Main Course


Nerding Out with ‘Food Lab’ Writer J. Kenji López-Alt

This week, Brendan talked with self-professed food nerd J. Kenji López-Alt about his new book, "The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science." It's a thousand-page book on every food in the world... and how most people are cooking them wrong. The chef and Serious Eats managing culinary director explains his method of bringing science to the kitchen and busting that myth about searing meat.


Phil Rosenthal Takes his Passion for Food to TV and Worldwide

Phil Rosenthal, creator of the megahit sitcom "Everybody Loves Raymond," famously fed his staff better than anyone in show business. These days, he invests in restaurants from chefs like Mario Batali... and starting this week he hosts his own food travel series on PBS: "I'll Have What Phil's Having. He talks to Rico about his foodie awakening and the worst lasagna in history.


Oocha: A New Front in the War Against Coffee

Despite Brendan's efforts against coffee, tea remains just a sad bag, bobbing on the surface of a tepid cup of neglect. But there's hope in the form of "oocha." Learn all about the cold drink, brewed from oolong tea, that'll make you forget about its bolder, trendy cousin matcha.


Perusing Menus… for 100 Years

USC Associate Professor Josh Kun recently curated an exhibition for The L.A. Public Library on the vast history of the city's menus called, "To Live and Dine in L.A." He gives Rico a peek at the some of the tens of thousands of menus they have in their collection, ranging from the subtle to the absurd.