Podcast appearances and mentions of bill addison

This week, we talk to two longtime restaurant critics from different parts of the country about what makes their work so interesting and what they're excited to eat. First, Bill Addison, restaurant critic for The Los Angeles Times, talks about his approach to critical writing, his favorite restaurant experiences, and the evolution of California cuisine. He just wrapped up one of the most ambitious projects of his career, the list of the One Hundred and One Best Restaurants in California for The Los Angeles Times. Then, we turn to the Midwest to join Wini Moranville, a restaurant critic based in Des Moines, Iowa. She tells us about her first job as a restaurant server and how that influenced her current work reviewing restaurants, and how restaurant criticism in smaller cities often have very different considerations. Wini is the author of the memoir "Love is My Favorite Flavor: A Midwestern Dining Critic Tells All," and you can check out her Substack, Dining Well in DSM.Broadcast dates for this episode:June 13, 2025 (originally aired)Your support is a special ingredient in helping to make The Splendid Table. Donate today

Designer-turned-food-writer Kristina Cho celebrates her Chinese heritage with delicious and approachable recipes. Bill Addison dives into pad see ew and other iconic Bangkok street food dishes at Holy Basil. Chef Govind Armstrong cracks into spiny lobster while celebrating a popular Santa Monica Pier restaurant's 25th anniversary. Dakota Kim embraces the modern boom in an ancient Korean drink — makgeolli. Monique King mourns the loss of Fox's, a family restaurant in Altadena, while trying to support her staff. Pastry chef Sasha Piligian uses olive oil and farmers market citrus in a cake destined for a charity bake sale.

Eat Thai street food and maple tofu sticks while sipping makgeolli. Designer-turned-food-writer Kristina Cho celebrates her Chinese heritage with delicious and approachable recipes Bill Addison dives into pad see ew and other iconic Bangkok street food dishes at Holy Basil Chef Govind Armstrong cracks into spiny lobster while celebrating a popular Santa Monica Pier restaurant's 25th anniversary Dakota Kim embraces the modern boom in an ancient Korean drink — makgeolli. Monique King mourns the loss of Fox's, a family restaurant in Altadena, while trying to support her staff Pastry chef Sasha Piligian uses olive oil and farmers market citrus in a cake destined for a charity bake sale Sign up for our newsletter to stay up to date with all things Good Food! 

We've all seen the effects of the recent wildfires in broad strokes. But what does life look like up close, through the eyes of a World Central Kitchen response director and one of Los Angeles's great chroniclers of the restaurant industry? Executive producer Jane Black interviewed Addison and Escobedo on January 22, 2025, two weeks after the historic blazes began ripping across Southern California.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Restaurant critic Bill Addison recruited Jenn Harris to help him divide and conquer as they determined LA's best restaurants. Culinary historian Jessica B. Harris lays out the symbolism and traditions of Kwanzaa. Adeena Sussman continues her mother's tradition of Shabbat and shares a recipe for her grandmother's potato kugel. Chef Brian Polcyn knows his way around a meat pie. Rose Levy Beranbaum preaches the glory of cake.

It's the most wonderful time of the year, dear listener, and I'm talking of course about the advent of The LA Times 101 Best Restaurants list.  Bill Addison and Jenn Harris dropped their picks at a highfalutin soiree earlier this week, and the reaction, as always, consists of everything from love to loathing. But what does it actually mean for Kato to earn the number 1 spot two years in a row, for restaurants like Bestia and Pijja Palace to fall off the list, and for new hot spots like Stella and Budonoki to be snubbed entirely? As you know, these kinds of questions eat Father Sal and I alive - so we decided to approach this year's list with a frankly deranged level of in-depth analysis. So buckle up, dear listener, because we've combed through every 101 list since 2013 to determine what exactly this year's list says about our city, its restaurants, and the people who write about them.  Helpful links: The LA Times 101 https://www.latimes.com/food/list/101-best-restaurants-los-angeles -- Go check out The Lonely Oyster in Echo Park! ⁠https://thelonelyoyster.com/⁠ --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/thelafoodpodcast/support

This episode of Snacky Tunes features host Darin Bresnitz wrapping up the year with a heartfelt thank-you to all the guests, engineers, and PR teams who made the show possible. He also shares exciting news about the return of new episodes and newsletter content in the new year. In this episode, he sits down with two key figures in the LA food scene, Bill Addison and Jenn Harris, for a deep dive into the annual L.A. Times 101 list. They discuss the evolution of the restaurant community over the past year, their collaborative process in crafting this year's list, and what attendees can look forward to at the upcoming event. Tickets are still available at latimes.com/events.To close out, Darin takes listeners back to the archives with a special segment featuring indie band Radical Dads. From their 2013 performance on Snacky Tunes, they reflect on their soda zine, pizza blog, and what drew them to the intersection of food and music.As the holidays approach, please consider supporting HRN. Your donations, whatever you can afford, are greatly appreciated.Snacky Tunes: Music is the Main Ingredient, Chefs and Their Music (Phaidon), is now on shelves at bookstores around the world. It features over eighty of the world's top chefs who share personal stories of how music has been an important, integral force in their lives. The chefs also give personal recipes and curated playlists too. It's an anthology of memories, meals and mixtapes. Pick up your copy by ordering directly from Phaidon, or by visiting your local independent bookstore. Visit our site, www.snackytunes.com for more info.Heritage Radio Network is a listener supported nonprofit podcast network. Support Snacky Tunes by becoming a member.Snacky Tunes is Powered by Simplecast.

Ben Blount and Bryan Kett created a chocolate bar to explain why our congressional districts have such weird shapes (hint: gerrymandering). Left, Right and Center host David Greene discusses how gerrymandering impacts our elections. Lola Milholland discusses how community living can help us develop life skills and flex our generosity muscle. LA Times restaurant critic Bill Addison finds a magical and civilized weeknight wine bar on Melrose. Chemist and baker Kat Cermelj conquers recipes without gluten, dairy, or eggs. Tommy Brockert started making pizza as a way to bring people together during the pandemic. Now, he has two LaSorted's locations.

Sylvio Martins gives us a glimpse into The Infatuation's blind taste test to determine the 10 best croissants in Los Angeles. Yotam Ottolenghi and Verena Lochmuller craft globally-inspired comfort food in a new cookbook. Seeking Turkish cuisine, LA Times restaurant critic Bill Addison finally finds it in a Santa Monica coffee shop. Chef Juan Ferriero creates inspired salads for his menu at Great White.  

Kristyn Leach and a network of farmers work to preserve cultural heritage through seed saving. LA Times restaurant critic Bill Addison visits Perilla in Echo Park for Korean banchan and dosirak. Photographer Lucy Schaeffer captures the nostalgia and personal memories behind school lunch. Peter Miller pens an ode to the midday meal. Politics professor Aaron Bobrow-Strain looks at the history of white bread in America and how it became so popular and industrialized. Wax Paper in LA pays homage to NPR personalities with their sandwiches, and co-owner Peter Lemos explains what goes into an “Ira Glass.”  

I have a passion for sustainable seafood, and it's been both an important subject here on the show and the subject of many of my written pieces throughout the years. When I first interviewed Sammy Monsour in 2020, I discovered that we shared this passion, and I've watched as he has really blossomed into a chef leader on this front. Therefore, when I first heard that he and Kassady Wiggins, his wife and beverage director partner, wanted to write a cookbook about Southern seafood, I encouraged them to go for it. What has resulted is Salt & Shore: Recipes from the Coastal South, filled with stories, sips, and plenty of recipes and photographs that will make you long for sea breezes if you're missing them. It's a vibe, something that Kassady and Sammy excel at in their restaurants, which include the now-closed Preux & Proper in LA -- that gained a Michelin Bib Gourmand in 2019 -- and Joyce Soul & Sea, also in LA where they teamed up with founders and operators, Prince and Athena Riley. Joyce was named a “Southern oasis in LA” by LA Times food critic Bill Addison, and the Carolina natives bring Southern flavors to both the food and beverage programs. They are living bi-coastal these days between LA and Charleston and dreaming of their next project. Me? After this conversation, I'm dreaming of hushpuppies, so I'm glad there are two recipes to choose from in their book.  Other episodes you might enjoy:  Sammy Monsour: Preux & Proper (Los Angeles, CA) Eric Montagne: Locals Seafood (Durham, NC)  

Mary Beth Sheridan details how drug cartels in Mexico have begun extorting tortilla vendors. Stef Ferrari raises a glass to stuzzichini, Italian bites served during aperitivo. LA Times restaurant critic Bill Addison reviews Baroo, which he recently named Restaurant of the Year. Julia Sarreal pores over yerba mate, an iconic South American beverage that has been revered and vilified. Catherine Roberts reports on pesticide residues lurking in 59 common fruits and vegetables.

This week, legendary LA food writer Bill Esparza made waves when he dropped a scathing review of Villa's Tacos on his Instagram stories. The review had been building for weeks, if not more than a year, and its Kendrick-style intensity left all of Los Angeles talking. Father Sal is with us today to dive deep into the situation, including what led to it, what the review got right and wrong, and how Victor Villa and others in the LA food community responded. We attempt to answer the essential questions - was Bill's criticism fair? Did he go too far, was he too mean? And what does it mean that Bill's opinions on these tacos, seems to be so far removed from that of other key voices in the food world including Bill Addison, LA Taco and even Michelin Bib Gourmand. One housekeeping note, Bill's review took place on Instagram stories and is no longer available. Fear not, we've got your back. We took screenshots and the entire review can be found at our substack, LA FOODSTACK, linked in the show notes. On a lighter note, we're also joined on the podcast today by Duncan Parsons and Joe Wedd, the duo behind Creamy Boys, a New Zealand-style real fruit ice cream concept down in Hermosa Beach. I had a blast talking to these two rambunctious fellas about how they turned their lifelong friendship and passion for their hometown delicacy into a business concept that is kind of taking Los Angeles by storm. If you haven't had New Zealand style ice cream yet, I'm not sure you can really say your summer has even begun. So give this a listen, and then go get your Hokey Pokey on. Helpful links: LA FOODSTACK, where you can find Bill Esparza's Villa's Tacos review in its entirety https://thelacountdown.substack.com/ Creamy Boys https://www.creamyboys.com/ -- Get 10% off at House of Macadamias with code "LAFOOD" https://www.houseofmacadamias.com/pages/la-foods -- Get 10% off on your first purchase of wagyu beef products at First Light Farms with code "LAFOOD10" https://www.firstlight.farm/us/ --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/thelafoodpodcast/support

It's Good Food's 2024 James Beard Award winners show! More than three decades after her father passed away, Hetty Liu McKinnon honors him with a tender cookbook about his legacy and her love of vegetables. Abi Balingit, a self-described "dork who baked," turned her passion into a cookbook of Filipino desserts. Becoming a chef wasn't in Jason Hammel's plan but he now operates Chicago's Lula Cafe, a leader in the hospitality industry. Sohla El-Waylly teaches us the "why" behind kitchen techniques. Bill Addison reviews Filipino favorite Kuya Lord, which started as a garage pop-up and now has a brick-and-mortar spot in Melrose Hill.

With only a week left until PieFest, baker Nicole Rucker shows us how to make a scrumptrilescent apple pie. From Baghdad and Buenos Aires to Montreal and Mexico City, Naama Shefi taps the Jewish diaspora to fill her holiday table. When Karla Vasquez couldn't find an English-language Salvadoran cookbook that she loved, she created her own. After writing a book on Northern Thai food, Austin Bush explores the spicy, colorful cuisine of Southern Thailand. When soulful Southern restaurant Joyce opened in DTLA, LA Times restaurant critic Bill Addison had to check it out. Michael McCarty reflects on 45 years of success at his eponymous Santa Monica restaurant.

Jordan and Max are joined by Beautiful Ben to discuss two recent meals. First up is the Virgil Village izakaya where the boys talk tons of grilled sauced meats, the real hospitality bubbles, and pounds of soft serve that has all made its way into Jordan's ro-ro. The second restaurant tale brings the boys to Calabasas for every food influencer's favorite sushi, where the setting and bites are reviewed, leading to a broader discussion on modern day food critics and their influence. Plus, an L.A. wings discussion, Jordan suprises the fellas with his dedication to the craft, the old man who hated O.J., the old woman who hated Stella, mixing wasabi and soy sauce, Bill Addison and Max are finally aligned, Jordan saw Springsteen, and a "Can Shapiro Actually Cook" sequel update.

Journalist, activist, and founder of the blog Gaza Mom, Laila El-Haddad discusses how she keeps the cuisine of Gaza alive as she tries to find solace during Ramadan. After struggling with drugs and addiction, Toriano Gordon hit reset and became a chef, opening two vegan barbecue and soul food trucks. LA Times restaurant critic Bill Addison knows where you should stop and eat on your way to Coachella. Pie judge and cooking instructor Clémence De Lutz tells us how to master berry pies for this year's Pie Contest. Finally, what do you do with the green almonds that are at farmers markets right now?

Author and illustrator Mark Kurlansky peels back the cultural, historical, and gastronomical layers of onions. Journalist Shane Mitchell won two James Beard Awards for shining a light on the exploitation in America's onion fields. Pastry chef Sherry Yard has tips on how to make award-winning hand pies. Dina Begum navigates the six seasons of Bangladesh, sharing traditional recipes and childhood memories. Bill Addison heads to an upscale Chinese restaurant where the roast duck comes with a fire show.

Yes, Bill Addison is back on the show. We've long been a fan of Bill's writing, going back to his well-considered restaurant criticism in Atlanta, Dallas, and San Francisco, for Eater as a roving national critic, and for the past four-plus years as the head restaurant critic at the Los Angeles Times. Bill is our favorite critic, writing about our favorite food city in the United States, and we catch up with him in Los Angeles about some of his recent reviews and tap into his thoughts on LA's modern Korean food scene. It's a grab bag of topics. Bill also gamely takes our TASTE check, which is one of our favorites four minutes in audio. Bill is always welcome back on the show, and this is one for the books.Also on the show, Matt shares details from his recent trip to Los Angeles, including some of the places he fined including: Sicilian corners and GOAT cheesecake at Quarter Sheets, celery salad at Stir Crazy, creative banchan and the new flow and Yangban, soba at Otafuku,

We're joined by Charbel Hayek, a Top Chef champion and World-All Stars contestant who's recently opened up one of Los Angeles' buzziest new restaurants. Charbel is the mastermind behind Ladyhawk, which opened last year inside of the La Peer Hotel in West Hollywood. Ladyhawk has been earning rave reviews for its forward-thinking Eastern Mediterranean menu, with LA Times critic Bill Addison calling it “Los Angeles' most compelling Lebanese restaurant.” Charbel joins us to talk about the journey that led him to Ladyhawk, from growing up in Beirut as the son of a chef, to becoming the youngest ever Top Chef winner in global franchise history. Of course, I couldn't let him leave without asking him all of the dirty deets on his Top Chef experience, especially with respect to last year's World All-Stars in London. He breaks down just how grueling the filming schedule is, what it was like to win the Gaggan Anand challenge that allowed him to showcase his love for his country, and how he conceptualized the iconic onion dish that he's become synonymous with in Top Chef-loving circles.  Also… There's a War on Pizza playing out in New York City, a fascinating inside look at Vespertine 2.0, and the return of Cafe Tropical in Silver Lake. Helpful links: Ladyhawk https://ladyhawkrestaurant.com/ Bill Addison on Ladyhawk https://www.latimes.com/food/story/2024-01-25/ladyhawk-west-hollywood-lebanese-bill-addison-review War on Pizza https://abc7ny.com/new-york-city-department-of-environmental-protection-pizzeria-emissions/13429285/ Vespertine 2.0 by Paul Feinstein https://www.finedininglovers.com/article/vespertine-jordan-kahn-interview Cafe Tropical returns https://www.latimes.com/food/story/2024-03-15/cafe-tropical-reopen-return-sober-silver-lake --- Brought to you by House of Macadamias. Shop The LA Food Podcast bundle https://www.houseofmacadamias.com/pages/la-foods --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/thelafoodpodcast/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/thelafoodpodcast/support

Dr. Lauren Crossland-Marr explains how the gene editing technology CRISPR is impacting our food chain. Scholar and editor Darra Goldstein detonates the flavor bombs of preserved condiments. Kevin Wilson, aka the CEO of Chai, describes how a simple cup of tea can bring solace amid our mad world. Food and ag journalist Tom Philpott debunks the pro-ethanol POV. LA Times restaurant critic Bill Addison visits Yess, a new Japanese restaurant in the Arts District. At the farmer's market, chef Deau Arpapornnopparat shops for Holy Basil, his Atwater Village Thai restaurant.

