Snacky Tunes

The COVID-19 pandemic has further cemented Eater as a must-read source for all things related to the food and drink industry. By leveraging its network of local city sites, while also utilizing its team of international contributors, Eater’s been able to give both micro and macro views of the pandemic’s effects. The overall result is a comprehensive collection of articles that includes personal st...

Before the coronavirus pandemic Bub and Grandma’s bakery wholesale business was flourishing. They supplied 140 restaurants in Los Angeles, including such popular spots as Mozza, Kismet, Sqirl and Konbi. Since the pandemic has temporarily shuttered so many restaurants, Bub and Grandma’s has been forced to adjust its business accordingly in order to survive. Andy Kadin, Bub and Grandma’s founder and...

We head south to Kentucky to continue our series about the coronavirus pandemic’s effects on the food industry. Lindsey Ofcacek is co-founder, managing director and mentor of the LEE Initiative . She along with acclaimed chef Edward Lee set up the organization to promote career development, equality and diversity in the restaurant community. As the pandemic sent millions of restaurant industry wor...

Snacky Tunes’ Los Angeles contingency is fueled by breakfast tacos from Tex-Mex champion, HomeState . Since the coronavirus pandemic hit HomeState has made the transition from full-service restaurant to general store, and has also launched a meal program to support hospital workers. HomeState owner Briana Valdez shares with us her plan to adapt, survive and thrive in these challenging and difficul...

The coronavirus pandemic has shut down America’s hospitality industry, financially imperiling many of its workers. Anna Polonsky, a longtime friend of the Tunes, has partnered with Galeen Quinn to develop the #AskChefsAnything campaign to support the industry’s immigrant workforce who are severely lacking access to government unemployment assistance. #AskChefsAnything has established auctions that...

Devin de Wulf is the founder of the Krewe of Red Beans, a neighborhood carnival parade in New Orleans. He is also married to Annelies, an ER doctor who works at University Medical Center in New Orleans. With the Crescent City being one of the epicenters of the COVID 19 pandemic in the United States, Annelies and other hospital staffers have been toiling nonstop to help the sick, all the while putt...

As the coronavirus pandemic continues to hold the world captive, we check in with Dale Donchey, award-winning barista and owner of Spiller Parker Coffee ATL . Dale and Spiller Park Coffee first began as a market stall, and has since grown to encompass two popular locations in Atlanta. Since COVID 19 hit, Dale’s had to temporarily shutter his cafes, and has been sustaining himself and his employees...

We catch up with our longtime friend Cathy Erway, journalist, author and host of the Heritage Radio Network show Eat Your Words . The coronavirus pandemic has meant all of us quarantining at home for safety’s sake, and the result is not being able to frequent our favorite restaurants, delicatessens, food carts and diners. Cathy has deep experience when it comes to being a resourceful, budget-consc...

Before the coronavirus pandemic completely halted the world, Chris Shepherd was one of the country’s most acclaimed chefs with his Underbelly Hospitality family of restaurants being must-visits destinations in Houston. Now, Chris finds himself in the role of relief aid fundraiser, stepping up to take care of his own. His charity the Southern Smoke Foundation has raised and dispensed hundreds of th...

In this special episode of Snacky Tunes , Keith Cohen, baker and owner of New York City’s legendary 104-year-old Orwashers Bakery brand, gives us the rundown of what it’s been like running a restaurant during the global coronavirus pandemic. In addition to keeping his teams employed, and providing food for curbside pickup during this crisis, Keith supports the Food Education Fund . All NYC public...

In this special episode, we sit down with Kat Johnson, Heritage Radio Network’s Communications Director, to talk about the current state of HRN, the decision to close the studio and how the community is adapting.  She shares some keen insights on both logistic and content shifts, along how the network is helping provide information and entertainment for listeners at home. Also, like many other foo...

In this special edition of Snacky Tunes, we chat with Helen Rosner, food correspondent for the New Yorker (who is also covering the developing Coronavirus story), and Royce Burke, chef / owner of Secret Lasagna.  In both deep-dive conversations, we discuss the current state of the restaurant industry, along with other food businesses, and how they are being effected by the current pandemic. We als...

Carrying the torch for the ultimate neighborhood restaurant, Minh Phan is the owner and chef of Porridge + Puffs in LA’s Historic Filipinotown. Nourishing everyone who comes through her doors, Minh talks about her journey, the beauty of a porridge canvas and celebrating the solo diner. We dig deep into the archives for a classic performance from Sudanese-American, multi-genre virtuoso, Sinkane . C...

