This week on The LA Food Podcast, we dive into one of the wildest chef vs. critic stories in recent memory: Thomas Keller of The French Laundry allegedly asked SF Chronicle critic Mackenzie Chung Fegan to leave the restaurant. Was it a momentary lapse or a sign of a chef in crisis?

Then: Chef Ari Kolender of LA seafood hotspot Found Oyster and Eagle Rock’s Queen’s Raw Bar & Grill joins us to talk about his gorgeous new cookbook How to Cook the Finest Things in the Sea, the rebrand of Queen’s, and his journey from Kosher kid in South Carolina to one of LA’s most celebrated chefs.

We also get into:

🧾 Congress' push for a No Tax on Tips law and what it means for restaurants and diners

🍔 Questlove’s no-beef burger spot in Westlake Village

🥪 A Katz’s Deli dupe in Burbank

🍕 The unhinged, erm, rise and chaotic fall of Dough Drop Pizza, cyber-vigilanted by the one and only Turk’s Pizza Party in defense of LA’s pizza scene

Hit play for chef drama, seafood revelations, and the latest in LA food chaos.

Helpful Links:

Ari Kolender on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/arikolender/?hl=en

How To Cook The Finest Things In the Sea https://www.arikolender.com/cookbook

Found Oyster https://www.foundoyster.com/

Queen’s Raw Bar & Grill https://queensrawbar.com/

Mackenzie Chung Fegan on her dinner at The French Laundry https://www.sfchronicle.com/food/restaurants/article/thomas-keller-french-laundry-20290670.php

QuestLove’s new spot per Rebecca Roland https://la.eater.com/2025/5/19/24433364/mixtape-burger-restaurant-opening-neighborly-westlake-village-questlove

No tax on tip law https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/21/dining/no-tax-on-tips-bill.html

Katz’s Deli dupe per Matthew Kang https://la.eater.com/2025/5/19/24433481/katzs-deli-jewish-deli-burbank-sandwiches-opening-los-angeles

Dough Drop Pizza lol https://www.instagram.com/doughdroppizza/?hl=en

Taqueando with Bill Esparza Episode 3, featuring Si! Mon chef Jose Olmedo Carles Rojas 

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