Gastronomic Dialogues with Amy Drew Thompson

As I fired up the grill at Ibis Images Studios, the sizzle of the perfect bison burger wasn't the only thing heating up the room. Our conversation with Amy Drew Thompson, seasoned food critic and journalist, took us on a journey through the flavors and stories that make our culinary experiences truly memorable. We sank our teeth into the world of food photography, the tales behind tailgating delights, and the vibrant discussions that only a shared love for food can ignite. From personal anecdotes about family's commitment to restaurant life to the indulgent laughter over health concerns from a good appetite, we covered a smorgasbord of topics that resonate with anyone who's ever found joy in a bite.

Let's face it, the allure of a juicy burger or the perfect pulled pork can lead to some serious food envy. But it's not just about what we're eating – it's about the camaraderie forged over shared plates and the hardworking individuals

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Transcript

Speaker 1: 1:04

Hello Food Fam. This is the Walk and Talk podcast, your favorite food podcast, and I'm your host, carl Fiedini. Welcome to the show. We are podcasting on site at Ibis Images Studios, where food photography comes alive and I get to eat it. I'm so stoked, I am super excited because January 13th is right around the corner and we have our Farmers Craveable Dinner series. Oh my goodness, that's going to be great. And if you didn't buy your tickets, well too bad, you're out of luck and you'll get to see the pictures. You'll get to see all the social media On the menu today. And thank you, penancella Food Service for supplying the proteins for today's Produccione.

Speaker 1: 1:49

It is still tailgating season and the big games are still coming, and that means we're still doing that kind of fun food. Who doesn't love a great burger? We're turning up the heat and we're cooking up a Colorado based high plain spicy burger plus a couple of smoked pork options. They're going to bring the smiles and I did it and I'm full. I'm so full and happy and I killed the burger Like I literally ate it as I'm doing this studio cam. I took the bite and I just said guys, get the hell out of here. I'm eating it and I did. That's what I did. Too bad if you don't like it. Also this week this week's our guest is an actual journalist, which is very you know, we're kind of who we are. Jeff brings the show down whatever she's been published in the New York Times, usa Today and the Orlando Sentinel and more. She's a foodie and in the central Florida food industry. No, she knows it all. I'm in awe. Right now We've got Amy Jude Thompson on deck Jefferson.

Speaker 2: 2:55

What an intro.

Speaker 1: 2:56

Yeah, jefferson popped the clutch, slam it a preship baby, let's make it happen.

Speaker 3: 3:01

I just want to go on record that Slythe and John and I sat and watched you and went wow, I wanted to taste that burger.

Speaker 1: 3:07

Well, you know, you didn't jump in fast enough.

Speaker 3: 3:09

No, nobody can. How many burgers you said you'd eat at a city? Two to three. There we go.

Speaker 2: 3:15

Yeah.

Speaker 3: 3:17

So we wanted to keep it going. So with the tailgating theme. So we did a pulled pork Boston, but we did a little bit of coffee rub from Sweetwater Coffee from out of Gainesville. Thank you very much again. But again I had been tasked with challenges to make sandwiches as good as they can possibly be, and I think the pork sandwich was pretty darn good. So we did it with a tart cherry, with debris pickled jalapenos. We bronzed, or pan fried or pan seared, since that one person was asking about what his bronze mean Rye bread with smoke, maple syrup, with maple vinegar slaw. Then I gave it a whole nother dimension. Then we did up and I wanted to pay a little bit of homage to the bowls are going around like Chipotle bowl, you know any type of bowls like that. So we did a barbecue bowl and it was a smashed potatoes. We had no sauce on the pork. The pork was actually the azu, which was bourbon, which was just ridiculous.

Speaker 1: 4:17

No, no, no. It was more than that. It was more than that. That was outstanding. Thank you, because you didn't need the barbecue, yeah.

Speaker 3: 4:25

It's one of the ones things I wanted to move. I would showcase the barbecue beans, because we're going to do that Saturday.

Speaker 1: 4:30

I was thinking. When I tasted it, I was like, are you kidding me? That's what I said. Oh, there's a dad joke. I want to use that. You can use it. I give you permission.

Speaker 3: 4:39

And we did the collards. So I wanted to bring that in. And then the burgers. I wanted to do something a little bit different. So I did a charred romaine on the one, with fried onions, with guava and cheese, paying a little homage to you know, being from Miami smoked poblano, and then put that on top. And then I, John, says, come on, you just give me a burger that's not chef's size. So I said, OK, no problem. So I did the bison burger. White coastal cheddar what no, go ahead. White coastal cheddar with caramelized onion jam. And then I did mustard.

Speaker 1: 5:11

But that doesn't sound like a basic burger. I know Well, wait, wait, it doesn't sound like a basic burger.

Speaker 3: 5:17

It wasn't, though, because we also did tomato powder on that.

Speaker 1: 5:19

I know, that's my point. We're like oh, we're going to do a regular, but it was, I knew it. Yeah, I know.

Speaker 3: 5:25

He doesn't like red onions because it needs the texture, so I had to do the onion jam.

Speaker 1: 5:28

Listen, his shortcomings on food profile is not has no, has nothing to do.

Speaker 3: 5:34

Yeah, but here's the thing, it's the challenge for someone like him that has that. You know, I don't like this, I don't like that. So how can I do it better? He doesn't even talk. Well, I have to talk for him. It's like Penn and Teller, ok.

Speaker 1: 5:48

All right, I love it. There we go.

Speaker 3: 5:50

Wow, so we did. So I've been harvesting.

Speaker 1: 5:53

now I embraced that. Ok, just for the record.

Speaker 3: 5:55

Thank you OK? So the garden at home has actually been producing some products. I got watermelon radishes and then did cucumbers. I wanted to do a garlic infused pickle that I just that's from my little, you know deli deniers. I was growing up as a kid in Hollywood so I did that and then I think he liked it.

Speaker 1: 6:15

So he's shaking his head. Yeah, yeah, well, ok, at least Cindy's got dinner, at least Cindy's got dinner.

Speaker 3: 6:20

No, I'm not. I managed it because I didn't try the burger.

Speaker 1: 6:24

Well, first of all, I took a big, giant bite out of it. I didn't think you wanted any. There's a knife.

Speaker 3: 6:28

We could have cut it in half. We could have.

Speaker 1: 6:30

I cut it in half.

Speaker 3: 6:31

It was at less than a minute. Yeah, that was like.

Speaker 1: 6:34

That was a snap from silent, john he's, he communicates, no. But so what happened? What would have happened? What happened was right I, so I had this thing. It was this beautiful bison burger and the the sauce that was in the guava cheese Dude. I mean I couldn't share it and I'm sorry, I'm not like that. I always want to feed people. That's how I roll. He went prison guard.

Speaker 3: 7:02

He like the arm around it.

Speaker 1: 7:04

Yeah, what you see in in the studio camp that I put out already on on the IG. I told you guys to get out of there. That was legit. I wasn't even kidding.

Speaker 3: 7:17

No, I literally I think we sat there and talked for like 30 seconds more and I go, he's almost done with it, yeah.

Speaker 1: 7:23

Sorry, screw you guys.

Speaker 3: 7:25

Obviously Thank you.

Speaker 1: 7:26

Cartman, screw you. Yeah, I owe you. I owe you when we, you were just getting him back for the ribs last week True story, I mean, they look great, I mean, but I slam that. I got that whole sandwich though. Yeah, you got that, sammy. Yeah, I got both. No, both.

Speaker 3: 7:42

Both, yeah, but at least Cindy's got food for tonight.

Speaker 1: 7:46

I, you know, I'm happy about that. Mostly no fans in a love, you know that. But really this is, this is my place to forget about the world. You know we got a you know five, six, seven, eight, nine hours, whatever it is, on a Thursday, and it's, you know select group of people here and we just, you know with, with Jeffrey's creative you know food genius, we're having these amazing you know dishes. Not one dish, we're just four stinking dishes.

Speaker 3: 8:17

What are you going to do Saturday? Because you ate one. Yeah, why, thank you. Thank you, you know what?

Speaker 2: 8:20

How many dishes are you going to eat?

Speaker 3: 8:22

on Saturday. I don't even know what I'm doing.

Speaker 1: 8:26

I don't even know what I'm doing on Saturday. Honestly, we're going to get into that Hold on, hold on, wait a second, did you? Did you finish?

