The NotAFoodie Podcast

This week on the NotAFoodie show we talk about the World’s 50 Best Restaurant list, multiple tributes to Anthony Bourdain on his birthday, and the Summer Fancy Food Show

The World’s 50 Best Restaurants:

Bourdain Day:

Our first podcast post-AM Radio. We had a really incredible 6 months long run of 25 episodes. We never missed a week and booked a guest for almost every single one. I'm incredibly proud of the work that Tom and I did, and the content that we made. That being said, we are on hiatus from the radio for a bit because... well, we needed a break.

Instead of recording at the studio in Greenpoint this week, we went back to Tom's dining room table in Queens. But before we sat down for the podcast we had lunch at Asian Bowl, an unassuming Burmese restaurant that blew us away. We tried a few different dishes which we speak about on the podcast. This is a place you would drive past 99 times out of 100, but when you finally eat there you will be pissed at yourself for passing it up so many times.

After lunch, Tom took me to Max and Mina's, a homemade ice cream parlor in Kew Garden Hills. I cut my teeth at a different ice cream parlor. We discuss why they are both incredibly different and wonderful.

Last but not least we discuss the $1 Grilled Cheese Truck, and guess what? We're keeping the Cocktail Segment!

This week in Food News:

Tokyo Ale Works, a brewery in Tokyo, debuted its Kani Burger. Kani means crab in Japanese and the burger swaps out deep fried soft shell crab for buns, and crabmeat, lettuce, and tomatoes in between the 2 crab “buns”. This is essentially the KFC Double Down, on steroids and fancy. The burger looks so good that Bettina Makalintal from Munchies declared that “All burgers should have entire deep fried crab instead of buns” and I would have to agree. Tom thinks all burgers should have buns and a crab inside of it.

Kentucky Fried Chicken in Indonesia is beginning to sell Fried Chicken Skins for $1 a bag. They are capitalizing on unhealthy snack food, and this is for sure going to be a hit. Hopefully, they decide to bring it to the US. If they do, I’ll definitely have to try it. Source

“I’m not a businessman. I’m a business, man” Famed Brooklyn rapper Jay-Z has become Hip-Hop’s first Billionaire. The vast majority of his net worth has come from his investments in Ace of Spades Champagne and Dusse Cognac. He is also an investor in the 40/40 Club, The Brooklyn Nets, Tidal, and has many other business ventures. Source

Michelin made its triumphant return to Los Angeles and no one was happy with it. They didn’t award a single restaurant 3 stars, even though many believed that some of the restaurants in LA are the best in the world. Tom and I talk about Michelin Stars, the validity that they bring, and the issues we have with them.

The one example that I have used multiple times for Michelin in NYC is the Steakhouse example that I called “The Peter Luger Standard”. Steakhouses in NYC are all pretty similar, some are definitely better than others and some are not as traditional. That all being said, the only Steakhouse in the entire 5 Boroughs of NYC that has a Michelin Star is Peter Luger. By Michelin recognizing Luger as being worthy of a Star, why are the handful of other NYC Steakhouses that serve more varieties of steak and sides, as well as the Porterhouse, Cream Spinach, Mashed Potatoes staples not awarded with stars? Luger is not the best Steakhouse in NYC, it is incredible and I believe it is one of the most important restaurants in NYC, but not the only one that deserves a Michelin Star

My next point is the obvious Nepotism and borderline Xenophobia with 2 vastly different 2 Starred Restaurants. Gabriel Kreuther in Bryant Park has 2 Michelin Stars. They are a fancy French restaurant with an interior very similar to Le Bernardin. When I went there, they served me a cocktail with 2 types of ice, and fish that had been expired. Neither of these should be acceptable at a restaurant of any caliber much less one with 2 Michelin Stars. I’ve also eaten at Gaggan which has been voted the #1 restaurant in Asia for something like 5 years in a row. Where I had probably the worst seafood of my life at GK, I had the absolute best piece of seafood at Gaggan. A Tandoori Prawn that was perfect in every way.  Gaggan has only 2 Michelin Stars and is not only the best meal I’ve ever had but on a different planet than Gabriel Kreuther.

My final point is comparing 2 Mexican Restaurants in NYC. Oxomoco is across the street from our studio in Greenpoint and Cosme is in Flatiron. Oxomoco is a wonderful restaurant and deserving of their Michelin star, but Cosme was literally the best a la carte dinner I have ever had(Gaggan is a tasting menu) and they were not awarded one. They are also famously run by a female chef Daniela Soto-Innes. This one just confuses me, but then again there is no Michelin guide for Mexico

Let me know what you think about Michelin and your experiences in the comments below

This rant is a long time coming, and I’m actually surprised that Tom and I have never talked about it before. Next time you go out to dinner at an Italian Restaurant, do not ask for Parmesan Cheese. Parmesan Cheese is not Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese. Parmesan Cheese is not even cheese, there have been traces of wood pulp and cellulose found in it when tested.

