Snacky Tunes

Happy July Fourth Weekend! We head to Las Vegas for this week's episode, where we sit down with executive Chef Sarah Thompson, who oversees Casa Playa at the Wynn Las Vegas. We talk about her time in New York, her discovery of cooking Mexican food at Cosme, and what brought her out to Las Vegas. Then it's a dive into the archives, all the way back to 2013, for a legendary performance from Cassandra Jenkins. She talks about growing up in a musical family on New York's upper west side and shares some tasty tunes with us.Snacky Tunes: Music is the Main Ingredient, Chefs and Their Music (Phaidon), is now on shelves at bookstores around the world. It features 77 of the world’s top chefs who share personal stories of how music has been an important, integral force in their lives. The chefs also give personal recipes and curated playlists too. It’s an anthology of memories, meals and mixtapes. Pick up your copy by ordering directly from Phaidon, or by visiting your local independent bookstore. Visit our site, www.sn

On this episode of Snacky Tunes, Darin makes moves to Manhattan to chat with Amelie Kang about her delicious, dry pot restaurant, Málà Project. She shares her stories of growing up in Tangshan, China, making her way to the CIA in New York, and how Grandma still knows best in the kitchen. Then it’s a dip into the archives when Dead Stars visited the HRN shipping container studio to play some songs, talk about their new EP from 2013, “High Gain”, and share what they like to eat on the road.Snacky Tunes: Music is the Main Ingredient, Chefs and Their Music (Phaidon), is now on shelves at bookstores around the world. It features 77 of the world’s top chefs who share personal stories of how music has been an important, integral force in their lives. The chefs also give personal recipes and curated playlists too. It’s an anthology of memories, meals and mixtapes. Pick up your copy by ordering directly from Phaidon, or by visiting your local independent bookstore. Visit our site, www.snackytunes.com for more info.Her

Summer is here and we are kicking it off with a conversation with Andrew Quinn, the co-owner and Executive Chef at New York’s The Noortwyck. We chat about his road to opening, the freedom he finds in cooking from the farmer’s market, and what regulars can expect on the stereo when they sit down at the bar. We then head to the South to revisit a performance from our archives by Grammy-nominated Louisiana cajun and creole musician, Roddie Romero.Snacky Tunes: Music is the Main Ingredient, Chefs and Their Music (Phaidon), is now on shelves at bookstores around the world. It features 77 of the world’s top chefs who share personal stories of how music has been an important, integral force in their lives. The chefs also give personal recipes and curated playlists too. It’s an anthology of memories, meals and mixtapes. Pick up your copy by ordering directly from Phaidon, or by visiting your local independent bookstore. Visit our site, www.snackytunes.com for more info.Heritage Radio Network is a listener supported n

Happy Memorial Day! We are celebrating the official kickoff to summer with a little bit of drinking and a little bit of dancing with our two all new guests. First up, Dane Volek of Anchor Brewing Company chats about home brewing in college and the wonderful concoctions he made, his road to becoming the Head Brewmaster at Anchor Brewing Company, and the concerts he's excited about seeing this summer. Then we are joined by a DJ bud from our DJ days, DJ Lorant, who talks about heading into the city as a teenager, what he learned from those dance floors, and his upcoming party Rockstrap, which happens the first Friday of every month at a RockbarNYC, which you can hit this very Friday!Snacky Tunes: Music is the Main Ingredient, Chefs and Their Music (Phaidon), is now on shelves at bookstores around the world. It features 77 of the world’s top chefs who share personal stories of how music has been an important, integral force in their lives. The chefs also give personal recipes and curated playlists too. It’s an an

In this all Brooklyn episode, Darin bellies up to the proverbial bar with William Elliot, the Executive Bar Director and Managing Partner of Maison Premiere.  William and Darin dive deep into the bar’s history as they talk about The Maison Premiere Almanac, out now on Potter. They also chat about the bar’s legendary cocktails, their approach to creating a unique atmosphere, and what one can expect to hear on the sound system.  Then Darin welcomes Brooklyn artist Laura Wolf, whose new album, Shelf Life, drops on June 2nd. They chat about making music in her parent’s attic, where she likes to eat in her neighborhood, and her upcoming summer plans.Snacky Tunes: Music is the Main Ingredient, Chefs and Their Music (Phaidon), is now on shelves at bookstores around the world. It features 77 of the world’s top chefs who share personal stories of how music has been an important, integral force in their lives. The chefs also give personal recipes and curated playlists too. It’s an anthology of memories, meals and mixta

