723: “Restaurant Lists Piss Me Off,” and the Future of Food Television with Ben Liebmann

Elyssa Heller is the chef and owner of New York’s remarkable sandwich shop and slushie seller Edith’s, with locations in Williamsburg and the West Village. I love these restaurants for their singular point of view. They’re part modern Jewish deli, part downtown all-day café, and fully Elyssa. I really enjoyed catching up about her journey to opening Edith’s, her time working in professional candy sales, and how she thinks about tapping into her Jewish identity with foods honoring the past. Also on the show we have a great conversation with Gráinne O'Hare, author of a terrific novel, Thirst Trap. We talk about the food scene in Belfast, and what it takes to write a great food scene in fiction. Subscribe to This Is TASTE: ⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠, ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Alex Raij is the chef and co-owner of New York’s Txikito, Saint Julivert Fisherie, and La Vara, restaurants singular in their approach and wide reaching in their fandom. On this episode Alex takes the Resy Questionnaire, and we learn about her journey as a chef, what inspires her Spanish-inflected cooking, and her big hopes and dreams for the industry she cares so deeply about.  The views expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers – not of Resy—and do not constitute professional advice. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fidel Caballero is the chef-owner of Corima in New York City, a progressive Mexican restaurant located in Chinatown with one Michelin star. Fidel is also behind the hit burrito shop and bakery Vato, which has become the talk of brownstone Brooklyn and well beyond. In this episode, Fidel shares his journey from Mexico and El Paso to China, the Basque region, and finally New York City. Fidel is a rising star, 20 years in the making, and it was great to hear his story.  And before that Matt recaps recent visits to Santi, Cove, and Samwoojong, all in New York City. Subscribe to This Is TASTE: ⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠, ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It was really great having Ben Liebmann in the studio. Ben is a television executive (we love his show Omnivore) and writer who spent seven years as chief operating officer at Noma, growing the business from a single restaurant to a diversified hospitality group. We really respect Ben’s take on restaurant trends, hospitality tensions, and the media landscape. We talk about it all, as well as going over a few predictions for the year ahead. Also on the show, we catch up with Troy Chatterton. Troy is opening a cookbook store in New York’s East Village. Wild Sorrel Cookbooks will focus on books for the home cook, and they have launched a Kickstarter that you should check out. Support Troy and the team! Listen: René Redzepi Subscribe to This Is TASTE: ⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠, ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Eric Kim is a writer and columnist at the New York Times, and he’s working on some exciting new projects. Eric is one of our favorite guests, and we cover many topics of the day in our conversation, including some of his latest writing, what he’s cooking, where he’s dining out, and his essay collection Spaghetti Junction, which will be released next year. We also discuss Food52, which recently announced its bankruptcy and quest for new ownership, and Eric's time working there. A terrific conversation. Subscribe to This Is TASTE: ⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠, ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Luca Servodio is a guy who knows his way around Los Angeles restaurants. In 2021, he reviewed 100 Los Angeles pizzas in 365 days through his LA Countdown Instagram account, and he followed up by taking on 100 taquerias in 2022, 100 epic LA sandwiches in 2023, 100 iconic LA noodle dishes in 2024, and 100 burgers in 2025. Today the LA Countdown is a community that is home to The LA Food Podcast and other projects. In this episode, we talk with Luca about his 2026 plans to tackle LA as well as some of his favorite restaurants, chefs, and underrated spots. We also discuss Noma’s forthcoming pop-up in the city and how he approaches building a growing media company. Also on the show Aliza catches up with Adele Blanton and Elliott Rosenberg. They are the cofounders of Waiting, a new print magazine about artists working in NYC’s food and beverage industry. They’ve released three issues in their first year, a huge accomplishment, and today on the show, we chat about how the magazine started and how it’s growing. Subscribe to This Is TASTE: ⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠, ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jerrelle Guy is an award-winning author and celebrated food photographer. A graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design, she received her master’s in gastronomy from Boston University and was nominated for a James Beard Award for her debut cookbook, Black Girl Baking. She is back with a terrific new book, We Fancy, and we hear about her interpretation of fancy, as well as how she thinks about developing recipes for all styles of dining.   Subscribe to This Is TASTE: ⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠, ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Scott Conant is a James Beard Award–winning chef, TV personality, and pasta sauce savant. Matt still dreams about the Scarpetta spaghetti. It was a lot of fun having Scott in the studio to talk about his time coming up in New York City restaurants and why he decided to launch a food company, Martone Street, and compete for attention on the highly competitive tomato sauce shelf.  Subscribe to This Is TASTE: ⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠, ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Brooks Reitz writes the wonderful newsletter A Small & Simple Thing, which has become one of our favorite reads. He also runs restaurants in Charleston and New Orleans, including Leon’s Oyster Shop, Little Jack’s Tavern, Melfi’s, and the Bell. In this conversation we talk about Brook’s unique worldview, built around restaurant hospitality, tastemaking (the not annoying kind), and design. We talk about the recent British Invasion for restaurants in America, and his acquisition of the Houston’s / Hillstone training manual.  And before that we have a great conversation with Johno Morisano and chef Mashama Bailey, partners at The Grey, an acclaimed and progressive restaurant located in historic downtown Savannah, Georgia. In this interview we chat with the pair about how they think about the big picture (together) and bounce around menu ideas (sometimes, not together). It’s an enlightening and entertaining conversation about collaborating in a modern dining setting.  The views expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers – not of Resy—and do not constitute professional advice. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ella Quittner is a journalist, screenwriter, and humorist who writes about obsession, culture, and food. She’s the author of a terrific new cookbook, Obsessed with the Best: 100+ Methodically Perfected Recipes Based on 20+ Head-to-Head Tests. On this very fun episode we talk about those tests, and finding the absolute best recipes for biscuits, pancakes, cookies, yellow cake, roasted chicken, and so much more. We also talk about her writing, and unique journey to cookbook authordom.  Subscribe to This Is TASTE: ⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠, ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices