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What I ate last week. Ranked #182 in food podcasts in Mexico according to an email I just got.
EPISODE 61
NEWS & UPDATES
Unfortunately the Prego x StoryCorps family dinner monitoring device has sold out. Not good. Not good. Find another way to record your family.
Polar seltzer rebrand; I love when companies use original design or never change. Still a family company. Holiday seltzer in New England.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cgmem8n8xego worlds longest tiramisu
People are making pizza chips, like my sister https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZP8gc6k3G/
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/pei-oyster-growers-diseases-mortality-msx-dermo-9.7176920
https://www.marketplace.org/story/2026/04/30/why-is-everyone-suddenly-obsessed-with-beans
Billie Eilish said this week that you can’t eat animals and also love animals which feels objectively true. However, why do we let wealthy celebrities who are insulated from the realities of the world make declarative statements like this and shame people who live different lifestyles sometimes out of necessity? Billie Eilish can afford 2000 daily calories of vegetarian Erewhon products. Folks experiencing oh financial hardships and families to feed, and god forbid they have teenage boys, don’t really have that luxury. Also seeing people in native and communities near the Arctic circle speaking out saying that meat is the only way that they were able to survive. She’s definitely sparked a very much ongoing debate. I have to enter a state of cognitive dissonance in order to eat meat. I think that in order to survive in this world and in this country, especially you have to get good at sitting in cognitive dissonance so maybe that’s why I am so good at eating meat. I’m thinking meat is gonna become so expensive that it’s gonna be a non-issue at some point. Anyway I’m gonna be talking about going to a steakhouse later this episode.
Fenugreek theory: have I already talked about this theory on the podcast? My coworker was telling me about how his partner will often have an allergic reaction when they go to Indian restaurants even when the Indian restaurant says that they do not use any peanut products she’s allergic to peanuts. There are number of studies about the connection between peanut and FennuGreek allergies in Europe. Only this isn’t really being studied in the US in Europe people who present fennugreek allergies also are allergic to peanuts because of a similar protein in both that triggers the allergy I have a theory that people in the US might not show feta Greek allergy symptoms as prevalently because so many of us in the US have been exposed to peanuts and peanut butter as opposed to people in Europe.
SCENTS
Le Labo Violette 30
Official description: Within the lexicon of floriography — the secret language of flowers meticulously preserved in Victorian-era texts — the violet evades easy explanation. Across history, violets have symbolized a delightfully paradoxical bouquet of meaning, standing for both burning passion and wide-eyed innocence, steadfast strength and poetic delicacy, measured wisdom and persistent optimism. VIOLETTE 30 is an ode to the undefinable contrasts in a single specimen. Centered around the rarer, shadow-seeking white violet – at once crystalline and untethered – it pairs verdant green floral notes with white tea notes, cedarwood, and a touch of guaiacwood. Familiar yet unknown, it is a study in saying yes to contradiction; a call to reclaim and embrace our many multitudes.
My review: I was worried about this one because Le Labo Iris had a strong, disgusting violet candy scent. This was muskier, woodier, greener, fresher, slight plastic or rubber smell, like a rubber swim cap. Reminds me of Te Matcha. I did a big hair wash and full body scrub shower and it has staying power.
I wore Santal 33. I avoid wearing this in public because I don’t want to identified as a fuck boy. I figure not a lot of people in my office know this scent. I did wear it to the office today. I thought it was important to get this sent so that I could smell it and I’d be able to identify a fuck boy in the wild. It’s OK but for some reason today when I put it on, it smelled like the bubbilicious watermelon flavor gum from the 90s and the synthetic rubber soul of L.L. Bean slippers that sort of smells vanilla. I’m not the huge fan of watermelon even though I have spent the last four years growing watermelons out here big orange, long watermelon and selling them on the roadside and people always yelled at me. Why is it orange. But there’s something about the watermelon flavor of bubble licious gum that is delicious. I’m sorry bubblilicious.
