Check Please!

In this episode of Check Please! the gals chat with the rising young chef putting Mexican-Japanese fusion on the map Chris Krinsky of Ramen Del Barrio. Chris shares how his unique upbringing in the resort hub of Mexico and his training in Japanese cuisine-focused kitchens shaped his culinary point of view, the challenges of running a restaurant at such a young age, and what’s next for RDB. To lear...

Have you ever tried one of those cotton candy grapes and thought “How on earth do they get this flavor in here?” The answer may surprise you. In this episode, we’re joined by CEO of The Grapery Jim Beagle, who comes from a lifelong background in agriculture and has answers to all our juicy grape questions. Jim shares how table grapes are grown, how they arrive at names like “tear drop” and “gum dr...

In this episode of Check Please! we catch up with my dear friend Kelsey Small about the opening of his new restaurant Small’s Pizza, where the pizzas are actually quite large and extra crispy in a close approximation of New Haven’s signature style. Kelsey walks us through his storied culinary past, from growing up in Connecticut watching Emeril Lagasse to working at Franklin Barbecue and making an...

Welcome back to our table, In this episode of Check Please! the lads chat with the sweet and original author behind Mayumu: Filipino American Desserts Remixed. Abi Balingit is a New York City-based baker with a James Beard Award under her belt and opinions on the Hailey Bieber smoothie, the complexities of monetizing your hobbies, the reliability of baking blogs, the NYC dining scene and the steak...

Happy Tuesday divas, In this new episode of Check Please! Bella and Mason chat with pastry chef, writer, and Cake Zine cofounder Tanya Bush. Get a peek behind the curtain and hear all about the writing process behind Tanya’s just-announced debut cookbook Will This Make You Happy , what to expect in Cake Zine Vol. 7 - Forbidden Fruit , where she would grab dessert in NYC when she’s not making it he...

Hello old friends, it’s been awhile. I’m pleased to announce the return of Check Please! I have a new co-host but the same old je ne sais quoi. Allow me to introduce you to Mason Adams , my friend and colleague. Mason is a film & production professional, a novice cook and a real freak. Naturally, he fits right in. In this episode, the two of us yap about the Anthony Bourdain biopic, Pamela Anderso...

Welcome back to Check Please! In this episode, we sat down with How Long Gone co-host, professional DJ, avid foodie and married man Jason Stewart to share our thoughts on matrimony. Is your wedding day among the most joyous and moving occasions of a lifetime? Absolutely. Will the months leading up to it ruin you emotionally, financially, physically, and psychologically to a point that feels nearly...

Is it too late to say happy New Year? We’re back with a new episode on all things trendy — bemoaning what’s out and predicting what’s in for 2025, featuring the expert opinions of our friends Daniel Emilio Soares, the mind behind NYC’s chicest party spreads and founder of Alimentari Flaneur, Savannah Eden Bradley, one of fashion Twitter’s most brilliant minds and editor-in-chief of Haloscope Mag,...

Seasons greetings! We’re back with a new episode, and we’re chatting about holiday traditions, getting passive aggressive with your family, how to be good at gifting and the single greatest Christmas song of all time. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit bellacastillo.substack.com/subscribe

Welcome back to Check Please! In this fantasy-themed episode, we chat about some of our earliest food memories — the fictional dishes we read about and watched on TV. We name some of very real dishes that feel made up, and dish on the YA fiction we were obsessed with in adolescence. Josh shares some of his favorite video game soundtracks, Bella introduces you to an independent perfumer who makes f...

We are so back. And the seasons have changed since we last chatted. In this episode, we discuss all things autumn. We debate which apples are the best apples and whether pumpkin is under, over or correctly rated. We share our Thanksgiving takes and traditions, fight about whether Yo La Tengo is girl music or not, and talk about the time Josh catered a party that had gold-leaf covered suckling pig...

In this week’s episode of Check Please! we chat about which foods have a certain sexy quality and whether aphrodisiacs are real or fake. We meditate on desire in all it’s forms, from the kind of yielding love it takes to make long term relationships work to the depths of depravity it can lead us to, as depicted in movies like Happiness (1998), Little Children (2006), and American Beauty (1999). We...

It’s a beautiful Tuesday to assess your relationship with god! The theme for this episode of Check Please! was the word “holy,” and it sparked memories of cocktail weenies in coulis, cornflake casserole and the time my dad broke a $50 in the offering basket. It led us to revisit Bible verses featuring culinary anomalies, and analyze movies like First Reformed (2017) and Mermaids (1990) with heavy...

Welcome to another week of Check Please! In today’s episode on opulence, we speed rank (almost) every Real Housewife, and discuss examples of culinary luxuries throughout history, including everything from Pâté en Croûte to porpoise. We examined movies with monied overtones like Marie Antoinette (2006) and Eyes Wide Shut (1999), and had the opportunity to taste test and compare three caviars kindl...

In this episode on yearning, I open up about the deep anguish in my heart caused by the distance between me and my favorite slutty fast-food Mexican restaurant, Josh gets an education in Mitski lyrics, and we muse about why the gays are simply doing yearning better. We discuss Brokeback Mountain (2005), Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019), and reflect on excerpts from Ocean Vuong’s On Earth We’re Br...

The topic for this episode of Check Please! is malaise. ma·laise /məˈlāz,məˈlez/ noun * a general feeling of discomfort , illness, or uneasiness whose exact cause is difficult to identify. We chat about the things we like to eat when we feel like sickly Victorian orphans, revisit my freaky alternative health childhood, analyze the plot of Safe (1995) starring Julianne Moore, and interview Taipei a...

Welcome back to Check Please! The word of the day is: nostalgia. We went to the mall to get an Auntie Anne’s soft pretzel and inhale the enthralling scent of Abercrombie & Fitch Fierce in the name of research. We talked about when curling your hair and going to Sprinkles Cupcakes was the most en vogue thing to do in middle school on your birthday. We made playlists harkening back to our adolescent...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit bellacastillo.substack.com In this episode, we try Rose Delights, discuss if splitting a burger is the ultimate act of love, and evaluate the rituals in our lives, The Sacrifice (1986), Harriet the Spy (1996) & more.

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit bellacastillo.substack.com In this episode, we asked listeners to call our hotline with matters of the heart and stomach, and the phone was ringing off the hook! We resolved domestic squabbles over whose job it is to plunge the toilet, laid out the perfect recipe for a home-cooked dinner date, and settled on the only successful way for...

In this episode of Check Please! Josh and I are running our mouths about all the latest culinary trends and debuting a segment called Hot & Ready in which we rattle off a few of our hottest food takes. If you’ve been hoping and praying to hear my controversial thoughts on tiramisù, the light of god has shined upon you today. We also did a little Q&A to really shed some light on the inner workings...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit bellacastillo.substack.com Listen now | In this episode, we review Burnt (2015) and The Taste of Things (2023) and chat about whether the Michelin Guide is racist, times we've cried at the movies and Juliette Binoche's **** **** ***.

In this episode, we chat about everything we love and hate about restaurants (from the perspective of patrons — working in the industry is a whole different episode), mourn the loss of Sweet Tomatoes, discover the last-standing Lone Star Steakhouse in the world, and review the Joe’s Crab Shack happy hour menu. And yes…there is the sound of the leaf blower at the end. Forgive us. We’re still workin...