Snacky Tunes

Back in March of 2018 we sat down with Vanda Asapahu of Ayara Thai for what would be, unbeknownst to us, our last in person interview for a long, long, long time.  Somehow in the shuffle of the world shutting down, we misplaced the interview...until now!  It’s a beautiful tale of family, food and building a special place for community and also is a snapshot of the restaurant industry before everyt...

This week’s food guests are Tamy Rofe and Felipe Donnelly, husband and wife team behind beloved Colonia Verde in Fort Greene and newly opened Disco Tacos in Williamsburg.  Felipe, a Colombian chef who spent his childhood throughout Spain, Brazil and Mexico, and Tamy, a sommelier, worked for award-winning global advertising agencies for more than a decade, before they began to host weekly dinner pa...

Today’s episode is all about community and we’re spending time in two of our favorite cities to celebrate! First up we’re in Chicago, sitting down with Jenner Tomaska (Executive Chef & Owner) and Katrina Bravo (Creative Director & Owner), who are on the precipice of opening their first restaurant, Esmé . They share their vision of changing the perception of fine dining, the plan for local...

On today’s episode, we sit down with Tim Wiechmann, the award-winning chef and restaurateur (and musician) behind some of Boston's most beloved restaurants, including Bronwyn , T&B Wood-Fired and Turenne Bagels . A first generation German-American, Tim played guitar professionally with jazz and blues musicians like Ron Levy and Melvin Sparks throughout his 20s. He ended up pursuing a culinary...

On today’s episode, we sit down with one of our favorite LA chefs, Andy Doubrava, who currently oversees the kitchen of Santa Monica’s Rustic Canyon.  We chat about the restaurant’s role as an enduring neighborhood spot, his deepening relationship with farmer’s market purveyors and his advice for what he looks for in hiring chefs.  We also head into our archives for a perfect Sunday set from Small...

We catch up with Nathan Hazard, owner and proprietor of Littlebear Bottleshop , located in the San Bernardino mountains. We took about his journey from the music industry to the beverage world, the winding path that took him out of LA and how his new store is the ultimate COVID pivot.  Then we dip into our archives for one of delicious electronic performance from The Present.   Snacky Tunes: Music...

On this week’s episode, we chat all things culinary and challah with LA based food stylist & photographer, Aliza J. Sokolow .  Our conversation takes us to the start of her career in food during the 2009 financial crisis, as she shares tips about her professional journey, her pivots during an impressive career and her continuing work with charity. She also shares a preview about her first book...

As we ease back into drinks with friends, we are joined by our newest friend and rum entrepreneur, Marc Farrell. In summer 2019, young Trinidadian entrepreneur Marc, a Harvard Biz alum + Starbucks' youngest ever VP, set out on his own to challenge expectations around rum in the U.S. and reinvigorate the way people taste, experience and talk about the spirit, launching a premium rum brand that did...

We sat down with the legendary LA Hainan Chicken Whisperer, Johnny Lee, to talk about his restaurant, Pearl River Deli . We discuss growing up in East LA, his perspective on cooking Chinese food and the upcoming plans for his dinner menu.  Then we sit down with brothers Keaton & Kacey of Raised on TV to chat about their new album, “Fernando” and to enjoy some live tracks of some of their recen...

Bay Area native David Nayfeld is the Executive Chef and Co-Owner of the award-winning restaurants Che Fico and Che Fico Alimentari in San Francisco. Nayfeld boasts a venerable restaurant pedigree having worked alongside some of the most esteemed names in the industry. In 2018, Nayfeld opened his first restaurant, Che Fico, which features Italian cuisine through the lens of California. In 2019, he...

Leslie Merinoff is the co-founder of Matchbook Distilling Co. in upstate New York. This small batch, bespoke distillery comes with the intention of coaxing spirits into being from the ground up.  Art d’Ecco joins us to talk about his new record, In Standard Definition . A concept album about entertainment. Like channels on an old television set - each song presents an episodic look into this world...

We check back with New Orleans hero Devin De Wulf, who we met last year through his efforts of Feed the Front Line. He catches us up on his teams’ year of activism and new efforts. His new focus (of which there are many) is Feed the Second Line, which focuses on elders in the community, and Nola Bean Coin, a local currency to save the Big Easy’s favorite watering holes.  https://www.feedthefrontli...

Greg & Darin were invited to sit down with Print: A Bookstore to chat about their book, Snacky Tunes: Music is the Main Ingredient, Chefs and Their Music (Phaidon). They were joined with writer & restaurateur  Briana Volk , to talk about food, music and share some insights from putting the book together.  Check out Print: A Bookstore for more of their events and see one of American’s coole...