With restaurants dedicated to global rice dishes, JJ Johnson explores 28 varieties in his latest cookbook. Chef Eric Adjepong explores assimilation, culture and home in a new children's book. Reporter Helena Bottemiller Evich unravels issues with the global food chain in the case of cinnamon applesauce pouches tainted with lead. LA Times restaurant critic Bill Addison visits Victor Heights for Korean banchan and dosirak. Barbecue editor Daniel Vaughn weighs in on the state of Texas barbecue. Austrian chef Bernhard Mairinger visits the farmers market to shop for his new restaurant, Lustig.

For this year's season finale, Darin sits down with Bill Addison, the LA Times Restaurant Critic, for a look back on the year that was 2023.  They chat about the stories that the culinary scene shared, the evolution of new restaurants, and the 101 Best Restaurant List that just came out. Then we head into the archives for a performance from Nadia Sirota, a one-woman contemporary-classical commissioning machine. A big thank you to everyone who supported the show this year and we'll see you all in 2024! Snacky Tunes: Music is the Main Ingredient, Chefs and Their Music (Phaidon), is now on shelves at bookstores around the world. It features 77 of the world's top chefs who share personal stories of how music has been an important, integral force in their lives. The chefs also give personal recipes and curated playlists too. It's an anthology of memories, meals and mixtapes. Pick up your copy by ordering directly from Phaidon, or by visiting your local independent bookstore. Visit our site, www.snackytunes.com for more info.Heritage Radio Network is a listener supported nonprofit podcast network. Support Snacky Tunes by becoming a member!Snacky Tunes is Powered by Simplecast.

Rose Wilde encourages bakers to develop a relationship with heirloom grains and alternative flours. Abi Balingit, a self-described "dork who baked," turned her passion into a cookbook of Filipino desserts. Restaurant critic Bill Addison runs down his selections for the LA Times 101 Best Restaurants. Sohla El-Waylly teaches us the "why" behind kitchen techniques. Chef Roberto Alcocer shares how he celebrates Las Posadas, a ten-night event commemorating Joseph and Mary's journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem. Hungry for more? Check out Good Food's Best Of 2023. 

More LA Times Best 101 talk and will Max become Bill Addison, top Goldbelly holiday gifts, crab rangoons, 2023 food world trends that need death, a painful FMK for Max, another trip to Quarter Sheets, NYE plans and bubbles from Bubbles, top LA free agent chefs, the must orders at Gjelina & Dunsmoor, Miami restaurants, Jordan's top 5 LA ice creams, most memorable meals and bites from 2023, and a trip down memory lane to Jordan and Max in high school.

LA Times restaurant critic Bill Addison dropped his much-anticipated 101 Best Restaurants list on Tuesday and it's set the internet abuzz with thoughts and reactions aplenty. Congratulations to all of the restaurants who made the list, I hope you're all celebrating accordingly. I offer some high-level observations and perhaps a couple of nuggets of constructive criticism. Because that's just the helpful guy that I am.  We're also joined by Father Sal to talk about the trend of influencer-backed restaurants, and we also break down the latest season of The Great British Bake Off. The Bake Off conversation is jolly good fun - we talk about the new host, our fave contestants, and we get into a pretty heated debate about whether this is actually a show about food, or if it's really just vibes.  Helpful links: 101 list https://www.latimes.com/food/list/101-best-los-angeles-restaurants-ranked-2023 Hall of Fame https://www.latimes.com/food/list/los-angeles-hall-of-fame-restaurants-modern-classics LA Times on influencer-backed restaurants https://www.latimes.com/food/story/2023-11-24/influencer-backed-restaurants-los-angeles-worth-the-hype Great British Bake Off https://thegreatbritishbakeoff.co.uk/ Eater article defending Prue https://www.eater.com/23972427/leave-prue-leith-alone-great-british-bake-off --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/thelafoodpodcast/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/thelafoodpodcast/support

Melinda Burns reports on the water wars in Cuyama, where small farmers are boycotting carrot behemoths Grimmway Farms and Bolthouse Farms. At the farmers market, Karen Beverlin explains why carrots taste sweeter in cooler temps. Brothers Mario and Sal Marino look back on 40 years of Marino Ristorante, where John and Yoko brushed elbows with the likes of John Wayne. Ella Quittner settles the debate over the best way to cook pasta. LA Times restaurant critic Bill Addison heads to Artesia for Rajasthani food.

As he keeps racking up awards while shining a light on Native foodways, chef Sean Sherman hasn't forgotten his roots on the Pine Ridge reservation. Virginia Sole-Smith says the rise in Ozempic use as a weight loss tool exacerbates an anti-fat mentality. Africa meets America as Pierre Thiam brings the flavors of his native Senegal to more kitchens in his new home. Chefs Daniel Patterson and Keith Corbin have reimagined Locol so they can reopen it as a nonprofit in Watts. With a knack for offbeat abstractions on the plate, Bar Chelou isn't playing it safe, says LA Times critic Bill Addison. Nicole Rucker of Fat & Flour is using mutsu apples for goods other than pie.

Who owns Taco Tuesday? Gustavo Arellano weighs in on the legal skirmish around the phrase. Using slices, pieces, and crumbs, baker Rick Easton treats bread as an ingredient. Sisters Margaret and Irene Li crack the code for using wilted, nearly expired, and only-needed-a-tablespoon ingredients. Krista Burton makes a cross-country pilgrimage to visit the last lesbian bars in the US. LA Times restaurant critic Bill Addison sets his sights on a newish spot that brings Korean fine dining to Los Angeles. Meredith Pangrace delves into Midwest pies and their origins in a new cookbook.

Meliz Berg praises the overlapping cultures of the slow-cooked meats and herby salads of a Cypriot diet. Third-generation Alaskan Julia O'Malley reports on salmon fishermen trying to keep their head above water amid a lawsuit and starving orcas. Maunika Gowardhan reconfigures tandoori cooking for the home oven, replicating the flavors of the traditional clay pot. LA Times restaurant critic Bill Addison heads to Beverly Grove for a union between the Goat Mafia and Saucy Chick. Food historian Judith Tschann breaks down the often farcical etymology of food words. Finally, Chef Matthew Schaler at Birdie G's celebrates tomato season with a sandwich layering the nightshade in every component.

Happy Top Chef Finale Week to all those who celebrate. To preview the occasion, we're joined by Top Chef Executive Producer and Showrunner Doneen Arquines. We talk why this season of Top Chef World All-Stars has been so damn special and why you should drop everything to tune into the finale on Thursday night. We also dive into Doneen's incredible journey from being a Production Assistant in 2006 when the show started, to Executive Producing the show today. I ask her what her favorite challenges have been over the years, which city she most enjoyed filming in, and of course, what the show will look like without the great Padma Lakshmi, who announced last week she'll be moving on from the show starting next season.  Speaking of culinary legends, Father Sal joins me to discuss a weekend that saw Los Angeles dominate the medal count at the James Beard Awards. We give love to Anajak Thai, giggle at Eater's petty behavior towards Bill Addison, and reflect on what these awards mean for LA's continuing culinary ascendance. Helpful links: Full list of winners https://www.eater.com/23749724/james-beard-awards-2023-winners-restaurant-and-chef-awards Petty Eater article that minimizes Bill Addison's win https://la.eater.com/2023/6/6/23750210/los-angeles-restaurants-james-beard-awards-winners-ceremony-chefs Diep Tran's JB Award-winning essay https://www.foodandwine.com/the-day-my-cooking-ambitions-got-the-best-of-me-6950944 Fatima Ali's book, Savor https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/07/books/review/savor-fatima-ali.html The YouTube show that beat Top Chef https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9rX1LVnB3U NYT piece on James Beard "interrogations" https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/31/dining/james-beard-restaurants-investigation.html --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/thelafoodpodcast/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/thelafoodpodcast/support

Jean Trinh shares the story of her refugee family's connection to Chinese crullers. Cookbook author, teacher, and omnivore Andrea Nguyen offers vegetarian Vietnamese recipes for the home cook. Bill Addison finds comfort at Luyixian in Alhambra. Chef Evan Funke shops for Swiss chard to use at his eponymous new Beverly Hills restaurant.

