The Building Blocks of Lao Food: Mortar, Pestle, Jaew

This week on Good Food: Journalist Frank Shyong dines at sacred spaces that happen to have world-class eats. Connect with Good Food host Evan Kleiman on Substack.  

This week on Good Food:  Kelly Dobkin beats the heat with her rundown of LA’s best frozen yogurt stops. Julia Child Fellow Janek Schaller reports on agrivoltaics, which fuse old school farming with solar power to offset utility bills and protect crops. At the farmers market, look for figs from Murray Family Farms, which grows close to 40 varieties. Chef Luis Sierra of Picala grills them over a fire and serves them with lamb and mojo rojo sauce. Connect with Good Food host Evan Kleiman on Substack.  

This week on Good Food: Nokx Majozi heads home to South Africa to explore the many cultures and dishes that inform the cuisine. Between October 2025 and April 2026, the US took in 4,499 refugees. All but three were from South Africa. Boyce Upholt discovers thousands of Afrikaners in the Mississippi Delta living and working on agricultural visas. Connect with Good Food host Evan Kleiman on Substack.  

This week on Good Food:    Cathy Park of The Infatuation feasts on her favorite part of a Korean meal. Chef Chuy Cervantes from San Damian shops the farmer's market for lemon cucumbers.   Connect with Good Food host Evan Kleiman on Substack.  

In this bonus episode of Good Food, Marion Nestle and Helena Bottemiller Evich unpack the current state of public health amid the nation’s collective stomach bug  – cyclospora.   Connect with Good Food host Evan Kleiman on Substack.  

This week on Good Food: Emiko Davies builds the backbone of the Japanese pantry. Chef Tadashi Ono and food writer Harris Salat have spent nearly two decades exploring that soulful side of Japanese cuisine together, compiling simple seasonal recipes that generations of families have relied on. Connect with Good Food host Evan Kleiman on Substack.  

This week on Good Food: Chef Saeng Douangdara on the dips, ferments, and family history behind Lao cuisine. At the farmers market, RVR bartender Nina Wongsuwat shops for plums for a seasonal negroni. Connect with Good Food host Evan Kleiman on Substack.

This week on Good Food: Time traveling to 1980s New York, Dylan Gottlieb explores how Yuppies forged the food culture we now take for granted. Chef Eddie Huang discusses the pain of writing his first novel and the joy of seeing his beloved Knicks win it all. Connect with Good Food host Evan Kleiman on Substack.

This week on Good Food: Khushbu Shah wakes up our wanderlust with global breakfast across LA. At the farmers market, Wilde's chef Natasha Price shops for Jimmy Nardello peppers while Beylik Farms shows off a gorgeous array of peppers. Connect with Good Food host Evan Kleiman on Substack.

This week on Good Food: Chef Nephi Craig shares how cooking became a lifeline in his sobriety and the work he does in and out of the kitchen. Connect with Good Food host Evan Kleiman on Substack.