The Joe Feed Yourself Podcast

This week's episode was recorded at The Bagel Inn, the AirBnB above Steingold's. Joe and Aaron shared an Uncle Rube, Lox on an Everything Bagel, and perfectly cooked latkes to kick things off. This episode begins with a discussion of the history and current offerings of Steingold's. Aaron shares some of his formative meals and experiences between his upbringing in North Carolina, moving to Chicago and discovering the current state of the restaurant scene, and his prior venture with a sandwich pop-up. Aaron describes how he aimed to bring New York Deli to Chicago, and how the bagel scene in this city has changed since he first opened his doors. The duo discuss pastrami, lox, pickled herring, and a litany of other favorites you can order today at Steingold's. Aaron also gives a sneak preview of what's next for Steingold's, including a second location, dinner, Sephardic influenced cooking, and much more.

You can learn more about Steingold's and order online at https://www.steingoldsdeli.com/

You can follow Steingold's on Instagram @steingoldsofchicago

And remember to follow me @joefeedyourself 

The episode begins with some backstory as to how Rosetta transition from a lucrative career as a chemical engineer in Silicon Valley to the author of My Calabria. She discusses what her family's immigration to the US was like in 1974 and how they brought sourdough starters, seeds, gardening tools and more with them to start a new life while holding on to the food of the old world. Rosetta describes the key ingredients in Calabrese cooking - peppers and tomatoes - and how she's almost developed Oakland heirloom versions of her favorite Calabrese vegetables. She discusses her culinary tours of southern Italy as well as her cooking classes. Joe and Rosetta talk about Calabrese pasta - notoriously made with just flour and water - and how for years she had to fight back against students in her classes who wanted to know "Where's the egg?". Rosetta describes Il Cenone, the traditional Christmas Eve thirteen-course meal, and its differences from the Italian-American Feast of the Seven Fishes. The show ends with a discussion of what makes Calabrese food unique.

Rosetta Costantino is the author of My Calabria and Southern Italian Desserts. She teaches cooking classes out of her home in Oakland, CA and leads culinary tours to Calabria, Sicily and Puglia. You can learn more at her website: https://www.cookingwithrosetta.com/ and follow her on Instagram @rosettacostantino

Make sure to subscribe to Joe Feed Yourself on Spotify and Apple Podcasts and follow on Instagram @joefeedyourself

This week's episode airs on Black Friday, the day where we pretend Christmas trees haven't been up in department stores since September and start indulging in our favorite end of year treats. Given the short week due to Thanksgiving and poor planning, this episode is only 6 minutes long and is just Joe explaining the history of gingerbread with a lot of fun facts thrown in. Joe explains how Frederick III was likely the first person to fashion gingerbread cookies into the shape of a man (himself) and the history of the famous Pierniki Torunski. Joe describes the battle between Nuremberg and Torun, Poland for gingerbread supremacy, as well as the legally protected status of Nuremberg gingerbread by the EU today. The episode ends with a rapid fire pile of fun facts about gingerbread.

Have a safe and happy weekend everyone!

Sources:

Max Miller, Tasting History: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNIvtkADcCA

Gingerbread World: https://gingerbread-world.com/blogs/news/germany-travelogue-nuremberg-famous-for-lebkuchen

Martha Stewart, Gingerbread History: https://www.marthastewart.com/1523540/gingerbread-holiday-history

UK Gov Protected Geographical Indication: https://www.gov.uk/protected-food-drink-names/nurnberger-lebkuchen

Torun Gingerbread, Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toru%C5%84_gingerbread

Gingerbread, Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gingerbread

Lebkuchen, Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lebkuchen

Ianyan Mag, Gregory of Nicopolis: http://www.ianyanmag.com/how-an-armenian-monk-brought-gingerbread-to-the-west/

McKinsey, Virginia HQ2: https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/public-and-social-sector/our-insights/how-state-and-local-governments-win-at-attracting-companies