INTERNET
https://bsky.app/profile/nytimes.com/post/3mkilfkuu562h eating gravy as soup
https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZP8gvVLv9/
https://www.instagram.com/p/DXwk82QDY92/?img_index=1&igsh=MWFzeXAxOHNqOTBiYg== if I opened a restaurant it would just be this
Submission from Brian even though everyday / casual beef consumption is now above the price range that I’m willing to pay for it: https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZP8gwpf31/
Chilaquiles but wheat thins: https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZP8gwQjRx/
The creator commented back NO but then, kind of? And then explained to me what the dish was
One of the top hobbies of people applying to be in a polycule is making coffee; basketball listed separately from sports; this is from Danielle Egan who was behind Mehran’s steak house https://open.substack.com/pub/rawandferal/p/norman-polycule?r=38ep4&utm_medium=ios
Missouri Sue https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZP8g38gfL/
IM 8
https://www.instagram.com/p/DXzTZV2EaPt/?igsh=MWs3YXU5bjU4Z2lrYg==
90 Day
Forrest update. He’s at the tell all taking selfies by the crafty catering and the food is looking real good
Top Chef Season 23 Episode 8
Restaurant Wars
Kristen comes in to let everyone know that Jen is removed from the competition
“The fact that she’s made it this far with one arm is insane” - Duyen
Sieger is back; I don’t know why he didn’t go to Last Chance Kitchen; guess it must have been the filming schedule and LCK is delayed
The twins, Oscar, and Siegar vs Anthony, Duyen, Laurence, and Sherry
Both teams are going to name their restaurant Queen. Lot of creativity in this room.
Both teams incorporate Cheerwine into their desserts
The teams go pick out furniture and tablescapes; The twin team of all dudes is scared that they’re accidentally going to create a mancave
Michael Mina is the guest judge. He has a lot of restaurants.
Right before service starts one of the twins shows up with a giant cambro of vegetables that he still has to prep and cut. His brother is pissed. It takes 40 minutes for the judges to get any food at the twins’ restaurant.
“A slice of sweet potato on a tostada? Kill yourself” - Brian
Anthony and Duyen’s team wins; Duyen wins overall for her service as FOH; the grand prize is that they get to go to Universal Studios for 4 days. I’d be pissed. I yelled and Brian scolded me and said we would have fun if we got to go there for free. But not if we had to pay for it.
Brandon (one of the twins with uncooked rice pudding) is sent into the finale of LKC.
Last Chance Kitchen Finale
Brandon looks like he’s going to cry
Brandon and Rhoda have to make three one-bite courses
Justin is wearing a blazer and short shorts and is shivering
Brandon has 10 minutes to assemble ravioli with homemade pasta is screaming that he’s not here to play patty cake
Rhoda wins
“I’m so glad, I hate that brother” - Brian (damn)
America’s Culinary Cup Season 1 Episode 9
As soon as I put it on Brian asked if it was almost over yet. We’re down to 5.
They have to make a dumpling dish, noodle dish, and rice dish each inspired by a country. They have to answer trivia questions to select their countries.
They are being asked stupid questions, like, “what is all purpose flour made out of?” I actually worked with someone at a French bakery whose only job was making croissants and a customer asked him what flour was made out of and he didn’t know.
3 guest judges: Roi choy, asma khan, kwame from top chef
Cara says she should win the dumpling challenge because she makes dumplings for a living so that’s not good; except she wins the dumpling round with her ukrainian dumplings
Katie is making arroz meloso, a dish that she’s made before on the show for her rice dish; Brian is yelling that it’s a bad idea
The judges describe Matt’s Jamaican rice dish as something that you’d get on a cruise to Jamaica but not in Jamaica itself
After rice Cara is still in the lead; Buddha is last
Chris, who is somehow still on the show after being voted most likely to lose the competition, made a Turkish lamb pappardelle with chili oil; judges were blown away. Roy Choi gives him a fist bump
Chris wins after his Turkish lamb dish; got a perfect score from all six judges
Katie is last; Buddha almost went home
April 27, 2026 (Monday)
8am: Counter Culture coffee with half & half, made at home.
9am: Leftover red beans and basmati rice.
11:30am: A bowl of bran flakes with milk.
2pm: Blue Bell cookie dough ice cream.
6pm: Curried chicken pot pie with basmati rice, made at home.
7:30pm: Half of a bottle of Stella Artois at Brian’s parents’ house.
Chicken pot pie with basmati rice on the bottom to absorb any extra moisture which was great plus it got a nice slight crust. Added Maldon salt on the puff pastry. Too lazy to take it back out of the oven to add the salt so I threw a handful into the oven and hoped for the best. Some salty areas. and cooked for about 45 minutes or nice and brown and puffed. Whole poached chicken from making stock, onion, garlic, curry powder, garam masala, carrots, celery, peas, chicken stock, cream, garlic powder, chicken bouillon. This felt subconsciously pizza rustica inspired after seeing so many variations on Tiktok around Easter. As leftovers you could really slice it like a quiche or cold pie
Private school with lunch stations and beef carving. Tori eating cereal no milk
Speaking of cereal milk when I worked at milk bar is was cheaper to have a handy man on staff full time than to contract one in for fixed so we had this old guy named Franny from Alaska. His wife got eaten by a Polar bear. He was always finding crates of VHS tapes and bringing them in for us to pick through (no one wanted them). When the vacuum sealed frozen pulled pork hit 3 months old he would have to throw it away and he would hawk it around trying to convince everyone to take it home and get botulism. I think he got a new wife but she made him live in his car.
Forgot to mention the giant skin graft that keeps accidentally catching snakes. Brian’s dad kept having to remove partially dead snakes from the netting which is why there were so many buzzards. So I guess Roscoe the dog isn’t dying which is good. Shooting a copperhead point blank in an XL long tee
April 28, 2026 (Tuesday)
7am: Counter Culture coffee with half & half, made at home.
9am: Two sunny eggs with Texas Pete garlic hot sauce over leftover red beans, made at home.
10:30am: A bowl of bran flakes with milk.
2:30pm: A package of Shin ramen.
6pm: Leftover chicken pot pie and mixed greens with parmesan, black pepper, Marzetti creamy ceasar dressing, and red wine vinegar, made at home.
7:30pm: Blue Bell cookie dough ice cream.
Shin ramen is so damn spicy, even with very diluted water. I ate the ramen in a wide, clear Arcoroc bowl and when the noodles were gone I put the bowl up to my face to drink the broth and it became a murky red mirror showing me my own torture. Out of body experience fever dream. How do people eat this. My thought as I was drinking the broth was, “this is what having a heart attack feels like”.
Dash of American Vinegar Works red wine vinegar in the Marzetti. Marzetti? It’s not good. It’s not good. This vinegar tastes like regular vinegar TBH. Puff pastry crumbs over the salad.
Brian said he had lunch at local Mediterranean chain Jasmin & Olivz with a “z” on Hillsborough street which is full of mediocre, student-geared restaurants. Brian said it’s like eating at the mall. Popular items include chicken shawarma panini, chicken bowl, and burrito bowl.
April 29, 2026 (Wednesday)
7:30am: Leftover coffee with half & half and a bowl of bran flakes with milk.
Cake room: An unopened package of a dozen Peep yellow bunnies.
11am: An iced coffee with half & half from Meantime Coffee in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
11:30am: Leftover chicken pot pie at the office.
1pm: A cup of decaf coffee with half & half at the office.
6pm: Food Lion spicy chicken tenders over romaine lettuce with Marzetti’s creamy caesar dressing, American Vinegar Works red wine vinegar, black pepper, and parmesan, and Texas toast from Food Lion, made at home.
Firm and sliceable when cold chicken pot pie is the best thing to take to lunch; portable like a pizza rustica or other sliced cold luncheon pie; because it’s firm I don’t have to worry about it leaking out of my tupperwear that is hanging sideways in my poorly designed Baggu lunchbox that has a handle on the side only so it must be held sideways or carried flatly like a tray of champagne. Don’t ever pack soup for lunch. I’m going to blame all Baggu for hiring Barnard alumnae. After graduation all of the California Barnard girls moved back to California and worked at Baggu. There was some sort of Barnard dance major to Baggu pipeline happening. Don’t let dance majors design your lunchbox. They were probably so dizzy from doing modern pirouettes and glued the handles on wrong.
Iced coffee from Meantime was ok, slightly better than the iced coffee from Strong Arm. Decaf coffee at the office was by far the worst. I used to make cold brew and should start doing it again. Almost every restaurant I worked at made cold brew concentrate; it’s not hard and I don’t know why or how people are making bad iced coffee. I used to make cold brew when I worked at Numero Group but the huge batch I would make would be gone in a day so I had to stop before it became part of my job.
Spent about $200 after work on groceries in anticipation of food prices going up, as gas prices went up nearly 50 cents over the weekend. Food Lion has decreased the size of its three for five dollar large chicken tender cutlets very sad. Whole Foods is discontinuing their organic brand flakes. They were on sale or last chance Marc down to 245 for a box and there’s only one box left. Brian said they may just be changing out the packaging. The texas toast was on sale for $1.75 and was not as good as the texas toast that Brian’s mom brought over with the lipstick soup in a bag so idk what she bought. The flavor felt incredibly fake; texture of angel food cake.
WF parking lot jam - popular area huh? with old lady saying “my car’s been damaged”
Why don’t they make commercials for cats? Commercials for products geared towards dogs and cats that make them go nuts until you buy them that product. Lactose free milk for cats.
April 30, 2026 (Thursday)
7:30am: A bowl of bran flakes with milk.