On this week's episode of the podcast, we tackle your screenwriting questions from the February Webinar, "Becoming a Professional Writer: 4 Things You Must Know."Show NotesFree Monthly Webinar - https://michaeljamin.com/webinarMichael's Online Screenwriting Course - https://michaeljamin.com/courseFree Screenwriting Lesson - https://michaeljamin.com/freeJoin My Watchlist - https://michaeljamin.com/watchlistAutomated TranscriptsMichael Jamin:That's the thing some people think because there's so much bad stuff on the air. Well, I can be bad. I can be just as bad as them. There's so many reasons why a show might be terrible. Some, not all of them come down to the writing. Sometimes you'll have a star and the star. This is what the, this is what they wanna do. And writing be their writers be damned. Sometimes it's coming from the network or the studio. This is what they want. And so they're paying for it. Sometimes there's so many chefs in the pot, executive producers giving notes. You don't even know what you're doing anymore. I mean, to me, it's almost like the business is designed to make mediocre shows. And only occasionally something breaks through. And god bless when that happens. You're listening to Screenwriters. Need to Hear This with Michael Jamin. Hey everyone, it's Michael Jamin and welcome back to another episode of Screenwriters. Need to hear this. I'm here with Phil Hudson. He's back. Phil is back. I, Phil.Phil Hudson:Hi. Good to be back. And I got a new microphone for all of you concerned about my audio.Michael Jamin:That's a good looking microphone. I gotta say, Phil, if you looked better than mine, that's the one real podcasters use.Phil Hudson:It was very expensive.Michael Jamin:I feel like mine is like a tin can. Yeah. . Yeah. All right. It's fine though. So here we had a special episode. Yeah, I always say that, but I always mean it. Cuz we've been doing a lot of free webinars. Phil and I have been doing once a month. And, and so we get a lot of questions and so we couldn't answer all the questions. It's about an hour long. And we choose a topic we really dive in. The past ones have included, what are they included, how to write a good storyPhil Hudson:For things you need to know to become a professional screenwriter. There was a, yeah, one we got leaving me.Michael Jamin:We got Mon Mo. We got one once coming up as well. Kind of like how to get past in industry gatekeepers, how to get your material seen by Hollywood Insiders. All this kind of stuff. Each, each topic. One week, it's each month it's gonna be a different topic. And if you'd like, if you'd like to be invited you can go to my website, MichaelJamin.com and, and just sign up for there. We, you know, we do it once a month and it's free. Why not? And, but one thing I've noticed, Phil and I've noticed is that we do these things. We get a ton of signups and maybe only a quarter or so of the people actually show up, which is so interesting cuz it's free. It's not the money. It's, and, and I, and I know I'm preaching to the choir cuz anyone who's listening to this podcast is not someone, is the same kind of person who show up to a webinar. So I know I'm preaching to the choir, but I say this because there's so many people who definitely want to make screenwriting a reality. They wanna sell their screenplay, but they don't put the work in. Like, if they don't, like, if you're not gonna show up to a free webinar from a hosted by a guy who's telling you what you should do, then how are you going to make it? It's just not gonna happen. Phil. Like, what are you doing?Phil Hudson:I 100% agree. And it's also, it's interesting, right? But I think it highlights what I've been saying is there are a lot of people who are seamers. I think that's a term we talked about early on in the podcast. Mm-Hmm. people want to seem like they are a screenwriter. So they go to the coffee shop, they have their screenplay open, they talk about their screenplay. It's the same screenplay. They never finish it. They never move on. I can't go do that. I'm working on my screenplay and they don't show up. This is an opportunity to sit with a working showrunner telling you exactly what you need to do to break in the industry and how to write good stories, all of these things. And they're just nohow.Michael Jamin:But it's also, it's like, all right, so you wrote one screenplay, but that's not enough. Like, and, but for the people listening, if you are doing what I'm telling you to do or are suggesting, at least you're writing more, you're writing more, you're taking classes, you're writing, you're getting feedback, you're going to event like you're non, this is nonstop until you break in. And then once you break in, it's non-stop again. Because it just doesn't end. You don't, the doors, you know, I don't know. So anyway, I commend everyone who's listening to this. If you want to come to the webinar, you're more than welcome. Go to michael jamen.com and you'll see thePhil Hudson:Free webinar, MichaelJamin.com/webinarMichael Jamin:Webinar. And yeah, you'll get an invite and then it's free. And then we send you a replay within like 24 hours. It's also free then if you miss it after that, I think, we'll, it'll be available for a small purchase fees because there's, there's work involved in putting these things up. But yeah, go get it. It's free. It's free. Okay. Are we, are you ready, Phil? So we got a lot of questions. I couldn't answer all them cuz there's a time limit. So here are the ones that that I couldn't answer.Phil Hudson:Yeah. And, and this is for the February webinar because we've had, you've had a lot of great interviews coming up and we didn't wanna hold those back. And you got some good ones in the pipeline too. It was pretty exciting. Oh yeah. So February q and a, again, if you do get on that, we will answer your questions. Now, there are some questions that we've answered in previous q and a, so I'm gonna skip some of those. Some of them continue to come up, Michael. Yeah. And for your new audience members, I think we'll address those because they're important questions. And I think you're gonna prevent a lot of people from struggling and spending a lot of money in places they don't need to to be writers.Michael Jamin:Yeah.Phil Hudson:One other note that I thought was pretty cool feedback for everybody. We did have someone sign up for your course and it was because they've attended three of these webinars and I thought it was pretty cool. He said he'd spent $4,000 on direct mentorship and your free webinars were better than that. And that's why he signed up for your course.Michael Jamin:That's, that's the problem. Where's he getting the, where's the mentorship? Like who's thePhil Hudson:What? We don't know. Four grandMichael Jamin:4K guys. So yeah. Come to these webinars, you'll get, you'll save $4,000,Phil Hudson:$4,000 value guaranteed. All right. I can't guarantee anything for Michael Jamon, I promise. Anyway, Norwood, let's go to question oh one, Norwood Creach, ask copyright. What is the status of writing a screenplay if it has a copyright?Michael Jamin:I don't know, , but here's the thing. I don't give legal advice on my at all. I guess it protects you in some way, but I don't, I don't, I've only registered one script I ever wrote with the writer Guild of America. That was the first one I wrote. But after that, every script that I make is copywritten by the studio that I sell it to. So there, it's their, it's their legal headache if someone wants to steal it. So if you want to copyright, you can. And, but I, I've done talks about, I don't know, your biggest problem is someone should wanna steal you. Your biggest problem is if your, your work is so good. Someone wants to steal it. That's usually another problem you have. Right? Here's the problems. Your work is so terrible, no one wants to steal it, so. Right,Phil Hudson:Right. Cool. And then are you concerned, there are a couple follow up questions. Are you concerned with AI screenwriting?Michael Jamin:You know, not right now. I, I, I'm concerned. I have bigger pro, I have bigger concerns with ai and that is destroying the world. That's why they want to do this pause on it. Of all the writing that AI is gonna take away, I think, I think creative writing will be last on the list. They will take away technical writing. Mm-Hmm. instructions and stuff like that. And maybe some forms of copywriting.Phil Hudson:Marketing writing is going away. I mean, I, that's a search engine optimizer for most of my digital marketing career. That's a real concern for us. And Google is leaning towards allowing that type of copy.Michael Jamin:Oh, okay. ButPhil Hudson:In terms of, so it would be authoritative and you have to know how to communicate with the machine. But anyway, Uhhuh .Michael Jamin:But in terms of ai, you know, I'm not, I'm not worried yet. Maybe I'm being Pollyanna, is that what word? But I'm not worried yet. Cause it's not, it's certainly not there yet. Maybe in five or 10 years, but right now it's not there at all. And it's not even close to being there. So, yeah.Phil Hudson:Okay. Awesome. And then do you have any suggestions for writing narratives for young writers?Michael Jamin:Yeah, I mean, it's the same suggestions for everyone else. I, I, I have that free lesson at michaeljamin.com/free. It's a, it's the same lesson I would give an older writer. There's no difference. The, the, the advantage that older writers have is that I think when you're writing, you have any two things, and I've said this before, but you need to have something to say and you need to know how to say it. And I teach people how to say it. That story structure, how to unpack it and having something to say that comes with, unfortunately that comes with age and wisdom and that, you know, it's not, it's, it's unusual when someone young really has a, knows what they want to say. My daughter, who's only 20, she's got something to say and it shocks me. Cuz when I was her age, I didn't have anything to say. So, but but don't, you don't have to worry about that yet. Just continue writing.Phil Hudson:Awesome. Annie k ask, what's the best way to know if your script is ready to be passed on or get you a job? Is it competitions, is it a mentor? Any other suggestions?Michael Jamin:Well, we've talked about competitions. I'd say there's, and you may know more about this than I do. I'd say about three of them that are probably worthwhile. Right. Yeah. And Austin Nichols and, and Sundance Sun.Phil Hudson:Yeah. Sundance has different labs. They shifted things a little bit prior to the pandemic where they're doing not just strict screenwriting labs anymore, but they have lots of different things. In fact, I'm, I'm attached to a screenplay coming out of Ecuador now because they have a fund Okay. Working with several fellows and things. And that's you know, I'm not writing the screenplay or anything, they're just attaching me as a script consultant because I have background there and been in the laps. But those are the only real ones that do anything. I mean, there, there are some other ones, like Big Break I think is a really good one that's on my final draftMichael Jamin:And you get to meet. Oh, okay. I hadn't even heard of that. I hadn't evenPhil Hudson:Heard of that one. Yeah. So there are some, and we've talked about that in other podcast episodes as well with what the list is. But I can tell you, and we did talk about this a little bit on our webinar this month, the lot of that is a, is a way of funding the rest of the film festival. Mm-Hmm. , it's getting the judges to attend. I was working with a guy who ran some film festivals and he actually had me reading the scripts and giving my opinion and deciding who would get the best and Right. You know, I was a studentMichael Jamin:And that's the problem. I mean, and if you're gonna, people say, whoa, I placed in the, like, you gotta, you gotta win or come in second or something. I don't think placing and then they still think it's gonna change their life. It rarely does. You still have to continue the hustle, you know? I was gonna do anotherPhil Hudson:Hmm. Go ahead, go ahead.Michael Jamin:Well, I was gonna do another talk about this. Some woman made a post, she's like, yeah, I've one, I placed at all these contests and I still can't get an agent. I'm like, even if you did get an agent, it wouldn't change. Move the needle. You gotta do all this yourself. So mm-hmm. and I, and I'm gonna do a whole webinar on that. I did, and I actually did that. I did one where we talked about it to some degree, but I'm gonna lean into it a little bit more. It's like, nah, you got, you're not doing enough, you're not doing enough.Phil Hudson:This is anecdotal, but someone in the chat in your last webinar said that they had a friend who placed on the blacklist mm-hmm. , and they were promised all this industry connection. Nothing happened.Michael Jamin:They didn't even get a meeting or, or what?Phil Hudson:No, nothing came about. Nothing came of it.Michael Jamin:Yeah. So, so it's, it's not enough. Like Winnie, you know, these contents are relatively new. They weren't around when I broke in. But then again, the industry's changed so much and things are, you, can, there are things available now that would help you that weren't available then? Namely the internet, namely making your own stuff on your phone name. I mean, namely, like learning so much from people who are around industry. When I broke in 90, well, I moved outta, I got outta college in 92. There was no internet, there was no, how do I get a job? I had to drive out to Hollywood just to meet people to ask the questions. Now you can find out the answers on the internet, you know, so there's way more access now. So it's not, I wouldn't necessarily say it's harder now, it's just different. Yeah. And in some ways it's easier.Phil Hudson:Yeah. And you've, you give out tons of free resources and most of your audience knows this by now, but you've got the free lesson. You've got your social media, which is great @MichaelJamin, and yeah, there's lots of good stuff out there that you put out that just didn't exist before.Michael Jamin:Yeah.Phil Hudson:Alright. Daniel will ask, what's the ideal job to pay rent and have the time to pursue screenwriting?Michael Jamin:The ideal job would be assistant to an executive producer. Perfect job. Because you're basically sitting at their desk answering the phones that don't ring. That's what I did for a couple years. And so during that time, I wrote, and I would ask them questions, and that's the ideal job. The next best job would be a writer's assistant. So you're in the writer's and you're, I mean, in some degree, in some sense, that may even be a better job. You're in the writer's room and you're listening to these writers. You're learning how they break stories, but then you don't have the time to write or you write, you have to write it on the weekends or at night. So the, the both are great jobs,Phil Hudson:But you're learning so much through osmosis just being in that room, listening. Yeah, yeah. And seeing it happen.Michael Jamin:Yeah. So that would be a fantastic job.Phil Hudson:All right. Follow up. How can I stay home and write while not making my girlfriend think I'm a bum ass?Michael Jamin:Your girlfriend isn't into you anyway, so you don't have to worry about it. How can you stay home and write? You know, you're gonna have to, you're gonna have to make priorities. That's the, that's the thing. That's the, I I feel because you know, my my writing partner, I don't wanna talk about him. Well, it's not really, I don't wanna tell his story, but he, he was going through similar things. You know, he had a girlfriend and he had he had to write on the side. And it was, it was the struggle. How do you, how do you balance? Oh, you're just gonna have to make that happen. I didn't have a girlfriend at the time. I don't have to worry about it. Yep. Phil Hudson:For me, when I was dating, I had what I call the red carpet test. I, I was so fixed on knowing exactly what I wanted to do with my life, which is be a professional writer. Yeah. That when things started getting serious with a a girl, I would ask them, how comfortable would you feel on a red carpet? Correct, mm-hmm. and no girl passed that test. They were all, they, I'd feel really uncomfortable. And then I asked my wife and she said that, and she said, oh, I, I wouldn't have a problem with that. And she's so supportive of me, like, so absolutely supportive of everything I do, that she understands that that's what I want to do. And she, I, I also prioritize what she wants though. It's, it's a give and take and a balance. Yeah. And, but that's, you just gotta find the right relationship. I think that handles that.Michael Jamin:Yeah, you're right. And if you're in the wrong one and they don't like you, then resentment's gonna your're bo 10 years from now, you're gonna resent her if she's gonna resent you. So, yeah.Phil Hudson:That, that's hard, hard advice to hear. But it's important advice is oftentimes your relationships, family and romantic will be the thing that holds you back from achieving your goals.Michael Jamin:Yeah. You know, my wife, she ran a, a, well, you know this for the girls. She ran a, a, a girl's clothing company and I, for, for it's 15 years. And I handled all the marketing and I wrote all the commercials. And then, then when she stopped doing that, she threw herself into helping me doing what I'm doing now. And she was like, I was like, well, you know, thank you for your help. She said, well, you, you supported me just as much, so now I'm just doing it for you. So it, it's that kind of thing. You, if you're not in a supportive relationship, you've got a problem. Yeah.Phil Hudson:Breakup. That's the answer. Yeah. Michael's not telling goesMichael Jamin:Back to, I told you she wasn't into you. .Phil Hudson:Alright. Delara, Casey, what would you consider a giant following on social media isn't requiring somebody to have a car? Oh. And then there's a follow-up question. So let's go with what would you consider a giant followingMichael Jamin:? No, I have no freaking idea. I have no idea. And I asked this of my agent on my book agent. I said, Hey, how big of a following do you need to have? I don't know. Okay. I don't know. I, I don't know. I don't know. I have no idea. And I asked my you're gonna have to ask a kid. I told, I had a, I had lunch with my nephew a couple weeks ago, and his friends, you know, they're young kids. They're, they're twenties, they're in college. And we were talking about TikTok and I told him, he said, yeah, we had a, a visitor, a lecturer come guy had a lot of followings. He had like 800,000 following followers. I'm like, oh, okay. That's a, i I got I got 412 and they thought, , they thought I'm meant 412 , right? Like 412 followers. And I said, no, no, 412,000. And they're like, oh, that's a lot. . So I don't know what I,Phil Hudson:I have an answer for this.Michael Jamin:What is thePhil Hudson:Answer? So, so because of my, what I'm currently doing, and you know, I'm, I'm now posting things professionally on my social media about being a, a writer or a, an associate producer or an assistant to these guys. And they're currently having me help them run their social media and do the promotional stuff for them for their new film. Quasi comes out on April 20th on Hulu, and that means I'm traveling with them and I'm sitting with a, a publicist from Searchlight Pictures and their publicist, who is the publicist for about half of the top comedians standup comedians, 50,000 followers.Michael Jamin:50,000 is considered an influencer in that spacePhil Hudson:That allows you to, they want to engage with you to selfishly promote their product or their people. ButMichael Jamin:What platform, cuz 50,000 on TikTok is said, it doesn't an Instagram,Phil Hudson:She said it doesn't matter. So anybody who has over 50,000, she wants me to write 'em down so that they can engage them about helping promote the film.Michael Jamin:It doesn't matter. She says.Phil Hudson:Yeah. So I'll confirm. I mean, I'm going back on the road with them, you know, in a couple days and I'll ask that question as a follow up, but 50,000,Michael Jamin:But I wonder number because reach has really changed. I wonder if they're aware of, of there's no reach anymore. Yeah. ,Phil Hudson:It's, it's a numbers thing for sure. Yeah.Michael Jamin:Okay. Interesting. There's your answer. 50,000.Phil Hudson:All right. Follow up question from Delara isn't requiring somebody to have a car, a form of discrimination to be a production assistant?Michael Jamin:You know, is it required? Is is is having two arms form of discrimination to be a baseball player? Well, that's the, you gotta swing a bat. So, you know, I don't know what to say. I mean, I don't know what to say about that.Phil Hudson:There, there have been people, by the way, there have been famous pitchers with one arm who have done the job Yeah. And done it. Well, the, the, I think this is just my opinion, a hundred percent Phil Hudson's opinion here. Mm-Hmm. , I think that we're too focused on discrimination and less focused on what is the requirement to be able to do the function of the job. Mm-Hmm. , if you have to get from white Woodland Hills, California to Pasadena to hand a script to an actor, and that's an hour and a half in your car in traffic, you can't rely on a bus to get you there to do that job. No. No. And that is a function that is a requirement of the job. And so having the vehicle is, and, and they don't say quality of the vehicle, by the way. And they, they cover your miles for the car, which is the wear and tear and the gas in the vehicle. Right. So that you get compensated for those things, but you just have to be able to do the function of that job.Michael Jamin:I mean, it would great if the studio had a car, a beater that, okay, you gotta drive the car. You here's the car, here's the, here's the studio car, and now you gotta run errands with the car. That'd be fantastic. But you know, there's, they, I don't know. You still have to get to work, you still have to find a way to get to work. You still have to know how to drive. Yeah. There'd still be obstacles in your way. SoPhil Hudson:No, no. If you're set PA and you're on set all day, that's a different story. Cuz you can get two set on time. Someone can drop you off, you're there for 12 to 14 hours and then somebody has to pick you up and take you home. Yeah. It's a different story. You can carpool with other people at work, if you're in the camera department colliding, whatever those are, you can do those jobs. But to be like an office pa or writer's pa you're getting people's lunches. You're, you're like going out and running errands. You gotta have a vehicle to do that job. So I don't think it's discrimination.Michael Jamin:I mean, the at the bottom line is like, people who have some money are always gonna have it easier than people who have absolutely no money. Mm-Hmm. . And so that's just the way it is. Is it fair? No. It's just the way it is. So I, I don't know.Phil Hudson:Yep. Until the machines start picking us up and we just get in the car without knowing why.Michael Jamin:Yeah. Maybe that'll happen. That's right. They'll have self-driving cars and PAs will be outta work. SoPhil Hudson:I don't know. Yep. There you go. They just throw stuff in the back.Michael Jamin:Yeah.Phil Hudson:All right. Ariel Allen asks, do you recommend starting with short scripts and just working those before moving to full length?Michael Jamin:Well, short, I mean, that's what I do as a TV writer. I, I write short scripts. They're 22 minutes long. I don't write features. So, and I think writing a, you know, a short script, a 22 minute script is takes much less time than writing a feature. So I recommend Sure. You know, that's why I write fe To me it's more interesting. I like the, the pace, the change than spending all this time on a feature, which could take a couple years in the same amount of time. I could bang out several epi several or, you know, on half dozen or so episodes of television. So,Phil Hudson:Yeah. And I think, and this is old data, so it might have changed, but I doubt it. The timeframe when being offered a script assignment for a feature is six months to turn in your first draft.Michael Jamin:Uhhuh probably defense. They want it yesterday, to bePhil Hudson:Honest. Right. But, but I think you have six months to get in your draft is, they'll push you for it. But that's what the Writer's Guild has is the timeframe Okay. To get in draft one. And then there's a time for the, for draft two. So that being said, how many pilots can you write in six months of tv?Michael Jamin:Me personally?Phil Hudson:You personally, as a professionalMichael Jamin:Screener. Oh. Oh, I don't know. I, I mean, I don't try to write that many pilots. I, you know, we write, we might do one a season, you know, one a year, youPhil Hudson:Know, because you, you're working writer two, so we gotta consider that.Michael Jamin:Yeah. But you could write, it's, it takes less time to write an episode of television on, you know, spec script than a, than a pilot.Phil Hudson:Sure. Okay. Another follow up question. I live in Texas and I'm nowhere near. Oh.Michael Jamin:But you know, hold on, Phil. One, one second though. I don't, I say yeah, if, if I find it very hard to tell a compelling story, that's if it's too short. If you don't have enough time, if you're only doing like five minutes, if you wanna write a short that's a five minute short, I would have, I would've a hard time telling a compelling story that amount of time. I think for me it's like 20 minutes is kind of the sweet spot. Maybe 15. But any shorter than that, it's like I, I, I don't know. I need time to get the plane up in the air. You know,Phil Hudson:When I was in film school, the assignments were your scr, your short could be no longer than like five minutes or three minutes depending on the professor. And yeah. Some of the professors were my age cuz I was a, a, you know, an older student and I talked to them after and they're like, yeah, it's just because I don't wanna sit through that much boring content.Michael Jamin:Yes.Phil Hudson:Right. Cause they couldn't tell a story. And, and that was, I've talked about it before, amazing cinematographers, great camera work, but nothing happening and it's just boring to watch, even if it's pretty. Yeah. So they would have those caps and then I had to hit that restraint for my final project. And because of your mentorship and the work that I'd been putting into writing, I knew that my script needed to be 12 minutes long and it was a 12 minute script and I cut it down to a five minute. And after my professor in my directing class was like, yeah, you, that story needs to be longer because there was not enough time to breathe and to fill those moments. And so, yeah. Yeah. I, it's definitely, and the formatting was very different too. Writing a short, we, we talked about that all the time as students is there's just not a lot of ramp up time to get across the information you need. And when you talk about those three fundamental things you need to know in a story in your, you talk about that in your free lesson. Mm-Hmm. hard, hard to get that across super fast and finish that plot in three minutes.Michael Jamin:Well it's also cuz you wanna make that end, if you want that end to be impactful, to really hit somebody, it's like, it's not even so much about getting all the exposition out. It's about like, what do I need to do to make that ending feel like a payoff to really feel emotional. And like, if you don't have enough time to do all the other stuff, the ending is just gonna feel unearned. It's gonna, you know, it's gonna feel un unearned, which is the, you know, bad writing.Phil Hudson:Right. Alright, follow up question from Ariel. I live in Texas and I'm nowhere near quote the industry. Yeah. How do you actually gain connections in the film or TV industry?Michael Jamin:Well, I think, I think the problem is you need to be in Hollywood. You, you, you're Ariel's saying, I wanna work in Hollywood, but I don't want to work in Hollywood. Yeah. Like, well, there's a problem. Yeah. And so, andPhil Hudson:There is an industry in Texas. There are a lot of filmmakers in Austin and a lot of people are moving to Austin. But what do you want to do in the industry? And this is the question I have from a lot of people. Would you stay in la Why are you in la? It's cuz this is where the writing happens. Yeah. If I could live in another state and do it, I probably would. Yeah. Taxes are better, A lot of reasons why. Less traffic, less pollution, all those things. But yeah, this is where the writing happens. And so this is where I am until I achieve that. Or I'm at a level where I can move somewhere else and then, you know, do the job from elsewhere. And, and I know that's like feature writers at a really high level, like in years in, in Academy Awards mm-hmm. , it's not something that's,Michael Jamin:And even they have to come back in for meetings. Although maybe with Zoom it's less and less, but they have to, you know. Yeah. But that's the, I mean that's the thing. It's like, I know she doesn't wanna leave Texas for whatever reason cuz she likes it there. She has friends, family, she, you know, whatever reason she doesn't wanna leave. But there are people who will leave and those people are gonna have a leg up. Mm-Hmm. . Those people want it more. No one wants to move away from their friends and family. No one wants to. And so the people who come out here like yourself are hungry because they're uncomfortable. They wanna make it happen because they've already sacrificed. So those people have an, have an advantage. And to be honest, I think they should because they've already given up more. They want more.Phil Hudson:Yeah. Sacrifice.Michael Jamin:Yeah. Yep.Phil Hudson:Justin, via, you mentioned early in your career you started working under a working writer who helped show you the robes. How did you approach that relationship? I think this referring to the the book writing for Doe what's his name?Michael Jamin:Oh, well I had Bill Addison mean, I had, I had a writing teacher and he was a retired guy and he lived in the Pacific Palisades and he had a class once a week in his, you know, dining room. And we all drove there. That, so yeah, I studied under him. He gotta study. You gotta, I always felt like you gotta study. There were, there were classes offered. I could have taken a class at UCLA Extension or something like that, but I wanted to be sure of who I learned from. And I found him a guy I wanted to learn from, the guy who had the job that I wanted. And so he was retired sitcom writer. Perfect. I didn't wanna learn from professional teacher, which many of them are, some of them are not, but many of them are. SoPhil Hudson:This is a question leader. How did you find him? What did you do to find that?Michael Jamin:You know what I, I heard, I don't remember who told me, but I moved to la moved to Hollywood. Now I'm in the circles, now I'm hanging out. I'm, this is where everyone comes here because they wanna become a screenwriter or actor or whatever. And so you're meeting people at parties who wanna do, who want the same thing that I want. And then you're talking, and then someone mentioned this guy, someone, he, he wasn't in the phone book, he wasn't on the internet. There was no internet back then. Someone mentioned his. And then I, I met, I learned it from someone who I was talking to. This is why people come to Hollywood. And I was like, great. Gimme his number. And then I went. So I, I don't remember who told me, but that's how I found out.Phil Hudson:Did you develop any kind of relationship with him? I think that's ju Justin's second part of that question. How did you approach that relationship? Or was it really just a teacher-student relationship where you show up, you kind of listen, he dictates down that kind of thing, orMichael Jamin:Yeah, it was teacher student. He told me, I, after reading some stuff that I would never make it as a professional writer. He thought he was doing me a favor cuz he thought, well, don't waste your time trying to do this. Do something else with your life. He, he wasn't trying to be mean. He was trying to do me a favor, but he didn't know me well enough. He didn't know me, that he didn't know how hard I work and how I tenacityPhil Hudson:There, there's a tenacity there that most people don't have. And so he saw where you were and said, this is as far as you will go, not knowing Yeah. You'd hit the wall until it broke down. Yeah.Michael Jamin:Right. SoPhil Hudson:Huge lesson in that for everybody listening by the way. Like, that's what you have to do. Yeah. Hit the wall until it falls down.Michael Jamin:Yeah. In, in college I wanted to be a creative writing. I just wanted to study, wanted to be in the creative writing program. I was good enough to take classes, but I wasn't good enough to get into the program where I, that was my major. And so they told me I wouldn't be a writer either. Yeah. Who cares? No one's, no one's gonna tell me what I get to do with my life.Phil Hudson:Look who's laughing now?Michael Jamin:No one's laughing. not even the audience.Phil Hudson:Michael doesn't make anybody laugh.Michael Jamin:Phil Hudson:When you say, okay, and then follow up, when you say it doesn't matter whose hands your script gets into, would you go as upload your script to online?Michael Jamin:I I, I, not necessarily. I I would be really, you know, I wanna know who I was giving it to. Not, but, you know, I wouldn't upload it to the, to the interwebs. And I, I meant it in terms of a great script. Ha has legs the same way a great show has legs. This like, here's the thing. I saw this great show, and I was gonna talk about this in one of my upcoming webinars and made a note of it. There's this guy named Derek Delgado, and he put on a show, he had a one-man show, it was on Hulus called in and of itself. Someone told me about it and I watched it and I was blown away. It was so original and so creative. I was blown away. I stopped when I was done. Let's go back to the beginning start. I've never do this.I never go back to the beginning when I just finished it. Let's watch it again, forget it. But I did that. And then afterwards I started telling everyone, you gotta watch this show. This is amazing. And and, and, and I was doing it. Like no one asked me to share it. I was sharing it because I was giving a gift. Like, go watch this. This is amazing. You're gonna love this. And I would look good in that person's eyes because I was the one who discovered this precious gem that no one else was talking about. I'm the only one who's, this is my little thing and now I'm giving it to you. And I felt like a gift. And that's what a great script could do. Like, you show it to someone and they're blown away if they're like, oh, it's okay. You're, nothing's gonna happen. But if they're blown away, they will tell people, not because they're trying to help you, but because they're trying to help themselves and make themselves look good to the, to their friends and family. And, you know, look what I just gave you this great recommendation.Phil Hudson:You might have literally just equated it to this, but could your audience equate it to finding that, show that water cooler talk, the one everyone wants to talk about and share with their friends?Michael Jamin:Yeah. Right. It's, and it's not, it's not like, you know, at the end of the whatever water cooler, white lotus or whatever, whatever's big right now, it's probably not white lotus anymore. But no one there wouldn't say, Hey, did you, no one says, Hey, if you enjoyed your show, this show, please share it with your friends. There was none of that at the end of HBO's episode of White Lotus. It was, people loved it and they just went to work the next day. You gotta watch this show. Yeah.Phil Hudson:So what, what was that moment for you, for the audience? What is that moment for you when you were watching a show and that's the level you want to be at to be a pro.Michael Jamin:Oh, well, but when you, when you, what, what are you saying? When you get,Phil Hudson:What I'm saying is for the audience member, think about a time when you watched a show and you well felt this is something I need to go tell Joe about or Mike about.Michael Jamin:Yeah.Phil Hudson:That moment, that quality, that's what you're striving for, to work at a professional level at the upper echelons of Hollywood. Yeah. And when someone has that experience with your script, that is what's gonna happen in script format.Michael Jamin:Yeah, exactly. Exactly. They'll, that's, that's when I say give it to, it doesn't matter who you give it to you, if you give it to someone and it's amazing, they will give it to someone else and they're not gonna give it to some idiot on the internet. They don't know they're gonna give it to a friend who can help someone who's further up the ladder. They're just gonna pass it along. You know, they give it to someone who knows someone who knows someone in the industry. And if it's great, it'll find, it'll, it'll, it'll start walking. Cuz little good scripts have legs. Yeah. And if it's not, if it's mediocre, it won't.Phil Hudson:Yeah. I, I put a script online, but it was also very well documented here on this podcast with you giving me notes that I wrote that script. So there is a paper trail of authority and ownership that goes back to me and logged IP addresses when you download it so that if someone stole it, I feel legally protected enough to do that. And it's of service. And I got great notes from a professional writer, Michael. So it was absolutely worth me doing that. I don't think either of us are suggesting you do that.Michael Jamin:Hey, it's Michael Jamin. If you like my videos and you want me to email them to you for free, join my watch list. Every Friday I send out my top three videos. These are for writers, actors, creative types. You can unsubscribe whenever you want. I'm not gonna spam you and it's absolutely free. Just go to michaeljamin.com/watchlist.Phil Hudson:The question you've answered many times before but continually pops up because everyone focuses on this. At first, do you need an agent?Michael Jamin:Well, you do need an agent to get submitted to a TV show, to get the meeting, to get a pitch meeting. You do, you do need an agent, but an agent, an agent is really not gonna get you work. Mostly agent's, field offers agent will do the 5% of the work that you can't do. You still have to do 95% of the work. And so yes, you need an agent, but the agent is not the answer to your problems. And there's a lot you can do without an agent. So. Yep.Phil Hudson:And you've said before, any script you get when you're staffing a show, those people have come from someone with an agent. Yes. And you're still hoping for a good writer out of that batch.Michael Jamin:Yeah. If I get, if I'm staffing a show, and let's say I got three dozen scripts to read, which is not an exaggeration. All of them come from agents, all of them come from managers. You know, you can't submit to me, you can't, I won't touch it. So it all comes through a rep, a rep, and of those 36 scripts, maybe only one or two are any good. SoPhil Hudson:Yeah. Okay. this was a comment specific to the time, but I think it addresses something that happens on your website. Jeff says, so I'd love to take Michael's course, but it's currently closed. Sad face.Michael Jamin:Oh,Phil Hudson:Sad face. So the course is closed now. Yeah. you are now doing an enrollment period on the course. Do you wanna talk about that?Michael Jamin:Yeah. So once a month we open it up and it's brief. It's like three days or something fell, right? It's, it's like three or 40 or something like that. It's not a lot.Phil Hudson:A lot of people join which is great and a lot of people are getting a lot of value out of it, but we close it down so that we can provide a better experience to those people. Because when it's open all the time, it's a little crazy for both of us.Michael Jamin:Yeah. It was cra Yeah, it's, so we got on a row par, we onboard everybody, shut the door, take a breath, do it again nextPhil Hudson:Month, answer questions in the private group, the people in there help you out. All that stuff. So if you're wondering why the course is closed here's a hint. Maybe attend the live webinar.Michael Jamin:Yeah. You'll get a better, actually, if you attend the webinar, we, we give you a better deal. . Yeah. So come the webinar, you got a special deal. If not just get on my email list and you'll know when it's open. And when it's open, get in. And then if you miss it, get in the next time. You know, it's every month.Phil Hudson:Yeah. Got it. PJ works, and we've addressed this as well, but I think he phrases it really interestingly. Just curious, how do we have bad movies and TV shows if you have to be really good to be in the industry?Michael Jamin:That's the thing. Some people think because there's so much bad stuff on the air. Well, I can be bad. I can be just as bad as them. There's so many reasons why a show might be terrible and some not all of them come down to the writing. Sometimes you'll have a star in the star. This is what the, this is what they wanna do. And writing be damn writers be damned. Sometimes it's coming from the network or the studio. This is what they want. And so they're paying for it. Sometimes there's so many chefs in the pot, executive producers giving notes. You don't even know what you're doing anymore. I mean, to me it's almost like it, the business is designed to make mediocre shows. And only occasionally something breaks through. And god bless when that happens. But you know, why, why?Just because that's how it, this is the, the business. This is the, it's a business. So everyone wants through chasing the same thing. I read a book, but I think it was Charlie Hawk, he described it as everyone wants to make a hit show. Everyone's in a, in a life raft. And so you have the director, the actor, the writer, the studio executive, the production company, everyone. And everyone's got an org and they're paddling as fast as they can, but the raft is circular. And so everyone's paddling, but the raft is going around in circles because, you know, that's what the problem is. When you have all these, they all want the same thing though, which is to get to the other side. But they're paddling. And so that's what happens. You start spinning around.Phil Hudson:Yeah. Yeah.Michael Jamin:Unless you have a, you get lucky it's lightning in a bottle or you have a really strong showrunner who has enough f you minor to say no, but, and that's, and by the way, that's not me. So it's some people who have the clout,Phil Hudson:You know, there's a really good book on this called Difficult Men. And it's about the showrunners, A difficult man behind scenes of a Creative Revolution from The Sopranos by Brett Martin. And it talks about this, these showrunners who were those guys and they wrote Mad Men and mm-hmm. , all these shows that you know and love. And it, they just had the chops to do the job and the attitude to say no. But the chops were so good. They HBO and these companies just let them do their job.Michael Jamin:Once you start making a successful show, they usually back off. Once they learn to trust the showrunner, they back, they usually back off. But in the beginning, everyone's scared. And the bigger budget, the budget is every, the more scared everyone is.Phil Hudson:JJ Abrams just had a show canceled on h HBO this year.Michael Jamin:What was it?Phil Hudson:I, I can't remember the name of it, but it was like a massive budget. It was like one of the first things Discovery chopped. Like they just cut theMichael Jamin:Budget. Oh yeah. Well, becausePhil Hudson:They were cutting budgets everywhere. So, yeah. Two questions similar, gonna combine them. So she, Shea Mercedes and Leonte Bennett. How do we learn, or how can I practice screenwriting every day when I don't have an idea for a screenplay? And let me combine it with another, yeah. Bark bark 4 35. How can a beginner start to be a screenwriter? What are the first steps? So what, how do I write if I don't have any ideas? How can I learn to write and, you know, what are my first steps if I want to be a screenwriter? These feel very new to me.Michael Jamin:Well, if you don't have an idea, you're screwed. I mean, you know, but you don't have to have a good idea. You have to have, you don't have to have a great idea to have a good idea. And there's, it's the execution, which is which matters. I talk, one of the modules we have in the chorus and I, and trying to through one of the most popular ones is minding your life for stories. How, how to mine your life. Cuz you all have stories. People wanna, I think new writers think that let's create a world and let's create all the characters in this world. I'm like why bother? Why not just write what you know? And that way you, if you come, you take the story from your life. You don't have to create a story cuz it ha already happened to you. You don't have to create a character.You're the character. All you gotta do is figure out how to unpack the details of the story and that story structure. And that can be learned, that can be taught. That's what we teach. And so that's what I would do. I, you know, that's what I would do. Start writing what, you know, and what, you know, there's a misconception. You know, this guy on Paul Guillo, he, you know, he's a another writer on, on, you know, on the internet, on the social media. And he, you know, he talked about this the other day and I was like, he said it perfectly, which is people say, write what you know, but they don't really understand what that means. They think, well that means if you're a plumber, write about plumbing. Right. About a, your character is a plumbing plumber. No, no, no. Right. What you know means the internal struggles that you face.So if you are insecure about your education, your character write about a character who's insecure about that. If you're insecure with, about your looks or if you were abandoned as a baby, write about that. I mean, so it doesn't have to be the outside, it's the entire, it's the internal struggle. What you feel on the inside. That's what you know. And, you know great the Great Gatsby, you know, a great American novel, F Scott Fitzgerald wrote it. And so that's, that was about a guy who felt poor. He felt poor. And and he wanted the girl. And he, he always felt he would never have any self worth until he was rich. And then he'd be worthy enough to get the girl. As much as he loved the girl, being rich was more important to him cuz he always had the emptiness.And if you know anything about f Scott Fitzgerald's background, that was him. That's how he felt. And even when he had the, even when he earned money as a, as a novelist in the screenwriter, he couldn't keep it in his pocket. He had to spend it because that's how he felt. That was, that's how he felt whole on the, on the, you know, on the inside. And that's why he had a drinking problem. That's why he died at the age of 40 something because of an of alcoholism, because he had that hole. But the character of Great Gatsby's pretty close to him.Phil Hudson:Yeah. Yeah. Episode 39 of this podcast, A great writing exercise. There are some ideas in there and some other things that you can do to learn more about how to practice your skills and, and develop those things. But the other thing we talk about on this podcast often is being okay with yourself and being okay with your emotions and being okay. Being vulnerable. But you also talk about the dichotomy of when's, what's too far, what's oversharing. Yeah. So dive into the podcast a bit more if you're new and there's maybe we'llMichael Jamin:Do, actually that's a good point. Maybe we'll do a whole webinar on oversharing and stuff like that.Phil Hudson:Yeah. All right. So, so again, lots of questions about do I need to live in LA to be a writer? How to make connections with people outside if I'm not there. We've already addressed these LA's where the writing is, but you can make connections in your area and online. Your, your screenwriting course is a great place to do that. Mm-Hmm. , outside of that, there are Facebook groups. Lots of reallyMichael Jamin:Popular. Yeah. We have a private face. We have a private Facebook group just for the students and those guys. I gotta say Phil cuz I don't do this. Those guys are, they're, they're hitting it hard. They are having table reads. Mm-Hmm. , they're having script swaps, pitch sessions, pitch set, and like what? And like, I'm not in charge of that. They are. And it's because they're freaking focused and they just wannaPhil Hudson:Make happen. Like they're beginning guests too. Like one of, one of the writing members, Laurie, her, her husband is a pretty well known writer. Mm-Hmm. . And he came in and did a guest pitch session where people, writers pitched to him and he gave feedback.Michael Jamin:Good for him. Yeah. He,Phil Hudson:He's, he has famously one of the, I think it's the most valued script sold. And he came in and he did it to help you because that's a student. That's not a connection you or I have.Michael Jamin:Nope. Nope. There's a connection with another student. So like, I'm impressed and that's why we, and you know, we keep a close. It's like, you can't join. I get, we get people every day they want to join. Like, no, no, no, no, no. It's only for students because I don't want this turning into a cesspool of of trolls and, and idiots. Yeah. Like every other screenwriting group on, on Facebook where the people are just mean and stupid and and awful to each other. It's not what's going on in there. So Yeah.Phil Hudson:Absolutely. Cool. Gary Hampton, what would you say it's beneficial to volunteer to be a writer's assistant or producer's assistant to gain some practical experience?Michael Jamin:Well, you can't volunteer. I mean, it's a paying position. It's not an internshipPhil Hudson:And you can't intern anymore because some interns sued. And so no one wants to do that anymore.Michael Jamin:Right. So it's a paid position. It's not a, it's not a well paid position, but, you know, so you can't volunteerPhil Hudson:For it. That, that being said, personal experience with this. You, I remember I got a text, I was sitting in my office and you were like, Phil, there's a PA job on Tacoma fd. Do you want it? It pays horrible and the work sucks. And I said, I would do that job for free. And you said right answer and you told me that's exactly what you did. Like you volunteered. Isn't that how you got your job? You or your first one of your first Yeah, myMichael Jamin:First job, this was on a show called Evening Shade. This was a long time ago with Bet Reynolds. And and who else was in it anyway? Mary Henry. But I sent out resumes. I'll do, I'll please, I'll work for free. Finally, some someone said, fine, you wanna work for free, you can start tomorrow. We'll give you $300 a week. And I was like, 300, you know, now $300 a week is nice. Nothing , but I jumped at it. It's better than free. I jumped at it.Phil Hudson:Yeah. butMichael Jamin:It's only because he only offered me the job because I said, I'll work for free.Phil Hudson:You were willing to do it. Yep. So you had the desire follow up question. What's the best way to get into a writer's room? And I know that's a crap shoot.Michael Jamin:Get as a Well, the best way to get in as a writer's assistant, you know, but you, that's hard. You have to get in first. You get start as a pa.Phil Hudson:And the, and the answer to this, having done basically all of this over the last several years is bust your butt. Mm-Hmm. , serve, serve, serve. I remember. And I think I've, I think Seavers aware now. I remember there was one point where Seavert was like, yeah, Philip Burnout. And you were like, no, he won't. Cuz you've known me long enough. ButMichael Jamin:Did he say that? I conversationsPhil Hudson:There's a level, there's the level at which I was like putting out in the writer's room and I, I remember I overheard that conversation. You're like, not fell. I appreciate you having my back. But it gets, it gets exhausting at a certain level and you just have to keep putting up it.Michael Jamin:It gets emotionally exhausting too. That's probably the, that's probably even harder than the physical. It's like, cuz you're so close, you're five inches away from the seat that you want to sit in.Phil Hudson:You're sitting outside the room.Michael Jamin:Yeah.Phil Hudson:Yep. I, I would literally have to remind myself when I would get overwhelmed with like those thoughts. I'd say, this is the job I would've killed for two years ago, isMichael Jamin:The job. That's exactlyPhil Hudson:Right. I killed for three years ago.Michael Jamin:That's exactly right.Phil Hudson:That's how I kept going. It's not fun. And a lot of people are like, oh, isn't that beneath you? Like, nothing is beneath me as long as it helps me progress. Nothing.Michael Jamin:Mm-Hmm. . Yeah. So.Phil Hudson:Alright. How do you so love Leah Ann Clark. How do you stick to your story when people tell you that is not sellable because they have not lived through the events?Michael Jamin:Well if it's not sellable, like, I mean, I don't know who's telling you It's not sellable. No story sellable, just to be clear. You know, even if you pitch a two of i, I pitched stories. That's like, that's, I can't sell that. You know why? It's only the minute it sells, it's sellable. But if you tell a story authentically and truthfully, that's the only thing you can hope for, is to write a great story. That's what I say. I if you're gonna look for the, the market, oh, this is what the market's looking for. What's the market looking for? Forget it. That's a moving target. The minute you fire that hour, the target is gone. It's twoPhil Hudson:Years old too, soMichael Jamin:It's always changing. It's just like, you know, so, but all you get, all you can do as a writer is write a great story. That's the only thing that you have control over and not worry about selling it. Can you write a great story? And if you can, then it becomes a calling card. People will hire you to write something else. Just focus on writing a great story.Phil Hudson:Yeah. Another really good piece of advice in the industry is if there's a story that you feel in your soul you need to tell, don't put that one off. Write that one.Michael Jamin:Yeah. Write that one immediately,Phil Hudson:Right? Yeah. Yep. Jeff Rice Studios ask, could you talk about some of the staff management process of Showrunning or being the quote captain of the ship quote?Michael Jamin:Well, as the showrunner, you know no one becomes a comedy writer or even any kind of writer to even drama writer because they want to be a manager. They don't become, they don't, that's not why we go into it. They, if you did, you go into middle management, you get a job in the corp in a corporation. So you're, we all do it because you want to be creative. Then you rise to the level where you have your own show, or you're running someone's show for them. And and now you have to keep everyone motivated. And so the way you keep motivated, you know, is not by shutting people down. You have to lead, but you also have to make 'em feel like they have a voice. And this is tough. It's like, it doesn't make me comfortable at all. It's not why I went into it anyway, so I was to, was to do this. So, but you have to just be a decent human being and hopefully you know, but, but your job, by the way, is when you're on staff, your job is not to be creative, per se. Your job is to give the showrunner what they want. Mm-Hmm. is to help them make their show.Phil Hudson:Yeah. Awesome. Raven Wisdom when in a groove riding a scene and as happens, life interrupts the flow and you lose the moment. What has helped you to return to that moment or scene and continue that thought?Michael Jamin:You know, I, I, I guess, I dunno how long life is putting you on hold, but you should be, be, hopefully you're making time every day, even if it's only 15 minutes to, I mean, we all have 15 minutes. Right. You know? Yeah. I hopePhil Hudson:Famously, I think it was Hemingway would stop purposefully mid-sentence mm-hmm. so that when he sat down at his computer or his typewriter, he could pick up his thought. Yeah. And so I think that's something you just have to train out. And it's actually a good thing cuz facing a blank page, not knowing where you're gonna go next is far worse than reading the last sentence and then continuing typing.Michael Jamin:Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Okay.Phil Hudson:All right. We've got a lot of questions here still, Michael. So we're gonna get through a couple of the last ones, and I think couple more. A lot of this is repetitive, so I'm just gonna pick probably four or five more, and then we'll wrap it up. Does that sound good to you? Yeah,Michael Jamin:That sounds good.Phil Hudson:Okay. If you're a writer hoping to staff on a traditional network, procedural style show, do you specifically need a procedure, procedural style sample, or just a great sample that shows your unique quote voice?Michael Jamin:I've never written on a procedural. Don't even don't like 'em. I don't watch 'em. I, I would assume it's probably both. They're gonna want more than one sample. They're gonna want a sample of a procedural, and they're gonna want a sample of something else.Phil Hudson:That's always the case though. It's always two, right? Yeah. You need a, you did it and it's not a fluke. You can do it again. Yeah.Michael Jamin:So I have won Beach. Yeah. Yeah.Phil Hudson:Yeah. Okay. All right. And Kay Films, do you remember shadowing a writer that is currently in the film industry?Michael Jamin:I don't know about shadowing. I've worked for many writers. I never shadowed anyone. I, I i that like, there's no such thing as shadowing a writer. A writer is just in front of a computer, and if you were to shadow them, you'd, you'd be standing over their shoulder watching them type, like, it'd be horribly uncomfortable for everyone. It's not like a, it's not a visual job to How do you open, how do you open final drafts? Like that's what you'd see. Yeah. but I, I, I've worked for our writers and I've talked to him about story. I've had conversations, I've worked for a guy named William Masters Simone, this is when I first breaking in. And he wrote a great movie called The Beast. He wrote called another one called Extremities with, I think it was Farrah Faucet. He was a playwright. He was a playwright out of New Jersey who worked as a grave digger. He was a grave digger, and he write plays, literally. And brilliant writer. That'sPhil Hudson:Fascinating. Like, I want to Yeah, that's a fascinating backstory right there.Michael Jamin:And he was such a sweet guy. So down to earth. And then he got brought on, I was working on a, I was the writer assistant on a movie called What's Love Got Love What's Love got to do with it? The Tina Turner story. And so he would come and he got, he flew in for I think three or four weeks to rewrite the script. Then I don't think he, yeah, I don't think he got any credit for it, but he got a boatload of money, I'm sure. And he came down to LA and he type up the pages on his old typewriter. Then I'd retyped them and put 'em into the computer and format it correctly for for the movie. And such a sweet man. He's like, let me buy you lunch. Here's pizza. What can I do? He was just so nice. I, I really loved his attitude. He was kind very down to earth. That's it. ButPhil Hudson:You've adopted that attitude too. I mean, I've, I've done things to, to help you because I want to help you and you've Yeah. Repaid in kindness beyond what I feel I've done for you. Well, thank you. I've seen you do that for other people as well, so,Michael Jamin:Yeah. You know, because no one, I don't, no one goes into screenwriting cuz they think it's gonna, they're gonna be in charge of the, the world. Yeah. You, you take another profession if you have a giant ego. But yeah, he was, he was a super nice guy.Phil Hudson:On those lines, Aaron ha has asked, what is the best way to approach someone who you want to mentor you or learn from them? Is there any specific things you did in that relationship or others?Michael Jamin:I don't know. I, I would imagine that's a question probably for you. I think what you do is you give first. Yeah. That's what you do.Phil Hudson:Yeah, a hundred percent. And, and that does two things. One, just naturally I feel of, I feel good and feel of value when I serve other people. Yeah. Like there's a, there's a feeling. For me it's very physical. It's like a kinetic, kinesthetic, like tingly feeling of good, right? When I do something for other people, it's a selflessness that I just, I think it comes from being very poor and not having, and knowing how valuable that little bit of help really moves the needle for people.Michael Jamin:And that's, so that's, that's the point then. So it's like when you approach someone as a men, when you want someone to be your mentor, you're basically saying, I, I want you to gimme something. I what you have. I want, can you give me what you, what you have? And so that's not the attitude. The attitude is what can I give you mentor to make your life better. What can I give you?Phil Hudson:I'm in the broken lizard social media right now, helping them with t

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Creating a moment of delight and excellence is what we all want to do when we set up our shops and make coffee for others. We also want to be delighted ourselves with the things we create and feel a sense of pride in each and every drink. Given the range of beverages we serve, that is pretty rare to find. But at least one place manages to strike this balance and has been doing so with singular focus for the past 8 years. Today we get to talk with the owner of the Award winning cafe, Endorffeine in Los Angeles, CA, Jack Benchakul! Jack is a biochemist who turned to small business to find more meaning and fulfillment in work. This set him on a path to pursue craft first through the pastry arts and finally in the coffee industry after one life changing cup of coffee.  Jack learned all he could at home then as a barista before starting Endorffiene with his cousin Ttaya Tuparangsi in 2015 with the goal to pursue a balanced and refined coffee experience unlike any that was currently available. Jack's integrity, knowledge of craft and science, and constance in this pursuit has not only gained Edorffeine nority from famous food writers like Jonathan Gold and Bill Addison, gained Endorffeine, but also recognitions such as "Best Coffee Shops in the U.S. from Food and Wine and on of the "101 Restaurants, Dishes, People, and Ideas from The LA Times. Beyond these things, Endorffeine is firmly established in the coffee community and garners the respect of their industry peers world wide.  In today's conversation with Jack we will be exploring the story of Endorffeine and their unique approach to creating beauty, balance, and community one cup of coffee at a time.  We cover:  Jacks Journey from Biochemistry to pastry to coffee The coffee epiphany that set his course Establishing Endorffeine and its mission Staying consistent over time Pursuing customer facing work as an introvert Values based Menu curation and refinement  What is the “deep fight” Pride in operation and ownership What the pandemic revealed Connecting with customers Advice to other owner on integrity and patience Links: www.endorffeine.coffee Instagram: @endorffeine    Related episodes: 375 : Founder Friday! w/ Roland Horne of WatchHouse 359 : Founder Friday! w/ Nigel Price of Drip Coffee Makers NYC 252 : Founder Friday w/ Klaus Thompson of the Coffee Collective, Denmark   Interested in leveling up your coffee shop or setting up 1:1 coaching? Click here to schedule a free consulting discovery call with KTTS Click here to book a formal one-on-one consulting call!   Visit our amazing Sponsors! www.groundcontrol.coffee www.pacficfoodservice.com      

