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 putting themselves in danger of infection as well. On March 17, to help support these folks, along with the New Orleans’ out-of-work musicians and suffering restaurant, Devin, Annelies founded the non-profit, Feed the Front Line NOLA. Utilizing charitable donations and an all-volunteer staff, Feed the Front Line supports locally owned restaurants who cook up fresh meals for ER and ICU workers, and hires and trains musicians and artists as delivery drivers. 

To learn more and to donate, visit https://www.feedthefrontlinenola.org.

We also drop into our musical vault and pull out an in-studio performance from 2019 by Lafayette, LA, artist Roddie Romero, who would have been performing at the now cancelled historic NOLA Jazz Fest this weekend.

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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 through sales and donations via Spiller Park’s online shop. In addition to letting us know how he’s been doing during this incredibly difficult time, Dale also provides us with tips on how we can all make a good cup of joe while we’re all quarantined at home. We stay in the South musically by revisiting a performance from our archives by Grammy-nominated Louisiana cajun and creole musician, Roddie Romero.

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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-conscious home cook, which she has chronicled via her blog, Not Eating Out in New York, and book, The Art of Eating In: How I Learned to Stop Spending and Love the Stove. She provides us with insights into making the most of shopping for and preparing meals on our own. We then head back to 2010 to revisit an in-studio performance from hip-hop artist Pigeon John. His newest album, Gotta a Good Feelin’, is set to drop and is available for pre-order now.

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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 thousands of dollars of crisis financial assistance to unemployed workers in the food and beverage industry. 

You can learn more about Southern Smoke and donate by visiting https://southernsmoke.org. 

We also revisit an in-studio performance by Minneapolis trio Strange Names from 2015.

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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 school students get a $7 credit at Orwashers to use on anything they would like to eat.

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Snacky Tunes, Greg Bresnitz, Darin Bresnitz, finger on the pulse, food, music, talk, chef, radio, COVID-19, Orwashers, baker, bakery, Keith Cohen, Food Education Fund

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 food focused businesses, HRN needs support in many ways right now, including financial.  If you are able to donate, please head to https://heritageradionetwork.org/donate and give what you can.

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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 also chat about what people can help both short term and long term, how food journalism is shifting and what foods are easy to make in your own kitchen. For anyone who wants to support their local restaurants, please consider buying gift certificates or merch or donate to some of the following charities:

Restaurant Worker’s Community - https://www.restaurantworkerscf.org/

Dining Bonds Initiative - https://supportrestaurants.org/

One Fair Wage - https://ofwemergencyfund.org/

Stay safe, wash your hands and if you are interested in sharing your own story, please get in touch with us through our Instagram Show Page @snackytunes.

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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. Check out Sinkane’s latest album, Dépaysé.

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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 customers lined up down the block. Co-owners Jennifer Feltham & Teodoro Diaz-Rodriguez, Jr. sit down with us to explain what the Sonoratown journey and phenomenon have been all about. We drop into our musical archives, and reach back to 2013 for a live in-studio performance from dreamwave singer-songwriter, Anna Nordeen. Anna’s still making music these days, and performs as one half of the Brooklyn duo, Fever High.

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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 now seven Go Get Em Tiger cafes. This caffeinated pair show no signs of slowing down, and we caught up with them to see what they’ve got on the horizon. Los Angeles native Will Wiesenfeld entered everyone’s musical consciousness in 2010 under the moniker, Baths. The following year, he stopped into our Brooklyn studio to gnosh on pizza, and to also give us a listen to the electro pop sound that had garnered him wide attention. Check out Baths’ latest single, “Clarence Difference.”

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