Speaker 3: 8:33

your? Yeah, I'm, I'm. You see my phone's down, I don't have to look at the copy anymore. All right, Okay.

Speaker 1: 8:39

Um well, without further ado, let's, you know, let's. She's chomping at the bit too, like she's.

Speaker 2: 8:42

I'm never waiting this long, like I'm not waiting this long, you know well because you're talking about food that I also ate.

Speaker 1: 8:48

So I'm like well you're, you're going to get your shot. You're going to get your shot.

Speaker 2: 8:52

You get one, all right.

Speaker 1: 8:55

Well, welcome the Amy Drew Tom Thompson to the program.

Speaker 2: 8:57

It is so delightful to be here, but listening to your voices, you have such wonderful radio voices you wouldn't expect it, because we're just a bunch of schleps.

Speaker 1: 9:06

I can not have the mic.

Speaker 3: 9:08

He went to schlep.

Speaker 2: 9:09

I went well. You know, based on a clamp, now Slep. You know you slept Whatever, yeah.

Speaker 1: 9:15

Schmendryk.

Speaker 2: 9:16

I don't know whatever that I know yeah.

Speaker 1: 9:18

It works All right, so what's your take?

Speaker 2: 9:21

on what? On all the food you wanted.

Speaker 1: 9:22

Well, I saw you sit there. You wanted to jump in here, I know, but you know the moment's gone.

Speaker 2: 9:25

That's the whole thing.

Speaker 1: 9:27

You guys were like we're gonna talk about the food, Are you my wife? You just stay quiet.

Speaker 2: 9:30

What happened here and I was just, you know, listening, but yeah, I can't. When you started talking, I wasn't even here. When you ate this burger with the guava and the cheese that I missed.

Speaker 1: 9:40

Right.

Speaker 2: 9:41

And so now I'm pissed that I didn't get to taste the burger.

Speaker 1: 9:44

So are we. So are we. I could tell you. You could just take my word on it.

Speaker 3: 9:49

It was really. I was really no, seriously. I looked at that and went, God, I can't wait to try that.

Speaker 2: 9:53

I was imagining that you know video of Patrick from SpongeBob. He's just like vacuuming up the hamburgers.

Speaker 3: 9:59

It was even faster than that.

Speaker 1: 10:01

He's got nothing on me.

Speaker 2: 10:03

Yeah, three burgers in a sitting.

Speaker 1: 10:05

I can. That's when I'm not today, but that's what I do.

Speaker 2: 10:08

Like that kind of burger or smash burger.

Speaker 1: 10:11

Forget it Like so. Earlier you said something. You said well, you know what? I don't need the kutrimins or the signs or whatever. That's how I roll. So if I'm eating like actual homemade burgers, or even at a restaurant, I can put down one of those and I can put another one down. Probably took a third too, but it's because I'm not eating all the other stuff.

Speaker 2: 10:31

Right.

Speaker 1: 10:32

You know, and if you're talking bison, they're so lean anyway you know it was still a formidable.

Speaker 2: 10:37

I mean, it was probably the same size of the burger that I did get to taste as well, correct, correct, so that wasn't a smash burger. That was, like you know, a cooked to temp, nice thick burger.

Speaker 1: 10:46

I had. I told you about this place. It was like a house, yeah you did. What the hell is it? Hunting gather, Hunting gather yeah. Right, yeah, it was a good thing. They do a great job. It's all local stuff, gamey stuff, you know. Love that, yeah, but they do a. I think it was a boar smash burger thing that he did. It was really good. Super good.

Speaker 3: 11:09

I was actually thinking about doing a smash burger until I saw the sizes of those buddies, so that was not going to happen.

Speaker 2: 11:14

Those go good with the mustard. Cause we were talking about mustard before you get those mustardy crunchy edges on the smash burger.

Speaker 1: 11:21

We had a whole episode.

Speaker 3: 11:23

In the kitchen, in the kitchen, over here Waiting for our coffee.

Speaker 1: 11:26

Yeah, and, by the way, I just want to mention something. So a couple of real quick points for this event that we're doing on Saturday Okay, global Citrus. Oh, super stoked, they're coming on board as a sponsor for the event.

Speaker 3: 11:44

They're all over the menu.

Speaker 1: 11:46

Yeah, I know, I'm so excited. I was with Patrick Kelly the other day and we've got the Citrus America unit in the studio, so he had two cases of the tangerines. Oh my God, dude, it's so wonderful, it's wonderful.

Speaker 3: 12:06

It's Florida in an orange yeah oh, my God.

Speaker 1: 12:09

Anyway, or tangerine I should say yeah, so super excited about Noble being a part of this. Also, sweet water coffee, right. And, by the way, I just wanna throw a shout out to John here, because dude makes the best cafe con leche. I don't care where you're from, buddy beats everybody All right. He doesn't talk much, but, man, he can put out the coffee. Good job, baby. I just wanted you to know that.

Speaker 3: 12:32

And, by the way, there was somebody that works for Sweet Water it was her birthday yesterday who's also gonna be there on Saturday. So happy belated birthday. That's another Amy. Yeah, well, no, that's her mother. So Amy, yee, it wasn't her birthday too.

Speaker 1: 12:45

Oh was it, Tina.

Speaker 3: 12:46

Tina's birthday was yesterday, so happy belated. And Amy Yee, when one of our farmers and Vicky Webster, another farmer who's going to be both, are gonna be there, it's their birthday Saturday night.

Speaker 1: 12:57

Ah, okay, my goodness.

Speaker 3: 12:58

A lot of action.

Speaker 1: 12:59

Yeah, we've got three birthdays Five months prior. For these people, a lot of action. Well, not certain people, all right. So, amy Drew Thompson, yes, so you had some stuff here. You see how you see it. He's not much to look at, jeffrey, but man, he really puts it down Ouch.

Speaker 3: 13:17

Yeah, it's all right, I'm used to it.

Speaker 1: 13:18

It's what we do. But he really can throw down in the kitchen.

Speaker 2: 13:23

I can vouch.

Speaker 1: 13:24

I really. I'm so happy because we've been talking for what? Two years, a year and a half, I don't know. It's been a while right and that's.

Speaker 2: 13:30

I think that's sort of the nature of built relationships. I have such good partnerships with people now who I met, like on Twitter or Instagram, because of a common love of food or local produce or championing small business, whatever it is, and our relationship kind of started that way, I think.

Speaker 1: 13:57

Yeah, it started that way, on probably Instagram or something like that or LinkedIn or one of these things, and so we've always had this like digital communication thing right. So this is the first time we've actually met in person and I'm glad you got to come here on a production day where we're doing our thing and you get to see John doing the photography and you get to see Jeff doing his thing and you didn't get to see me slam the burger.

Speaker 2: 14:22

But you know, we haven't recorded. The tech, I have to say he may be quiet. That operation the photography just before you even get to anything getting cleaned up was like not geo gorgeous, except it was hamburgers. It was bison on a bun instead of in a field grazing, basically.

Speaker 3: 14:44

I'm glad you said that because I tell a lot of people we come here and we shoot. Some of the days it could be six hours and I'm like, by the way, food doesn't move, it's not running around in a field, it's food, it's cooked on a plate. He's so meticulous at what he does, like we were shooting the raw product. You weren't, you were doing something. I think you were doing the noble spot. And he's like, hey, can we somehow remove this line? That's right there. And I'm like, where you could barely see it, I had to put my glasses on.

Speaker 3: 15:14

But he, being the perfectionist he is and I'm not saying this is a bad thing, I'm saying this because when you have a guy that is this talented as Henry and the silent John, you need somebody like that because he finds these little nuances. And you saw it when we took the. We had to do the one of the burgers. We had to redo it. Just to him it was like what do you think? I'm like it looks like a burger. He goes it looks messy to me. I don't like this, I don't like that. I'm like, hey, let's go redo it, that burger, when we did it. It's just amazing. So if you're in the field, if you're looking for somebody that's gonna do some really fantastic food photography, hands down this dude is so worth it.

Speaker 2: 15:52

It's more than style, because food stylists often use non-food elements to mimic food for the photography. Like this is real mustard coming through, you know, getting piped onto the burger so that it looks so beautiful. It's just beautiful.

Speaker 3: 16:08

We eat it yeah and then yeah. No, you mostly eat it. Well, I mean today I would love to.

Speaker 2: 16:13

I need a small amount of it, but yes.

Speaker 3: 16:15

We were like Oliver from you know please, sir, may I have some more Wow?

Speaker 1: 16:21

May have another.

Speaker 2: 16:23

Well, the sour cherry brie was unbelievable. I would really have liked to taste the guava cheese I would.

Speaker 1: 16:30

There's some over there.

Speaker 3: 16:32

No, but guava and cheese by itself is guava and cheese. Guava and cheese on a burger with sattie.

Speaker 2: 16:36

There's another cult. I lived in Miami six years. I would have dug on that.

Speaker 1: 16:40

Oh my God, I'm sorry. Well, you were not even in here.

Speaker 2: 16:43

No, I wasn't already. I would have been like, come on. Yeah, I know.

Speaker 3: 16:47

We were like two puppy dogs watching him scolp that thing down. I'm like I would have loved to taste that one.

Speaker 1: 16:52

It's almost like what happened. It was like a total disjointed. Yeah, my eyes rolled back into my hand, it was like a hand-writish shark.

Speaker 3: 17:01

Yeah, it was like that Crazy. Hey, listen whatever. There's shark cuterie. And then there's Carl cuterie, shark cuterie.

Speaker 1: 17:08

Right, okay.

Speaker 3: 17:09

Oh, I think we're done.

Speaker 1: 17:10

Burger shark. Wow, all right. So Amy, give a little, so you do a lot of stuff. I do and I love it all. Thank you All right, Can you go a little bit into the for the audience, a little bit about your history, kind of where you come from, what you're doing now, and then after that we'll talk a little bit about maybe how we can do a little regular podcasting.

Speaker 2: 17:36

That would be super fun. Well, we'll see how this goes. I just started.

Speaker 1: 17:39

Yeah, true story.

Speaker 3: 17:39

I turned into a train wreck.

Speaker 2: 17:40

Yeah.

Speaker 3: 17:41

I'm here, it's okay.

Speaker 2: 17:42

Have a good background. I grew up in the restaurant industry. My father owned restaurants, was a chef, was a business owner a small business owner so I have an affinity for local restaurants because I know how hard it is. My dad and I've told the story before. I think my dad once went 11 years without consecutive days off.

Speaker 1: 18:06

That's serious.

Speaker 2: 18:07

But the people who do this listening are nodding. They're like, yeah, I could totally see that or that's happened to me, or something like that.

Speaker 2: 18:16

So, I know how hard it is. I love to eat. I always have, I'll eat, I'll try anything and if I don't like it, I'll probably just keep trying it until I find a version that I like. I don't have any onion pickiness or mayo pickiness or I can't relate. I know I was making a face when they were talking about that. You don't like. How do you not like red onion? Red onion is like red onion makes everything but chocolate cake better, and probably there's a way it can make chocolate cake better.

Speaker 1: 18:49

I was looking at him because I saw his I was caramelized, I was watching his gears turning.

Speaker 3: 18:54

I just said it was Chipotle, and caramelized it and pureed in the actual chocolate.

Speaker 2: 18:58

And it's dope, so I write Not Saturday, though.

Speaker 1: 19:01

No, not that no, but let's-. I would like we should try this. This would be great, Is it too?

Speaker 2: 19:06

soon. It's too soon. Do you have enough time?

Speaker 3: 19:09

No, I no.

Speaker 2: 19:10

Yeah, I do, but I don't want to. That's for next time.

Speaker 3: 19:14

Chocolate and red onion.

Speaker 1: 19:15

We'll figure it out Right now. He's like not in my house, you won't.

Speaker 2: 19:23

I write for the Orlando Sentinel. I've been doing that for four and a half years about. I love it. I love meeting all the people front of house, back of house. I love learning about different kinds of cuisines. I know a bit, but I still don't know more than I know and that'll probably continue until the end. But I love it. I love everything that I'm learning. I love everything that I learned this morning just watching what was going on today.

Speaker 1: 19:51

But isn't that what makes a certain part of the journalism component fun?

Speaker 2: 19:56

Yeah, well, it is. What makes that's the whole thing is that I want to learn all these things. I love asking questions and in this job that's what I'm supposed to do. Normally with other people, we'll be like it's so annoying while she does his ask questions, but when I'm there I'm supposed to do that, so that is, somebody in today's environment get into journalism in an effective way.

Speaker 2: 20:18

I'm too old to answer that question. I've been in it too long and the game has changed quite a bit. I came to the Sentinel with decades of experience already, so how they? I would imagine that it's, you know, social media driven. Largely. None of these things existed when I first got into it. I was mailing my resumes in an envelope to people.

Speaker 1: 21:23

What's an envelope? Pretty much, I mean, that's kind of what it's like, that's what you're gonna when I would submit freelance?

Speaker 2: 21:29

I would have to. I would mail one to the New York Times and mail one to myself. That's what they would teach you, because this way you'd have a postmark to prove if anybody stole your work.

Speaker 1: 21:41

That it was your work. Yeah, that's, or yeah, like you would a similar thing would.

Speaker 2: 21:45

It's like proof of life.

Speaker 1: 21:47

Yeah, when you kidnap someone, okay, well, I mean you went to a dark place, but yeah, I mean that's okay, so all right. So if I would say how I see it, there's such a swing, right Cause we're I think we're all pretty close in age here. You're probably the youngest.

Speaker 2: 22:07

That's a very fair view? Probably not. I am 53 years old.

Speaker 1: 22:11

There's no shame in my game, so All right, well, I'm still the baby, whatever. So I'm gonna be. I'm gonna be 15 a couple of months.

Speaker 2: 22:17

Oh, that's so cute, I know like well, yeah he actually left.

Speaker 1: 22:23

Look at him he's having a good time. Finally, finally, even after the burger Burger gate, everything has changed. You know when you were, when you were talking about 11 years, no days off right. Only certain generations are gonna get that cause 0.0% of anybody that's, you know, 35 or younger today they don't do it.

Speaker 2: 22:46

What do you talk to? What is that? A new attitude that's very healthy, which is I can't work all the time or I'll die.

Speaker 1: 22:53

And, by the way, I'm not saying one's right or wrong in terms of that, because the truth is, you know, we're on this planet a short period of time and it stinks when you're forced to work, to live, to work, to live, to work, to live, to work, to live.

Speaker 2: 23:09

I think it's different also when you're an entrepreneur though. This was my dad working for his own business, correct, so that's a whole other animal. I think.

Speaker 3: 23:17

Well, it's a different mindset nowadays because you hear between the American Culinary Federation and people that I talk to about how do you get your staff and how do you communicate as a Gen Z and you're talking to a millennial or a Z or whatever. It's so much more difficult for us like we're just like go with it, gen Z, they're not gonna work. I just told you guys I worked for the last three days Nothing less than 12 hours on my feet and I'm like what?

Speaker 1: 23:43

do you want? A cookie? That's what I was like, exactly.

Speaker 3: 23:46

And I think to Amy's point. We need a change, and that's one of the things that I'm big about trying to change is how do we get two days consecutive off in the industry? You don't only get that when you're working for a corporation, and sometimes you don't. And that's one of the biggest things is like, how do we figure out that balance, the work-life balance, and that's one of the I think that's.

Speaker 2: 24:04

It's a post COVID crisis that really changed the game. People left. It was kind of I look at it as I'm a freelancer and I've written for the construction industry for a long time One of the things that's been pervasive issue is the employment shortage. There's not enough people to do the jobs and I think that the and this was sort of triggered almost by the housing bust, so people who were close to retirement and other people, when the housing bust happened, left the construction entry. Some of them retired, some of them changed careers, never to come back, and so there was an employment shortage, there was a worker shortage, and I think that the same thing has happened post COVID or similar thing in the restaurant industry, in that people left and they don't wanna come back to. Either they left for good and change careers or they don't wanna come back to the same situation they were in before.

Speaker 1: 25:01

Yeah, I think that's accurate. You know it's funny because it's not the same situation as it was before. In some cases it is. You know what I mean. But the reality is most independent operations immediately changed course and started offering more money, the better packages, stuff like that, a lot of the corporate places. It took a little time because it's kind of a lag sort of a thing, but most in most cases, like dishwashers, are making $20 plus now.

Speaker 2: 25:36

Which is so crazy to me. I remember when I was a server and I think I made $2.13 an hour $2.13 an hour yeah but plus tips.

Speaker 1: 25:44

Yeah, but when you average it out you were making 25 bucks an hour, like you know. I mean I did If you were in a.

Speaker 2: 25:50

But what about the people who aren't in those places where the tips are gonna balance that? What about those people who are in, although now in like a basic sports bar, a burger?

Speaker 1: 25:58

cost $19. Seriously.

Speaker 2: 26:01

So maybe you are, I don't know.

Speaker 1: 26:02

That is the absolute truth, you know.

Speaker 2: 26:04

but when I was working in a sports bar. The last sports bar job I had a burger was, you know, $7.99.

Speaker 1: 26:10

And that was super expensive.

Speaker 2: 26:11

So I wasn't, you know, you weren't making that.

Speaker 3: 26:14

That was a gold leaf burger right there, but yeah, no, there was still a little bit higher than that too, and there's nothing like one with shenanigans that thing. He had prices that were ridiculous back then, like a prime rib dinner was $13.99. I used to make really good money there $13.99,.

Speaker 1: 26:30

Can you imagine anything being $13.99? You can't get a drink for $13.99.

Speaker 2: 26:35

I mean, I see it now and I always call it out Like, oh, this is really quite reasonable. And then I'll go into a place and I'm like how is it $75 for this lunch for two people Like didn't have a drink or didn't? You know it should say no alcohol, right, you know how is two appetizers and two entrees at lunch, you know, 75 bucks? Well, I think but it is in some places.

Speaker 1: 26:58

So part of the conversation that's been had here with ADT and you know Wong and Doc, it's so you get to go to all these really cool independent local spots, a lot of mom and pop sort of places, and-.

Speaker 2: 27:16

My favorites.

Speaker 1: 27:18

Yeah, well, they're my, our favorites too, to go and eat at. But we've, you know, with the show we've kind of always, you know, lean towards. You know your more fancy, you know fancy dancey sort of operations. You know everybody's got a place.

Speaker 2: 27:33

I love that too. Yeah, but I think it would be Fancy, clear ice cubes and all that. I love it Like I really enjoy-.

Speaker 1: 27:39

Yeah, man, are you kidding me? I love it. So what I'm thinking? I see you as like this bellwether you know of, you know-.

Speaker 2: 27:49

Eating behind the gas station where I just bought ribs.

Speaker 1: 27:51

Yeah, for, like seriously, I would love to hear about this on a regular basis. I think the audience would totally dig it.

Speaker 2: 27:58

Sure, I mean Right, go, go. Actually, I don't go in my car, now that I actually finally got some air fresheners in there I desperately need to detail my car. My car always smells like food. Like people get in my car and they're like do you drive for Uber Eats? Like my car just it smells like residual food perpetually.

Speaker 1: 28:17

And I do eat in my car a lot. I do too. I mean, it's really, it's a sickness. But you know, when I leave here a lot of times and I don't do any cooking, people like I do the eating, but when, when, I leave I think that was recorded. Yeah, no, I own this, bro, like I own it, I'm okay with it.

Speaker 2: 28:33

That was the whole first 20 minutes of the show.

Speaker 1: 28:34

Yeah, for real, what are you doing?

Speaker 2: 28:37

He's recording.

Speaker 1: 28:37

Get out of here, get out of here with that, so when I leave but when I leave I feel like I worked a shift. That's what it smells like.

Speaker 3: 28:45

Feels like you're working a shift.

Speaker 1: 28:46

Right, yeah, whatever.

Speaker 3: 28:48

I wish you recorded my facial expression instead of his.

Speaker 2: 28:53

That was more he can get that later. Get the reaction shot later. Oh my God, I used to Wow, can you say?

Speaker 1: 28:57

that again, you felt like you. What Not? I felt like-.

Speaker 2: 29:02

He smelled like-.

Speaker 1: 29:03

You smell like you worked a shift. He smelled like you worked a shift.

Speaker 3: 29:06

Oh, that's better. I'm glad you clarified, because he and I both felt like you worked a shift.

Speaker 1: 29:11

That's because you got too many feelings. No, I don't have feelings, I don't have a heart. My God, you know what kind of chef are you with these emotions? What is this? That's a good one.

Speaker 3: 29:20

I know.

Speaker 1: 29:20

I'm only kidding, bring it in, baby, bring it in. I know it's so modern. It is, this is what we do. It's this clash of-.

Speaker 3: 29:30

Front of the house, back of the house.

Speaker 1: 29:32

Gen X, raised by boomers, smashing into Gen Z, and we have it all here on the show. Always it's constant Because, listen, when I moved up here from Miami, I worked 11 months without a day off period, not consecutive 11 months, nothing like 11 years of. That's insanity for his business.

Speaker 2: 29:52

God bless here somebody else Might have kept him alive. I mean, he made it to 92.

Speaker 1: 29:56

Well, no, it's a beautiful thing because you're doing it for yourself. I did 11 months for somebody else and it almost killed me, like it was no bueno in any kind of way. Most people don't wrap their head around that. They're like what do you mean For somebody, did they? Would you get out of that? Well, a lot of experience out of that.

Speaker 2: 30:16

This is so heavy for my first appearance.

Speaker 1: 30:20

Yeah well, we don't mess around. We don't mess around.

Speaker 2: 30:22

If we were talking about like cheese and mustard in the kitchen.

Speaker 1: 30:25

Yeah, I mean, I love cheese.

Speaker 2: 30:28

Yeah.

Speaker 1: 30:29

What's your favorite cheese? Oh?

Speaker 2: 30:31

favorite cheese. I like the funky, smelly stuff.

Speaker 1: 30:33

Oh really.

Speaker 2: 30:34

Yeah, I do. I, like you know, like the funkiest, moldiest blue cheese, like you know, four feet on the feet scale.

Speaker 1: 30:42

You know she's fun, she's, you're fun.

Speaker 3: 30:45

Like a Stilton. Stilton, stilton's, not that oh it can be there are some out there that can get.

Speaker 2: 30:51

Like a Yorkshire blue cheese. It's like fudge. It's like if fudge were made of blue cheese.

Speaker 1: 30:57

Feet fudge.

Speaker 2: 30:58

Yeah, it is, it's smelly feet fudge with mold and oh yeah, yeah, I'm sure he doesn't like that.

Speaker 1: 31:05

I'm more of a. No, he doesn't. I'm a Manchego, okay, oh, I love Manchego. I mean, I just like cheese, I do too, but I do have. I don't know what was your funk factor? What did you say?

Speaker 2: 31:15

Four feet Four, like you know, on a scale of one to four four feet. And I mean, I mean actual feet, Like, not a unit measurement.

Speaker 1: 31:25

I know what you mean. I'm probably like a.

Speaker 2: 31:27

Smell measurement.

Speaker 1: 31:29

One foot three pinky toes, something like that. I'm like, I'm in that range. You know I can. I like it, but not.

Speaker 2: 31:34

I like it all. Though, I like it all.

Speaker 3: 31:36

My grandfather used to have the Lundberger cheese, and then you open that thing up, it's like, no, I'm good, never tried it since, never have.

Speaker 2: 31:45

Yeah, no, no, I like the stinky stuff. I've had some phenomenal, you know American made blue cheese from different, you know creamries in like Oregon and Wisconsin and all over the place I'm trying to remember where Rogue River is.

Speaker 3: 32:02

Do you know where Rogue River is? So Rogue River blue. I've used that one, yeah.

Speaker 2: 32:06

That's some of the best blue cheese I've ever had.

Speaker 3: 32:08

Don't worry, Silent John's gonna look it up for us. Yeah, he's gonna check that out. There you go. I love that. He's our Googler.

Speaker 1: 32:12

Yeah, that's fantastic, yeah, but listen, we're almost a professional.

Speaker 2: 32:16

This is great, because normally I'd be on my phone.

Speaker 1: 32:19

Right.

Speaker 2: 32:20

You know, go wait, hold on, hold on.

Speaker 1: 32:21

It stinks because my gut is to Google everything you know. Are getting into an argument with the children. Wife, friend, co-worker. Give me the phone.

Speaker 2: 32:31

Isn't it funny, though, how like the kids grew up with this super computer in their pocket. They're the ones where you're like. They ask you questions and you're like why don't you just Google?

Speaker 3: 32:40

that Yep.

Speaker 1: 32:41

It's weird, right, go Google it. So this is in Oregon, it's Oregon.

Speaker 2: 32:45

That's why it was the first one that popped into my head. Phenomenal oh my God, that Rogue River blue cheese. Go to your local cheese shop and get that.

Speaker 1: 33:32

Yeah, shout out.

Speaker 2: 33:33

Yeah, it's really good.

Speaker 1: 33:35

Thank you, Google master.

Speaker 2: 33:37

And I'll say I learned about that from Tanda Corrente, who is Lafemme de fromage, has a shop at East End Market in Orlando.

Speaker 1: 33:45

She's phenomenal, she knows so much and Lafemme de fromage and finds so much yeah, we used to do business with her. Shout out Tanda, we did business with her.

Speaker 3: 33:54

The one that I know from down in Broward is the cheese course.

Speaker 2: 33:58

Okay.

Speaker 3: 33:59

Yeah, she wow. That opened my eyes to a lot of things.

Speaker 1: 34:01

But, Lafemme, they do a terrific job.

Speaker 2: 34:03

Yeah, they do a really good job yeah it's a great spot and there's just so much fun stuff there if you just like cheese and if you go on Friday God, this is such a plug Grilled cheese happy hour, oh so we did the grilled cheese. Some kind of fun funky grilled cheese with a good little beer. Hey, maybe, maybe.

Speaker 1: 34:20

Yeah, tell me more about that.

Speaker 3: 34:24

What's your favorite grilled cheese? Yeah, we're talking Like what are you?

Speaker 2: 34:26

Honestly you know I'm from New York and so diners there aren't a lot of good like New York Greek diners. Here I like either grilled mozzarella with tomato and rye, just like. It's like so basic but it's so good. If I were going to do something funky, somebody would have to do something chefine crazy with, but I would like something that's got funk for sure, you know, like with gorgonzola or something in it.

Speaker 3: 34:56

And dulce de le dulce garganzola would be really good because it's got that creaminess?

Speaker 2: 35:01

Maybe not. I probably wouldn't go as sweet as a dulce, but like something tart fruit could go in there. I like what you just described though with the mozzarella, maybe green apples, so there's crunch in there. Oh man, yeah. No, that's like the best Mozzarella or provolone, just with tomatoes on rye. I like rye bread. You know what I haven't had in?

Speaker 1: 35:21

forever. Oh my gosh, you like when you go, when you're in New York. It never happens here. You go to New York and you go to the store and you bring back the fresh mozzarella and you open up the wax paper.

Speaker 2: 35:34

I want to learn how to make that.

Speaker 1: 35:36

Oh my God, but then you cut it and the juice, the water just oh my God, a little salt on it. You just eat it right there at the sink man. Oh my God, I missed that, so it's gone.

Speaker 3: 35:45

There's a place down in Hollywood called Mimis and they still do the mozzarella the same way. It's 108 degrees in the water and they just take the curds and a little salt.

Speaker 2: 35:56

And they just have a big tub there and they just pull and then they form it into a ball. Frankie and Anthony I want to learn to do that. That's a project that I've wanted to write about for a while. I haven't gotten around to it I made it to Duckin' once though.

Speaker 1: 36:08

Oh yeah, yes, no kidding, yeah, how'd that go?

Speaker 2: 36:10

It went really well actually. I mean, it wasn't perfect. I ended up kind of skewering it together, so it wasn't flawless. But when I cut it it was there. I did it. It was the inception of meats.

Speaker 1: 36:24

That's right. That's a lot of that's serious.

Speaker 2: 36:29

It was called Cook Something Bold Day and I wanted to make tempano but I didn't have the right pan bowl to make it and I ordered one, but it didn't make it in time for my deadline, so I pivoted to Duckin'. Now I have a good bowl for tempano and I still have to make it.

Speaker 1: 36:50

So you like to get into the kitchen I love to get into the kitchen.

Speaker 2: 36:53

I am not any kind of a professional chef, I'm just a fairly proficient home cook. You're going to see me chop stuff and probably just go oh, knife skills, but I mean.

Speaker 3: 37:05

I can still chop stuff that doesn't bother me. I don't look at anybody like that.

Speaker 2: 37:10

But I mean, I can follow a recipe, and if you can follow a recipe, you can make good food.

Speaker 1: 37:15

Yeah, you can make it happen. That's interesting. So because I'm sitting here right and we're behind the mic, we're talking and you mentioned before, you're like, oh, I love to cook and obviously we know what you do for a living, so you're just into this whole foodie world, which is awesome.

Speaker 2: 37:32

I love it, yeah. And then I started thinking I do get food fatigue, though. Do you get food fatigue eating all the stuff? No, Sometimes I'm just like I just want to drink ginger ale today. I want to drink kombucha just for the day.

Speaker 3: 37:46

So Thursdays are the day I really don't eat, Because I'm cooking and then get done and I got to get back home and I'm like I don't feel like cooking anything.

Speaker 2: 37:55

But then on the way home you get like Chick-fil-A. No, no, that's a push. No, most, yeah, I worked until 1 AM, and then Fizzoli's was the only thing open.

Speaker 1: 38:04

So I hate breadsticks.

Speaker 2: 38:06

It's like somebody who's making it.

Speaker 1: 38:07

That's a different deal right there. That's a whole different deal.

Speaker 3: 38:10

Well, there's a different reason why you're stopping too.

Speaker 1: 38:12

Yeah, well, listen. So last week or the week before, I don't remember.

Speaker 3: 38:17

But I had my fill.

Speaker 1: 38:20

I did good here.

Speaker 3: 38:21

You actually took some stuff home. I think it was last week. You took two sandwiches.

Speaker 1: 38:25

I mean, I always take something home, but I ate it when. I got home, I did a number here, you ate it all day.

Speaker 2: 38:30

Then you ate again when you got home.

Speaker 1: 38:32

Fifth and fourth, I ate, though I think it was last week. It was like a hobbit.

Speaker 2: 38:35

He ate the rest. Second was a second breakfast, yeah.

Speaker 1: 38:38

Second dinner. Third dinner my wife is like, dude, go to the doctor, please, for the love of the family Go.

Speaker 3: 38:45

And I'm like, ok, yeah, I got to probably check that out and he asked me to go because I have to explain to the doctor why he's this way.

Speaker 1: 38:51

Yeah, man, I'm like. Somebody's got to explain this. Like you know, kara, why are you trying glycerides so high? I don't know. Ask him he cooks for me. I don't want to. I ate his food.

Speaker 2: 39:00

Pace. I could put it away If I was not being careful. I can eat. I am not a bashful eater. I don't feel bad as a girl. I mean, don't get me wrong, I like salad, Like I don't want to make it like all I want is meat and potatoes. I like everything, but I can put it away. So with this job, you know I have to there's moderation involved. You can't, you can't, I can't, I can't clean my plate, because if I cleaned every plate, I would be on two chairs right now.

Speaker 1: 39:31

I like what you're saying.

Speaker 2: 39:32

Yeah, I can understand, I'm picking up, I'm five feet tall, every pound looks like two on me. So you don't have a diet problem, you have a height problem.

Speaker 3: 39:41

That's like me. I should be eight, seven, there should be.

Speaker 2: 39:44

No, I like being five feet tall. I am many mighty. I don't need it. I don't want to eat for somebody who's eight feet tall.

Speaker 1: 39:51

No, Well, you know when you work in when you work within the food industry and you you get to experience, you know all the different, you know the hot spots and the trendy places and the local places. And then out of nowhere, somebody comes up and they say hey, I know that, you know all the places, you know where should I go tonight for X, y or Z? Because that's me, I know all the chefs, I work with them and you know all these things.

Speaker 2: 40:19

Right, I don't mean that Like I literally the crazy part is is that, for as much as I know, it's like the surface, because there's just thousands of places, thousands, but then I blank out.

Speaker 1: 40:29

People ask me and I'm like hey, where should I go?

Speaker 3: 40:32

And I'm like I ask him all the time.

Speaker 1: 40:33

I don't know. I don't leave me alone. Don't ask me. I don't know anything. Leave me alone.

Speaker 2: 40:39

I don't know. I mean I, I think I usually, especially if they email me, because then I can sit there and kind of think about it.

Speaker 1: 40:44

That's different.

Speaker 2: 40:44

But yeah, no, no, I think. I think most of the time I don't blank out. I can always at least offer a couple of things, but then what will happen is later I'll be like oh, there's also this place and this place and this place, you know maybe just me.

Speaker 3: 40:56

Is there? You mentioned earlier, when we were in the kitchen, the green room talking you, the green room, you, you, you, you eat something and if you've worried, maybe it was just now you eat something. If you don't like it, you try to find it. Who's doing something, right?

