This Is TASTE

Matt Rodbard & Aliza Abarbanel

If you're a fan of smart and lively conversations about food, home cooking, and culture, this is the place. We interview the most interesting characters in the world of food, media, and cookbooks and release episodes several times a month. The program is hosted by TASTE editors Aliza Abarbanel and Matt Rodbard, and is sometimes recorded live at Rizzoli Bookstore in New York City. Visit TASTE online: tastecooking.com

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Today · 53 min
863: Little Fish’s Anna Sonenshein and Niki Vahle on Fundraising, Firing 50,000 Fish Sandwiches, and That $20,000 Fridge
Anna Sonenshein and Niki Vahle are the chefs and co-owners of Little Fish in Los Angeles’s emerging Melrose Hill neighborhood. The pair met while cooking at Son of a Gun, turned a COVID-era pop-up fish sandwich into an Instagram sensation, and spent four years raising money to open their amazing restaurant. Anna and Niki join the show to talk about the money topics nobody likes to talk about. That includes cold-DMing restaurant owners to see their books and a $20,000 dry-aging fridge that lets them buy whole yellowtail straight from fishermen. We also talk about Little Fish Cafe’s return to Echo Park. Check out our new podcast: Eye Level The views expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers – not Resy—and do not constitute professional business advice. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Monday · 54 min
862: Ryan Bartlow of Ernesto’s and Bartolo, Formerly of Alinea, Momofuku, Akelarre, Is Kind of a Living Legend
Ryan Bartlow spent his early twenties walking home from a three-Michelin-star kitchen in San Sebastián to living in a tiny apartment above a Basque tavern to working on the opening crew at Alinea—the kind of dedication to cooking that eventually becomes a book. Now chef-owner of Ernesto’s and Bartolo in New York, Bartlow joins Matt to talk about training at Akelarre, building a family restaurant group with his wife, and the stories behind his first cookbook, Essentially Basque. Ryan is a true living legend, and it was a blast having him in the studio. Check out our new podcast: Eye Level Listen: Founder in the Field with Fishwife’s Becca Millstein Listen: Whole Foods Buyers Never Sit Still. We Followed Them to Spain. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Saturday · 33 min
861: Brenda Storch Argues Chicago Might Be America’s Mexican Food Capital
Brenda Storch has spent nearly two decades writing about Mexican food as something bigger than what’s on the plate. The Chicago-based writer behind La Vitamina T is an Eater Chicago contributor and a voice in Netflix’s Taco Chronicles. She joins Matt to talk about her amazing city, the relationship you build with your taquero, and what is exciting her outside of Mexican cuisine. We get into chiles en nogada as five centuries of history on one plate and why Chicago—not LA, not Texas—might be America’s most underrated Mexican food city. Subscribe to our new podcast: Eye Level Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Friday · 57 min
860: Anoop Pillarisetti Built Momofuku Ko’s Reservation System and Shake Shack’s Kiosks. Then He Opened Strange Delight.
Anoop Pillarisetti has spent fifteen years helping diners book a table, place an order, and pay for it. He started by slicing cheese and building the website at Di Bruno Bros. in Philadelphia, then helped bring Momofuku Ko’s pioneering online reservation system to the public and led Shake Shack’s early kiosk push. Now he also is the co-owner of Strange Delight, a Fort Greene oyster bar where the main technology is a pizza oven. Anoop joins the show to talk about restaurant tech from the inside, and the exciting expansion in the world of Strange Delight. Subscribe to our new podcast: Eye Level ⁠⁠ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
October 28 · 46 min
859: Whole Foods Market CEO Jason Buechel Is Done With “Whole Paycheck”
Jason Buechel is CEO of Whole Foods Market, and since January 2025, he’s also overseen Amazon Worldwide Grocery Stores, which includes Amazon Fresh, Amazon Go, and the online grocery business. That’s a lot of shopping carts—and a lot of data on what goes in them. Today on the show, Matt speaks with Jason about a topic we are always interested in covering: how people actually shop for food today. We talk about shorter trips, delivery, and how shoppers have less patience for high prices, and what Whole Foods is doing about it. Subscribe to our new podcast: Eye Level Subscribe: ⁠⁠Apple, ⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠, ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