Parmigiano- Reggiano Cheese is the “King of Cheeses” must be aged a minimum of 12 months. It can only be made in a handful of cities(The “Parma-Reggio” region), and only has 3 ingredients, milk, salt, and rennet.

Parmesan Cheese comes in a green cylinder and has no rules of its production. Parmesan Cheese tastest nothing like Parmigiano Reggiano.

Check out this segment to hear even more about the two, as well as Pecorino Romano and Grana Padano.

This week in Food News:

Eater’s Ryan Sutton reviewed some of the most anticipated restaurants in NYC’s newest “neighborhood” and outside of David Chang’s Kawi, hated them all. He summarized Estiatorio Milos, a high-end greek seafood restaurant, “That’s the thing about Milos. You can have a reasonably grand meal here. You can have a reasonably average meal here. And yet the one constant is that on every visit, you feel cheated.” So he awarded it and Wild Ink both 0/4 Stars. He did award Milos Wine Bar 2/4 and David Chang’s Kawi 3/4 Stars.

I wound up in the Hudson Yards Mall last weekend and went to say Hello to former radio show guest Alex Lazaridis at The Drug Store.  This place is just a giant Ode to Capitalism, and I kind of hate it just on principle. It makes sense that most of these places aren’t good, just pretty and expensive.

You can read everything Eater had written about Hudson Yards here

Former Bartender and currently the U.S. Representative for New York’s 14th congressional district Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is going back to her roots and bartending in Queens this weekend. She hopes that her “Margarita and Mocktail game” is still on-point. We here at NotAFoodie are big AOC fans and proud that she represents part of our home borough. We also love her even more now that she wants to you to throw out that old Rose’s Lime Juice only use fresh citrus juices in your cocktails.

One Whole Garlic

The New York Times tweeted out their garlic and white bean dip recipe that called for an entire head of garlic but not to be afraid. Food Twitter or Garlic Twitter more specifically was not having it. Almost 85,000 people responded telling the New York Times that there is no such thing as too much garlic, especially sweet roasted garlic.

Read more about it here and view the recipe here

What’s your favorite Budget Meal?

2 weeks ago I cooked up this little diddy. Jasmine Rice, and a Corn and Black Bean Succotash, topped with an Over Easy Egg. I sprinkled some Taijin and Sriracha on it, and it was incredible. Besides the fact that this dish was totally delicious, it probably cost one dollar to make.

Tom and I speak about pimping out your instant ramen and dressing up your dinner leftovers for breakfast. Give the segment a listen and let us know what your favorite baller on a budget” meals are either by Tweeting them or tagging us on Instagram

Co-Founder and President of Macchu Pisco, Lizzie Asher stopped by the studio to tell us all about Pisco. Lizzie is a good friend of mine and taught me about Pisco in a one on one class two years ago.

Pisco is technically a brandy but it is so much more than that. I believe it to be the purest expression of the grape. When you distill it, you cannot add anything to it, age it in barrels, or do anything else to impart flavor. All you can do is choose the single grape, or a blend, and allow the quality of the grapes to speak for themselves.

Lizzie explains the history of Pisco, various Pisco cocktails, and all the different varietals of grapes that can be used to make Pisco.

The most incredible thing about Macchu Pisco though is their commitment to the farmers that they work with. Macchu Pisco does not own their own farm or distillery so they work very closely with local farmers. They are working with female farmers and are bringing women grape pickers onto the field as well. They also pay their employees a living wage and have been working with farmers to change their agricultural practices. They ask that their farmers don’t spray their grapes with any pesticides but still pay them for what their yield will be

In Food News this week, the most famous person in the world, Kim Kardashian tweeted to Jack in The Box about something she saw at one of their locations. She didn't want to "fully put them on blast" so she told them to DM her. In response, multiple other fast food outlets used this opportunity to tweet their Jack in The Box takes at her. This included Wendy's, Burger King, and Hooters. Check out a roundup of the best tweets here 

The Victoria and Albert Museum in London took cultures from multiple celebrities to make cheese out of them. This included Chef Heston Blumenthal's crotch DNA to make actual "Fromunda Cheese." Currently, these cheese's are being tested to see if they are edible, but regardless they are on display at the V&A currently.