Speaker 2: 41:08

Chop liver is a perfect example of that. Growing up I would go to different dinners saders and people would be like, oh, whoever it was in the house, you have to try the liver. She makes the best liver, he makes the best liver. The chop liver is so good with eggs, without eggs, chunky eggs, small eggs, the whole thing. I would eat it and I'd be like you know, I'm not an animal, I don't have to spit things out, I'm not four, but I didn't care for it.

Speaker 2: 41:34

You know, it would always taste. Actually it was Matt Henkley, again, east End Market, from Henkley's Fancy Meats he makes you know, put patés and all of these beautiful terrenes. And he said to me one day oh, if you eat bad liver it's like sucking on loose change.

Speaker 3: 41:50

No, he's 100% right.

Speaker 2: 41:53

It was like it snapped into focus.

Speaker 2: 41:55

I was like you're right, that's what it tastes like pennies, and so it has this metallic flavor. When it's not good and I didn't enjoy it, but I would try it every time I'd be like, all right, I'll bite. And then I started having good liver and I was like now I get it, now I get why people like this. So I'm glad that I kept trying it and just didn't say you should never just say I don't like whatever, because it may not be the best version or there may be a version of it you would like if you kept trying it. So you can't just I mean people do, but you can't just throw a blanket over it Durian.

Speaker 3: 42:30

I'm still not past durian yet. I haven't found durian in the way that I can eat it.

Speaker 2: 42:35

That could be a project we should do that?

Speaker 3: 42:37

Yeah, they're fortune cookie back in. What about like?

Speaker 2: 42:40

ice cream when they do durian ice cream, are you just talking about the fruit, fruit Fresh?

Speaker 3: 42:44

My buddy owned an Asian market called fortune cookie and I remember walking into Jeff's place and I was like what the heck is going on who died here yeah? He had it sealed in a refrigerator and it's still. Do you know what durian is? Cause you're looking at me all like I'm just trying to picture this.

Speaker 2: 43:00

It's a very popular fruit in Southeast Asia.

Speaker 3: 43:03

Yeah it's like jackfruit, but for them it's the jackfruit for the Southeast Asians, and it's Jackfruit is delicious. Oh yeah, it is, but durian has a smell, that is.

Speaker 2: 43:17

Pungent.

Speaker 3: 43:18

Thank you.

Speaker 1: 43:19

I mean I was still on the liver. They people compare it.

Speaker 2: 43:22

I know well. I think that's why he jumped to something.

Speaker 3: 43:24

Yeah, yeah.

Speaker 2: 43:27

But yeah, durian, a lot of people love it. I mean a lot of people love it. And if you put it in things like you make it into ice cream, it's sweet and it's got a beautiful, almost like a passion, fruit-ish taste.

Speaker 1: 43:40

Have you had Jackfruit custard?

Speaker 2: 43:43

Yes, I've had Jackfruit barbecue. You know they make it into barbecue and I did a story once just about getting a Jackfruit. Like I bought this Jackfruit it was like they're like the size of, you know, two human heads.

Speaker 3: 43:57

Actually they're half the size of you.

Speaker 2: 43:58

She has some and we're huge, and so this is giant Jackfruit I, you know I bought at iFresh and I wanted to learn how to like extract the fruit.

Speaker 3: 44:07

Oh, I got to hear this story.

Speaker 2: 44:09

Well, it was just. I'll send it to you after, but it was just. It's like an alien, it's like an alien ovary, like it's just, it's crazy.

Speaker 2: 44:17

It has these seeds that look like you want to make them into jewelry, like these beautiful dark brown I don't think they're black, but they look like polished wood seeds and the fruit is right around the seed. But then there's all of this heavy, crazy fruit Star-Chee that you that's not what you eat. The fruit are these? Forgive me, they're like fleshy pods around the seed and it is. It's like a crazy alien.

Speaker 3: 44:45

Jamaicans love roasting those seeds. It's beautiful.

Speaker 2: 44:47

I would, I would love to try that.

Speaker 3: 44:48

I would love to try that Like a chestnut kind of yeah they just roast them and they crack them open and eat them too.

Speaker 2: 44:54

It's like the size of a chestnut. They're big but yeah, it's a really. It's a crazy looking, really awesome fruit. I love Jackfruit. They say that Jackfruit is supposed to be the flavor of juicy fruit gum.

Speaker 3: 45:07

I would go with that.

Speaker 2: 45:08

That's what I heard. You know juicy fruit yeah.

Speaker 1: 45:12

Yeah, I mean the two and a half seconds at you in and you're found.

Speaker 2: 45:15

They spit it out, Speaking of which I just heard on NPR that they're discontinuing fruit stripe gum after all these years. No kidding, yeah, who knew they even still made that.

Speaker 3: 45:24

I didn't know that it's red dye number five. Kidding it probably is.

Speaker 2: 45:29

But anyway, I jumped. I'm sorry, non sequitur. Yeah, Jackfruit, juicy fruit, that's what that flavor is supposed to be. Is what I heard Interesting.

Speaker 3: 45:36

It's almost like a Meyer lemon with the orange and lemon, all the different mixtures of that. Or you get the Jackfruit. I think Jackfruit's like pineapple meets passion fruit meets Banana almost yeah, there's so many different fruits all wrapped up in the one that you get.

Speaker 1: 45:50

It's jacked up man.

Speaker 2: 45:52

It sounds like you know sommelier, like when you right you know cause there are these really wonderful fruits, that kind of if you don't grow up eating them. If you grow up eating them, then it's just that's what that tastes like, but if it's a new fruit to you and then you're like oh, this tastes like this conversation is reminiscent of I met her once or twice.

Speaker 1: 46:12

really cool, susie the foodie.

Speaker 2: 46:16

I've never met. We know each other from social, but we've never met in person.

Speaker 1: 46:21

Yeah, but you see her, you see the stuff she does.

Speaker 2: 46:23

Oh yeah, I think I commented recently on one of the fruits that she had in there and I was like you make these and then tell people they're real.

Speaker 1: 46:30

It's like she finds the most obscure never seen before.

Speaker 2: 46:36

They're beautiful, the most beautiful fruits you ever saw in your life.

Speaker 1: 46:40

Well, hold on, wait a minute. So some of them are beautiful, but then some of these things are like ick, factor times 6,000.

Speaker 2: 46:49

I think that's in the eye of the beholder because I think if you grow up looking at it, you know it's not weird to you. It's weird to you because you didn't see anything.

Speaker 1: 46:57

Wait a minute, no no, no, no, because, listen, you know, I might have children and I love my children, but maybe I got the ugliest kids on the block. I still love them. I don't see that they're ugly, everybody else does. Do you know what I'm saying? Like that's kind of like that with these fruits, man, I don't know, I just think.

Speaker 2: 47:12

I mean they might look foreign to me because they're new, but I think they're all really interesting. But I like all that stuff.

Speaker 1: 47:19

I love her and her Instagram is like banging. It's crazy, it really is Watching her stuff is, I'll shoot you her handle there later.

Speaker 2: 47:28

Mushroom bone marrow.

Speaker 1: 47:30

Yeah, she does some cool stuff. She does these amazing projects really. Yeah, real cool, but like she, she'll get the.

Speaker 2: 47:36

Mushroom bone the fresher raw.

Speaker 1: 47:37

Right, whatever it is, and you know she'll crack it open, stuff as it was. It's pretty cool, does?

Speaker 3: 47:43

she use the emperor or trumpet oyster.

Speaker 2: 47:46

She uses these. I'm trying to remember what it was, but it was this just beautiful King trumpet, yeah, with a stem that you could hollow out and it looks like the bone. And then she makes like a puree out of different mushrooms plus whatever else she puts in there, types it in, hits it with the blowtorch.

Speaker 3: 48:05

Sound familiar.

Speaker 2: 48:06

Yeah, it's beautiful.

Speaker 3: 48:07

Yeah, we did one here. We did it with a hearts of palm.

Speaker 2: 48:11

There you go.

Speaker 3: 48:12

And I did. We were doing it because of food waste and I wanted to showcase it. I actually the canoe, yeah remember. So I actually ended up doing it for 500 chefs at the American Culinary Federation and I sampled that out and I would say vegan bone marrow and they would stop. They're like how the heck did you do vegan bone marrow? I'm like one day I was cutting up hearts of palm and it looked like a canoe for the bone done and that's all she wrote and we did a shoot with the tomahawk.

Speaker 1: 48:39

Yeah, we did the big fat Tommy on and you did that yeah.

Speaker 2: 48:43

So you had the vegan bone marrow with the tomahawk Cover all the bases.

Speaker 3: 48:48

Yeah, something different. I wanted to be a little bit different. That's cool yeah.

Speaker 2: 48:53

You're different.

Speaker 3: 48:53

You are different.

Speaker 2: 48:54

Tomahawks are so pretty, though Like they're like the Instagram steak star Cause it just looks like what they put on. You know, Fred Flint's car.

Speaker 3: 49:05

I just said that today the Brana Source burger yeah.

Speaker 1: 49:09

Tomahawk, for me, is just one giant smile, just a giant smile.

Speaker 2: 49:14

If he cooks one, can I get a bite?

Speaker 1: 49:16

Yeah Well.

Speaker 2: 49:17

So I mean, we just You're not gonna eat the whole tomahawk.

Speaker 3: 49:19

So the veal chop is a tomahawk and I like the veal chop better.

Speaker 2: 49:23

That's just me.

Speaker 3: 49:24

But I grew up in an Italian restaurant for crying out loud, I love veal. We used to have the Chef Ready Wrap.

Speaker 1: 49:29

Don't hate any people.

Speaker 3: 49:30

Whatever, Listen. If you like cheese and you don't like the four that are word veal, then stop eating cheese.

Speaker 1: 49:36

That's all I gotta tell you on that one. Yeah, nobody's gonna understand that though.

Speaker 3: 49:38

Yeah, we can talk about that later.

Speaker 1: 49:40

Yeah, we don't want to get too deep with you, know Amy's first time.

Speaker 3: 49:42

No, I'll be just the first time we want to be gentle, he's me, and he's me and we're keeping it. It's all superficial.

Speaker 1: 49:48

It's all superficial.

Speaker 3: 49:49

How do you choose, like, what restaurant to go to? Like you hear about the buzz, somebody emails you.

Speaker 2: 49:53

Yes, yes, I mean it's all the ways. It's all the ways. Sometimes it's a new place that I've known was gonna open and it's something that I know people are interested in. Sometimes it's I'm driving down the street and I'm like, oh Papusas, Let me pull in.

Speaker 3: 50:08

I thought she just got me on Papusas.

Speaker 2: 50:09

There you go. So that's the whole thing is that you're driving down of you know, and you just catch it on a sign and some old strip mall and you're like hey, there's a Korean place over there, I never knew that was there. And you go in and all of a sudden you're like okay, well, this place is great.

Speaker 1: 50:23

And you force yourself, so you can actually look at this in different ways, cause, when I'm driving and I see something like that, I'm like man, you know, I would like to try that, whatever, but this is what you do for a living. Yes, so you're like you know what, I must do this and you can just yeah, or I can come back Now.

Speaker 2: 50:39

I know it's there. I can make a mental note and be like I'm gonna come back tomorrow when I have, you know, an hour free.

Speaker 1: 50:45

Did you?

Speaker 2: 50:47

Or maybe I'll go and ask somebody about it. I'll be like hey, you know so, and so I'll ask a bunch of people. And I'll ask people who are in the foodie circles hey, do you know about this papusa place? You know who's gone?

Speaker 1: 50:57

What do you know about what? What's your? Let's talk sushi for a second.

Speaker 2: 51:01

Yeah.

Speaker 1: 51:01

Okay, okay, what do you what?

Speaker 2: 51:04

do you got cooking? Cookin, what do you mean? Like what's coming up? You don't cook sushi, by the way.

Speaker 1: 51:07

No, no, no, no. You hush your mouth, you hush your mouth. You got a piece coming out.

Speaker 2: 51:14

I very recently, yes, I checked out a sushi scene, which is the new Tamaki centric restaurants all they have.

Speaker 1: 51:24

Would you call me?

Speaker 2: 51:26

Okay, hand rolls. There's not a lot of restaurants, it's not a lot of sushi restaurants dedicated to the hand roll. It looks like we're going to have a few this year in Orlando. He does cones, not cylinders.

Speaker 3: 51:39

So that's what you're talking about. The hand roll, yes, but usually it's usually like it's a cylinder.

Speaker 2: 51:45

When they do a hand roll, they do them in cones, which is it's nice because they put them in these little holders, so it makes it easy if you want to take those pictures. Also if you want to put it down and not have it fall apart, which they don't, by the way. But it eats really well and it's very aesthetically beautiful, Cause in the cone at the top you can see all the beautiful ingredients and the ingredients in these things, Like, if you're, if you're familiar with Soseki Chef Mike's wait, he's been on this show.

Speaker 1: 52:14

Yeah, of course, well, there you go.

Speaker 2: 52:16

That's right. So those same ingredients are what he's doing over at Sushi St, but it's chill and you could get a roll that costs six bucks and you could get a roll that costs 25 bucks. It's all what you want. And then he has presets at different price points or you can go all a cart and it's good stuff.

Speaker 1: 52:38

I love Chef Mike.

Speaker 2: 52:39

He is a nice guy.

Speaker 1: 52:40

He's a nice. He is a nice guy.

Speaker 3: 52:42

He's a dude that you want to hang out with. He's funny man.

Speaker 1: 52:45

Yeah.

Speaker 3: 52:46

I love the show with him over at the Carol.

Speaker 1: 52:48

Yeah, I still have that show pinned on.

Speaker 3: 52:52

Spotify. I know you do, cause every time I go on it it's just like Michael on this. Yeah, I want to kind of elaborate on that cone that she's talking about Ben Gerber, a really great friend of mine I've known for 50 years. We would go to. He used to live off a Broward Boulevard I don't know the name of the restaurant and it was in a strip mall and the dude did ready for this stone crab cone. Nice, this is a stone crab salad inside the actual wrap of the cone. What a better way of eating stone crabs without having to break it.

Speaker 2: 53:22

And oh my, gosh, they have a snow crab roll at Sushi St. That's unbelievable.

Speaker 1: 53:27

Really.

Speaker 2: 53:27

Yeah, they actually 20 pounds at a time. They take it out of the shell by hand. There was no corner to cut, he said, it's just the quality was too good that way, and so that's a labor of love.

Speaker 1: 53:45

And that's where I would pay, because you know what I love when people work for me and when somebody in the kitchen is doing all the legwork.

Speaker 2: 53:52

This is what drives me nuts that people say how is this worth weight? Do you know how long it took them to do this? Just to take it. Not that this is and that's a skill.

Speaker 3: 54:02

Getting that out If you've ever tried to get meat out of. He's not doing king crab, he's doing like snow crab.

Speaker 2: 54:08

It's a snow, crab I think it could be doing.

Speaker 3: 54:10

Um, oh, it starts with a be a camera. I'm the name of the species. Like king crab, I love it because it's so big, so it's easy for me to take the shears and just cut it open. I can get all the meat out of it. But the snow crabs that are smaller, uh-huh these these. Gargantuan fingers are not get them out. I'm gonna tear it to shreds.

Speaker 2: 54:26

So they're doing 20 pounds of that, folding it in with the butter you know yeah, so dirty.

Speaker 3: 54:33

Yeah, where are we going? This is it tomorrow.

Speaker 2: 54:35

Oh no, I got busy, it is such a chill place and I have to tell you there's, I think, 12 seats at the bar. They also have a lounge. Make the reservation. At least your first time go to the bar. You know somebody you know yeah go to the bar. Well, I'm speaking to everybody out there. I'm probably the reservation, go to the bar where you can talk to the chefs, where you can see what they're doing and and learn about everything. And it was a really wonderful experience, really really wonderful.

Speaker 1: 55:06

How do people find because I know that you have something coming out on this, on this establishment how do they find?

Speaker 2: 55:11

and go. Well, if you follow me on Instagram, I put up links there all the time. So I'm at Amy Drew, which is my name, but you spell it Am y dr, double o on Instagram. Same on Twitter. You can go to the Orlando Sentinel Orlando Sentinel calm and find my work there, all going all the way back four and a half years, and those are two. You can find me at the let's eat Orlando page. That's the Orlando Sentinel's Facebook group. It's like a foodie forum on Facebook and you can follow me on Facebook as well.

Speaker 1: 55:46

Yeah, and that's a fair. I love that that. That Facebook group, it's super fun. It's a really good one. It's a great community.

Speaker 2: 55:52

It's not that big, it's not snarky.