Darin is joined by author and legendary bon vivant, Nils Bernstein, whose new book The Joy of Oysters was released on Artisan this week. They chat about the oyster's current mainstream moment, the internal connection of this ingredient, and the perfect soundtrack to shuck to.  Then it’s into the archives for a performance from Finnish songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, Peppina, who has been writing and performing since she was a teenager in Helsinki. She gave us a live in-studio performance that included her latest (at the time) single, "Moments."Snacky Tunes: Music is the Main Ingredient, Chefs and Their Music (Phaidon), is now on shelves at bookstores around the world. It features 77 of the world’s top chefs who share personal stories of how music has been an important, integral force in their lives. The chefs also give personal recipes and curated playlists too. It’s an anthology of memories, meals and mixtapes. Pick up your copy by ordering directly from Phaidon, or by visiting your local independent b

This week we kicked off Snacky Tunes Salon, our new live series in partnership with ChowNow. Hosted at their gorgeous headquarters in Los Angeles, Darin sat down for a roundtable conversation with Tommy Brockert of La Sorted's and Travis Hayden of Voodoo Vin, which we are sharing with you for this special episode. The night also included delicious food and drinks from Skyduster Beer and Jumbo Time Wines. Thank you to everyone who came out and keep your eyes open for the next one!Snacky Tunes: Music is the Main Ingredient, Chefs and Their Music (Phaidon), is now on shelves at bookstores around the world. It features 77 of the world’s top chefs who share personal stories of how music has been an important, integral force in their lives. The chefs also give personal recipes and curated playlists too. It’s an anthology of memories, meals and mixtapes. Pick up your copy by ordering directly from Phaidon, or by visiting your local independent bookstore. Visit our site, www.snackytunes.com for more info.Heritage Rad

Darin meets up with Chef Ashley Christensen, Chef + Proprietor of AC Restaurants, in advance of the Annual Hot Luck Festival happening in Austin this Memorial Day Weekend (tickets available here)! We chat about her decades plus support of the culinary community, the reopening of Fox Liquor Bar, and her plans for attending concerts this season.  We then dig back into the archives to when we met up with Brooklyn bluegrass buskers, Zack Orion and Scott Murphy, better known as Mountain Animation. The duo went from the subway to the studio, and gave us a raucous performance.Snacky Tunes: Music is the Main Ingredient, Chefs and Their Music (Phaidon), is now on shelves at bookstores around the world. It features 77 of the world’s top chefs who share personal stories of how music has been an important, integral force in their lives. The chefs also give personal recipes and curated playlists too. It’s an anthology of memories, meals and mixtapes. Pick up your copy by ordering directly from Phaidon, or by visiting your

Darin welcomes back one of our first guests, George Motz, for a long overdue chat on Snacky Tunes. George, aka the Burger Scholar, shares many delicious tales about what he’s been up to for the last decade, including the launch of his new book, The Great American Burger Book, the opening of his new restaurant, Hamburger America, and how his TV show, Burger Land, still stands up today.  Then it’s a trip to the archives when Brooklyn pop dance duo, Crush Club, cruised into the studio and got us groovin' with a live performance. Wielding funk, house and Latin-style percussion influences, the band garnered a strong following with popular singles like "Louder" and "We Dance." They talked to us in depth about dance lyrics, and the all important bass bod.Snacky Tunes: Music is the Main Ingredient, Chefs and Their Music (Phaidon), is now on shelves at bookstores around the world. It features 77 of the world’s top chefs who share personal stories of how music has been an important, integral force in their lives. The c

On this episode of Snacky Tunes, Darin catches up with Chef Ryan Bartlow, whose spot, Ernesto’s, was just recognized on Pete Well’s New York Times 100 Best Restaurant list.  We chat about the current dining scene in the city, his formative years cooking in San Sebastián, Spain, and the story behind his iconic plates. Then, from the archives, we share a chat and performance from garage punk rockers PowerSnap who trace their roots back to Tel Aviv where two of their three members originally hail from. The band had recently released their 2018 EP, Delatency, and were on their first-ever tour promoting it.Snacky Tunes: Music is the Main Ingredient, Chefs and Their Music (Phaidon), is now on shelves at bookstores around the world. It features 77 of the world’s top chefs who share personal stories of how music has been an important, integral force in their lives. The chefs also give personal recipes and curated playlists too. It’s an anthology of memories, meals and mixtapes. Pick up your copy by ordering directly

