Chef Michael Silverstein is most well-known for his appearance on MasterChef and his popular first cookbook New Keto Cooking.

Today, he joins us on the podcast for the second time to discuss his new cookbook which becomes available on January 4th called New Comfort Cooking.  

We also talk about his cooking podcast The Talk, the online cooking classes he teaches, and the free recipes he shares online.   

Our conversation then goes to the topics like what healthy food is, what comfort food is, what lab grown food will bring in the future, and why there is so much food shaming online.    

“What does healthy even mean anymore? Organic certainly doesn’t necessarily mean anything anymore.” - Michael Silverstein

Ray Benson is the frontman of the Western swing band Asleep at the Wheel, who have just released their new album Half a Hundred Years to celebrate 50 years of touring.  

Ray joins me to discuss how the pandemic affected recording, how they’ve come to collaborate with a number of well-known musicians like George Straight, Emmylou Harris, Willie Nelson, Bill Kirchen, Lyle Lovett, as well as what his favorite part of being a musician is.  

“If you’re a musician, your ears are much more important than your eyes.” - Ray Benson   

In this episode, I’m joined for the second time by popular author, YouTuber and atheist activist Aron Ra.   

We talk about what being an atheist really means, why atheism has been increasing in popularity and why Aron has dedicated his life to atheist activism.   

We also discuss in detail the issues there are with organized religions, how people are able to accept contradictions in their beliefs, and some hypocrisies of the church that Aron identified.   

Take your time and listen to this episode with an open mind and heart, because that’s what it’s all about here on The Lone Star Plate!   

“I wasn't conditioned to believe the book, that even when the book is wrong you believe it anyway. I never had that mindset.” - Aron Ra

Writer, director and producer Ben Epstein has released his debut film Buck Alamo. It’s already been a huge success, winning the Audience Award for Best Feature at the Austin Film Festival.  

Ben joins me to discuss the film, how it came into creation, and some of the unique techniques he uses as a director.  

“Being my own executive producer, I knew this was going to give me the freedom to ultimately stick to my vision as much as possible.” - Ben Epstein  

Texas Monthly puts out a list of best barbecue every year, and Goldee’s is #1 for 2021. I went to Goldee’s barbecue spot just south for Fort Worth TX to talk to Nupohn, one of their five owners/pitmasters.   

Nupohn shares an absolutely phenomenal story of how they started, how they approach barbecue, and how they became #1 bbq spot in Texas.   

These are new kids on the food scene who are just crushing it. We need people like this in the industry. It’s more than just barbecue, it has to do with how they run their business and the culture they built within their business.   

Goldee’s is a place worth supporting, and I’m definitely going back to wait in line for their amazing briskets! 

“To combine my Lao culture with my Texas culture through barbecue, for me is a beautiful thing.” - Nupohn Inthanousay 

I’m joined by Michelin-starred Chef Kentaro Tsunoda who treats me to Japanese and American Wagyu Beef at a great Japanese restaurant in Dallas called Manpuku.

Manpuku is off of Greenville in Dallas, Texas, and is by far one of my favorite Japanese restaurants in the city.  

I sat down with Michelin-starred Chef Kentaro Tsunoda who explained the concept behind the restaurant and the ins and outs of Wagyu beef.  

He’s Japanese and was worried about his English, so we brought a translator along, Naomi Hamaguchi, who did an incredible job.  

We talked about what makes Wagyu beef special, why you need a license to sell it and how Kentaro became qualified as a Michelin-starred chef while studying in France..  

“I like the concept where you can cook your own meat and enjoy conversation while you eat.” - Chef Kentaro  

Karen Obilom is an actress best known for her work on Games People Play, Doom Patrol, and Insecure.  

She’s also starring in the new remake of House Party, so if you don’t already recognize her name you will soon! Produced by Le Bron James, they’ve remade the 1990’s classic modernizing the themes of the original film.  

Karen joins me to chat about the history of House Party, the impact it had on us as kids, and how she got the part in this remake...

  “You still have the original, we just wanted to take it and put a little spin on it and entertain people.” - Karen Obilom  

Today, we have a very special episode as we showcase the first ever Lone Star Plate live event.  

At the Hyena’s Comedy Nightclub in Dallas, Texas, we held a Service Industry Trivia Night where we basically asked people on stage to answer trivia questions and take home prizes.  

Way more people came out than I initially thought, so we had a great crowd, and we recorded the whole thing.  

So sit back, grab a beer, and get ready for a crazy episode filled with food trivia...  

This is our second time with Kinky Friedman on the show, but it seems like Kinky has a never ending supply of funny stories to share.   

He shares with us a hilarious story of when he met Eric Clapton for the first time, of why Willie Nelson called him in the middle of the night, and why he ran for Texas Governor 15 years ago.   

We also talked about the newly released album ‘Live Down Under’, a recording from a tour Kinky did with Billy Joe Shaver 20 years ago in Australia.   

Kinky even surprised us by playing a song from his new album that he’s never played publicly before. It was so beautiful that it even made me cry for the first time on the show.   

Kinky’s stories got me both laughing and crying, and it truly was a privilege to have him back on the Lone Star Plate.   

“You can learn more by talking rather than listening.” - Kinky Friedman  

This is one of our special ‘on the ground’ episodes as I visit Uchi Dallas to talk to their new Chef de Cuisine Rhonda Mccullar.  

Uchi is one of my favorite sushi places, the food is delicious and the presentation is incredible.   

Chef Rhonda and I taste a few dishes and talk about the history of sushi.   

We also discuss what it’s like working as a sushi chef and what changes women are bringing to the restaurant industry and kitchen culture.   

“Chefs are artists and we look at that plate like looking at a canvas.” - Rhonda McCullar