9:30am: A coffee with half & half and a bullseye with half & half at Cocoa Cinnamon in Durham, North Carolina.
11:30am: Chilaquiles with scrambled eggs, parmesan, cilantro, Tacodeli Salsa Doña, and Vista Hermosa blue corn totopos, made at home.
1pm: A brownie, made at home.
6pm: Leftover chicken pot pie and mixed greens with Marzetti creamy caesar dressing, American Cider Works red wine vinegar, parmesan, black pepper, and fried garlic, made at home.
Brian is complaining that he’s hungry in the morning (he ate a leftover slice of texas toast for breakfast) and I told him to eat oatmeal or bran flakes and he said that he might as well put rocks in his mouth and roll them around
Hillsborough road location; this is the alt kid location. There are three locations and it’s confusing how different from each other they are. There’s the big location with a line that has mostly Latino crew, which makes sense because it’s a latino-owned business. This is the location that also drops tongs on the ground and keeps on using them. There’s a super small location with what seems to be a cool girl student crew who are maybe into composting and Greg Araki, and then this medium location for people in their late 20s who are into astrology and 90s music. Similar vibe as Joe Van Gogh; sad boy punk music kids working and playing 90s proto-emo Duster Steve Hiett shoe gaze; they have a really nice outdoor space though and even though it was wet outside the breeze was great.
Vista Hermosa chips and Tacodeli salsa on sale. Cotija was also on sale which I almost got but I have so much parm and it’s so similar. But I love the tang of cotija.
Bob’s Red Mill Fudgy Brownie Baking Mix (on sale)
2 eggs
½ cup melted butter or oil
1 tbsp water
1 package brownie mix
Instructions for metal pans: 325 for 30-35
I rotate at 15 mins; Cooked for 29
Good salt content; glad I didn’t add salt because I almost did
Almost nutty flavor from using peanut oil; Next time do half butter
Shiny, crackled top
Chewy, soft texture. Batter was super sticky and thick.
A little one dimensional and would have been improved by some chocolate chips but solid overall. The mix was clumpy so I would have passed it through a sifter or screen next time.
Great cold
Poured vinegar into the Marzetti bottle and shook it up. Made it more pourable. Too thick otherwise.
Bravo put out a Tiktok video asking the Top Chef judges when the ideal dinner reservation time is. Kristen said 4:30 so I’m liking her more and more each day. Got a 4pm steakhouse reservation. For the last month Brian has been asking every week if our reservation is for the upcoming weekend and this week I was finally able to said yes, this is the weekend that we’re going to Angus Barn, and he said thank god. Hope it’s good.
May 1, 2026 (Friday)
9am: Counter Culture coffee with half & half, made at home.
10:30am: A bowl of bran flakes with milk.
11:30am: Cedar’s garlic hummus with Milton’s organic salt & pepper crackers and a pour of Brew Dr Island Mango kombucha.
1pm: A brownie.
6pm: Chilaquiles with scrambled eggs, onions, navy beans, parmesan, cilantro, Tacodeli Salsa Doña, and Vista Hermosa blue corn totopos, and shrimp with cocktail sauces, made at home.
My Bishops Castle bloomed today. That’s a rare rose that you can’t buy anywhere. I got it from a stranger on the internet I had been talking to for a few years. I thought they were an old lady because I met them on a rose forum but it turns out they are a doctor in New Mexico. Anyway they have this rose and they mailed me a cutting of theirs. Sometimes talking to strangers on the internet works out for the best although I guess he does have my address now so we’ll see what happens.
Crackers are so tender
Brew Dr on sale, crackers on sale
Soaked navy beans for 4 hours with salt
Cooked for about 4 hours
Brian’s mom bought too much cooked shrimp so she brought some over
Cocktail sauce: 3TB ketchup, 1TB Bubbie’s prepared horseradish, 2TB Texas Pete hot sauce, 1TB Worcestershire; didn’t really need lemon
Marie Rose (Euro) cocktail sauce: 2TB expired Kewpie, heaping TB of cocktail sauce
I need to use up this bottle of ketchup so badly; I got that horseradish on sale after the holidays and am glad I had a use for it
Chilaquiles
Navy beans, onion cooked in butter
May 2, 2026 (Saturday)
9am: Counter Culture coffee with half & half and a sunny egg over butter-fried leftover chilaquiles, made at home.
12:30pm: A cup of earl grey tea with half & half, made at home.
2pm: A brownie.
5pm: Homemade crackers with white and yellow cheddar spreads, an assorted bowl of pickles, celery, pickled peppers, and olives, French onion soup, wedge salad, raw oysters on the half shell with horseradish and mignonette, shrimp cocktail, chateaubriand au poivre, béarnaise, royal ribeye with garlic butter, stuffed potato, onion rings, a bottle of Saint-Joseph Domaine Jean-Louis Chave 2023, and a slice of frozen key lime pie at Angus Barn in Raleigh, North Carolina.
8pm: A small pour of Delirium Tremens and a small pour of Bitburger Pils.
Chilaquiles and coffee together made the coffee taste like gingerbread
Steakhouse experiences: Gibson’s in chicago where a tiny couple behind me ate a 4 foot slice of cake, Oklahoma corn fed steak in the stockyards.
Angus Barn. Original 60s / 70s logo and typeface. Men’s restroom was the size of a car and had three TVs blasting the Kentucky derby. Full of TVs. Women’s bathroom was a sprawling historical reenactment of a boudoir. Brian says this place is confusing because it’s kind of like a Cracker Barrel (layout, gift shop, old school memorabilia, and ramekins wise) but also nice.
Crackers: 90s Handisnack with red plastic utensil spreader
Pickle bowl was very Wisconsin supper club
Fat shrimp, strong smooth cocktail sauce
Fat oysters that dried out in a fridge.
Wedge salad: “looks like something my mom would make” - Brian. Candied pecans. Honestly the wedge salad at Outback Steakhouse was better.
French onion soup: amazing depth, dark bread and tons of cheese
Stuffed potato tasted exactly like Brian’s mom’s cousin baked potato casserole that I love and tastes like the Uno Pizzeria’s twice baked potato deep dish pizza
Brian said the onion rings paired perfectly with the wine. Server came back to tell me that I got a choice of a 2nd side for some reason so I chose the onion rings in honor of my mom who said she would have chosen those. Otherwise i probably would have gotten the creamed spinach or mac and cheese.
Wine: somm had worked there for about 40 years; I asked for something tannic and he asked if I liked spicy and recommended the bottle of Saint-Joseph. So light, dry, with a spicy tannic finish.
Steaks were great. Left with a ton of leftovers. Ribeye was a little chewy but very fatty and flavorful. Chateaubriand was incredibly tender; could have used some flaky salt but was covered in big cracked black pepper corns. We considered getting the 2.5LB tomahawk; saw a couple next to us get it and decided it was too much and wanted to try other things. Au pouvire sauce was fine but the tarragon-forward Béarnaise that came with it was excellent, especially with the onion rings.
They brought out a giant pound cake with strawberry drizzle and some whipped cream for Brian’s birthday. They boxed it up and let us choose from a 90’s style dessert tray and we chose frozen key lime pie. Sawdust pie.
https://www.southernliving.com/kentucky-sawdust-pie-11803161
Brian was annoyed with our server and some of his habits and nervousness. It seems they only let men work as servers like most steakhouses I’ve been to (Gibsons, Peter Luger). My theory is he was in Seattle and had some sort of art noise band in the 90s while working in restaurants but it was never really working for him and eventually his mom got sick so he had to move back to NC and work at Angus Barn. Craziest part was all the servers had all these flashlights to shine on the steaks to make sure they were cooked properly even though we were in the most well-lit steakhouse in America. We might as well have been in an office.
May 3, 2026 (Sunday)
8am: Counter Culture coffee with half & half, made at home.
10am: Coffee with creamer, two over easy eggs with Texas Pete pepper sauce, bacon, a breakfast sausage link, country ham, hash brown casserole, and a buttermilk pancake with butter and maple syrup at MacLean’s Ole Time Cafe in Zebulon, North Carolina.
12:30pm: Leftover chateaubriand au poivre.
6pm: Thai green curry with ground pork, broccoli, and cilantro over basmati rice, made at home, and half a can of Bitburger pils.
8pm: Leftover stuffed potato.
Brian said we would not be eating the rest of the weekend after that meal and then jumped out of bed at 7am to go get pancakes.
Brian said his scrambled eggs seemed like they had been scraped out of the bottom of a bucket
Hashbrown casserole was wet, undercooked potato and sour cream. Brian got regular hash browns that were cooked in a perfect circle or ring mold
Overheard a woman asking a server for nacho cheese sauce for her breakfast on my way to the bathroom
I love the pancakes here but I need them to double the butter
Breakfast sausage is kind of bland; country ham is too salty; over easy eggs are always peak runniness
Tried to get a Fresca slushie at 7-eleven but they didn’t have it. They had a sugar free Fanta flavor that was berry hibiscus
Broccoli sausage orecchiette but Thai curry version