Since making its debut in 2016 in Downtown Los Angeles, Sonoratown has been wowing everyone with its chargrilled carne asada tacos, perfectly sized chivichangas and what have become widely regarded as the best flour tortillas in the city. With a feature on Netflix’s Taco Chronicles , and a No. 5 ranking on the Los Angeles Times’ annual “101 Best Restaurants” list, Sonoratown now routinely has cust...

Kyle Glanville and Charles Babinski have spent most of their adult lives entrenched in the coffee business. They each even hold United States Barista Championship titles. The duo started G&B Coffee as a pop-up at Los Angeles’ super popular Sqirl back in 2012. They opened a permanent location of G&B at Grand Central Market the next year, and shortly after they launched the first of their no...

Keegan Fong started Woon as a family run pop-up in order to share his mother’s (Mama Fong) home-cooked Chinese comfort food. Over the years, the audience had grown so much for Woon’s menu of Shanghainese and Cantonese dishes that the Fong family opened a brick-and-mortar space in Los Angeles Historic Filipinotown. PowerSnap are a Brooklyn garage punk band by way of Tel Aviv. The trio stopped into...

Since opening in fall 2019, Found Oyster has quickly become a popular and welcomed addition to Los Angeles’ booming restaurant scene. At this narrow jewel box of a space in East Hollywood, co-owner and chef, Ari Kolender, and his partners Joe Laraja and Adam Weissblatt  spin great records, pour natural wines and put up an array of seafood specialties mostly inspired by the East Coast--including bi...

We first met Yia Vang back in 2018. At the time, the St. Paul, MN, chef was garnering wide attention and acclaim for Union Kitchen, a pop-up restaurant specializing in his native Hmong cuisine. Yia’s back to tell us all about his dream to build Vinai , a brick-and-mortar restaurant that will serve as the permanent home for his family-inspired Hmong cooking. We also dive deep into our archives to o...

Jenn Harris is one of the most prominent and respected voices in L.A.’s vibrant food scene. She’s a senior writer for the Los Angeles Times , and is also the Southland’s unofficial fried chicken queen. Jenn usually eats fried chicken every day, and she explores the dish’s power as a cultural unifier in the new online series, The Bucket List . We drop into our archives and revisit 2011. That March...

The name Zabar is legendary in New York City, evoking images of smoked fish, baked goods and gourmet groceries. Oliver and Sasha Zabar join us to talk about continuing and evolving their family’s legacy. The brothers own and operate Devon , a cocktail bar in the LES that features food and drink made with ingredients sourced from their family-run rooftop greenhouse on the Upper East Side. Feminist...

We open 2020 with an all Brooklyn show. Josh Emett is a Michelin-starred chef whose career has spanned London, New York City, Los Angeles and Melbourne. He’s also an author, and his latest work is The Recipe , a compendium of 300 classic recipes collected from such legendary chefs as Daniel Boulud, Dominique Ansel and Jean-Georges Vongerichten. Singer-songwriter Mia Gladstone joins us in the studi...

As 2019 draws to a close, we meet up with our good pal, Chef Royce Burke of Secret Lasagna fame, at one of Los Angeles’ most anticipated restaurants of the year, All Day Baby . We take a look back on the last 12 months and all the ups, the downs, the old, the new and the key players that made L.A.’s dining scene so exciting. In keeping with the themes of reflection and Los Angeles, we pull from ou...

We connect with Paulina Escanes, chef-owner of the critically acclaimed San Juan, Puerto Rico, restaurant Paulina Escanes Gourmandize . Paulina hails from Guadalajara, Mexico, where she was instilled with an early love of good eating having been raised in a family of gourmands. A longtime resident of Puerto Rico, she stepped into the restaurant business first as a baker before eventually opening h...

For decades, Lincoln Carson has been one of the most respected pastry chefs in the industry. During his illustrious career, Lincoln’s worked with such notable names as Eric Ripert, Daniel Boulud and Michael Mina. He’s now tackling both savory and sweet, and lining up a long queue of diners, at his critically acclaimed brasserie, Bon Temps , in Downtown Los Angeles’ Arts District. We then cruise up...

It’s a special episode of Snacky Tunes Live recorded at House of Vans Philadelphia. Joining us for a roundtable chat are local heroes Hop Along, Emily Kovach and Pete Angevine. Hop Along makes rock music, which includes the album, Bark Your Head Off, Dog . Emily’s the co-owner of and wine buyer for the popular bar and restaurant, The Lunar Inn , and Tinys Bottle Shop in Port Richmond. Pete’s the c...