October 26 · 59 min
858: Los Angeles Times Restaurant Critic Bill Addison Has a New Favorite Restaurant
Bill Addison is back on the show. The Los Angeles Times restaurant critic and his colleague Jenn Harris just revealed the 2026 edition of the 101 Best Restaurants in Los Angeles and it’s really good. Matt and Bill dig into how two critics turn hundreds of meals into a ranking, the big themes of the year, the new number one, and what’s changed since Bill gave up his anonymity. Plus we talk about covering all of California and whether restaurant criticism still moves the needle in 2026. And it’s the return of Three Things, where Aliza and Matt discuss what’s interesting to them in the world of food including Aliza visits Paris with stops at Best Tofu, Montezuma Café, and Waly Fay. Matt talks about TASTE’s new podcast, Eye Level. The debut episode drops on Thursday! Also: Two great new coffees from Quills and Pascal, and The Perfect Pizza is Maurizio Leo’s great new book, and he will be live at Rizzoli Bookstore in New York on December 10. Read: The 101 Best Restaurants in Los Angeles Subscribe to our new podcast: Eye Level Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
October 23 · 1 hr 3 min
857: Cake Zine: Spoiled Rotten
Cake Zine ⁠is an independent literary food magazine cofounded by pastry chef Tanya Bush and TASTE contributing editor Aliza Abarbanel. The newest issue, Spoiled Rotten, explores spoilage and the spoiled, digging into what’s stale, overripe, curdled, wasted, and reborn in food culture. Today on the show, we’re switching things up, with Tanya interviewing Aliza about the editorial process that brought this weird and wonderful issue to life. Also on the show Aliza and Matt catch up about recent trips to London and Miami, with stops at Goodbye Horses, Impala, V&A Storehouse, Recoveco, Chug’s Diner, Madruga Bakery, and Books & Books. Subscribe to our new podcast: Eye Level Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
October 21 · 1 hr 2 min
856: What Does the Future Hold for California Wine?
Today on the show, Resy managing editor Jon Bonné and Matt have an incredible roundtable conversation with three California wineries that changed California wine forever: Duncan Arnot Meyers and Nathan Lee Roberts of Arnot-Roberts, Matt Licklider of Lioco Wine Co., and Steve and Jill Klein Matthiasson of Matthiasson Wines. Twenty years ago, they were the insurgents. Now they’re the establishment, as the industry encounters new drinkers and rapid change. In this episode, we talk about the big topics in California wine today. We figured it all out over the course of an hour! Just kidding, but this is a must-listen for anybody interested in the future of wine. The views expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers – not Resy—and do not constitute professional business advice. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
October 19 · 1 hr 5 min
855: Ayesha Nurdjaja on the Line: Burns, Swollen Knuckles, and Stolen Kunz Spoons
Ayesha Nurdjaja grew up in Gravesend, Brooklyn, with an Indonesian father, an Italian mother, and a grandmother who walked her to Sahadi’s on Atlantic Avenue. After years in Italian kitchens like Felidia, she talked her bosses into a Middle Eastern New Year’s Eve menu that became the wildly popular Shuka and later Shukette. We discuss her debut cookbook, Mediterranean All the Way, a legendary onion dip, and her collection of stolen spoons. Also on the show Matt has a great conversation with Zola Gregory. Zola is a TASTE columnist and worked on The Pasta Box, a just-released recipe deck from TASTE featuring 50 pasta recipes that transform any dry pasta into tomato-y, cheesy, and creamy dishes. The recipes are so good. Buy: The Pasta Box Subscribe to our new podcast: Eye Level Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
October 17 · 1 hr 13 min
854: Adam Weisblatt Wrote the Restaurant Industry’s Realest Owner’s Manual
Adam Weisblatt has opened seven restaurants with Last Word Hospitality, the LA group behind Hermon’s, Barra Santos, and Rasarumah. His terrific new book, ⁠For the Love of Restaurants⁠, colorfully traces the arc of building a restaurant—from location scouting, lease negotiations, financing, hiring, and opening night—through the story of the group’s first and smallest restaurant, Found Oyster. Adam joins the show to talk about why he wrote the industry playbook he wishes someone had handed him, and why sharing hard-earned knowledge is good for operators and restaurant fans alike. Also on the show, Matt talks about some recent restaurant visits in Los Angeles, including stops at ⁠Rustic Canyon⁠, ⁠Mírate⁠, ⁠Soban⁠, and ⁠Little Fish⁠. Subscribe to our new podcast: Eye Level ⁠⁠⁠ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
