut), her trip to Spain, her exercise lunches vs. her no-exercise lunches, and her dad's famous meat curry that she can no longer eat (she's a pescatarian). We also talk about her dieting up through her thirties, arbitrary standards of beauty, what it's like dealing with that in Hollywood, and what it means to be a Brown Butter Jew (will somebody make the t-shirt?). 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

James Rich grew up on a cider farm in Somerset, England, so it shouldn't be a surprise that he just wrote a cookbook called "Apple: Recipes from the Orchard." In today's session, James talks about getting engaged to his fiancé Pip in Palm Springs, how Yotam Ottolenghi was involved in their initial meeting, and why he's not eligible to go on The Great British Baking Show. We also get into the various breeds of apples, how cider is actually made, leaving Somerset for Barcelona and London, and how his feelings have changed regarding where he's from. 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

Karley Sciortino is the hilarious creator of the blog Slutever, which is now a TV show in its second season on Vice; she's also the sex and dating columnist for Vogue Magazine. On today's episode, we talk about the relationship between food and sex, how Karley differentiated from her food-loving family, and the journey she's gone on with her body image (it involves TJ Maxx and TCBY). We also cover her time living as a freegan in a London squat, why she refuses to eat tongue, and the most surprising thing she's encountered involving food and sex (it made me fall out of my chair laughing). 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

Remember the name Lewaa Nasserdeen: if he's not running Hollywood in ten years, I'll tear up my lunch therapy license! I met Lewaa when we were both staff writers on ABC's The Real O'Neals and since then he's been a writer/co-producer on Netflix's Daredevil, starred in his own pilot, acted on NCIS: New Orleans, and gotten an overall deal at Skydance TV (where's he developing all kinds of original content). In today's session, we talk about growing up Lebanese in Alberta, Canada, where his mother — a professional pastry chef — showed love through food and the ripple effects that had for Lewaa later in life. We get into body image, developing a sense of humor as a defense mechanism, the first time he brought a boyfriend to his mother's house for dinner, and why he wouldn't dare try to recreate his mother's food in his own kitchen. 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

You've been smitten with her since the early 2000s, and today Deb Perelman of Smitten Kitchen is my patient on Lunch Therapy. We talk everything from her efforts to recreate the brown bread she ate in Ireland, whether or not she's the heir to Ina Garten, and how her German-Jewish mother found salt and pepper to be "edgy." We also cover her brief career as an art therapist, what it means to have a food blog in 2019, and how she deals with people feeling like they know her. 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

Mark Harris is the celebrated author of Pictures at the Revolution and Five Came Back, as well as a journalist for The New York Times, The Guardian, and Vanity Fair (for which he's covering the Oscars this year). In today's session, Mark talks about whether great food can rise to the level of great art, the truth about his typical day-to-day lunch journey, his favorite cookbooks, his favorite recipes, and how he and his husband (Angels in America playwright Tony Kushner) offer feedback when the other one cooks. Mark also waxes lyrical on his love for sandwiches -- sandwiches that know no bounds (Chinese food on a sandwich!) -- as well as the elements that truly make a sandwich great. 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

Vegan chef Chris Tucker (@veganchefchristucker) is a private vegan chef -- he's making vegan desserts for Elton John's Oscar party in two weeks! -- who appeared on Season Four of The Great American Baking Show. In today's episode, Chris sends me Heidi Swanson's recipe for caramelized mushrooms with chilies and peanuts and lime and cilantro which I served up with ramen noodles. We talk all about how Chris got into veganism, his former career as a hair stylist, how he deals with difficult clients, and what he likes to serve at parties. We also cover the myths surrounding veganism (like the idea that it's automatically healthy), how he gets enough protein into his diet, and how some foods like noodles and kale actually have protein in them too. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Melissa Clark is one of the most prolific food writers working today: she's the author of 43 cookbooks, as well as a weekly columnist for The New York Times AND a new podcast host ("Weeknight Kitchen with Melissa Clark"). She also turns out to be the perfect Lunch Therapy guest because both of her parents are psychiatrists. During today's session, we talk about how she comes up with a recipe, how she empowers people to have "personal responsibility in cooking," how she deals with criticism online (including for the famous pea-guacamole, denounced by TWO presidents, that wasn't even her recipe). We also go deep on how she used cooking to get her parents' attention, how she cultivated her voice as a writer, what she gets out of reading Proust, and whether or not baking brownies made her popular in high school. 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

The man, the myth, the legend: David Lebovitz himself is this week's Lunch Therapy patient! The author of The Sweet Life in Paris, L'Appart, My Paris Kitchen, and The Perfect Scoop, David generously met with me when I was in New York and filled in the blanks about his life before he moved to France: his childhood in Connecticut, his years as a film student at Ithica (making doorknob slasher films), working at the Cabbagetown Cafe, traveling through Europe, and arriving in San Francisco just as it was becoming America's most exciting food city. Learn how he charmed Alice Waters during his interview, how he got lured into the world of pastry, and how he finds balance both in his cooking and in his life. 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

Christine Vachon is one of the most celebrated producers in the world of film and if I told you some of the movies she's made, your head would spin: Carol, Still Alice, Far From Heaven, Happiness, Velvet Goldmine, Kids, Boys Don't Cry, I Shot Andy Warhol, Craig's favorite movie ("Safe" by Todd Haynes) and one of my favorite movies ("Hedwig and the Angry Inch" by John Cameron Mitchell). On today's podcast, find out what she eats for lunch, what she considers the cinematic equivalent of a chicken Caesar salad, what she cooks for her family, and how she deals with the food Nazis at her daughter's school. We also cover her favorite food films (not what you'd guess!), her favorite food city in the world (spoiler: it's San Sebastian), and why one of the worst nights of her life was dinner at Blue Hill Stone Barns. 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