Nurnberger Lebkuchen, Pfeffer & Frost: https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/public-and-social-sector/our-insights/how-state-and-local-governments-win-at-attracting-companies

Nat Geo, Gingerbread History: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/article/gingerbread-historic-treat-of-spice-and-structure

Age of Revolution: https://allthingsliberty.com/2013/08/ages-of-revolution-how-old-1776

In this episode Jonathan Richardson, National Sales Manager at Columbia Cheese, describes how his company works by importing cheese from the best cheesemakers in Europe. They work in a variety of countries and sell all different types of cheese including their "thoroughbreds" and "unicorns". Jonathan shares his number one tip for getting more educated about cheese, which is to simply go up to the cheese counter and ask questions. He shares some of his experiences as a monger and on his trips to Europe with Columbia where they sample new cheeses and bring their mongers with them. The episode concludes with some ideas about cheese boards for your next holiday gathering.

Check out Columbia Cheese at makertomonger.com

Follow Columbia Cheese on Instagram @columbia_cheese

Follow Joe Feed Yourself on Instagram @joefeedyourself

The episode begins with Joel reflecting on common Puerto Rican foods he grew up eating. Joel shares plenty of favorites from his childhood including the many ways Puerto Ricans enjoy rice, beans and plantains. We discuss Joel's early working career including his time tenures with Party City and Miss Universe pageants. Eventually we move on to the first restaurant job Joel held, running food at an Asian Bistro. The duo chronicle the next several years before Joel moved to Denver, and then break down the changes in responsibilities he took on as a sous chef and kitchen leader across multiple restaurants. Finally the Joel shares some of his knowledge and passes on some wisdom for line cooks looking to become Sous Chefs and other sorts of kitchen leaders.

We begin with an introduction to Chris and his background, from his high school years working at a mom-and-pop restaurant through culinary school and into his professional career around the globe. He describes his time working for major meat packers in Chicago, and his eventual homecoming to Indianapolis where he founded Goose the Market. Goose the Market is an old-world style market where Chris has created a down-to-earth atmosphere for his customers to order their favorite cuts of meat, sandwiches and local Indiana produce. Chris describes what he wanted to accomplish with Smoking Goose and takes care to explain all of the process and patience he applies to his products. We learn about his thoughts on flavor profiles, how every sausage and salami differs in flavor and texture, his attention to detail in creating pleasant inconsistency and what he enjoys the most about this line of work.

This week's episode chronicles the career of Michael Mellien, a line cook at Gadabout with a decade of industry experience. Michael shares his earliest food memories including his mom's Christmas cookies, and then describes his first jobs working at a grocery store before becoming a sandwich maker at an Italian deli. We discuss Michael's tenure as a culinary student, and then dive into his years at Lou Malnati's working on a busy line at the popular deep dish pizza chain. Michael discusses his biggest lessons learned from his time on the line, and shares his thoughts on the public perception of line cooks at lower-end establishments. We then take a trip up to Minneapolis where his career really took off working at several restaurants including Grizzly's and White Horse Tavern. Finally we return to Chicago and discuss Michael's current interests and projects at Gadabout and what's next for him professionally.

This week's episode begins with an introduction to the Regional American Foods twitter account and its frequent posts of niche sandwiches, stews and other assorted foodstuffs from around the country. Daniel discusses how the account came to be from his love of late night Wikipedia scrolling. Joe and Daniel talk about the bizarre pizzas article that he published with Atlas Obscura and Daniel's possible plans to do more unique food writing in the future. Daniel shares his insights on how these food posts can elicit such strong responses from people, especially the infamous Indiana Pork Tenderloin Sandwich.