I told Tom that I think this is the first step into human cloning. When history looks back at where cloning started, they won't look at Dolly the Lamb, but rather at this exhibit which was meant to show bacteria in a different light.

Source

This July 4th, The third season of Stranger Things is going to be released on Netflix. It was an instant hit full of 80's Nostalgia, compelling storylines, and great acting.  Every season progresses in time and highlights what was going on in then-current events. Last season there were Reagan/Bush and Mondale/Ferraro signs in front of multiple houses. This season, everybody is drinking New Coke.

New Coke was created to be sweeter and smoother, but everybody hated it. The complaints about the new product were like nothing Coca-Cola had ever anticipated. They brought back "Classic" Coke and sold both products together for some time, eventually renaming "New Coke" to "Coke II" but took the product off the shelves silently in 2002.

Coke has teamed up with Stranger Things to bring back New Coke for online sales and in select vending machines and retail stores. This is one of many partnerships that Stranger Things and Netflix have set up for this summer, others include H&M and Baskin Robbins. The director's twin brothers Matt and Ross Duffer said no money exchanged hands with Coke, but they did get to direct the newest Coca Cola commercial

Source

"I truly believe that 95 Percent of People in the United States don't know how to grill" - Tom Miale

1. Turn on your grill and walk away, if your grill isn't hot things will stick to your grill

Mike's Bonus Tips:

You can only grill as good as your surroundings will allow you to. We all know about Mise En Place, but the Memorial Day Weekend Mis En Place is very different. While grilling you have only 2 options for audio. 1 is Jon Sterling and Suzyn Waldman giving you the Yankees Play by Play, 2 is WCBS.FM The NY Oldies Station. Hopefully, they will be playing "Brandy(You're A Fine Girl)" by The Looking Glass.

Tom's Famous Bourbon BBQ Sauce

You’ll Need:

Combine the first three ingredients into a saucepan over medium heat. Cook for 5 minutes or until the onions start to soften and turn a bit brown.

Add everything else into the pan. Turn up the heat until you see the sauce bubble (keep stirring so it doesn’t burn).

Once it starts to bubble, turn the heat down and simmer for 15-20 minutes more, making sure to stir often. I use a silicone spatula to make sure the bottom doesn’t burn. There are a lot of sugary elements in the sauce, so keeping it from burning by constantly stirring is extremely important.

Strain the sauce to remove the chunks.

Slather on everything

Eat.

Devin Healey of CougEats stopped by the studio to come and talk to us about his favorite spots in New Jersey. We speak about High-End Fine Dining, to Hyper-Local menus' where even the Fishing Boat Captain is a jersey guy. Devin tells us all about this "Peanut Potato Leek Soup". Most importantly though he teaches us about the History of Taylor Ham vs Pork Roll, listen to the segment and get his definitive answer

What We're Drinking Tonight

Devin: Old Fashion

I think this was the first time I've ever had a serious argument with Tom. YOU DON'T MUDDLE THE FRUIT IN AN OLD FASHION

Tom: D6

2 oz Bumbu Rum

1 oz Pineapple Juice

1 oz Pomegranate Juice

.5 oz Lime Juice

Combine all ingredients and shake, top with Ginger Ale

Mike: Pina Colada

1.5 CupFresh Pineapple

3 oz White Rum

2 oz Coco Lopez

Ice

Blend it all and Enjoy!

Have you ever wondered why store-bought tomatoes never taste as good as ones grown from the garden or at the farmer's market? Scientist's have discovered that 93 percent of modern, domesticated tomato varieties are actually missing the gene that gives tomatoes their flavor.

A study of genomic information of 725 wild and domestic tomatoes was compared to the domestic tomato Heinz 1706. A side by side comparison showed that the Heinz 1706 was missing close to 5,000 genomes that the others had. Besides making the tomato tastier, these genomes also allowed the tomatoes to defend themselves against pathogens better.

The tomato lost these genes via selective breeding from farmers, and not from genetic modifications. Luckily the gene is making a comeback, what used to be found only in 2 percent of tomatoes in now found in 7 and will hopefully rise to greater heights.

All I can think about is how much better my Pomodoro sauce is going to be in a couple of years when scientists and farmers figure this out. Also what other fruit and vegetables are nowhere close to their potential because of selective breeding? I'm sure 99 percent of apples don't taste as good as their supposed to, and there are probably some bananas with more banana-y flavors or a carrot that only tastes like a carrot.

Source

How do you make a small fortune in Napa? Start with a large fortune and buy a vineyard!