Joe and Celia Ward-Wallace opened South LA Cafe with a mission to fight racial, social and economic inequality. Their next project? Overseeing the Natural History Museum's entire food and beverage program. The first season of "The Last of Us" concluded last Sunday, and mushrooms played a big role in this new, dystopian world. Tejal Rao asks: Are fungi here to destroy us or save us? Visoth Tarak Ouk aka Chef T was born in a refugee camp in Thailand to parents who survived the genocide of the Khmer regime in Cambodia. His family eventually settled  in Long Beach, where the chef developed a love for cooking and became a pillar of Southern California's Khmer community. Planning to enter the cream category of this year's PieFest? Margarita Manzke of Republique, Manzke, and Sari Sari is a judge, and she has tips on how to win a ribbon. From Haruki Murakami's stir fry to Maurice Sendak's chicken soup with rice, Adrienne LaFrance recalls the 12 most unforgettable descriptions of food in literature. Finally, Bill Addison finds Shanghainese cuisine among a field of Sichuan-dominant restaurants.

Yes, Bill Addison is back on TASTE. We've long been a fan of Bill's writing, going back to his well-considered restaurant criticism in Atlanta, Dallas, San Francisco, Eater as a roving national critic, and for the past three-plus years as the head restaurant critic at the Los Angeles Times. Bill is our favorite critic, writing about our favorite food city in the United States, and we talk about what's exciting about LA right now. We also get into his writing routine, some of his favorite slept-on gems, and what the hell is going on at The ROW? And what is up with Craig's? This is such a great conversation, and we hope you enjoy it as much as we did.And to close out Restaurant Critic Week, Aliza and Matt talk about the state of the restaurant critic in 2023. Who are their favorites in the game? Which writers should be given a reviewing beat? And what about Tik Tok reviewers? There's a lot to go over, and we cover it all.MORE FROM BILL ADDISON:The 12 Most Loved Restaurant Dishes of 2022 [LA Times]The Latest Blockbuster from the Couple Behind Bestia and Bavel [LA Times]How Damian grew to be one of L.A.'s finest modern California-Mexican restaurants [LA Times]The Year I Ate Pico Boulevard (Aliza was right!) [LA Weekly]MORE FROM RESTAURANT CRITIC WEEK:TASTE Podcast 192: The New Yorker's Hannah Goldfield TASTE Podcast 193: Eater's Ryan SuttonFOLLOW, FOLLOW, FOLLOW:instagram.com/bill_addisoninstagram.com/mattrodbardinstagram.com/taste

For years, Ryan Sutton was the chief restaurant critic at Eater New York, before his position was recently eliminated. Ryan is one of the most respected critics in the game, and we wanted to invite him to the studio to talk about his career and some of the memorable stories he's worked on. Does Ryan have any reviews that he regrets? How does he stay excited about dining out each and every night? And what is next for Ryan Sutton? He answers most of our questions in this amazing episode. We hope you enjoy it.MORE FROM RYAN SUTTON:How to Get Into the Restaurant You Can't Get Into [Eater NY]The Case Against Hudson Yards Dining [Eater NY]Manhattan's Next Great Steakhouse Isn't a Steakhouse [Eater NY]Eleven Madison Park Isn't Ready to Be a World-Class Vegan Restaurant [Eater NY]MORE FROM RESTAURANT CRITIC WEEK:TASTE Podcast 192: The New Yorker's Hannah Goldfield TASTE Podcast 194: The Los Angeles Times' Bill Addison

After working as a fact checker for years at the New Yorker and contributing to the magazine's Tables for Two column, Hannah Goldfield was named the magazine's first full-time restaurant critic in 2018. We welcome Hannah back to discuss her life as a New York City restaurant critic. We talk about some of her recent reviews and get some of her thoughts on that little film called The Menu—where a big-city restaurant critic is portrayed in the most curious of ways. Does Hannah find it accurate? Our producer Pat Stango joins to discuss. MORE FROM HANNAH GOLDFIELD:The Hannah Goldfield New Yorker archive [TNY]Your Food's Alter Ego [TNY]Le Rock Goes Long on Midtown [TNY]B.O. Boys [Apple Podcasts]FOLLOW, FOLLOW, FOLLOW:instagram.com/hannahgoldfieldinstagram.com/mattrodbardinstagram.com/tasteMORE FROM RESTAURANT CRITIC WEEK:TASTE Podcast 193: Eater's Ryan Sutton TASTE Podcast 194: The Los Angeles Times' Bill Addison

Amid news that he is again shifting concepts at Noma, René Redzepi discusses the restaurant's reinvention. “The Woks of Life” documents the Leung family's history through food. Sylvia Wu brought an Angeleno sensibility to Chinese food, expanding the cuisine and its fans. Tejal Rao explains her impact and legacy. Yotam Ottolenghi and Noor Murad embrace make-ahead condiments, dressing, and sauces in their latest test kitchen cookbook. Chef Zarah Khan culls carrots at the farmer's market for a new dish at Rustic Canyon. Finally, from a garage pop-up to a brick and mortar in Melrose Hill, Bill Addison reviews Filipino favorite, Kuya Lord.

In this throwback episode from April 2022: Our conversation with Stasha Toncev, founder of Dubai's award-winning Balkan bistro, 21 Grams. Hailed in the media, Stasha's restaurant was praised as “charming” and “brain melting” by The Financial Times supplement, How To Spend It, and Bill Addison, the Los Angeles Times' celebrated food critic. In a heart-to-heart with Hashem, Stasha opened up about her childhood in Socialist Yugoslavia; her daring move to Dubai with 200 Euros in her pocket and the struggles of launching her restaurant business as a woman of Balkan descent– a double whammy in her view. Stasha and Hashem also talk openly about the importance of mental health for entrepreneurs and the struggles and personal sacrifices Stasha braved for her business. We'll be back with new episodes in January.

Soup is delicious, easy to make, versatile, and a great way to use leftovers. But despite its many virtues, it's not terribly chic or exciting. Journalist and cultural commentator Anne Helen Petersen aims to change that. Born of peasant food to become a national dish, food writer and cook Zuza Zak dedicates a new cookbook to the Polish pierogi. Chris Scott, a chef known for his Brooklyn soul food restaurant Butterfunk, draws out the Dutch and German influences in soul food. Italian grandmothers are still waking early to make pasta by hand and author Vicky Bennison is here for it. With a $350 tasting menu and a mere 35 guests a week, Bill Addison crowns Hayato with the top spot on the LA Times 101 Best Restaurants list.

