August 16, 2024

Is Bill Esparza revolutionizing food criticism? Plus, a Bourdain biopic, the rise of restaurant robots, and a beefy interview with First Light Farms' Jason Ross.

1 hour 38 minutes

Today on the LA Food Podcast, is Bill Esparza revolutionizing the restaurant review or is he merely feeding his ego? There’s an Anthony Bourdain biopic in the works, a New York Times article on whether the robots are ready to run restaurants, and a lightning round of bad idea / horrible idea featuring ice cream flavored water and and a Bon Appetit salad recipe that got way too personal.

Plus, my interview with Jason Ross, CEO of First Light Farms. First Light Farms is producing what they call the best-tasting beef in the world - it’s grass-fed and finished wagyu beef raised in New Zealand and served at Matu steak restaurant in Beverly Hills. We track the company’s journey pioneering a new way of doing things in the meat industry, and we discuss what we mean when we use terms like grass-fed and wagyu, what the heck the deal is with regenerative farming, and what plant-based activists misunderstand about creating a more sustainably food system.

Helpful links:

Our free newsletter LA FOODSTACK, where you'll find most of the articles we referenced today https://thelacountdown.substack.com/

THAT divorce salad https://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/divorce-salad

First Light Farms https://www.firstlight.farm/us/

The LA Food Podcast is produced with the help of:

Adam Skaggs

Tiffany Perez

Tim Bertolini

Get 10% off at House of Macadamias using code "LAFOOD" https://www.houseofmacadamias.com/pages/la-foods

Get 10% off on your first purchase of wagyu beef at First Light Farms using code "LAFOOD10" https://www.firstlight.farm/us/

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