In 2008, The New York Times named Jeremy Fox's restaurant Ubuntu (in the Napa Valley) the second best restaurant in the United States. On today's Lunch Therapy, you'll learn how the pressure of that led Fox to leave the restaurant, re-examine his life, and to start all over again in Los Angeles, where he now runs three restaurants: Rustic Canyon (where my husband and I got engaged!), Tallulah's, and the newly opened Birdie G's. We also cover how he comes up with his novel food ideas (see: white chocolate and peas), reading Yelp, why explaining food to people is like explaining a joke, which foods he hates, and why folding towels is a key skill if you're working in his kitchen. 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

Batten down the hatches: today's Lunch Therapy guest is none other than... my mother! Yes, Heidi Roberts is visiting from Boca Raton, Florida and I couldn't pass up the opportunity to put her in the Lunch Therapy chair. We talk everything from cruises to diners to Weight Watchers to selling pickles with her mother at the Roosevelt Field Flea Market. We also get into more emotional territory towards the end (though we did have some technical difficulties; don't worry, you can still hear everything). So crack open those Sweet n' Low packets and enjoy today's session with my mom. 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

If I told you that there's a person who's not only written for 30 Rock, but also for The Comeback and The Larry Sanders Show, you'd say: "Such a person couldn't exist! Those are three of the greatest comedies of all time." Well such a person DOES exist and his name is John Riggi. In today's session, John talks about his mother's Italian restaurant in Cincinnati, Ohio, the link between comedy writing and cooking, feeding the 30 Rock writer's room on the Chopped set, connecting with his Italian roots, and recreating his mother's tortellini by touch. We also cover negotiations with spouses over dinner, similarities between Italians and Jews when it comes to meals, and, finally, how Italians eat pasta all the time without getting fat. 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

Marquita Robinson is a super successful TV writer working in L.A. (Blackish, GLOW, You're The Worst) and in today's session we journey back with her to her childhood on an Air Force base in Okinawa, Japan. We talk everything from You've Got Mail ("That caviar is a garnish!"), switching from Morton's to Diamond Crystal, her parents' love for Teriyaki sauce, the family's move to the Azores, Taco Rice, and what it's like to experience America America for the first time. Also: I make a joke so bad, Winston throws up. 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

Bill Addison is the James Beard award-winning food critic for the Los Angeles Times and, in today's session, we go deep into his past, Ratatouille-style, and learn about his formative restaurant experiences (he still remembers the name of the waiter!), his obsession with Lebanese food, his capacity for self-criticism, and his mother's potato rolls. We also talk about his writing technique, L.A. as the greatest food city in America, and why he gets so mad when a restaurant sends over a free dish. 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

Carey O'Donnell is a comedy writer for TV (Billy On The Street, Heathers, Summer Camp Island) and a hilarious presence on Twitter (@ecareyo), where he brilliantly satirizes popular culture. Today's session starts lightly enough: we talk about his artist boyfriend, the Parmesan soup they eat together, growing up a swimmer, outside Philadelphia, with his mom cooking him breakfast at 4 AM. Then we get deep: talking about his struggles with addiction, his recovery, and how the whole journey may have been foreshadowed by an encounter with a blueberry pie. 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

The author of Dappled: Baking Recipes for Fruit Lovers, and the four-time blue-ribbon winner of KCRW's Good Food Pie Contest, comes to Lunch Therapy headquarters on the heels of announcing her departure from the bakery she founded, Fiona. We get into the emotions of that -- at the time of her lunch therapy session, the news hadn't gone public yet -- and then we explore the path she took to become a celebrated baker (not, as she points out, a pastry chef). We also cover baloney burritos, the walnut tree in my backyard (!), and fake vegetarianism.  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

Today's guest, Homa Dashtaki, is the co-founder (along with her father) of The White Mustache yogurt, some of the most celebrated yogurt in the country. She's also the author of a brand new cookbook called Yogurt & Whey (coming out March 5th) that gives away her signature yogurt recipe as well as all of the things you can make with the yogurt itself and the whey, including these out-of-this-world whey pancakes which are seriously the best pancakes I've ever eaten (go to amateurgourmet.com for the recipe!). In today's talk, we cover the genesis of Homa's business, what it's like working with her father, how she went from selling yogurt at farmer's markets to having it in stores, and what the process actually is for making yogurt. We also learn about the legal battles she fought in order to make yogurt with her hands as opposed to machines, the food that she loves the most when she visits Iran, and her favorite thing to do with labneh. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The actor (Atypical, Murphy Brown, Alex Strangelove) and stand-up comedian (The Late Show with Stephen Colbert) reports on his lunch with surprising specificity, confesses to his nickname growing up ("Picky Nicky"), sings the praises of his mother's Indian cooking, and revisits the period when he gave it all up for Lunchables.  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

The co-showrunner of HBO's Girls confesses her true feelings about eating lunch, weighs her reasons for weighing burgers, menu-plans her upcoming nuptials based on the food at her favorite restaurant, and turns the tables on her lunch therapist, advising him on how to loosen up in order to throw the perfect Sunday afternoon dinner gathering. 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

The Emmy-nominated star and creator of Netflix's Special walks us through his salad at Sweetgreen and along the way revisits traumatic lunches from childhood (room temp Taco Bell), Zagat adventures with his dad, and what he'd order if he could have any lunch in the world. 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