It's the holiday season and that means we're getting ready to celebrate L.A. Times' 101 Best Restaurants List, coming out on December 6th. Darin sits down with the paper's food critic, Bill Addison, to talk about this year's curation, the city's current dining scene and then he shares some of the music he's listening to while he's cooking for friends & family.  Then we dive deep into the archive for a classic performance from one of our Brooklyn favorites, Au Revoir Simone. Snacky Tunes: Music is the Main Ingredient, Chefs and Their Music (Phaidon), is now on shelves at bookstores around the world. It features 77 of the world's top chefs who share personal stories of how music has been an important, integral force in their lives. The chefs also give personal recipes and curated playlists too. It's an anthology of memories, meals and mixtapes. Pick up your copy by ordering directly from Phaidon, or by visiting your local independent bookstore. Visit our site, www.snackytunes.com for more info.Heritage Radio Network is a listener supported nonprofit podcast network. Support Snacky Tunes by becoming a member!Snacky Tunes is Powered by Simplecast.

Eater's national restaurant editor, Bill Addison, and our own deputy editor, Julia Kramer, discuss what it's like to be a restaurant critic in 2018. The landscape is vastly different than it was even 5 years ago with more "best of" lists than ever, diminishing local platforms, and a political climate that can't be ignored. There's a lot to be celebrated out there in a country that cares more about food than ever before, so how do they do it? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

“Diasporican,” the first cookbook by food columnist Illyanna Maisonet, explores Puerto Rican cuisine off the island. Lulady Moges brings Ethiopian dishes to the table in under an hour. In an excerpt from his three-part KCRW series “Exploring Africa in LA: A Little Ethiopia Story,” independent producer and LA native Shaka Mali Tafari introduces listeners to Mr. Fekere, owner of Rosalind's, the city's first Ethiopian restaurant on Fairfax Ave. Nigella Lawson brings her infinite kitchen wisdom to her new book, “Cook, Eat, Repeat.” What happens when a British rocker lands in LA and there are no pubs to be found? He opens one himself. LA Times restaurant critic Bill Addison reviews Saffy's, the latest spot from Ori Menashe and Genevieve Gergis. And Good Food remembers New York restaurant critic Gael Greene, who passed away this week at the age of 88.

With her cookbook “Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking,” Marcella Hazan introduced a legion of Americans to a new cuisine — changing the way many cook and eat. Kimjang is a celebration in Korea. Eric Kim describes the days-long process of making kimchi that has been recognized by UNESCO as an intangible cultural heritage that needs to be preserved. Russian native Vlasta Pilot takes to TikTok, sharing her pickle fetish with the masses. LA Times restaurant critic Bill Addison refers to David Rosoff as the “fun, opinionated wine guru” of Los Angeles, who has taken over a block of Silver Lake. Chef Brian Dunsmoor shops for ingredients for his albacore crudo — a dish that is emerging as his restaurant's signature dish.

Indian chef and author Maunika Gowardhan celebrates thali — a complete meal served on one plate that offers six taste sensations. Anthropologist Deepa S. Reddy takes a deep look at the Indian soup rasam and its cultural-socio meanings. Craig Fear pays homage to the seafood of New England with chowders, bisques, boils, and stews. Natural wine enthusiast Alice Feiring chronicles the vintages that chronicle her life in a new memoir. From casual Taco Tuesdays to an omakase experience that's booked through September, Anajak Thai is named Restaurant of the Year by LA Times restaurant critic Bill Addison. Chinese eggplant and dates have their day in the sun at the farmers market.

Geologist David R. Montgomery and biologist Anne Biklé explore the relationship between soil health and human health. Senegalese chef Pierre Thiam works to make fonio a global grain while keeping its production in Africa. Chef Bonnie Frumkin Morales explains the simplicity of making kvas at home and why more people don't know about the beverage. LA Times restaurant critic Bill Addison feasts on Colombian fare at Selva in Long Beach. Yolanda Evans likens rum houses in Barbados to British pubs with a sense of community and conviviality.

Journalist Jori Lewis weaves together the history of the peanut from its beginnings in Bolivia, to cultivation in Senegal, and its ties to slavery. Horticulturist Yvonne Savio shares secrets to watering the garden during high temperatures. Michael Martinez works to return food waste back to the soil at LA Compost and has an update on new composting regulations in California. Hevelynn Nealy maintains a community composting site in South Pomona. LA Times restaurant critic Bill Addison revisits Kato in its new location. Summer means melon season at the farmers' market.

Historian and professor Natalia Molina reveals how her grandmother's restaurant, Nayarit, brought the immigrant community together in 1960s Echo Park. In the new FX series “The Bear,” actor Jeremy Allen White plays Carmen “Carmy” Berzatto, a chef with struggles both in and out of the kitchen. A creamy base like sour cream, dried aromatics and a bit of acid, cooking columnist Ben Mims levels up homemade dips. LA Times restaurant critic Bill Addison heads to South Central for a Oaxacan specialty. When Gacia Tachejian couldn't find coffee she liked in the Valley, she began roasting her own before opening Laidrey in Tarzana. Christina Tran of the Los Angeles Food Policy Council explains the findings of a recent report that examines why 600,000 residents eligible for SNAP benefits have not accessed resources.

Vicky Bennison adapted her popular YouTube series “Pasta Grannies” into a cookbook that shares the secret's of Italy's best home cooks. Benedetta Jasmine Guetta gives a lesson in the history of Jewish cooking in Italy. Tour guide and author Sophie Minchilli embraces the art of “dolce far niente,” or the sweetness of doing nothing. Talia Baiocchi and Leslie Pariseau take a trip down the spritz trail and explain the daily ritual of the aperitivo in Italy. LA Times restaurant critic Bill Addison gets his fill of pasta at Mother Wolf in Hollywood. Finally, Zen Ong is making ice cream using heritage grain corn tortillas.

Poised to open an all-day Middle Eastern cafe in East Hollywood, chefs Ori Menashe and Genevieve Gergis pay homage to their heritage in their sophomore restaurant cookbook, “Bavel.” After a year in the kitchen and embracing DIY projects, journalist Danielle Dreilinger traces the history of the surprising science behind  home economics. TASTE editor Anna Hezel weighs in on the benefits of nonstick cookware. Australian chef Josh Niland approaches fish butchery with sustainability and suggestions on how to use every component of a fish. Market correspondent Ben Mims talks about flowering broccoli with Justin Peach of Anajak. Los Angeles Times restaurant critic Bill Addison heads south to Anaheim for Yemeni cuisine. 

A child of the 1970s, chef Rick Martinez grew up in Austin before moving to Mexico in search of his heritage. Food workers and farmers are galvanizing and forming unions to push for fair practices. Chef and activist Suzanne Barr didn't have aspirations to own a restaurant, but cooking for her ailing mother sent her career on a new trajectory. Eddie Lin remembers Yening “Lupe” Liang of Hop Woo, a Chinatown institution. Felix Böck was inspired to develop a recycling system for reusing chopsticks. LA Times restaurant critic Bill Addison visits the new location of Shunji. Dragan Ivanovic drives a refrigerated truck with his forage that he brings directly to chefs' doorsteps.

In celebration of Earth Day, John and Molly Chester mark the decade-long restoration of their land with the film “The Biggest Little Farm: The Return.” Liz Carlisle and Neil Thapar discuss how five women of color are using regenerative farming to grow food and connect with their ancestral heritage. Filmmaker Liz Marshall follows a former cardiologist who is growing cultivated meat in the lab. Newly appointed LA Times Food Editor Daniel Hernandez tracks down his favorite Mexican fermented drinks on this side of the border. Bill Addison reviews a Malaysian coffee shop in Alhambra. Finally, Ben Mims finds sunchokes at the farmer's market.

This week we sit with Stasha Toncev, founder of Dubai's award-winning Balkan bistro, 21 Grams. Hailed in the media, Stasha's restaurant was praised as “charming” and “brain melting” by The Financial Times supplement, How To Spend It, and Bill Addison, the Los Angeles Times' celebrated food critic. In a heart-to-heart with Hashem, Stasha opened up about her childhood in Socialist Yugoslavia; her daring move to Dubai with 200 Euros in her pocket and the struggles of launching her restaurant business as a woman of Balkan descent– a double whammy in her view. Stasha and Hashem also talk openly about the importance of mental health for entrepreneurs and the struggles and personal sacrifices Stasha braved for her business.

Brothers Craig and Shaun McAnuff, born in South London to Jamaican parents,  embrace the Ital diet of Rastafarians, which includes plant-based recipes using spice and natural flavors. The Associated Press' Adam Beam reports on how California farmers are looking for alternatives to irrigate their crops as drought continues in the state. Americans annually consume $4 billion of carbonated water  — is that better than its flat counterpart? Chef and author Naz Deravian explains how Afghans celebrate Nowruz at the table. LA Times restaurant critic Bill Addison grabs a spot at the counter at Clark Street Diner. Finally, green garlic is at the farmer's market, where correspondent Ben Mims talks about shrimp curry with Rashida Holmes of Bridgetown Roti.

Bill Addison is a James Beard Award-winning restaurant critic for the LA Times. We chat about Grimes' DDoS attacks, a deeper dive into Diplo's carnivore diet, salad dressing through the years, Bill's singing career, cutting his teeth in Atlanta, how to recognize when food has a soul, the death of the takedown review, getting softer with age, the first six months of a restaurant, the importance of anonymity as a critic, vegan pastry, Bill's blessed metabolism, gay vanity, how to eat three dinners a night, how to get a res at Motherwolf, why to get the peanuts at Cookbook, and Bill doesn't believe in food trends but we still ask him about some. instagram.com/bill_addison twitter.com/donetodeath twitter.com/themjeans --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/howlonggone/support

Chef J. Kenji López-Alt breaks down the science behind cooking in his New York Times column. His first cookbook focuses on the wok and its versatility in the kitchen. Good Food contributor Kenny Ng researches the history of fried rice and shares his personal experiences with the dish. Chowhound birthed many local food bloggers as an early website and gathering place for food enthusiasts, and it's going offline this week. Leah Hyslop has a brownie recipe for every occasion and mood. LA Times restaurant critic Bill Addison has a breakdown of the James Beard Award finalists. Finally, the spring equinox is Sunday, and correspondent Gillian Ferguson talks Nowruz and herbs with Chef Debb Michail at the farmer's market.

The culinary influence of the Transatlantic Slave crossing is evident throughout the American South. In the Costa Chica area of Oaxaca, Mexico, the heritage is equally rich but not often recognized or discussed, says food writer Bill Esparza. Michelle Bishop of Harlem Needle Arts describes the work behind The Legacy Quilt, on display in the “African/American: Making the Nation's Table” exhibit at the Museum of Food and Drink. Lauren Ko is designing pies that are made for Instagram. Lucy Haro, a grant recipient from Re:Her, is serving Peruvian soul food at Qusqo Bistro. LA Times restaurant critic Bill Addison reviews Yangban Society in the Arts District. Tomatoes are ripe at the farmer's market.

With the Super Bowl and Valentine's Day around the corner, Good Food talks to Brad Kintzer, who has created a series of plant-based chocolates at TCHO.  Food writer Alicia Kennedy says nooch, the cheesy-flavored powder more commonly known as nutritional yeast, is rising in popularity. Chef Charity Morgan stands behind a plant-based diet and cooked the Tennessee Titans into the NFL playoffs. Shelley Leopold has the lowdown on where to pick up the best Super Bowl eats across town and where to go to cheer on the hometeam with fellow Rams fans. LA Times restaurant critic Bill Addison visits Echo Park for the city's latest Italian spot. Finally, sustainable prawns are coming to the farmer's market.

Natalia Pereira shares her life in recipes, canvassing photography, art, and poetry inspired by her memories of the Brazilian cuisine of her youth. Los Angeles Times restaurant critic Bill Addison marvels at the Iranian breads of Kouzeh Bakery. Icelandic chef Gísli Matt honors traditional ingredients while using modern techniques. Food journalist Dan Saladino researches generations of food eaten and those at risk. It may be winter, but tropical fruit is at Southern California farmers' markets. Finally, engineer Richard Gomez is pimping a new food cart soon to hit the streets of Los Angeles.

When Joe Coulombe conceived of Trader Joe's, he catered to a new customer who was overeducated and underpaid. Horticulturist Shannie McCabe champions heirloom varieties of seeds, sharing their histories and those of the farmers who grow them in the Baker Creek Seed Catalog. Hannah Marler funded her education by selling seeds. Sharon Wee prepares for Lunar New Year and describes the traditions of her Peranakan heritage. Bill Addison has recommendations for modern Filipino wine bar, Lasita. Finally, it's time to make marmalade with citrus from the farmer's market.

With a penchant for design, Corinne Mynatt became obsessed with discovering the history and functions of kitchen tools from flea markets around the world. David Owen considers the environmental consequences of the kitchen's largest tool — the refrigerator. Amanda Hesser tackles the herculean task of combing through over 150 years of New York Times recipes. Rhea and Marcel Michel combine their heritages for the ultimate rotisserie chicken. Los Angeles Times restaurant critic Bill Addison visits a new market hall in San Gabriel Valley. Baby kale is the new darling at the farmer's market.

L.A. Times food critic Bill Addison recently published his list of the 101 Best Restaurants in L.A., an annual tradition that started with Pulitzer Prize-winning food writer, Jonathan Gold. So today I invited him on the pod to talk through his process, which restaurants made the cut, which ones didn't, how the pandemic influenced his decisions (how do you evaluate a restaurant if you're only eating their food from a carton?), and how the recent reckoning in the food world regarding race and representation impacted his decision-making. He also tells us which restaurants he suggests visitors to L.A. to hit up first, why it's so hard to get a reservation at the Times' Restaurant of the Year, and which restaurant would've been #102. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Arts journalist Carolina Miranda asks in her essay remembering California native Joan Didion. Miranda recounts Didion's reference of her family's potato masher in her work, “Where I Was From.” Podcaster and author Cathy Erway recommends sprucing up the pantry by springing for high-quality sesame oil. Evan Halper reports on California's charge to eliminate the use of gas in homes and businesses. Chef Kavachi Ukegbu is on a mission to expand the audience of West African cuisines and its staple — fufu. LA Times restaurant Bill Addison returns with a review of Horses in Hollywood. Finally, conehead cabbage has an expected look with an unexpected sweetness and can be found across Los Angeles farmers' markets.

‘Tis the season for Good Food's annual roundup of cookbooks. Celia Sack of Omnivore Books in San Francisco shares her recommendations for the bakers, vegans, and jammers on your list. One of her favorite comfort food how-to's over the last year is Missy Robbins' book about pasta, which she says is the only book one needs on the subject. For anyone in LA who wants homemade lasagna and focaccia straight from the oven, head to Ceci's in Silver Lake, where Francesco Lucatorto and Francesca Pistoria are making traditional favorites from Genoa and are the subjects of this week's “In the Weeds.” Regional baking is perhaps nowhere as pronounced in the United States than the South, and pastry chef Cheryl Day is paying homage to her ancestors' ovens. Pomegranates are having their moment at the farmer's market just in time to celebrate the winter solstice. Finally, LA Times restaurant critic Bill Addison announces his picks for the best restaurants in the city.

Hungry? The Los Angeles Times' annual list of the 101 best restaurants just dropped. Whether you live here, want to visit or are just craving inspiration for types of food to explore near your own home, the list has something for you. Today, L.A. Times restaurant critic Bill Addison tells us about some of his favorite local restaurants — high-end spots, mom-and-pop places, Middle Eastern, Mexican, Korean and beyond — and how he chose which ones made the cut. He also talks about how food journalism is changing and why journalists used to give so much positive attention to chefs who made great food but behaved like toxic jerks. More reading: These are the 101 best restaurants in L.A.11 must-try pop-ups, the next generation of L.A. dining10 places to drink (wine, beer, cocktails, caffeine) right now

Attorney Joanne Lee Molinaro went vegan five years ago, modernizing the traditional Korean foods of her childhood and documenting the journey on TikTok as the Korean Vegan. She shares recipes and her family's immigrant story in her new cookbook. Burritos La Palma is the winner of this year's Great Tortilla Tournament of Champions, and owner Albert Bañuelos has been receiving congratulations from Jerez, where his father started the tortilleria over 40 years ago. At the farmer's market, a Mexican delicacy known as huitlacoche is making a rare appearance. Kristina Cho uses her background in architecture to bake a perfectly versatile milk bread. There's no looking back for pastry chef Hannah Ziskin who opened the doors of House of Gluten during the pandemic, and shares what's next for “In the Weeds.” Finally, LA Times restaurant critic Bill Addison visits Agnes in Pasadena.