Check out Regional American Food on twitter @RegionalUSFood

Read Daniel's Article on Atlas Obscura 

We begin by introducing Chef Charlotte Langley and her background as a native Prince Edward Islander and career growth as a chef. Chef Char discusses how she came around on canning and her early adventures with an old canning machine. The two discuss Scout Canning and the products they offer; Chef Char offers insights into how she chose which fish to offer first and how the development went for her other products. She also drops some spoilers about a new line of Scout snack products coming out soon. Over the remainder of the show they address some of the missions of Scout, particularly it's focus on sustainability as an MSC Certified company. Chef Char shares how canning can be used to address issues in our aquaculture and fishing practices, and how tinned fish are a great tool in your arsenal as a cook, a student, a parent, or anyone looking for additional nutritious options in their diet.

This episode begins with a brief discussion of sweetened condensed milk and its role in Vietnamese coffee. Lan and Joe then speak about Robusta beans, the difference between Arabica and Robusta, and how to enjoy these beans. The two discuss a variety of brew methods and preferred drinking styles for Vietnamese coffee including using the phin filter. Lan breaks down her inspiration for Fat Miilk, her hopes for the brand, and what she enjoys about being a part of the Vietnamese coffee space. Lan also shares some exciting news about Fat Miilk, and if you're a resident of Chicago or love a good coffee shop, you won't want to miss this!

This episode begins with a background on Ben's journey into professional kitchens. Joe and Ben discuss the crème brulee dish Ben created at the Dancing Marlin. They then move on to Ben's time at Band of Bohemia, his first fine-dining experience in Chicago. From Band of Bohemia, Ben moved on to Boka during the pandemic, and realizing where he wanted to take his career, left to join the staff at Gadabout last fall. Ben shares his thoughts on working in fine-dining and what lessons he learned from his time there; the guys also discuss spring produce in the midwest like ramps and asparagus. They pivot to talking about the most recent trend in the restaurant industry of pickled and fermented everything. Ben ends talking about his favorite meal to make for his wife and where he hopes to take his career in the future.

Jamie Deren joins the show to discuss Dyngus Day. We learn the history of the holiday, tracing its roots back to Poland and early Christianity in the country. We discuss the significant this holiday has in the Buffalo area and what sorts of festivities are present. Jamie shares her personal connection to the holiday tracing its place in her life from when her grandfather built his own house and started his family to today's traditions of teaching young family members how to hand make peirogi. Jamie details the scenes in Buffalo as the revelry breaks out over the course of the day. We wrap up with some Buffalo food talk, including Jamie's favorite wings in the city.

Aubrey and Billy make their triumphant return to the Joe Feed Yourself studio and fellow member of The Chinatown Project, Kim Nguyen joins as well to provide a multi-cultural look at Lunar New Year. The show begins with Joe's personal history learning about the holiday "Chinese New Year" in elementary school, and from there the guests flesh out this holiday to be one of family gatherings, special foods, gifts and community togetherness. Kim describes how her family celebrates Tết, the Vietnamese version of the holiday. All three guests discuss how the core focus of the holiday is a time to bring family together and wish well upon each other. The guests discuss red envelopes (Joe says envelope 4 times in 5 seconds), and Billy and Kim share their favorite home cooked meals for Lunar New Year. The conversation shifts towards the similarities between Lunar New Year and Christmas - the themes of family, tradition, food, gift-giving - and then Joe attempts to say "Happy New Year" in Vietnamese, Cantonese and Mandarin.

In a truly raucous episode, Joe hosts Alex and Peter Tsipis to discuss what life is like road tripping around the country and how to keep full while doing it. We talk extensively about Waffle House and how it seems to be one of the most chaotic places with some halfway decent waffles. Alex and Peter pontificate about "Hamptonality" and how they've codified their free continental breakfasts. Peter calls Joe and Alex peasants for enjoying Starbucks before the two Tsipis boys share their love for a Carolina exclusive burger restaurant called Cook Out. We talk about regional foods including In-N-Out and Whataburger and how people always seem to have this knee jerk reaction when you tell them you like the most famous food attraction in their home city. Peter dives into his trip to Amarillo, TX that involved karaoke at a Pizza Hut and knocking on the wrong hotel door and Alex tells everyone how Shipley's makes the best donuts. Peter divulges the best kept secret from Cape Charles, VA and his love for Sting-Ray's catfish and cornbread, and the guys wrap up by talking about some of their favorite places to visit and road trip around.

