On this episode we are delighted to have all-around-knowledgeable-and-thoughtful-food-person, former SF Chronicle food critic, current columnist, and cookbook author Soleil Ho! They talk about the dish bahn khot, and eating it fresh off the griddle while their grandmother kept slinging it out, short order cook-style for many, many grandchildren, and why it’s so hard to find a good one outside of Vietnam.

We talk about Soleil’s journey from a baby gourmand to full-blown professional gourmand, a possible time-travel moment, and braising lamb on a campus full of vegans. 

Plus cookbooks that are more than instruction manuals, life after being a restaurant critic, and the pleasing excess of the Rancho Gordo Bean club.

Bonus: listen for three Vietnamese restaurant recommendations!

Bonus-bonus: listen until the end for our impromptu Robocop pod!! 🤖