Napa has become so expensive that a winemaking husband and wife who wanted to start making wine in Napa, the place that they called home. Steve Lawrence and Diana Lucz have worked in the wine business for decades, were both making high salaries, had impressive resumes, but simply could not afford anything in Napa.

Most Napa Vineyards up for sale are being bought by large corporations or the top of the 1%. Even small vineyards can start at $7 million. Steve and Diana bought an entire Chateau in Bordeaux for under $500,000 instead

They now own a 7 acres Chateau with 5 acres of grapevines and are able to sell their own wine back home in California for an incredibly affordable price. Their bottles of Chateaux La Corne retail for $16.95

Source

Eater's Greg Morabito put together a list of "25 Blistering Food Takes to Set The Internet on Fire" most of these are very funny. Tom and I go through all 25 and do our best to agree, disagree, or give our take on it. My personal favorite was "Why I Only Tip The Chef Directly" I couldn't even give a response and began laughing hysterically. Check out the article here, and let us know your craziest takes the set the internet on fire

Fresh off the heels of his Second Place Victory for Best Cold Brew in the USA, my favorite Barista in the world Chris Saphire stopped by the studio to talk to us about all things coffee. Tune in to the segment and learn all about 3rd Wave Coffee, Flat Whites, Sourcing and Roasting Beans, and anything else you can possibly think of. Chris teaches us so much in a short period of time its really incredible and definitely a must listen.

What We're Drinking

Mike's Drink: Old Pal

Tom said I did this one already. I probably did. I really wanted one last weekend so I stopped by a random bar, saw that they didn't have Campari so I left. This drink is essentially a Dry Vermouth Boulevardier

1 oz Bourbon

1 oz Campari

1 oz Dry Vermouth

Stir over ice, strain and pour over rocks

Garnish with Orange Peel

Chris' Drink: Ginger Old Fashion

2 oz bourbon

1 oz Ginger Syrup(Just Ginger and Water)

Orange Peel

Muddle the Ginger and orange peel, add bourbon

Chris makes his own ginger syrup with no sugar and just drinks it with bourbon. Fresh and delicious

Tom's Drink: N/A

We ran out of time this week and Tom didn't get to give one

This was a big week in Food News. First off we had Queen Danaerys Targaryen celebrating the defeat of the army of the dead with a Pumpkin Spice Latte. In a scene where every major character is celebrating their victory and drinking yards of ale, a coffee cup is seen in front of The Mother of Dragons herself.  So even though you probably thought that the first Starbucks opened in Seattle, you were wrong. The first Starbucks opened in Winterfell.

Source

According to Chef Massimo Donato the customer is not always right. When a customer asked for “Parmesan” cheese on his Crab Ravioli in a Salmon Cream Sauce, he was refused. When he went to TripAdvisor to complain about it the chef responded and told him he should put the cheese on cow dung and that they will never allow cheese on seafood pasta. As someone who has worked extensively in Italian restaurants, the protocol is usually to advise the guest not to put cheese on it but if they want to, they are the ones paying for it. If someone wants their $120 Porterhouse Well Done, you give it to them, if they want grated cheese all over their $25 Pasta, you give it to them as well. It’s not so much that the customer is always right(because in both cases, they’re wrong) but that the customer is paying and if that’s what will make them happy, then so be it.  Just know if you do order something like this, the entire restaurant staff will be making fun of your awful palate behind your back.

Source

In this weeks edition of “First World Problems” Wine Professionals are complaining that they simply cannot live in a world without a white wine emoji. Taking such stances as “How can I Instagram my Domaine LeFlaive??? How will people ever know what I am drinking without the proper emoji” to “Lady Gaga has a song Grigio Girls, do you think she texts red wine bottles when she talks about it” One wine auctioneer has even called it “The Mueller Report of the Wine Business”.

Source

Finally, The Serious Eats Staff published an article of their most unpopular food opinions. Tom and I discussed which ones we agreed with and which we didn’t. Check out the segment for all of our answers, and the original article here

North Fork Event Company is hosting a Farms, Food, and Drink Festival in Calverton, NY on June 8th and 9th. The event will take place on 80 sprawling acres of tree-lined property that was once a golf course. The event, North Meets South, brings the communities of the North and South Forks of Long Island, NY together for a weekend promoting the farm-to-table movement. The festival will be curated with provisions from local farms, food from restaurants all over the East End, and drinks from your favorite breweries, vineyards, and cider houses. North Meets South will also feature several children, teen, and adult activities; such as bounce houses and slides, petting zoo, pony rides, live entertainment and more!