Thanks for tuning in to season one of the Joe Feed Yourself Podcast - hope you enjoyed all of my conversations and guests and you'll come back for a whole new crop of shows as the Summer winds down! And if anything, I hope this episode has inspired you to get out there and go see the country this summer. Eat something good.

The show begins with a brief introduction to the Chinatown Project and how it was formed. We discuss 9-man volleyball and how that helped lead to the creation of the group. Aubrey and Billy talk about their personal relationship with the neighborhood and visiting frequently despite living outside of Boston.  The three of discuss how the neighborhood has changed within our own lifetimes, then move on to how Chinatowns have persisted better than other neighborhoods in this country. We talk about hole-in-the-wall stores including Billy's favorite Bubble Waffle Lady and Aubrey's hidden possibly nameless gift shop. Aubrey shares how she would come into Chinatown growing up to practice 9-man then go to Taiwan Cafe with her family. Billy names his favorite candies he'd get at Chinese grocery stores growing up. We talk about some regional delicacies including Billy's family's favorite "Steamed bread with sweetened condensed milk". We discuss the demographics of Chinatown, then talk about Dim Sum and the argument between China Pearl and Hei La Moon. Billy and Aubrey end the show discussing the future of Chinatown and how they expect it to evolve going forward.

This week Peter Grippo joins the show to talk about Brookyln Square, his pizzeria located in Jackson, NJ. Peter's pizzas have earned widespread acclaim as well as two major distinctions: a "Best Pizza in New Jersey" ranking from Pete Genovese, and an 8.9 from One Bite Pizza Reviews, the highest rating given to a square slice. Peter grew up in the Gravesend neighborhood of Brooklyn, the son of two Italian immigrant parents from a town called Caggiano in the Campagnia region. He worked at his uncle's pizzeria, Ciccio's on Avenue U, where he made his first pie when he was 15 or 16 years old. Today we discuss how he makes his pies, the process that goes into creating a new pie, the whopping 7 different sauces he keeps on hand for his different pies, and the buzz around some of the new slices he's introduced. Peter talks about how he wants people to feel when they come into Brooklyn Square and how he staffs his pizzerias with people who will make you feel at home. We lament the loss of the Brooklyn he grew up in while looking to New Jersey as a new hotbed of Italian bakeries, delis and pizzerias. Peter shares how he's influenced by his trips to Italy, and he ends with some very high praise for the guys in Brooklyn who are still slinging pizza.

This week Michael AbouJaoude joins the show to talk about his little nation in the Levant, Lebanon. Roughly the size of Connecticut with the population of about Indiana, Lebanon is an old nation with a deep history. A sort of cross-roads for Arab and European cultures, a blend of some 15+ religious groups, and the home to some heart-breaking images from its history, Lebanon has a rich culinary tradition that will be familiar to nearly anyone in the US these days. Michael and I discuss the welcoming nature of Lebanese people and their penchant for hospitality - always making sure there's snacks, sweets and coffee if someone is coming over. We talk about some of his favorite meals including kafta kabob and cousa, and then discuss "The Paris of the Middle East", the nickname for Lebanon. We break down the troubles that have plagued the country and Michael describes the cyclical nature of Lebanon as a place that will continue to enjoy immense popularity and wealth then decline rapidly for several years. At some point we take a hard left and talk about the Lebanese interest in eating raw meat, including liver, heart, and straight up ground lamb. Michael let's us know how to find good Lebanese food in the United States, and we end with a look to the future for Lebanon.