Speaker 1: 55:54

No, there's very few like you. I know that you've seen in the past. There was, you know, a couple of times. People can get a little, you know once in a while, but nowhere near the level at other.

Speaker 2: 56:04

I love the group. It's a great group, yeah.

Speaker 3: 56:06

I got a couple of them I'll tell you, like the one that you posted, and the guy was said something about the knife. Yeah, yeah, it's like we're just we're not eating them knife.

Speaker 1: 56:16

Yeah, people are. Some people just need to put the internet down.

Speaker 2: 56:21

Well, that's the whole thing the internet has given us the ability to just like. Kind of just Everybody has Tourette's. When I was, I was about six years old, six or seven.

Speaker 1: 56:32

It was in New York and and I was, let me just do it, I was breaking this teenagers bulls, right Like I was. I was being annoying. I was six, seven years old and I was annoying this teenager he was probably 15, 16, something like that and the kids like hey, you know, call it, you know cut it out, stop it, stop it, stop it. And I kept pushing and pushing, and pushing so finally he just throw, he literally just threw me down and I ended up hitting the curb or something and I had this, this gas and that's how we learned to shut up.

Speaker 2: 57:02

That's how you learn.

Speaker 1: 57:03

but I went upstairs obviously I'm a kid right, so I was like good went up to my and my mother says she comes down. She says, hey, what happened over here? He was you know, sorry, mrs So-and-so, but you know he was and you pushed him. Yeah, good, that's what she said. She's good now he's gonna learn. A lesson like this is this is how we grew up. Yeah, this is what it is.

Speaker 2: 57:24

I have a friend whose son her sons are pretty much two years apart to the day. So little one was very good natured and whatever, but the older one was always like he's touching my toys, you know whatever, and he would always pick on his little brother and his mom would warn him one day he's gonna fight back one day.

Speaker 2: 57:43

He's, and you know what. I was there. He tried to take a matchbox car away from his little brother. His little brother, open-handed, with a matchbox car Now, don't forget, he's only like maybe three and a half four Open-handed smacked him right across the face with the car nice and he came run into his mother crying and she said I told you there was no.

Speaker 1: 58:05

I dig that. And you know what? Listen, don't sleep on this. Three-year-olds have power, man, they can. They can pick stuff up like you know, chairs and everything, like they got strength, like grandpa strength, but for kids you know what I mean. Yeah, it's crazy, like it's funny.

Speaker 2: 58:18

But yeah, I mean, I get your point. If, if we had to say the things in person that we said I'm just using we to be. Diplomatic sure we would not say them. It's like you know, it's like the way people yell at other people from their car. Yeah, if you had to get out and actually engage the guy who cut you off, you might not say all that stuff.

Speaker 1: 58:37

All right, one more funny story. So this is a million years ago and I'm such a different human being now. So I was maybe 20 years old, something like that, maybe even 19, and I'm driving and I Accidentally cut a, cut somebody off right and it's, it was like a tiny little car, maybe like a Toyota Corolla, like really small, and it was like an 80s Toyota Corolla to not like today. And you know, I he was like kind of right on my butt, whatever. So I pointed to a gas station, right and I pulled in my car and he pulls in his car and we were maybe like 30 yards apart, right, so we weren't like right on each other. Anyway, I get out of a car and then this guy Gets out and then he kept getting out Like forever. He was a giant human being, like a massive, massive Seven, like he was. Like I don't know how he fit in the car. To begin with I Laughed like I look at, I looked at and I was like Not today, man.

Speaker 3: 59:40

I was like we're all good, this is.

Speaker 1: 59:42

And he laughed, we laughed and we went our way. But yeah, no, like you, learn your lessons and you don't. You don't mess when you don't, when you're not supposed to you. Just that's how it is.

Speaker 2: 59:50

So, yes, jeff and then you went into the gas station and got ribs.

Speaker 3: 59:54

And then I was like I think I heard they have great Food, yeah, well speaking about food, I do have a question about how do you feel with the age of social media and people being food critics. Quote-unquote.

Speaker 2: 1:00:09

I mean it's. Look, it's the, the, the doors have been thrown open, there are no gatekeepers anymore. Everybody's got an opinion and that's all good. You know, I mean people. People Decide to follow somebody because they like what they're saying, and you know, I mean, I think it's. It is what it is. People certainly get a lot more press that way, but it goes both ways. Sometimes you, you know, you're happy and you've got fans, and sometimes the unfortunate part is, is that one you know bad review can go viral and you know it's crazy.

Speaker 3: 1:00:41

How do you feel about when the chefs Owners go after those reviewers for those bad reviewers?

Speaker 2: 1:00:49

Um, I don't even really know how to comment on that because that's too broad of Question. I mean, I just think social media is kind of a it's a free-for-all right now.

Speaker 3: 1:00:58

Yeah, it's the wild. For me it's like the wild, wild yeah.

Speaker 2: 1:01:00

Thank you, that's really what. What I was thinking?

Speaker 3: 1:01:02

Yeah, because I've seen some professional chefs and owner a journalist.

Speaker 2: 1:01:06

I do everything, you know right, that's.

Speaker 3: 1:01:08

What I mean is like, how do you look at somebody who's and we, we, we chefs? You hate the word influencer, but we have to use that because it's. There's no other terminology. But you look at that. You're like somebody writes a review and I've seen some chefs go after that reviewer and be like, well, you, you wanted it to go, we don't do to go, you wanted it this way, but is it? Is there a way for the chefs to tactfully Approach somebody that doesn't negative review?

Speaker 2: 1:01:35

But just without even thinking about and without seeing like a real specific example. I don't, you know, I don't, I'm definitely not. There's a difference between what I do and what you know Like a. So they have people who are social media managers, who can manage a restaurant's account and take Beautiful pictures and tick tock and kind of help you respond. You know that's really more of a PR thing. How do you respond in a crisis? It's you know, so I don't know. There's people who are professionals at helping people through that.

Speaker 1: 1:02:09

I don't have a problem with chefs or owners, you know, communicating with the person, with the challenge, but it really should always start and end with hey, why don't you come back on in and let's you know, let's, let us show you what it's supposed to be and we can talk about it and kind of go from there. But the ones who actually engage in a negative way and I think it's been in poor taste, but I think a lot of the social media Brings down or brings you into poor taste there's, there are some people who respond to that positively.

Speaker 2: 1:02:38

They like the scrap. And then there are some people who it's gonna turn off and they want, you know, that tactful response like, hey, we're sorry, you had a bad experience. You know, I would love to invite you back. Ask for me.

Speaker 2: 1:02:50

Yeah and I'll, you know, make sure that you get a better experience or whatever. Or they oftentimes I'll see people say they, they're aware of it because it was a situation we had a special you know, and they'll, because they knew when they were there and they'll give some more context to it. So I mean, I don't really know it's, it's a, it's a crazy new world.

Speaker 1: 1:03:09

Navigate listen Amy Drew Thompson. I am Amy Drew, you are indeed, I am very much looking forward to what we're gonna be doing, I think possibly going forward. I hope she can make it on Saturday night me too. I don't know, I never heard.

Speaker 3: 1:03:27

I don't, just don't eat Friday. I'm not I have one for you because I was told you're coming. Yeah.

Speaker 2: 1:03:34

I already have that, so cool, yeah, my goodness. All right, I'll get a chance to eat it off.

Speaker 1: 1:03:40

I also know a guy. No, so he's no somebody to get you in. All right, amy drew Thompson. Thanks for being on the program today. One more time on the best place to follow you.

Speaker 2: 1:03:50

Follow me on Instagram at Amy drew a my DR. Oh oh. Facebook. I am. Amy drew Thompson.

Speaker 1: 1:03:57

All three of my names Find me and check out her next, her next article coming out.

Speaker 2: 1:04:04

That's right. So she's saying, yeah, mikey baby.

Speaker 1: 1:04:08

All right, gotta get them back on. I know I got it. You know what we gotta do? Some cooking with him. It was Smash burgers, yeah, oh my god, that's enough.

Speaker 2: 1:04:16

Daytona, daytona, that's where we should go. He makes a good burger. Yeah, we're gonna do it.

Speaker 1: 1:04:21

All right, john, as always, you're wonderful, great. I love your pictures Just be quiet bro, dude.

Speaker 2: 1:04:27

Thank you, guys for having me, by the way. Thank you.

Speaker 1: 1:04:29

You're welcome anytime. We're gonna do it. Jeff, baby, I will see you catch on the side. Be, we are out.