Monique and Vanessa, the founders of the festival, called into the show to tell us all about their event. Listen in to hear everything you want to know about it, how to get a free Lyft from the Riverhead LIRR Station to the Festival.

Buy Tickets here

We will see you all out there!

Clare Langan is a Culinary Producer, Food Stylist, and Chef.  She studied Fashion, worked in Private Equity, and then went to Culinary School. She became a Personal Chef and taught cooking classes all over the city.  She started doing food styling and helped produce the famous “Hands and Pans” style cooking videos that used to be all over Facebook.

A friend of Clare’s was a teacher at Sur La Table and got into a bike accident. He needed someone to take over his job while he was hurt and Clare took over for him. Over the course of 4 years, she went from Teacher to Head Chef of the NYC Sur La Table.  She began looking into opening her own Cooking School but was contacted by Chef Joel Gamoran about his TV show Scraps getting greenlit.

Scraps is a food and travel about Food Waste. Joel Gamoran and crew go all over the country teaming up with local chefs to cook dinner parties made out of repurposed foods. They make dishes like pasta sauce out of carrot tops.

Unfortunately, we just met Clare and she is already leaving us. Clare is moving from NYC to San Francisco because she ate a strawberry. While at a farmers market someone gave her a single strawberry and it’s the best one she has ever eaten. It was red all the way through and jam-packed full of flavor. She is also moving to a home with an Avocado Tree, Lemon Tree, and Artichoke Tree.

We wish Clare a safe move to the West Coast and that she has an incredible future with whatever she decides to do.

This week on What Are We Drinking is rife with controversy. I picked a drink that got slammed by the New York Times two days later, and Tom picked the drink that I literally picked last week

Clare’s Drink: Mezcal Paloma

The Paloma is classically made with Tequila and Grapefruit Soda like Squirt or Jarritos, a Mezcal Paloma switches out the Tequila for Mezcal, but I want to show you how to do a fancy cocktail bar one and not just a mixed drink

1/4 ounce simple syrup

1.Rim the glass with salt

2. In your shaker add all ingredients besides soda water

3. Shake, strain, pour over ice

4. Top with soda water, add grapefruit garnish

Mike’s Drink: Aperol Spritz

Tuesday night after work I was thirsty, and nothing sounded as good and thirst quenching as an Aperol Spritz. A Coworker and I find ourselves at The Smith and had a few, and they were everything I could have asked for. A good spritz is sweet and bitter but most importantly, thirst quenching. This low ABV cocktail is great to have on a hot day, a cold day, or an average weather day. The NY Times just published an article about how it is a bad drink because it is all marketing and usually made with cheap and sweet sparkling wine. If it is overly sweet it will not be good, but any place that is carrying Aperol and doesn’t have the Spritz on its cocktail menu will usually have a decent prosecco that they pour by the glass

2 oz Prosecco

1.25 oz Aperol

Splash of Soda Water

1. Fill your glass with ice

2. Add all ingredients

3.Garnish with Orange Slice

Tom’s Drink: The Ramos Gin Fizz

Tom just straight up stole my drink from last week. After we recorded he went to his favorite bar and ordered one. It blew his mind so he amazon primed Orange Blossom Water and is hellbent on mastering them at his home. So I apologize that we have the same cocktail two weeks in a row, blame Tom

2 oz Gin

.5  oz Lemon Juice

.5 oz Lime Juice

.5 oz  Simple Syrup

.5 oz heavy cream

3 dashes orange flower water

1  Egg White

Top  with club soda

To Prepare:

Put all ingredients besides the club soda into a shaking tin and shake vigorously without ice. This is called dry shaking and allows for the foam to form in the drink. Add ice and shake vigorously again. Honestly, you will be shaking for about 5 minutes. Pour into a Collins Glass with ice, add seltzer into the tins to pick up whatever is left and top your drink with it.

The Ramos Gin Fizz was created by Henry Ramos in New Orleans in the 1880s. People would come from all over to drink one so he employed an entire line of men to just shake these cocktails.

Guacamole Cheese will be available for purchase starting May 1st at all 161 locations of fresh market.  This gouda-style cheese is pale green,and combines avocado, lime,chili,tomato,onion,and garlic.  It can be cubed to eat alone,shredded on nachos, or melted into a queso dip.