This week Duane Swift joins the show to share his home island of Trinidad. Part of the nation of Trinidad and Tobago, this Island has joined a lot of economic prosperity throughout the years, and its resident represent all walks of life. Indian, Caribbean, African, Middle Eastern, European, you  name it, Trinidad has got it. We begin with a brief history and background of the island - once known as Irie by the natives - and it's subsequent discovery by Christopher Columbus, the influx of African people through the slave trade, then a wave of Indian immigrants from a British-rule run indentured servant program, and a more recent wave of immigrants from Syria. I learn about doubles, the Trinidadian national dish, a street food of two pieces of bara served with chick peas. Duane teaches me what it means to go "liming" in Trinidad, and how these days one of the preferred drunk foods of the country is a gyro - but with some extra scotch bonnet peppers thrown in there for a Trinidadian twist. Duane waxes about Carnival, the bands you play in, the costumes you wear, and the unification the Island feels for this holiday. Finally we talk about everyone's favorite subject, alcohol!

This week Christian Skroce joins the show to break down Croatia, a place that even I couldn't pick out on a map until recently. We talk about Croatia, the regions of the country including Dalmatian (Where the dog breed is from!) and the history of the country including its modern definition since the separation of Yugoslavia. We make some casual comparisons between Croatia and New Jersey (where we both hail from) and move on to what Croatians love to eat. Christian describes every big gathering as being centered around a whole roasted lamb, and tells me one of his favorite things is Dalmatian soup his grandma makes. That's soup from Dalmatia, not soup made with Dalamatians. He also shares a soup from the region of Lika is one of his personal favorites. Christian describes how just about any Mediterranean restaurant will have some Croatiain items on the menu, specifically pointing out squid ink risotto as a common favorite for Croatians. We talk about Croatian pizza, a thinner, brick oven type of pizza typically made in coastal cities. Christian let's me know that Pizza Town is his favorite pizza in New Jersey, and I explain how to properly pronounce the word calamari. We talk a bit about the similarities between Italy and Croatia which should make more sense because there's maybe 50 miles of water between eastern Italy and western Croatia. Christian informs me of the GREAT World Cup jerseys of all time, the magical jerseys worn by the Croatian team (timestamp around 36:25). We talk about St. Joseph's Day and St. Joseph's zeppoles which Christian describes as basically shamelessly stolen from Italians by Croatians. We end with a bit of discourse around Croatian language and how certain words mean different things based on the context and finally wrap up hoping we can one day get to Europe after the pandemic ends.

This week Andres Pinedo joins the show to talk about the Mexican table, kitchen, and attitudes towards cooking. After he spills the beans on his success running beer and chocolate milk miles, we touch on the (un)importance of Cinco de Mayo to Mexicans  while noting its significance more as a day of pride for Mexicans living in the US. Andres shares his family's background, his mother hailing from Chiapas in the south and his father from Mexico City. We discuss mole preparations and his grandma's molcajete, a precious family possession he hopes to take ownership of one day. Andres almost went to the Culinary Institute of America, which he ended up passing on at the advice of a chef he met before he came to the states for college (he ended up at college with me instead!) This chef recommended he learn his family recipes inside and out, and he took this to heart and is now learning how to cook like his grandma. We talk about pozole and the way his grandma prepares it and serves. Andres remembers going to church with his grandma and enjoying strawberry tamales as a treat after mass ended. We dive into a special chicken stew made with the entire bird including an incredible ingredient, the huevera, which is the tract that grows eggs and prepares them for laying. Andres shares his thoughts on the Latin American attitudes towards using entire animals before we shift gears to break down Mexican food in the US. I ask him about his future hopeful restaurant and his desires for a Mexican staff with a seasonal menu inspired by his cooks. Andres admits that it is correct that every Mexican man will tell you his abuela makes the best, most authentic version of a dish. We end by talking about how his journey into becoming a runner affected his relationship with food and how it pulled him away from enjoying sobremesa with his family before learning that food nourishes more than your body. He ends with some wisdom and a challenge for anyone enjoying Cinco de Mayo this coming week.