The Sporkful
Food
About
Dan Pashman on food and what it says about us.
Episodes
- Mo Rocca Likes Big Ravioli, And He Cannot Lie (Reheat)
Humorist, CBS Sunday Morning correspondent, and former Cooking Channel host Mo Rocca joins Dan to talk about his grandma, debate whether square or round ravioli is better, and tell us which variety is the Kenny G of ravioli. Plus Mo and Da…
- When In A Relationship Can You Double Dip Without Asking?
Do you need to ask your partner if you can double dip? How guilty should you feel about not eating leftovers? We’re taking your calls and helping you settle your food disputes! Joining Dan to help are Ham El-Waylly , author of Hello, Home…
- Can Natasha Leggero And Moshe Kasher Save Dan's Marriage? (Reheat)
First up in this Reheat double-header: The comedian and podcast host Phoebe Robinson tells us how to navigate a big meal in tight jeans, who should pay on a first date, and what it’s like to go out to eat when you’re in an interracial rela…
- Eva Longoria Is A Huge Food Nerd
Eva Longoria is a household name for her work as a TV star, director, and producer. But when she sits down with Dan, she reveals another side of her personality: She’s a huge food nerd. She explores this side in her new CNN show, Searching…
- What Makes A Sandwich A Sandwich? (Reheat)
Is a buttered roll a sandwich? What about a hot dog? Is it still brunch if it’s 2pm? Should sparkling water be called water? Dan debates food and language with Peter Kim , formerly of the Museum of Food and Drink in NYC, and Helen Zaltzman…
- A Rare Look Inside Food At Disney World
Years ago, when Dan was at Disney World with his family, he saw a gumbo recipe on the wall in the queue for Tiana’s Bayou Adventure. Since then, he’s wondered: Is the recipe real? Where did it come from? This week, he finds out the answer,…
- The REAL Sausage King Of Chicago (Reheat)
Live on stage from Chicago! Hot Doug explains why he turned down millions and closed his famous sausage shop. Plus, filmmaker and food writer Kevin Pang talks about his documentary, For Grace , about Chef Curtis Duffy . Chef Curtis joins u…
- The Mysterious Case Of Alpha Gal
For the first 40 years of her life, Amy Pearl was a card-carrying member of the meat club; she literally had a credit card from the famous Brooklyn steakhouse Peter Luger . Then one day she ate a porterhouse steak, and nearly died. This we…
- Live: Kenji López-Alt No Longer Calls His Recipes “The Best” (Reheat)
Chef, YouTuber , and cookbook author J. Kenji López-Alt joins Dan on stage at Swedish American Hall in San Francisco to celebrate the release of Kenji's new book, The Wok: Recipes and Techniques . It wouldn't be a Kenji interview without s…
- Live: Kenji Lopez-Alt And Judy Gold Debate The State Of The Bagel
Should bagels ever be toasted? Why does the restaurant industry have so many scandals? And what could possibly possess someone to feed their baby a straight-up stick of butter? We answer all these questions and more in this very special li…
- A Passover & Easter Doubleheader (Reheat)
We ponder the question that Jews have been pondering since they crossed the desert: Can matzoh be salvaged? We also discuss techniques for dipping your egg into salt water, and trivia that will make the Earl of Sandwich tremble in his grav…
- The Seafood Proxy Battle Between China And Japan
Last year, in the midst of a political spat between China and Japan, China enacted a ban on importing Japanese seafood and warned Chinese citizens that visiting Japan was unsafe. But the impact of these policies hasn’t been quite what Chin…
- Beer Serving Techniques (Reheat)
How much foam is too much? Bottles or cans? Pint glasses or tulip glasses? Plus we discuss beer-filled guitars and absurd beer packaging gimmicks. This episode originally aired on September 13, 2010, and was produced by Dan Pashman and Mar…
- What Happened When China Legalized Restaurants
In the 1980s and ‘90s, China went through a massive economic transformation. New government policies allowed everyday people to open their own businesses and accumulate wealth. Rural folks moved to cities in huge numbers in search of oppor…
- Padma Lakshmi Was An Ice Cream Mule (Reheat)
Is Padma Lakshmi a model-turned-TV-star who's grown accustomed to the finer things? Or a down-to-earth mom who reuses takeout containers for her leftovers? Is she warm and hospitable, the kind of person who's excited to share her food with…
- No Somali Artifacts Were Harmed In The Making Of This Cookbook
Somali cuisine is a mixture of many traditions, from meat prepared according to nomadic customs, to a spice mix made possible by medieval Indian Ocean trade routes. There are even pasta dishes, owing to Italian colonization until 1960 – an…
- Breaking The Ramadan Fast In A Cab At 50 MPH (Reheat)
Dan fills a taxi full of food and takes it to JFK Airport at sundown to break the Ramadan fast with Muslim cab drivers. What could go wrong? Plus a Texan talks about embracing her Muslim roots after 9/11 and fasting on Ramadan for the firs…
- Asma Khan Says Women Shouldn't Cook For Free
The London restaurant Darjeeling Express is the place to go for an outstanding mutton kebab, and for celebrity sightings. But the chef behind this hotspot has no formal culinary training. Asma Khan started her cooking career hosting secret…
- Danny Trejo, From Lockup to Donut Shop (Reheat)
Danny Trejo is a Hollywood legend. He's been in nearly 400 films, often playing the kinds of characters you wouldn't want meet in a dark alley. When he was in his seventies, his career took a turn: The L.A. native became a successful resta…
- When ICE Came, This Minnesota Restaurant Stepped Up
El Burrito Mercado has been a bedrock of West Side community in St. Paul for nearly 50 years. It’s changed a lot over that time, evolving from a small grocery store into a restaurant, deli, bakery, and so much more. Now, it’s had to change…
- How To Read A Taco (Reheat)
Professor Steven Alvarez believes you can read a taco. Look at the meat, the spices, and the tortilla. Each ingredient has a story that unlocks something about Mexican and American history and culture. This idea is the basis for Steve’s “…
- Catching The Codfather
For decades, Carlos Rafael owned the biggest fleet of boats in the most valuable fishing port in America: New Bedford, Massachusetts. He was so powerful in the fishing industry there, he became known as The Codfather. That is, until an IRS…
- Till Pork Do Us Part (Reheat)
Dan and his wife Janie are both white and Jewish, both raised in the New York area. In many ways it's an easy fit. But not so much with food, because Janie grew up kosher and Dan didn't. In this episode, they talk about navigating food ten…
- Is Halal Pork… Possible?
The writer Aymann Ismail , a practicing Muslim, grew up not eating pork. But as he got older, he became curious about why eating pork was a line that even less observant Muslims wouldn’t cross. So when a new loophole product hit the market…
- Lunchtime With The Simpsons (Reheat)
Dan’s dreams come true when he visits The Simpsons writers’ room to talk about the role food plays on the show and behind the scenes. Turns out the writers are just as obsessed with food as all of the show’s food jokes suggest. Plus, Simps…
- Sporkful Dating Game: Suitcase Full Of Cheese Edition
This week, The Sporkful plays matchmaker! We put out the call for Sporkful listeners looking for love, and many of you responded. We used our proprietary algorithm (i.e. a producer looking at a spreadsheet) to set up and record two blind d…
- How Prison Ramen Saved My Life (Reheat)
When Gustavo “Goose” Alvarez was 18, he was sent to prison for the first time. When he arrived, the other incarcerated men wanted to know if they could trust him — so they handed him a plate of cheesy tacos, and got to know him over that s…
- The Great Super Bowl Snack Debate
Michael Ian Black and Tom Cavanagh are great comedic actors and friends who love to analyze snacks in extreme detail on their podcast, Mike and Tom Eat Snacks . In this special crossover episode ahead of the Super Bowl, Dan tells Mike and…
- 2 Chefs And A Lie: Canadian Prime Minister Edition (Reheat)
Dan gives up the hosting chair and becomes a contestant in our most popular (and only) Sporkful game show, 2 Chefs And A Lie! The game is simple. Dan talks with three “chefs.” Two are real, and one is a faker with a made-up resume. Dan get…
- Tom Papa Quit Vegetarianism After One Visit To An Italian Deli
Veteran comic Tom Papa’ s love of food began as a kid, when his dad recruited him for over-the-top food challenges — including eating a massive steak that won Tom a t-shirt. As an adult he became obsessed with bread baking after his daught…