To quote a great mathematician Dr.Ian Malcolm "Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether they could, they didn't stop to think if they should."  Simply put this just shouldn't  exist. Avocados and Cheese are both delicious things that do not need to be part of each others world. This is the new "dessert hummus"  a Frankenstein mashup of food that is made for clicks and insta-likes

In other avocado based news, a property developer in Vancouver is promising a year of Avocado Toast with everyone $300,000 condo sold. After purchasing the condo you get a gift card to an unnamed restaurant that would cover Avocado Toast or any other breakfast for a full year.

As NotAFoodie's residential millennial, I think this is a hilarious marketing attempt but it's getting people all over North America talking about  it.  The developers are also taking a 10% down payment  as opposed to one typically in the 15-25% range, which I think is much more enticing than slicing avocados on top of toast.

Lastly in Food News another old person is blaming Millennials for their failures. Jonathan Maze at Restaurant Business Online wrote this article saying that Millennials are to blame for casual restaurants chains profit drop. The fact of the matter is blaming everything on Millennials at this point is lazy.  Yes wages are on the rise and unemployment is low, but $15 minimum wage is still a low salary and rents are very high. If I just spent 40 hours working  for $600 before taxes, so a take home pay between $400-$500, why am I going to spend $30 of it at a crappy chain restaurant where everything is microwaved. Restaurants need to see that in addition to  being cost conscious  Millennials also want to know where their food is coming from,and be wowed by the flavor, not eat something  that just got popped into the microwave

Street Food is Netflix's newest debut in the world of Food Documentaries. In the same vein as Chef's Table. It highlights street food from around the world. Esquire magazine  gave it the highest praise saying it fills a"Bourdain-Sized hole in Food TV."  Tom and I are obviously both big street  food guys. The photo for this blog post  is of the Boat Noodle Soup I ate at a Night Market in Bangkok. I went with a friend of a friend who just ordered for me. I've said before how  the soups in Thailand are out of this world, with crazy depths of flavor. This  is one of the best things I've ever ate.

Somehow we went from Street Food to Guy's Grocery Games. I've watched a few hours of this show(compared to like a million hours of Chopped) and I am pretty sure with my combination of IQ,Fitness, and Cooking knowledge that I would absolutely clean up on this show.  I am very good with thinking on my feet, deceptively fast, and of course I can throw down in the kitchen. I went to their casting site but they only cast actual chefs unfortunately

Italian Cuisine is defined not by crazy techniques or and a million ingredients, but by its simplicity and letting the ingredient speak for themselves.  I don't think that there is a single dish that does this better than a Pomodoro  Sauce. "The Whole is Greater than the Sum of its Parts" is the best way to describe it. A 5 ingredient dish that will please everybody

Pomodoro for 4

16 oz of dried pasta(I like Rigatoni, Tom likes Spaghetti)

8 Plum Tomatoes

1/4 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1/2 Onion

4 Garlic Cloves

3 Basil Sprigs(plush more to garnish)

Prepping The Tomatoes

Take your 8 tomatoes and cut an X onto the bottom of them. Prepare a pot of boiling water as well as an ice bath. Drop the tomatoes into the boiling water for 30 seconds, and then place them in the ice bath. Remove and peel from  the bottom, scoop out seeds with a  spoon

Prepping the Pasta

Heavily salt your boiling water(3 tbsp), do not use any olive oil. Cook pasta al dente

Making the Pomodoro Sauce

Pour your olive oil into a large pan on medium heat.  Add diced onions and cook for 2 minutes stirring throughout, add crushed garlic cloves and continue to stir for 1 minute. Now add tomatoes, stirring occasionally and breaking them up with your spatula. Cook for 18 minutes, add chiffonade basil to your sauce  and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes.

Optional: Add 2 tbp of butter at the end for a richer sauce

Add the pasta to your sauce, use tongs to plate. Garnish with Pecorino  Romano and Fresh Basil

If you decide you want to make this, DM us photos @NotAFoodieShow on Instagram and Twitter

This week Tom and I pulled out all the stops for this segment.

On the podcast I said a Fizz is a Sour with seltzer but I was wrong

A Fizz is Liquor, Acid,Simple Syrup and Seltzer

A Sour is Liquor,Acid,Simple Syrup,  Egg White

This is a Ramos Gin  Fizz

Mike's Drink: The Ramos Gin Fizz

2 oz Gin

.5  oz Lemon Juice

.5 oz Lime Juice

.5 oz  Simple Syrup

.5 oz heavy cream

3 dashes orange flower water

1  Egg White

Top  with club soda

To Prepare:

Put all ingredients besides the club soda into a shaking tin and shake vigorously without ice. This is called dry shaking and allows for the foam to form in the drink. Add ice and shake vigorously again. Honestly you will be shaking for about 5 minutes. Pour into a Collins Glass with ice, add seltzer into the tins to pick up whatever is left and top your drink with it.