What's the old adage — there's no use crying over spilt milk? The same goes for burnt toast, according to Cal Peternell. He offers hacks and fixes for the most common kitchen flubs. Next, mother and daughter Maria and Cindy Vera share their battle with the city to keep their family business called La Gloria, which has been making flour tortillas since 1954. Gustavo Arellano returns to share the Esso 8 in the flour and corn brackets of the Great Tortilla Tournament of Champions. H. Claire Brown reports on herbicide's losing battle against superweeds. LA Times restaurant critic Bill Addison bites into an array of savory pancakes in Koreatown. And quince is having its day at the farmer's market.

Eighteen months into the pandemic, the days of hoarding toilet paper are mercifully over. But that's not to say there aren't disruptions in the supply chain causing shortages on grocery store shelves, along with inflation. Laura Reiley reports on the business of food and why groceries are going to cost more through the end of the year. Gustavo Arellano is back with the annual Great Tortilla Tournament, which has been narrowed down to the Suave 16. Katerina Nitsou shares comfort food recipes from Macedonia that are perfect for the cooling forecast. LA Times restaurant critic Bill Addison discovers homestyle Lebanese recipes made from a kitchen in Hollywood. And market correspondent Gillian Ferguson tracks down guava and perilla at the Santa Monica Farmer's Market that are ripe for this Indian Summer.

Photographer Lucy Schaeffer captures the nostalgia and personal memories behind school lunch. Internal medicine doctor Rupa Marya and research professor Raj Patel discuss the disconnect between health and social justice in their book “Inflamed.” Iconic chef and restaurateur Alice Waters celebrates the 50th anniversary of the groundbreaking Berkeley institution, Chez Panisse. LA Times restaurant critic Bill Addison runs down the best breakfast burritos in the city. Finally, cue the sweet peppers at the farmer's market.

In part 2 of her interview with L.A. Times food critic Bill Addison, Jennifer and Bill discuss the evolution of the job of a food critic, as well as why Bill continues a dying tradition of remaining a faceless critic.

In the first of a two-part interview, Jennifer is joined by L.A. Times restaurant critic Bill Addison to talk about his food journey growing up, how travel impacted his relationship with food as well as dining out during the pandemic.

Lisa Donovan is the James Beard award-winning author of "Our Lady of Perpetual Hunger," a widely celebrated memoir about her time in the restaurant industry. She's also equally acclaimed for her baking: food critic Bill Addison has called her "one of the South's best pastry chefs" for her work at City House, Margot Cafe & Bar, and Husk, where she was famous for her buttermilk chess pie. In today's session, we hear all about her writing sabbatical in New Orleans, the difference between pleasing people and taking care of them, how her two kids represent the two sides of herself, and how Austrian pastries influenced her trajectory. We also talk about her recent diagnosis of Celiac, trying to remember how to be in love with food, developing her voice in cooking, where to eat in Nashville, and how she actually doesn't like desserts that much. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Chef Jenee Kim of Park's BBQ recalls opening the restaurant nearly two decades ago and how she persevered during the pandemic for a new edition of “In the Weeds.” Paul Greenberg has tips on lowering carbon emissions by consuming consciously. Chef Alan Bergo forages the familiar and exotic with new ways of looking at a sunflower and milkweed. Tomatoes are all the rage at the farmer's market. Beth Dooley shares how a newly developed grain is regenerating the land in the Upper Midwest. Finally, Bill Addison reviews the Brentwood location of Suzanne Goin and Caroline Styne's second outpost of A.O.C..

Chefs Ori Menashe and Genevieve Gergis pay homage to their Middle Eastern heritage in their sophomore restaurant cookbook, “Bavel.” In a year of hours clocked in the kitchen and embracing DIY projects, journalist Danielle Dreilinger traces the history of the surprising science behind the field of home economics. TASTE editor Anna Hezel weighs in on the benefits of nonstick cookware. Australian chef Josh Niland approaches fish butchery with sustainability and suggestions on how to use every component of a fish. Market correspondent Gillan Ferguson talks about melons with farmer Alex Weiser and Chef Sarah Hymanson of Kismet. Los Angeles Times restaurant critic Bill Addison heads south to Anaheim for Yemeni cuisine. 

Colombia, with its Carribean and Pacific coasts and Andres mountain ridges, has vast climates and Indigenous communities that influence its regional cuisines and flavors. This week, food stylist Mariana Velàsquez speaks about the essential, fresh ingredients of her homeland's recipes and pays homage to the women who were the backbone of her childhood in the kitchen. Gullah Geechee farmer and chef Matt Raiford describes the seafood of the Georgia coast, including shrimp for breakfast. From parmesan versus Parmigiano Reggiano to crispy versus crunchy, Brette Warshaw answers “What's the difference?” between some of the kitchen and grocery aisles most common headscratchers. Piemaker Kate Lebo embraces fruit and waxes poetic about its more difficult varieties. Eggplant makes its appearance at the farmer's market. Finally, Bill Addison visits a Cameroonian restaurant in Boyle Heights.

Evan Kleiman visits “The Plastic Bag Store,” where artist Robin Frohardt has designed products from collected materials that speak to the foreverness of single-use plastics and what it means for the future. Bill Esparza journeys through Los Angeles for barbacoa, the pit-roasted meat found across Mexico. The availability window for Blenheim apricots is open, and Sherry Yard shares how she is using those from See Canyon Fruit Ranch. Director David Gelb reveals the rise of the celebrity chef in his new documentary “Wolfgang.” Journalist and editor Laurie Ochoa remembers Chef Mark Peel. Finally, Los Angeles Times restaurant critic Bill Addison returns with his weekly reviews.

June 19, 1865 was the day in Galveston, Texas when enslaved African Americans learned they were free a full two years after then-President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation. Today is Juneteenth, the yearly holiday Black Americans celebrate their true emancipation. Chef and artist Ray Anthony Barrett discusses how he incorporates Hoppin' John and other dishes into his Juneteenth menus. Host Stephen Satterfield joins producers Fabienne Toback and Karis Jagger in their journey to bring the book “High on the Hog” by Jessica B. Harris to the small screen. Los Angeles Times restaurant critic Bill Addison returns with his most anticipated dining experiences now that reservations are open across the city. Stephanie Wilson solicited funds to reopen the beloved diner Swingers in this week's edition of “In the Weeds.” Marcia Chatelain recently was awarded a Pulitzer in history for her work, “Franchise.” Finally, it's berry season at the farmer's market.

It’s the second week of the holy month of Ramadan, when Muslims around the world gather together to fast and reflect. Chef Anas Atassi shares ways he is breaking the fast. SÜPRMARKT founder Olympia Auset discusses the dearth of healthy food options in South LA. Carmen Dianne and Kara Still were catalyzed by the pandemic to create Prosperity Market, a roving farmer’s market to uplift Black businesses. Stacy Michelson creates whimsical drawings to inspire people to eat and shop well. Bita Rabhan shares the story of her family’s immigration and their bakery takeover in this week’s “In the Weeds.” Finally, LA Times restaurant critic Bill Addison delivers his recommendations for LA pizza.

In anticipation of Sunday’s Super Bowl, Chef Brandon Kida revisits his childhood and love for Pioneer Chicken with his latest venture, Go Go Bird. San Francisco Chronicle restaurant critic Soleil Ho suggests embracing the chaos of pandemic pop-ups and takeout culture. Los Angeles Times restaurant critic Bill Addison has recommendations from around the world right here in LA. Pomelos are in season at the farmer’s market in time for Chinese New Year. Jessica Wu reports on the FDA’s approval of genetically modified pigs. Tezeta Alemayehu shares opening her Ethiopian-inspired vegetarian restaurant during the onset of the pandemic for this week’s installment of “In the Weeds.”

Sophia Parsa wears many hats: Head of Community at FabFitFun, co-founder of the Mountain Gate series, angel investor, and a Forbes 30 under 30 co-chair. During the pandemic, she's recently co-founded two exciting ventures, Boxxie Party and Golden Rice Co. Boxxie Party delivers themed table scapes, while Golden Rice Co. is a Persian food pop-up that was just listed on The Infatuation's “Best Pop-Ups in L.A. right now” and received a glowing review by L.A. Times restaurant critic Bill Addison on his Instagram. In this episode of How Do You Do? Podcast, Ben asks Sophia to share her experience venturing into the food world by launching a pop-up during the pandemic (10:32), how she manages her time between her many roles (20:46), her approach to angel investing (28:00), and more. Follow us! Sophia: @sophiaparsa ( https://www.instagram.com/sophiaparsa/ ) How Do You Do? Podcast: @hdydpod ( https://www.instagram.com/hdydpod/ ) Ben: @benhannani ( https://www.instagram.com/benhannani/ ) Website: www.hdydpod.com ( https://www.hdydpod.com/ ) Our guests' jams can be found on the "HDYD Jams" playlist ( https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4tBdUz3kXb1T5im2CzSBUV?si=qc_DgVSCR1W65phsuv6vVQ ) on Spotify!