October 16 · 1 hr 6 min
853: Rachel Gurjar Thinks Mumbai and NYC Should Be Sister Cities
Rachel Gurjar is a Mumbai-born, Brooklyn-based chef and recipe developer whose recipes have appeared in Bon Appétit and the New York Times. Her new debut cookbook, ⁠East to East: Recipes and Stories From Mumbai to New York⁠, showcases her love for the two cities that shaped her through more than 100 innovative dishes that combine Indian staples with some New York flair. Today on the show, Rachel goes deep on her story, the importance of recipe testing, and how she brought this singular book to life. Also on the show Matt has a really great conversation with Kyle Beechey. Kyle is a writer, actor, and playwright, and is staging her first show - “⁠The Restaurant Diaries⁠” - in a downtown New York City restaurant. The show runs October 18 - November 9. ⁠Get your tickets⁠ while they are available. Subscribe: ⁠⁠⁠Apple⁠, ⁠⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠YouTube Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
October 16 · 1 hr 10 min
853: Rachel Gurjar Thinks Mumbai and NYC Should Be Sister Cities
Rachel Gurjar is a Mumbai-born, Brooklyn-based chef and recipe developer whose recipes have appeared in Bon Appétit and the New York Times. Her new debut cookbook, East to East: Recipes and Stories From Mumbai to New York, showcases her love for the two cities that shaped her through more than 100 innovative dishes that combine Indian staples with some New York flair. Today on the show, Rachel goes deep on her story, the importance of recipe testing, and how she brought this singular book to life. Also on the show Matt has a really great conversation with Kyle Beechey. Kyle is a writer, actor, and playwright, and is staging her first show - “The Restaurant Diaries” - in a downtown New York City restaurant. The show runs October 18 - November 9. Get your tickets while they are available. Subscribe: ⁠⁠Apple, ⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠, ⁠⁠YouTube Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
October 14 · 59 min
852: Washington Post Food Critic Elazar Sontag on His First Big Best Restaurants List
Elazar Sontag published a cookbook at 18, ran Bon Appétit’s Best New Restaurants list in his mid-twenties, and (last fall) succeeded Tom Sietsema as the Washington Post’s food critic—with no disguise required. He joins us to talk all about his inaugural ⁠best restaurants list⁠, which is firmly an Elazar list and likely causing some debate in and around DC. We also talk about bringing back star ratings, his many travels to Virginia and Maryland, and much more with one of my favorite voices in modern food writing. It was a real treat to have Elazar in the studio. Read: ⁠The 40 Best Restaurants In and Around Washington D.C.⁠ Subscribe: ⁠⁠⁠Apple⁠, ⁠⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
October 14 · 1 hr 3 min
852: Washington Post Food Critic Elazar Sontag on His First Big Best Restaurants List
Elazar Sontag published a cookbook at 18, ran Bon Appétit’s Best New Restaurants list in his mid-twenties, and (last fall) succeeded Tom Sietsema as the Washington Post’s food critic—with no disguise required. He joins us to talk all about his inaugural best restaurants list, which is firmly an Elazar list and likely causing some debate in and around DC. We also talk about bringing back star ratings, his many travels to Virginia and Maryland, and much more with one of my favorite voices in modern food writing. It was a real treat to have Elazar in the studio. Read: The 40 Best Restaurants In and Around Washington D.C. Subscribe: ⁠⁠Apple, ⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠, ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
October 12 · 1 hr 8 min
851: Eric Sze’s Cookbook Puts a Question Mark on Taiwanese Food on Purpose
Eric Sze first joined the show amid research for his debut cookbook, Taiwanese?. The book will be released later this month, and I speak with the Wenwen chef about his deep research around lu rou fan, what “authentically inauthentic” really means on the page versus the plate, and how his sparkling book brings fresh perspective to both Taiwanese food and culture. Also on the show, Matt shares some of his recent restaurant visits in northern California, including stops at Valley, El Molino Central, and Flour + Water Pizzeria. Subscribe: ⁠⁠Apple, ⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠, ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