The Ramos Gin Fizz was created by Henry Ramos in New Orleans in the 1880s. People would come from all over to drink one so he employed an entire line of men to just shake these cocktails.

Tom's Drink: Vin de Pamplemousse

3 Ruby Red Grapefruits

3 White Grapefruits

4 Lemons

1 Vanilla Bean

3 Cups Granulated Sugar

5 Liters of Wine($10 NZ Sauvignon Blanc preferred)

1 Liter of Vodka

To Prepare:

Slice all your citrus very thin with the skin on. Sterilize a large bucket and add all the ingredients.  Cover with plastic wrap and put away in the dark for 40 days. Your first few days you need to go and stir it vigorously to make sure the sugar dissolves, then just  leave it and let all the flavors meld.  Pour it into sterilized wine bottles and cork them

If you want a bottle of Vin de Pamplemousse DM us on Instagram or Twitter

Tia Keenan like any great Queen has a multitude of titles including Published Author, Wall Street Journal Contributor, Fromager, Restauranteur, Consultant, Mother, and many more.

In 2001 after leaving her career in publishing, she began working as a server at Tribeca Grill. It was(and still is) an incredibly hot and successful restaurant owned by Robert DeNiro and NYC Hospitality Titan Drew Nieporent. All servers were expected to know the ins and outs of the cheese cart, but none of the staff knew it the way Tia did. Tia started working at Fleur de Sel at began ordering from Murray's Cheese. She took her knowledge with her to other restaurants in NYC until she became the Opening Chef Fromager at The Modern, Danny Meyer's Fine Dining restaurant inside the Museum of Modern Art.

Tia had dreams bigger than working for Danny and opened up her own cheese-centric restaurant Cassellula on 52nd between 9th and 10th. She eventually moved on to consulting and helping restauranteurs open up their own restaurants including Murray's Cheese with their Cheese Bar concept. After having a child she took a step back from restaurants and began her career as a writer. She wrote The Art of The Cheese Plate, Chevre(Short Stack), and Melt, Stretch, and Sizzle: The Art of Cooking Cheese

Tom and I both feel like we have strong knowledge of Charcuterie and Cheese. We've done a video in the past, and have talked about our love for all things cured and aged. That being said, when you have the chance to talk to someone who is an actual expert, you will always learn things if you ask the right questions, so we asked Tia if you're hosting a party for 10 regular people what will your cheese plate look like.

3 to 5 Kinds of cheese

If Cheese will be the appetizer 1 to 1.5 ounces per person

If Cheese will be the main course than 2 to 2.5 ounces per person

If your guests are more of a Gouda and Pepperjack crowd, you can do something nice and get an Artisinal Gouda, but you don't need to get an over the top cheese.

The goal of the cheese board is for it to be completely finished by the end of the night

Fresh Cheese: Like Mozzarella, Bocconcini or Buratta

Bloomy Rind Cheese: Something like Camembert, Brie, Brillat Savarin

Goat Milk, Cow Milk, Sheep Milk: Maybe something hard and sharp here

A Stinky Washed Rind Cheese: Limburger, Winnimere, Something over the top

A Blue Cheese: Mild to Extreme Blue

This is a good time to remember that some will be more popular than others so maybe you get 1 ounce of that washed rind cheese and 2 ounces of a nice Gouda

Accouterment:

This is where you can go wild with different flavors and textures really. Different flavored popcorn, pickled vegetables, jams, marshmallows. Everything is fair game for cheese pairings.

Putting together Cheese Plates are supposed to be fun and not feel like homework so at the end of the day don't stress out and trust your gut and your local cheesemonger :)

Tia just got back from a Cheese Tourism trip throughout the UK called "The Cheddar Odyssey" She tells us about her trip and explains what makes Cheddar, Cheddar.

Cheesemaking 101: You coagulate the milk with rennet and a starter culture. This separates the curds from the whey. The whey is essentially the water of the milk. You add the salt and press the curds into a mold and cook it. This is the 101 of how to make cheese

Cheddaring: To make Cheddar you press and layer the curds and you essentially make a slab of it. It looks like cheese-shale. You cut the shale into curds, heavy salt it, and then press those curds into a mold which is lined with a muslin cloth. You wash that cheese with lard and then let it age.

Tia also brought a Smoked Cheddar Cheese from Westcombe. It was smokey and rich and you could smell it from a mile away. I didn't think it could get any better but than Tia told us it wasn't available in the US, so obviously it became even more delicious

What Are We Drinking:

Tia Keenan: Dolin Blanc Vermouth with Soda and a Lemon Twist

Mike: Wolfer Rose Dry Cider

Tom: Gin Gimlet(2.5 oz of New Amsterdam Gin .5 Fresh Lime Juice)

This week in food news is very drug-centric. Milk Bar has renamed its Crack Pie and Carls Jr. is releasing a 4/20 CBD Burger. Massimo Battura is working hard and feeding the homeless.

After being slammed by critics for “Crack Pie” being offensive, Christina Tosi of Milk Bar has changed the foods name to Milk Bar Pie. Milk Bar is the second establishment this year to replace the phrase “crack” in their food, the first being HopCat, a large gastropub franchise in Michigan, they changed their “crack fries” to “galaxy fries”. The year is 2019, and even though the crack epidemic has softened up, there are still thousands of people addicted to crack, and it is not something to make light of. Source

Fast Food Chain Carl’s Jr is releasing a CBD infused burger for one day to test it out and see if there is a demand. Tom predicted that a fast food chain would put a CBD infused item on their menu back in January. Carl’s Jr is only releasing the burger for 1 day(4/20, obviously) at one location(Denver, obviously) to see if it is something that they should pursue for the rest of the country. Source

Massimo Battura was nominated as one of one Time Magazine’s 100 most influential people of 2019. He has started community kitchens all over the world that serve restaurant quality food and feed the homeless, refugees, and the food insecure. Feeding the food insecure is a big topic for this episode, as we interview Matt Jozwiak, the President of ReThink Food, an organization that dedicates themselves to feeding the food insecure. Source

This week Bon Appetit put together one of the most comprehensive pieces on Italian- American Cuisine. They titled their work Red Sauce America and put together over a dozen different articles addressing all sorts of Red Sauce culture from Six Degrees of Chicken Cutlets, to Everything You’ve Ever Wanted To Know about Rao’s, and even the History of Buca di Beppo

Tom and I talk about our favorite Red Sauce joints, the difference between Italian and Italian-American food, and what how both of our death row meals are Red Sauce dishes.

Tutto Bene translated to Everything Good, but more importantly, was the restaurant of my childhood. My father’s office was across the street from them and to this day is still probably where I’ve had the most meals of my life.  Chicken Parmigiana, Veal Scarparella, Veal Sorrentino, and of course the Baked Clams. Writing this has me salivating over the memories of dipping crunchy bread into the leftovers of the baked clam tray, the oil, lemon, butter, parsley, and breadcrumbs. This is a visceral experience that can only be replicated at Red Sauce joints

In Italian Cuisine Pasta is not a side dish. It is its own course to be respected and appreciated. I think that this is something that Italian-American cuisine gets wrong. I understand how inexpensive pasta is, but to offer it as a complimentary side dish cheapens it.  Pasta’s potential is limitless and can go toe to toe with any type of dish. To quote The Big Night “Sometimes the spaghetti likes to be alone”

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According to Feeding America, there are 42 million people facing hunger in the United States, with 1.4 million being in New York City alone. Astonishingly, research shows about 40% of the food produced in America today goes to waste; this is equivalent to 70 billion tons. Our goal is to make sure the wholesome excess food gets to hungry mouths.

Rethink Food NYC Inc is a non-profit organization working to recover nutritious excess food to provide low or no-cost meals to New York City families in need.

They transform unused food from grocery stores, restaurants, events, and corporate offices into ready-to-eat, nutritiously dense meals that are delivered to local human service organizations in New York City. With the initiative to run a community kitchen, their top chefs can both serve their community while developing entrepreneurial and leadership skills to help students establish an education that they will carry with them into future careers. Rethink Food NYC Inc goes beyond meals by using food as the tool to promote poverty solutions, participate in nutrition education, and convene food policy events.

After learning about the Rethink Food mission I reached out to its Founder and President Matt Jozwiak and asked if we could have him on for an interview. We lucked out and he came to visit us in Greenpoint to talk all about what Rethink Food is doing to help food insecurity in NYC.

Besides being one of the most impressive people I have met, Matt is also one of the most impressive chefs. He has trained at Noma, Alinea, and most recently Eleven Madison Park. He and his team tackled all the issues of restaurant food waste and food insecurity one by one to develop Rethink Food.

I asked Matt if he needs more volunteers, more restaurants to partner with, or anything else. He told me no, they just need more donations. So once again, support the end of food insecurity and donate to Rethink Food.

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