International Pizza Consultant and longtime friend of the show, Anthony Falco, stops by for a hang. We talk about his career, which has taken him from Brooklyn to all over the globe, discuss what makes a great white pizza and get the skinny on his brand new cookbook, Pizza Czar . In the second half of the show, we dig into our archives and revisit one of our most favorite live in-studio performanc...

The Mediterranean Dish is the leading online resource for cooking spanning the breadth of the Mediterranean region, from South of Europe to North Africa and the Middle East. Suzy Karadsheh, a native of Port Said, Egypt, now living in Atlanta, launched the Mediterranean Dish inspired in part by her mother’s Egyptian cooking and her mother-in-law’s Levant-style cooking. She initially began the proje...

This special episode is a live recording of the World's Biggest Family Meal , a global hospitality gathering supporting the food industry. We joined WBFM’s founder and host, Leiti Hsu, in a lively conversation with Lara Gilmore and Chef Massimo Bottura about music, food and the couple’s important work with their Food for Soul project. Food for Soul is currently building Refettorio Harlem , and we...

Our hearts are heavy with the loss of our friend Jason Disu. We met Jason through Midnight Magic . He was an immensely talented musician, and just an incredible human being. He will be missed. We’re dedicating this show to him with an archived performance from Midnight Magic in our second half. We open the show with Chef Rashida Holmes of Los Angeles’ acclaimed Bridgetown Roti . Rashida was a rest...

William Bradley is an icon of Southern California dining. His restaurant Addison is San Diego’s only Michelin-starred restaurant, and since 2006 it’s been wowing guests with its elegant degustation menus, high touch service and epic end-of-meal cheese cart. Like many chefs enduring the pandemic, William’s had to repeatedly close and reopen, pivot to takeout and devise a whole new plan for outdoor...

Noble Rot magazine hit shelves in 2013, and nothing has been the same in the world of wine writing ever since. Irreverent, informative and just good fun, amongst Noble Rot’s pages the boundaries between gastronomy and the creative arts often melt away, and you’ll find stories like a compare-and-contrast tasting of French and California wines with Brian Eno. Dan Keeling, the magazine’s co-founder,...

It’s that time of year again. We catch up with our dear friend, the legendary Michael Whiteman -- a.k.a. “the dean of restaurant consultants” -- who gives us a breakdown of his annual food and beverage trend report . The ongoing pandemic certainly has left the hospitality industry reeling, and Michael provides his insights into its long-term and short-term effects.  Michael is the co-founder of th...

Alan Delgado first hit the stoves as a kid in El Paso, TX, by teaching himself how to cook vegetable-centric dishes when his mother fell ill. He would eventually work in some of the best kitchens in Austin, including being Sous Chef at the critically acclaimed Mexican restaurant, Comedor. In 2020, during the pandemic no less, Alan moved to New York to become Director of Recipe and Development with...

We open this all L.A. show by cruising down Ventura Boulevard in Sherman Oaks to pioneering restaurant, Anajak Thai . Justin Pichetrungsi is Anajak’s second-generation chef-owner, having joined his family’s nearly 40-year-old business a few years ago. Since coming onboard, Justin’s updates to the menu, which include adding a taco night and stellar list of natural wines, have made Anajak the buzzie...

Last May we met up with Chef Ned Baldwin at Los Angeles’ premier culinary bookstore, Now Serving . At his NYC restaurant, Houseman , Ned’s earned high praise for his seasonal cooking, and simple, yet elegantly crafted, dishes. He dispenses his techniques and tips in his new cookbook, How to Dress an Egg , and it’s the subject of this special episode. Snacky Tunes: Music is the Main Ingredient, Che...

East Village sushi newcomer Rosella skews the common practice of importing fish from Japan, opting instead to source from local and regional waters in an effort to minimize its carbon footprint. The restaurant is also home to the talented trio of Chefs Jeff Miller and Yoni Lang, who were previously head chefs at Austin’s critically acclaimed, Uchiko, and beverage director and wine expert, TJ Prove...

We’re excited to have chef and restaurateur Dale Talde back on the show. We’ve followed Dale’s career for many years, and he was one of the very first contributors to our book, Snacky Tunes: Music is the Main Ingredient, Chefs and Their Music . He stops by to talk about Goosefeather , his critically acclaimed modern Chinese restaurant in Tarrytown, NY, and shares what it’s like returning to the sh...