Everything Is Under Control: A Memoir With RecipesBy Phyllis Grant Intro: Welcome to the number one cookbook podcast, Cookery by the Book with Suzy Chase. She's just a home cook in New York City, sitting at her dining room table talking to cookbook authors.Phyllis Grant: My name is Phyllis Grant, and I've written a book called Everything is Under Control, and it is a memoir with recipes.Suzy Chase: This book is both a memoir and a cookbook. You give us a candid glimpse into a few of the most pivotal times in your life. I noticed that you use words sparingly, but you managed to relay a vivid story. Bill Addison in the LA times wrote that your single line spacing suggests a poem. To kick things off, can you just talk a little bit about your writing process?Phyllis Grant: Well, a lot of the stories in my book are stories that I started writing decades ago. So I found that when things have been hard in my life, that writing about them and rewriting about them to my friends over the years has really helped process and sort of move on. To help me sort of let go of postpartum depression, let go of particularly hard births, let go of the intensity of dancing in New York and finally moving on to another career. So the process of writing about these experiences led to this book. So this is really a collection, not really of diary entries, but of things I've written to friends in order to process sort of the milestones in my life over the years. And that has ended up being hopefully, a more accessible sort of way of not only telling stories, but also having people be able to take them in as in some ways as their own stories. As more universal, the essence of life is what I was trying to achieve in this book.Suzy Chase: I guess you just answered my second question, is why did you choose to write this in present tense? Was it because you wrote things down on the spot in the moment?Phyllis Grant: That's part of it. Also, it would be so fascinating for me to go back and look at all the different iterations of this book because at one point it was not in the present tense. At one point it was in the second person. I think part of the writing and rewriting process for me was to take it into many different forms. At times, this book was way overwritten and sort of a bloated memoir, filled with all sorts of food imagery and senses and so on, and it was a bit over the top. So by paring it down and bringing it into the present tense again, it was more about being more relatable, more universal.Suzy Chase: I can't imagine this was ever a bloated memoir. That's so funny.Phyllis Grant: Well, I had a book deal with a different publisher about seven years ago and I was sort of pushed in that direction and it was really the wrong direction for me as a writer. And I think in the end, getting my book back, moving on, reselling it to a different publisher, allowed it to become a much, much stronger book, a much shorter book, but way, way more relatable. And there's a lot of blank space in the book, but what people have said to me is that those blank spaces really allow you to pause and breathe and take in each section before you move on.Suzy Chase: The subtitle is a Memoir With Recipes. Tell us about the 17 recipes in the back of this book.Phyllis Grant: Well, it was really hard to choose 17, I have to admit. Because I have hundreds, they aren't all as well tested as these 17, but in many ways I was trying to look at the recipes in the same way that I looked at the stories. So wanting them to be less specific recipes and more templates. So in other words, if someone wants to learn how to make a tart, I have a very detailed narrative recipe about how to make tart dough, but then all these different things you can do with it. Same thing with salad dressing, same thing with stew. I give you sort of an outline of how to do it the first time, and then my idea as a teacher is to help you make it your own. And these 17 really are more like templates and I'm hoping that they will help people learn how to cook, especially people who don't normally cook every day. We've had a lot of time lately to cook and people have mentioned that cooking three meals a day for the first time in their life, they're really learning quite a bit. And I've learned a lot by repetition, so I like to take recipes and make them over and over and over again. It's not about making it perfect and then moving on, it's about letting the recipe have a life.Suzy Chase: One recipe that caught my eye was your grandma's Fudgy Icebox Brownies on page 221. Can you describe this recipe and talk about why you freeze it?Phyllis Grant: This is based on a brownie recipe that my grandma used to make. So I certainly think of this recipe is very comforting. I see my grandmother's face when I make the recipe, when I read the recipe, I think about her and she always puts cinnamon in them, a little bit of cinnamon. You almost can't taste it, but it does something to dull the sweetness and sort of bring out the chocolate flavor. So that's sort of the unusual twist in this. And the thing that I experimented with and it was sort of accidental, is taking the brownies out when they're a little bit under cooked and then letting them cool and then freezing them and then cutting them into strips. And then when you want a little tiny chocolate snack in the middle of the night, or with glass of wine, you can just take this, basically, it's like a log of brownies out of the freezer and cut off just a few slices. It's very rich, it's almost fudge like, but I find by freezing it, it lasts a lot longer, and it's always there for you when you want a little treat.Suzy Chase: You wrote, "When I cook, I'm calm and confident." Tell us about that, because I'm not.Phyllis Grant: It's true. It's what I've always done to relax, to sort of meditate, to get away from the hard stuff. Whether it was when I was 10 and hormones were kicking in and I was feeling overwhelmed by life or hormones postpartum. It's just always been the place where I've gone. The kitchen has been where I go to recalibrate in some ways, to start over and to be able to sort of face what's next. And I write about that in the book in relation to pastry when I'm young, because I think there is, even though I encourage people to play with recipes and learn, there's also something very grounding about having a recipe that you know will work always. Very, very comforting.Suzy Chase: I'm going to read a few various lines from the book. The first is, "There's no such thing as being full. We eat so we don't have to acknowledge what's coming next, and we are so hungry." Many women were brought up to believe thinness show the world, how much we were in control. I know I was. I don't think we realized how often food and life intersect. Can you talk a little bit about that?Phyllis Grant: One thing that I've noticed looking over the past 50 years is when I write about anything in life, there is a through line of food. Part of it is we all have to eat. So that's just naturally a part of our day. But for me, as I said, it's more than just that, it's like the actual act of cooking for myself, cooking for my kids, cooking for my partner. It's incredibly gratifying. But at times in my life it's been about not eating or it's been about being confused that I'm not hungry. And so tracing over 50 years, the role of food in my life was a big part of writing this book. And as a dancer, especially there were times I was not eating much at all because I wanted to look a certain way. And of course in the end, I didn't feel well psychologically. It didn't work out so well to not eat, and I learned that pretty quickly. But I think especially when you're young, food like when I was living in New York City, without my family, I missed the smell of the brownies cooking. I missed someone bringing a platter of steaming brown rice and chicken and putting it in front of me. I missed that so much so I would seek that comfort in other ways. So for me, it was always at the end of the day, I needed to have a big cup of coffee and enormous blueberry muffin with streusel on top. And I found throughout life and now maybe it's cheese and a martini, but there's always something in the day that helps sort of, again, going back to grounding me in the ritual of something. That's the comfort in that food brings me.Suzy Chase: You just mentioned dancing. How old were you when you came to Juilliard here in the city?Phyllis Grant: I was 18 and Julliard didn't have a dorm at the time. So I actually lived in a residence hotel at 93rd and Broadway with a bunch of other Juilliard students and a bunch of drug addicts. Not the Juilliard students, but the building was definitely questionable. There was a gunshot hole in the front door, and you didn't feel so safe in the middle of the night and the stairwell. It was a little sketchy to be 18 and living in a place like that. But you grow up pretty fast and you build a pretty strong community of people and we looked out for each other. But that was 1988 in New York City, it was a different time. Wow.Suzy Chase: That was a really different time.Phyllis Grant: Especially upper, Upper West side, definitely.Suzy Chase: Oh my gosh.Phyllis Grant: Yeah. For better, or for worse, it's certainly changed a lot.Suzy Chase: Describe your first Thanksgiving away from home at Windows on the World.Phyllis Grant: Basically it was the three of us, Berkeley girls needing each other so badly and wanting a very special dinner. So we went to Windows on the World and it was so terrible. It was the worst meal I've ever had. And the truth is there was so much turnover in that restaurant. You never know what you're going to get, it was a bit of a tourist trap at the time. And we ate all the terrible food and we drank way too much wine and then we threw up in the bathroom and went back to our lives uptown. It was definitely not one for the books. It was a pretty depressing night for sure.Suzy Chase: Well, for people who don't know about Windows on the World, it was in the World Trade Center before 9/11. It was amazing, I vividly remember going there and standing in the floor to ceiling windows and just staring out at the city. But we never ate there, we just drank.Phyllis Grant: Yeah, I do it in my book. I mentioned that exactly what you said, the floor to ceiling windows and sort of needing that sort of special separation. It's like way downtown and it was way up high. And of course it has so many more layers of meaning now because we were in New York city on 9/11 and we watched the second plane hit. We watched those buildings fall. So it's kind of a wild thing to think about being there at 18 for Thanksgiving dinner and then 20 years later, watch those buildings fall.Suzy Chase: How did you go from dancing at Juilliard to being an apprentice at some of the top restaurants in New York City?Phyllis Grant: Well, it was the nineties and you could knock on the back door of a restaurant and walk in and say, "Hey, can I work for free or what needs to happen today?" And that's what I did. So I would go eat a meal at a restaurant and then asked to meet with the pastry chef. And they were really eager back then for extra help. And part of it was the celebrity chef thing hadn't happened yet. So I think once Food Network kicked in, which was probably the mid-nineties, something like that, there was this excitement about working in restaurants. So it became much harder to do that. But the time I did it, which was '93, '94, people really welcomed me into their kitchens because they needed the extra help. And then once you're in, you're in like in most jobs and you can slowly work your way up. So, that's what I did.Suzy Chase: What was the favorite restaurant you worked at?Phyllis Grant: I guess I would say working at Bouley really was extraordinary. They had just gotten four stars from the New York Times and it was very similar to dance in terms of the adrenaline, it was very exciting. So I personally, would feel very nervous right before service, sort of getting set up and all that. And then once you start, you just fly. It's just like six, eight, nine, 10 hours of service. And the thing that keeps you going is adrenaline. It's really exciting and you learn a lot really fast in that kind of environment.Suzy Chase: I found the similarities between dancing and restaurant work too. And I was thinking that the guy that runs the kitchen is basically the same personality type as the person that teaches ballet at Julliard.Phyllis Grant: Very similar, yes. Old school sort of hierarchical and male dominated, absolutely. There's so much in common there. And things are changing, thank goodness. But that back in the nineties, things had not started changing yet. And so part of it was, I just like with dance, with restaurants, I knew the game I was playing. I stepped in and I played my role and I did what I was supposed to do. And sometimes that meant sort of putting up with a certain amount of abuse, harassment. Yeah, so very similar worlds.Suzy Chase: So at a certain point you reconnect with M, a former lover and realized how much you've missed cooking for him. Then you get married and 9/11 happens. What happened next?Phyllis Grant: Well, we had lived in New York City for a decade and there was something about this traumatic event that I think part of it was this feeling of you only live once. And what are we doing living in this 375 square foot apartment in New York City? Why don't we try something new? So I was a yoga teacher at the time and my husband was a working actor. So we moved to Los Angeles. So three weeks after 9/11, we drove across the country and moved to Los Angeles, and boy was that a rough transition. We missed New York still. I still miss New York, frankly. It's a hard place to leave, but there was something about that moment, that shift, that crack open that 9/11 gave us. It was a devastating, devastating time, but I'm grateful that we decided to try something new.Suzy Chase: Talk about how you move to a condo above your grandmother. What impact did that have on your life?Phyllis Grant: At the time we had two young children. So I worried a lot that we were being too noisy, that was the hard part. But the beautiful part was just knowing that my grandma was downstairs and that she was in her late eighties at the time. And she needed a lot of support and it was so great to be there for her. And she was very private, so I wouldn't go knock on her door and barge in, but I would check in almost once a day and any food I was cooking, I would bring her some. And it was really lovely to sit with her and actually, to sometimes sit in silence. To have tea, to have cookies and just let that be okay. There's less of this urgency of, "Oh, I only see you once a year. We have to get in all this quality time." Instead, we just became a part of each other's daily lives in a very important way.Suzy Chase: I feel like you had more in common with your grandmother than your mother.Phyllis Grant: Oh that's interesting. I think in some ways that's true, actually. My mom actually growing up, always used to say that she wanted a more traditional upbringing in a white picket fence. And there's certain sort of things she wanted because her dad is an artist and they were always moving around and they didn't have any money. And my mom really wanted something more traditional. And I would say that I am more like my grandmother in that we moved around a lot and I don't necessarily need things to be traditional, in fact, I'm sort of well known in my family for always doing things a little bit differently. So I think that's really actually insightful of you Suzy, because she and I, my grandma and I share a lot in terms of how we live or how she lived and also how we cook. And I also appreciate my mom so much and her meticulousness, in fact, my daughter, I think is very much like my mom and I love seeing how it skips generations.Suzy Chase: How did it feel getting Ruth Reichl, and Elizabeth Gilbert's glowing reviews of this book.Phyllis Grant: Oh, so moving. So the first blurb I got actually was Elizabeth Gilbert. So I have to tell you, starting off with that one gave me a nice little push. And then the last one I got was Ruth Reichl, So it was nice to be book ended by those two incredible women I've admired for so long. So honestly, sometimes I feel like I'm just going to wake up and it was a dream.Suzy Chase: No, it's real.Phyllis Grant: Is it really? I know it's on the back of the book, I guess it is real. Yeah. The fact that they took the time. You can tell they read the book and they really took it in and I can see that in their blurbs. So that means the world.Suzy Chase: In this Instagram perfect world we're living in, how was it opening up about the tough intimacies of your life that you probably wouldn't just talk about at a dinner party?Phyllis Grant: I started a blog about 10 years ago called Dash and Bella. And initially I would write about making cupcakes and playing with the kids and the chaos in the kitchen and so on. And then these posts started to morph a little bit more into the hard, raw, uncomfortable stuff. So I got used to writing about it. And the reason I continued to write about it is the community I started to build. People would reach out to me, they would direct message me, email me, and start telling me their stories. So what I realized is by telling my heart stories that it helps other people tell theirs. And as I said earlier, it's therapeutic being able to write about the hard stuff can help you let go a little bit, and if I can just do a little of that with this book, I've been really encouraged by the fact that people are starting to write their own stories and reaching out to me and thanking me for telling mine. So it feels more like a community responsibility.Suzy Chase: So here's the big question. At this point in your life, do you feel like everything is under control? I need a drum roll or something.Phyllis Grant: No, but there are things that are, and I suppose that's what keeps us all going. Just sort of that realizing what is under control and partly going back to what I said, like ritual like my coffee is there in the morning, my dog is there looking at me, ready for the food. My kids need me to feed them. There's so much beautiful stuff to read. So I'm trying to find control in the smaller things, but it is true, big picture is pretty terrifying right now in terms of lack of control.Suzy Chase: Yeah. And I think we can focus on resilience.Phyllis Grant: Yeah. And I see that in my children too, as I talk to my friends a lot about what's it going to look like in a year for all of us, when we look back? What will we have learned and done. And I do see how strong and resilient our kids are. And yeah, thank you for saying that about my book. I feel like, yeah, I look back on the past 50 years and I did, I got through it all, knock on wood. So far.Suzy Chase: So yesterday I made your Classic Jammy Anchovy Sauce on page 192. Can you describe this recipe?Phyllis Grant: When I would go in and work on my book for a few days, which often was the only way I could get anything done, any writing done, I would go away. I would want to cook to procrastinate instead of work on the book, just because finally I have time and I would think, "Oh my gosh, I want to cook all day." So instead of actually cooking all day, I would throw all these ingredients into a pot with a jammy sauce. So anchovies, and tomatoes, and wine, and sugar, and salt, and vinegar, and let it bubble away all day while I was writing. So it a way to cook and to smell something wonderful cooking, but still be able to work on my book. This jammy sauce you can put on so many things. You can put it on pasta, you can put it on toast, you can have it as the base of a pizza, it can be like a ketchup on a sandwich. So it's quite versatile, it's really hands off because all you do is stir it every 20 minutes, if that, and then you can freeze it and you can make a big batch of it.Suzy Chase: Now to my segment called my favorite cookbook. What is your all-time favorite cookbook and why?Phyllis Grant: That is impossible. Which is not the answer you want.Suzy Chase: Wrong.Phyllis Grant: There is one book though that does pop into my head always when people ask me that question and that is Chez Panisse Desserts by Lindsey Shere. And she was the original pastry chef at Chez Panisse, and this is the book I cooked my way through when I was 22, just deciding that I wasn't going to be a dancer and I needed to find something else, and that's when I realized cooking was my thing. And if you open this cookbook, there's chocolate all over it. The pages are filthy. And I think that's a sign of certainly a well-used book. And I would call that my favorite.Suzy Chase: Where can we find you on the web and social media and your blog?Phyllis Grant: I haven't posted much on my blog, but some people have been saying they've been going back and looking at the archives of the recipes. So I think I'm going to put those in a more organized form, but that's Dash and Bella, it's a blog spot. You can just type in dashandbella.com and on Twitter and Instagram, I am @dashandBella. And Instagram is really my world these days, that's where I tell stories. That's where I'm sort of doing a daily food diary. It's replaced the blog in some ways.Suzy Chase: And here it is our summer beach read. Thanks Phyllis, for coming on Cookery by the Book podcast.Phyllis Grant: Thanks Suzy.Outro: Subscribe over on CookerybytheBook.com. And thanks for listening to the number one cookbook podcast, Cookery by the Book.

In this episode of the podcast, Jason and Bobby are joined by James Beard Award-winning restaurant critic for the Los Angeles Times, Bill Addison. Bill shares how he began his career as a restaurant critic, and explains why Los Angeles is the most exciting places in the nation for food and dining. Bill reveals some of the restaurants around the city worth paying a visit to, and some of the things you should consider ordering. He also explains why you won't find any photos of him online, and why he prefers to keep his identity hidden.

Bill Addison is the James Beard award-winning food critic for the Los Angeles Times and, in today's session, we go deep into his past, Ratatouille-style, and learn about his formative restaurant experiences (he still remembers the name of the waiter!), his obsession with Lebanese food, his capacity for self-criticism, and his mother's potato rolls. We also talk about his writing technique, L.A. as the greatest food city in America, and why he gets so mad when a restaurant sends over a free dish. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

For near five years, journalist and former chef Bill Addison traveled America as Eater’s first, and only, roving restaurant critic. It was an epic and sometimes grueling run, one that I am sure will end up on the shelf of Kitchen Arts and Letters in memoir form in due time. Bill has since landed a new job in a city many consider to be the beating heart of American food culture today: Los Angeles!In this candid interview, Addison talks about his new gig as co-restaurant critic at the Los Angeles Times, where he and Patricia Escárcega have been tasked with replacing the legendary Jonathan Gold while also having a fresh take on the beat. We talk about Addison’s marching orders—the territory he will be covering and what defines L.A. proper—and some of the cuisines he will be targeting in a city of hundreds. Hint: Syrian home cooking has been getting a closer look as of late. I also ask him about the best restaurant he has visited in his short time as critic and the one pastry he cannot wait to bake in his new home kitchen.Also on the show I speak with Kim and Tyler Malek, the founders of beloved ice cream company Salt and Straw. We talk about their cool new cookbook and how they invent their hundreds of new flavors each year.

The Ringer's Joe House is joined by Danny Chau to discuss his recent trip to Toronto and its array of cuisine, including Jewish, Trinidadian, Vietnamese, Malaysian, and more (1:44). Then House talks with L.A. Times food critic Bill Addison about his pivot from traveling food writer to critic of one of America's most prolific food hubs, the great awakening of the American palate, 2019 food trends, and more (22:48).

Bill Addison joins us to talk about his fifth and final list of the most essential restaurants in America. Hosted by: Daniel Geneen and Amanda Kludt. Sign up for Kludt’s newsletter here and complain to us upsell@eater.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Eater's national critic Bill Addison on his most anticipated openings this fall (4:20). Pop culture editor Greg Morabito on what food tv to look out for this fall (29:20). Senior editor and cookbook obsessive Daniela Galarza on her most anticipated cookbooks (38:30). Hosted by: Daniel Geneen and Amanda Kludt. Sign up for Amanda Kludt’s newsletter here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The freezer aisles are being overtaken by non dairy and diet ice creams; Zan Romanoff explains. Restaurant dessert menus are being taken over by soft serve and sundaes; Monica Burton explains. Finally, Bill Addison and Daniela Galarza judge a contest to decide what the best pint of ice cream actually is. Contestants: Stefanie Tuder, Esra Erol, Serena Dai, Matt Buchanan, Milly McGuinness, Pelin Keskin, Stephen Pelletteri. Hosted by: Daniel Geneen and Amanda Kludt. Sign up for Amanda Kludt’s newsletter here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode has all the write stuff. We're thrilled to be joined by Bill Addison, Eater's National Critic, and Priya Krishna is a writer whose work has appeared in the New York Times, Bon Appétit, New York Magazine, and more. Our theme song is “Suns Out Guns Out” by Concord America. HRN Happy Hour is powered by Simplecast

Eater's national restaurant editor, Bill Addison, and our own deputy editor, Julia Kramer, discuss what it's like to be a restaurant critic in 2018. The landscape is vastly different than it was even 5 years ago with more "best of" lists than ever, diminishing local platforms, and a political climate that can't be ignored. There's a lot to be celebrated out there in a country that cares more about food than ever before, so how do they do it? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Eater editors Serena Dai and Stefanie Tuder pop in to talk food and design trends, in NY and beyond. Then, Eater's national critic Bill Addison faces a lightning round of trendy ingredients and determines whether or not they're here to stay. Finally, the wizard behind Eater's instagram, Adam Moussa, reflects on 2017 in food pics and where he thinks we're heading in 2018. Email us! Upsell@eater.com Hosted by Amanda Kludt and Daniel Geneen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bill Addison spends nearly all of his time on the road, deciphering American dining as a whole. Every year he presents his findings in a list called America's 38 Essential Restaurants. Everyone (including Bill) thinks Bill has the greatest job on the planet, but it has its drawbacks. Also- eater senior critic Robert Sietsema takes us on a little tour of some new carts that have popped up in Brooklyn.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Show Notes Bon Appetit: http://www.grubstreet.com/2017/08/bon... Au Cheval: http://www.grubstreet.com/2017/08/au-... Bill Addison on ST: https://www.eater.com/2017/8/15/16143... Pete Wells: https://ny.eater.com/2017/8/15/161510... Truffle Shuffle: http://hashtaglegend.com/post/what-yo... Little Fish: https://www.geekwire.com/2017/canned-... Logan Paul: www.youtube.com/loganpaulvlogs

Jay Rayner's Le Cinq Review: with cats: www.eater.com/2017/4/10/15240702…e-cinq-review-cats Via Vox: www.vox.com/world/2017/4/10/152…3026/le-cinq-review Bill Addison on "New Romanticism": www.eater.com/2017/4/7/15218858/…ildair-staplehouse World's 50 Best: The List:www.theworlds50best.com/list/1-50-winners Media Hype: www.eater.com/2017/4/9/15226332/…ritique-food-media Flynn McGarry on Eater's Upsell Podcast:www.eater.com/2017/4/3/15078892/…ter-upsell-podcast WTF, Heston?: mashable.com/2017/04/03/heston-…view/#z0I45Q7wGaqy Seattleites doing cool stuff: www.instagram.com/saltyseattle/ www.instagram.com/ericriveracooks11/ Bonus rapid fire stories, Hip-Hop Edition: www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvTRZJ-4EyI www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOgPk5T1xi0 www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertain…-a7675806.html

Author Natalie Goldberg will be at Eagle Harbor Books on March 16th at 7 pm for a truly special evening. She will speak about her new book "The Great Spring: Writing, Zen and This Zig Zag Life." And the event also marks the release of the 30th anniversary edition of her classic book "Writing Down the Bones," which has sold over one million copies and been translated into 14 languages. In her beautiful new book, "The Great Spring", Natalie tells stories that include moments of awareness drawn from her years of writing, teaching, and practicing Zen. In this podcast interview, by Skype from her home in New Mexico, Natalie talks about her enduring devotion to Zen meditation and how it is interwoven with her writing and teaching. She touches on some of the stories in her new book, including her meeting with Bob Dylan's high school English teacher. And she comments on why one should not write to get love. In 1986, "Writing Down the Bones" inspired writers and would-be writers to “free the writer within” by grabbing “fast” pens and journals and keeping the hand moving to get stories, experiences and observations down on paper. For years, Natalie has encouraged writers to move beyond self-doubt, to listen deeply and discover their voices through letting the writing rip -- consistently and with gusto. The new edition has forewords by Julia Cameron and Bill Addison and includes a new preface in which Natalie reflects on what she has learned about writing in the last 30 years. A revered teacher, her workshops inspire writers from all over the world. She currently lives in northern New Mexico, where she writes, hikes and paints, though she says she feels at home in many parts of the world. Join Natalie Goldberg at Eagle Harbor Books on March 16th at 7 p.m. Because a large audience is expected, you are asked to sign up for the event in advance at the store or on the EHB website. Those who purchase the book in advance will receive priority in seating and for the author's signing. Credits: BCB host: Anna McClain; BCB audio editor and social media publisher: Barry Peters.

Bill Addison is Eater.com’s restaurant editor, a job that keeps him dining around the country for the majority of the year. Before coming aboard the Eater mothership, Bill was the food editor and restaurant critic at Atlanta Magazine, and before that he had critical stints at the Dallas Morning News and the San Francisco Chronicle. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices