Food, But We Digress...

We are always trying to get authentic food from authentic places, but sometimes we fall. Sometimes they try to fool you into believing it is authentic. Real Feijoada ? Genuine Croissant ? Authentic Pasta ? Very easy to get fooled.

Short pasta shapes include : Fusilli, Penne, Rigatoni, Bow ties and many others. Picking the right one for the sauce, pairing, is crucial to make the pasta dish great. Alex and Josh disagree, but...Do they really ?

Long pasta shapes include spaghetti, linguine, bucatini... They may look similar but they're really not. Alex and Josh discuss their favourite shapes and why. Disclaimer : VERY VERY GEEKY

Double Carbs is using two different carbs on the same plate. Rice and potatoes. Pasta and bread. I feel like it may be wrong but I am not sure. Sometimes it works. What do you think ?

Failure in the kitchen is painful, but it is inevitable and very useful to know which route not to take. While making croissant for Christmas breakfast, Josh experienced it the hard way. Alex and Josh try to draw conclusion from this.

Josh is having a croissant every morning. Hold on. He's having "sort of a croissant", but the english version. Alex is not offended. HE IS NOT ! Oh by the way, food purists are hypocrites.

A terrible story about a shit smell in a restaurant. Western France Andouille sausage is around the corner. Stinky foods can be delicious. How come can that be. Absolutely dreadful yet completely delightful. Also, Dog treats do stink, just saying. Enjoy or not. I don't judge.

Alex and Josh talk about regional Omelettes and they try to find which one is the best. They both have a personal favourite but of course, it is not the same. Great.

Eating with hands is gross. Or is it ? Alex and Josh have different opinions on this. Eating with  bare hands creates a different bond with food. It also is a convenient way for bacteria to get into you. But, what if you wash your hands ? Still gross ? What about the etiquette ? What about pizza ?

Alex and Josh discuss about Italian Tomatoes and how people perceive them : Is it a lure ? or is it true that they are the best in the universe ? Can't other countries make good tomatoes too ? Very controversial subject here.

Alex and Josh reflect on the Fried Rice series (YouTube). Loads of things were learnt, a few were not even told in the series.

Kitchen Uni-taskers are a controversial subject. Do we really need gadgets ? IS a rice cooker a gadget ? How often doo you have to use a uni tasker to accept it in your kitchen ?

In every passionate cook's journey, there's a tilting point where you actually start making the ingredients you need to cook recipes. That's an important one cause there's no going back. Could You Make EVERYTHING You Eat ? Each One Shall Teach One Yeah.

We all have a personal Food Nemesis : Oysters, Asparagus, Chicory, Guts, Brains, Balls, Black chocolate... We are all picky eaters to a certain degree. Where does it come from ? Why are we picky eaters in the first place. ?Alex and Josh share memories, stories and experiences and try to find out why.

Rice is so underrated. Rice memories. Rice recipes. It can take so many different forms. Medium grain, Long grain, Short grain, separate grains, sticky grains, jasmine rice, japonica rice, basmati rice. Alex and Joh genuinely love RICE, and yet they both had good and terrible experiences in the past with it.

Fried food becomes soggy when you dip it, unless off course you ....

Existential problems with Joshua and Alex. Pancakes.

Alex suffers from Chili Addiction. Josh has been there, and now he's offering precious guidance.

Is Wine undoubtedly superior to Beer ? Is Beer simply better than Wine ? Alex and Josh have each picked a side, but hold on, You might actually be VERY surprised on who picked which side...

Josh and Alex discuss all about Michelin starred restaurants. One of them likes them, the other dislikes them.

A saucy Sauce-off ! Sounds like "Saucisson" in French. Whatever.

Back in the game for Season 2 ! After a well deserved break, Alex and Josh are back in their kitchens, and they digress. 's all I got for this description.

Josh and Alex discuss the roots of the French Paradox : An observation that French people seem to be leaner, while having a diet relatively rich in saturated fats. YES, they eat fatty foods. NO, they're not THAT leaner. BUT YES, there's a secret. AND NO, it's not related to fats.

Josh recently had a terrible experience with a Zucchini, which shook (and shocked) Alex to the ground.

Back from holiday, Alex and Josh tell us what they had for breakfast and why it mattered.

Josh and Alex discuss about a subject of utmost importance in the kitchen : Stock ! Sorry I meant Broth. Hold on, I think I meant Consommé... See ? That's the problem. Stocks and Broths are at the very core of cooking as we know it. These liquid flavour extractions, for a lack of better term, are foundations to so many Techniques and Cuisines in the world, and yet they never get the attention they deserve ! Until now that is.

Chicken knife, Eel Knife, Soba noodle knife... Whatever action you want to perform in the kitchen, there is a very specific, and possibly very expensive, Japanese knife for that. That's how Japanese chefs think. Chinese chefs, on the other hand, have a much simpler yet fascinating approach to cooking knives...

Okay, We love pizza. Yes, We love ramen. And yes, We love bigger pizza and bigger ramen. But does it actually mean that bigger is better ? Is MUCH bigger MUCH better ? When is "too much" really too much ? What's hiding behind these over-the-top trends ? Let's discuss about that using two recent food examples : Canotto Pizza, which is an extreme Neapolitan Variation and Extra Large Ramen Bowls from Ramen Jiro. *Jumping the shark is an idiom used to describe a moment when something that was once widely popular, but has since grown less popular, makes a misguided attempt at generating publicity that instead only serves to highlight its irrelevance. I am not bragging with this reference. FYI : I didn't know about that expression, Josh did.

Joshua and I discussed a touchy subject. I think any cook, will it be home cook, or a cooking enthusiast, or even a chef for that matter, should have a solid understanding of Baking in general. Baking breads, proofing doughs, dealing with yeasts, dealing with ferments, kneading doughs etc... ( Cakes are important too, but in this episode we are mostly referring to Bready-Doughy-Proofy things. Also I don't eat cakes that much )

Alex is a big fan of Neapolitan pizza, aka pizza Napoletana, which is a style of pizza that originated in Naples, Italy. Joshua also like it but he may have some concerns about it... React to this episode on Twitter using @FBWDpodcast

A Sunday Roast is a British classic, a true National institution that in fact might be quite common in many countries around the world... Josh and Alex discuss their memories of the this might Sunday meal ! React to this episode on Twitter using @FBWDpodcast

Alex and Josh discuss their favorite beverages and why they picked these specific choices ... React on twitter using @FBWDpodcast

This happens when two food geeks discuss their Last Meal options. Yummy ? Yes. Surprising ? Definitely. Odd ? Perhaps... React to the podcast on twitter using : @FBWDpodcast

Episode #1. Broth, Noodles, Toppings, Style... We discussed about the specifics of Vietnamese Pho and Japanese Shio Ramen.

2 minute introduction to our podcast "Food, But We Digress...". This podcast about Food and Cooking, and it is hosted by two food geeks and cooking enthusiasts : Alex, the host of popular YouTube channel “Alex French Guy Cooking”, and Joshua, his video editor and fully fledged food geek. Ramen or Pho ? Coffee or Tea ? Neapolitan or NYC Pizza ? They don't always agree, which is good, but boy do they digress...