October 12 · 1 hr 12 min
851: Eric Sze’s Cookbook Puts a Question Mark on Taiwanese Food on Purpose
Eric Sze first joined the show amid research for his debut cookbook, Taiwanese?. The book will be released later this month, and I speak with the Wenwen chef about his deep research around lu rou fan, what “authentically inauthentic” really means on the page versus the plate, and how his sparkling book brings fresh perspective to both Taiwanese food and culture. Also on the show, Matt shares some of his recent restaurant visits in northern California, including stops at Valley, El Molino Central, and Flour + Water Pizzeria. Subscribe: ⁠⁠Apple, ⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠, ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
October 9 · 42 min
850: Clarissa Wei Sells Excellent Soy Sauce and Demystifies Ancient Postpartum Cooking Practices
Clarissa Wei is a writer and cofounder of HEYDOH, a single-origin Taiwanese soy sauce brand. Her debut cookbook, Made in Taiwan, was a cultural exploration of the island she calls home. Now she’s following it up with Sitting the Month, a study of postpartum cooking and care informed by Chinese medicine and her own experiences with zuò yuè zi. Clarissa stopped by the studio to go deep on this fascinating ancient practice and its contemporary evolutions as well as to share updates from her life as a single-origin soy sauce founder. Subscribe: ⁠⁠Apple, ⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠, ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
October 9 · 46 min
850: Clarissa Wei Sells Excellent Soy Sauce and Demystifies Ancient Postpartum Cooking Practices
Clarissa Wei is a writer and cofounder of HEYDOH, a single-origin Taiwanese soy sauce brand. Her debut cookbook, Made in Taiwan, was a cultural exploration of the island she calls home. Now she’s following it up with Sitting the Month, a study of postpartum cooking and care informed by Chinese medicine and her own experiences with zuò yuè zi. Clarissa stopped by the studio to go deep on this fascinating ancient practice and its contemporary evolutions as well as to share updates from her life as a single-origin soy sauce founder. Subscribe: ⁠⁠Apple, ⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠, ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
October 7 · 36 min
849: Where New York Is Actually Eating This Fall with Resy’s Deanna Ting
Resy’s managing editor, Deanna Ting, is back to talk all about New York City restaurants. She and Matt work through the ⁠Resy Hit List⁠, with stops at a British Indian chophouse in Hudson Yards, the Houseman chef’s seafood follow-up in East Williamsburg, Dominican-Texas barbecue in Bushwick, and a fine-dining vet’s Greenpoint bistro, plus her own ⁠guide to 31 tasting and prix-fixe menus⁠ under $100. Some of the Resy and Tock restaurants mentioned on the episode: ⁠Cynthia⁠ ⁠Good Time Country Buffet⁠ ⁠C as in Charlie⁠ ⁠Kisa⁠ ⁠Arthur⁠ ⁠Atoboy⁠ ⁠Falansai⁠ ⁠6 Restaurant ⁠ ⁠Aquavit⁠ ⁠Dirt Candy⁠ ⁠Smithereens⁠ ⁠Zoli⁠ ⁠Houseman⁠ ⁠Lei⁠ ⁠Makina Cafe⁠ ⁠Ha's Snack Bar⁠ ⁠4 Charles Prime Rib⁠ ⁠Theodora⁠ ⁠Ambassadors Clubhouse⁠ ⁠Passerine⁠ ⁠Kidilum⁠ ⁠Elder⁠ ⁠Hommali⁠ ⁠Narkara⁠ ⁠Fish Cheeks⁠ ⁠Bangkok Supper Club⁠ ⁠Txikito⁠ ⁠Bar Bête⁠ ⁠Mắm⁠ ⁠Zimmi's⁠ ⁠Bar Chimera⁠ The views expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers – not Resy—and do not constitute professional business advice. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
October 7 · 37 min
849: Where New York Is Actually Eating This Fall with Resy’s Deanna Ting
Resy’s managing editor, Deanna Ting, is back to talk all about New York City restaurants. She and Matt work through the Resy Hit List, with stops at a British Indian chophouse in Hudson Yards, the Houseman chef’s seafood follow-up in East Williamsburg, Dominican-Texas barbecue in Bushwick, and a fine-dining vet’s Greenpoint bistro, plus her own guide to 31 tasting and prix-fixe menus under $100. Some of the Resy and Tock restaurants mentioned on the episode: Cynthia Good Time Country Buffet C as in Charlie Kisa Arthur Atoboy Falansai 6 Restaurant Aquavit Dirt Candy Smithereens Zoli Houseman Lei Makina Cafe Ha's Snack Bar 4 Charles Prime Rib Theodora Ambassadors Clubhouse Passerine Kidilum Elder Hommali Narkara Fish Cheeks Bangkok Supper Club Txikito Bar Bête Mắm Zimmi's Bar Chimera The views expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers – not Resy—and do not constitute professional business advice. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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