Snacky Tunes

The COVID-19 pandemic has further cemented Eater as a must-read source for all things related to the food and drink industry. By leveraging its network of local city sites, while also utilizing its team of international contributors, Eater’s been able to give both micro and macro views of the pandemic’s effects. The overall result is a comprehensive collection of articles that includes personal stories, government policy reports, takeout / delivery dining guides, think pieces and even a guide to all the restaurant safety guides. Eater’s editor-in-chief and longtime pal of Snacky Tunes, Amanda Kludt, fills us in on how her team has been keeping up and keeping everyone informed during this crisis. Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter Pearl Charles has been making music since she was 5. Over the years her musical career has taken a genre-spanning arc “from old time music to 60’s garage and psychedelia, and now more 70’s country rock and 80’s smooth rock.” Pearl’s hard at work putting the finishing touches on her

Before the coronavirus pandemic Bub and Grandma’s bakery wholesale business was flourishing. They supplied 140 restaurants in Los Angeles, including such popular spots as Mozza, Kismet, Sqirl and Konbi. Since the pandemic has temporarily shuttered so many restaurants, Bub and Grandma’s has been forced to adjust its business accordingly in order to survive. Andy Kadin, Bub and Grandma’s founder and award-winning head baker, shares with us everything he’s done to keep the ovens going. Our good buddy and engineer Jeet Paul steps up to the mic for us. Jeet met up with Greg Telfeian, a New Jersey-based singer/songwriter as well as the drummer for the bands Red Hymns and Pralaya. Greg joins us to share his experience as a musician during these unusual times, as well as to discuss his growth as an artist and songwriter.Snacky Tunes is powered by Simplecast.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We head south to Kentucky to continue our series about the coronavirus pandemic’s effects on the food industry. Lindsey Ofcacek is co-founder, managing director and mentor of the LEE Initiative. She along with acclaimed chef Edward Lee set up the organization to promote career development, equality and diversity in the restaurant community. As the pandemic sent millions of restaurant industry workers to the unemployment lines, Lindsey connected with Thomas Bolton, diplomat for Maker’s Mark, and together they helped roll out the Restaurant Workers Relief Program and the Restaurant Reboot Relief Program. Los Angeles’ Jeff Miller has risen to national prominence as a food and travel writer and TV host. He’s also the frontman for the world’s first indie rock tribute band, Black Crystal Wolf Kids, paying costumed, audience-participation-encouraged homage to the likes of LCD Soundsystem, Billie Eilish, the Talking Heads and Weezer. Jeff joins us to play live covers of some of our favorite all-time songs, and also s

Snacky Tunes’ Los Angeles contingency is fueled by breakfast tacos from Tex-Mex champion, HomeState. Since the coronavirus pandemic hit HomeState has made the transition from full-service restaurant to general store, and has also launched a meal program to support hospital workers. HomeState owner Briana Valdez shares with us her plan to adapt, survive and thrive in these challenging and difficult times. Singer-songwriter Alex Rose landed in L.A. from NYC a few years ago. A longtime pal of the show, she now performs as Canyon Counterpoint, and joins us to share some new music inspired by life in the City of Angels, including the latest single, “Crescent Heights.”Snacky Tunes is powered by Simplecast.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The coronavirus pandemic has shut down America’s hospitality industry, financially imperiling many of its workers. Anna Polonsky, a longtime friend of the Tunes, has partnered with Galeen Quinn to develop the #AskChefsAnything campaign to support the industry’s immigrant workforce who are severely lacking access to government unemployment assistance. #AskChefsAnything has established auctions that give bidders a chance to win a one-on-one 30-minute online session with their favorite chef or other food expert, with the proceeds benefiting immigrant workers. Industry luminaries such as Eric Ripert, Enrique Olvera, Alison Roman and Gail Simmons have signed up to participate. We also check in with our good buddy, singer-songwriter Fletcher C Johnson. Fletcher and his wife recently battled COVID-19, and our thankfully on the mend. Fletcher also was gracious enough to play some songs for us from quarantine in Brooklyn. Be sure to check out Fletcher’s latest album, Are You Feelin’ It.Snacky Tunes is powered by Simpl

Devin de Wulf is the founder of the Krewe of Red Beans, a neighborhood carnival parade in New Orleans. He is also married to Annelies, an ER doctor who works at University Medical Center in New Orleans. With the Crescent City being one of the epicenters of the COVID 19 pandemic in the United States, Annelies and other hospital staffers have been toiling nonstop to help the sick, all the while putting themselves in danger of infection as well. On March 17, to help support these folks, along with the New Orleans’ out-of-work musicians and suffering restaurant, Devin, Annelies founded the non-profit, Feed the Front Line NOLA. Utilizing charitable donations and an all-volunteer staff, Feed the Front Line supports locally owned restaurants who cook up fresh meals for ER and ICU workers, and hires and trains musicians and artists as delivery drivers. To learn more and to donate, visit https://www.feedthefrontlinenola.org.We also drop into our musical vault and pull out an in-studio performance from 2019 by Lafayett

As the coronavirus pandemic continues to hold the world captive, we check in with Dale Donchey, award-winning barista and owner of Spiller Parker Coffee ATL. Dale and Spiller Park Coffee first began as a market stall, and has since grown to encompass two popular locations in Atlanta. Since COVID 19 hit, Dale’s had to temporarily shutter his cafes, and has been sustaining himself and his employees through sales and donations via Spiller Park’s online shop. In addition to letting us know how he’s been doing during this incredibly difficult time, Dale also provides us with tips on how we can all make a good cup of joe while we’re all quarantined at home. We stay in the South musically by revisiting a performance from our archives by Grammy-nominated Louisiana cajun and creole musician, Roddie Romero.Snacky Tunes is powered by Simplecast.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We catch up with our longtime friend Cathy Erway, journalist, author and host of the Heritage Radio Network show Eat Your Words. The coronavirus pandemic has meant all of us quarantining at home for safety’s sake, and the result is not being able to frequent our favorite restaurants, delicatessens, food carts and diners. Cathy has deep experience when it comes to being a resourceful, budget-conscious home cook, which she has chronicled via her blog, Not Eating Out in New York, and book, The Art of Eating In: How I Learned to Stop Spending and Love the Stove. She provides us with insights into making the most of shopping for and preparing meals on our own. We then head back to 2010 to revisit an in-studio performance from hip-hop artist Pigeon John. His newest album, Gotta a Good Feelin’, is set to drop and is available for pre-order now.Snacky Tunes is powered by Simplecast.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Before the coronavirus pandemic completely halted the world, Chris Shepherd was one of the country’s most acclaimed chefs with his Underbelly Hospitality family of restaurants being must-visits destinations in Houston. Now, Chris finds himself in the role of relief aid fundraiser, stepping up to take care of his own. His charity the Southern Smoke Foundation has raised and dispensed hundreds of thousands of dollars of crisis financial assistance to unemployed workers in the food and beverage industry. You can learn more about Southern Smoke and donate by visiting https://southernsmoke.org. We also revisit an in-studio performance by Minneapolis trio Strange Names from 2015.Snacky Tunes is powered by Simplecast.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this special episode of Snacky Tunes, Keith Cohen, baker and owner of New York City’s legendary 104-year-old Orwashers Bakery brand, gives us the rundown of what it’s been like running a restaurant during the global coronavirus pandemic. In addition to keeping his teams employed, and providing food for curbside pickup during this crisis, Keith supports the Food Education Fund. All NYC public school students get a $7 credit at Orwashers to use on anything they would like to eat.Snacky Tunes is powered by Simplecast.Snacky Tunes, Greg Bresnitz, Darin Bresnitz, finger on the pulse, food, music, talk, chef, radio, COVID-19, Orwashers, baker, bakery, Keith Cohen, Food Education FundSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this special episode, we sit down with Kat Johnson, Heritage Radio Network’s Communications Director, to talk about the current state of HRN, the decision to close the studio and how the community is adapting.  She shares some keen insights on both logistic and content shifts, along how the network is helping provide information and entertainment for listeners at home. Also, like many other food focused businesses, HRN needs support in many ways right now, including financial.  If you are able to donate, please head to https://heritageradionetwork.org/donate and give what you can.Snacky Tunes is powered by Simplecast. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this special edition of Snacky Tunes, we chat with Helen Rosner, food correspondent for the New Yorker (who is also covering the developing Coronavirus story), and Royce Burke, chef / owner of Secret Lasagna.  In both deep-dive conversations, we discuss the current state of the restaurant industry, along with other food businesses, and how they are being effected by the current pandemic. We also chat about what people can help both short term and long term, how food journalism is shifting and what foods are easy to make in your own kitchen. For anyone who wants to support their local restaurants, please consider buying gift certificates or merch or donate to some of the following charities:Restaurant Worker’s Community - https://www.restaurantworkerscf.org/Dining Bonds Initiative - https://supportrestaurants.org/One Fair Wage - https://ofwemergencyfund.org/Stay safe, wash your hands and if you are interested in sharing your own story, please get in touch with us through our Instagram Show Page @snackytunes

Carrying the torch for the ultimate neighborhood restaurant, Minh Phan is the owner and chef of Porridge + Puffs in LA’s Historic Filipinotown. Nourishing everyone who comes through her doors, Minh talks about her journey, the beauty of a porridge canvas and celebrating the solo diner. We dig deep into the archives for a classic performance from Sudanese-American, multi-genre virtuoso, Sinkane. Check out Sinkane’s latest album, Dépaysé.Snacky Tunes is powered by Simplecast. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Since making its debut in 2016 in Downtown Los Angeles, Sonoratown has been wowing everyone with its chargrilled carne asada tacos, perfectly sized chivichangas and what have become widely regarded as the best flour tortillas in the city. With a feature on Netflix’s Taco Chronicles, and a No. 5 ranking on the Los Angeles Times’ annual “101 Best Restaurants” list, Sonoratown now routinely has customers lined up down the block. Co-owners Jennifer Feltham & Teodoro Diaz-Rodriguez, Jr. sit down with us to explain what the Sonoratown journey and phenomenon have been all about. We drop into our musical archives, and reach back to 2013 for a live in-studio performance from dreamwave singer-songwriter, Anna Nordeen. Anna’s still making music these days, and performs as one half of the Brooklyn duo, Fever High.Snacky Tunes is powered by Simplecast.  See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Kyle Glanville and Charles Babinski have spent most of their adult lives entrenched in the coffee business. They each even hold United States Barista Championship titles. The duo started G&B Coffee as a pop-up at Los Angeles’ super popular Sqirl back in 2012. They opened a permanent location of G&B at Grand Central Market the next year, and shortly after they launched the first of their now seven Go Get Em Tiger cafes. This caffeinated pair show no signs of slowing down, and we caught up with them to see what they’ve got on the horizon. Los Angeles native Will Wiesenfeld entered everyone’s musical consciousness in 2010 under the moniker, Baths. The following year, he stopped into our Brooklyn studio to gnosh on pizza, and to also give us a listen to the electro pop sound that had garnered him wide attention. Check out Baths’ latest single, “Clarence Difference.”Snacky Tunes is powered by Simplecast. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/priv

Keegan Fong started Woon as a family run pop-up in order to share his mother’s (Mama Fong) home-cooked Chinese comfort food. Over the years, the audience had grown so much for Woon’s menu of Shanghainese and Cantonese dishes that the Fong family opened a brick-and-mortar space in Los Angeles Historic Filipinotown. PowerSnap are a Brooklyn garage punk band by way of Tel Aviv. The trio stopped into our Bushwick studio in 2018 to talk about growing up with musician fathers, reflected on their 12-year-old selves and played us songs from their EP, Delatency.Snacky Tunes is powered by Simplecast. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Since opening in fall 2019, Found Oyster has quickly become a popular and welcomed addition to Los Angeles’ booming restaurant scene. At this narrow jewel box of a space in East Hollywood, co-owner and chef, Ari Kolender, and his partners Joe Laraja and Adam Weissblatt  spin great records, pour natural wines and put up an array of seafood specialties mostly inspired by the East Coast--including bivalves from Joe’s own family oyster farm in Massachusetts. The trio have been packing them in since their doors opened, and they take a break to recap for us the ride thus far. In 2017, we met up with Winstons, a Brooklyn-by-way-of-Virginia garage soul duo comprised of guitarist and vocalist Lou Nutting and drummer Ben Wilkes. The band had gained a steady following with its earnest and raw live shows, a taste of which we got in our Bushwick studio that April day. The band’s self-titled LP, their first ever, is out now. Snacky Tunes is powered by Simplecast.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and Californi

We first met Yia Vang back in 2018. At the time, the St. Paul, MN, chef was garnering wide attention and acclaim for Union Kitchen, a pop-up restaurant specializing in his native Hmong cuisine. Yia’s back to tell us all about his dream to build Vinai, a brick-and-mortar restaurant that will serve as the permanent home for his family-inspired Hmong cooking. We also dive deep into our archives to our early days in 2009 and revisit an in-studio performance from Brooklyn band, Tijuana. Snacky Tunes is powered by Simpelcast. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Jenn Harris is one of the most prominent and respected voices in L.A.’s vibrant food scene. She’s a senior writer for the Los Angeles Times, and is also the Southland’s unofficial fried chicken queen. Jenn usually eats fried chicken every day, and she explores the dish’s power as a cultural unifier in the new online series, The Bucket List. We drop into our archives and revisit 2011. That March at SXSW, we caught an incredible show from Los Angeles indie rockers, Hands. Eleven months later they dropped by our Brooklyn studio for a conversation and performance.Snacky Tunes is powered by Simplecast. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The name Zabar is legendary in New York City, evoking images of smoked fish, baked goods and gourmet groceries. Oliver and Sasha Zabar join us to talk about continuing and evolving their family’s legacy. The brothers own and operate Devon, a cocktail bar in the LES that features food and drink made with ingredients sourced from their family-run rooftop greenhouse on the Upper East Side. Feminist punk duo, True Dreams, make their return to the show. Since we last met up with them, best friends and bandmates Angela Carlucci and Hannah Nichols have been working in the studio, and recently dropped their debut album, No. 1. Check out the music video for their single, “The Scum.”Snacky Tunes is powered by Simplecast. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.