Darin crosses the 405 to chat with Zarah Khan, the new(ish) Executive Chef of Rustic Canyon.  She talks about cooking dinner for her family as a teenager, the first time she met Chef Jeremy Fox, and her time as a self-proclaimed Seattle “Pizza Rat”. Then we head back to 2018 for an experimental performance from Coleman Zurkowski, recorded live at the Dangerbird Records studios in Silverlake. He plays some songs off his debut album, ZERO, and chats about making a name for himself for his work with such brands as Netflix, Toyota and Lebron James' “Uninterrupted” documentary series.Snacky Tunes: Music is the Main Ingredient, Chefs and Their Music (Phaidon), is now on shelves at bookstores around the world. It features 77 of the world’s top chefs who share personal stories of how music has been an important, integral force in their lives. The chefs also give personal recipes and curated playlists too. It’s an anthology of memories, meals and mixtapes. Pick up your copy by ordering directly from Phaidon, or by vis

Darin chats with Cream Co. Meats’ CEO, Clifford Pollard, about his game changing butcher company. Clifford shares how he got his start in the San Francisco dining scene, talks about his approach to working with farmers, and what he likes to listen to when he’s breaking down animals. Then we dip into the archives for performance from Triple Hex, who swung by in 2016 to share their new full length LP, Bust For Life, that resonated with fans of Bauhaus, 70s NYC rock n roll, and Factory Records. They played some tracks of the album and talked about what went into the recording!Snacky Tunes: Music is the Main Ingredient, Chefs and Their Music (Phaidon), is now on shelves at bookstores around the world. It features 77 of the world’s top chefs who share personal stories of how music has been an important, integral force in their lives. The chefs also give personal recipes and curated playlists too. It’s an anthology of memories, meals and mixtapes. Pick up your copy by ordering directly from Phaidon, or by visiting

Darin turns on the disco ball for Jumbo Time Wines as co-owner Jonathan Yadegar swings by to talk shop about his burgeoning wine label. Jonathan shares stories about the sip of wine that changed his life, how he got the business started, and his curated playlist that pairs perfectly with a bottle of his chilled red. Then we dig into the archives for a psychedelic performance from New York rockers, Sun Voyager. They swung by in 2018 to chat about their recent release and play live tracks from the album. Snacky Tunes: Music is the Main Ingredient, Chefs and Their Music (Phaidon), is now on shelves at bookstores around the world. It features 77 of the world’s top chefs who share personal stories of how music has been an important, integral force in their lives. The chefs also give personal recipes and curated playlists too. It’s an anthology of memories, meals and mixtapes. Pick up your copy by ordering directly from Phaidon, or by visiting your local independent bookstore. Visit our site, www.snackytunes.com fo

Darin heads to Ojai to chat with Heather Stobo and Lisa Casoni, the founders of Beato Chocolates. They talk about the creative spirit of the area, how they became gallery curators, and their creation of their delicious art project turned chocolate bar. We then jump into the archives and land in October 2018 to revisit our dance party meetup with Morgan Wiley and Ria Bouttier, the duo behind tropical disco house outfit 88 Palms.Snacky Tunes: Music is the Main Ingredient, Chefs and Their Music (Phaidon), is now on shelves at bookstores around the world. It features 77 of the world’s top chefs who share personal stories of how music has been an important, integral force in their lives. The chefs also give personal recipes and curated playlists too. It’s an anthology of memories, meals and mixtapes. Pick up your copy by ordering directly from Phaidon, or by visiting your local independent bookstore. Visit our site, www.snackytunes.com for more info.Heritage Radio Network is a listener supported nonprofit podcast

Darin sits down for a cultural chat with Kashy Khaledi, proprietor and owner of Ashes and Diamonds Winery.  They chat about Kashy’s start in the world of magazines at Grand Royal, his foray into the music industry, and the launch of his own wine label. In the second half of the show, we dig into the archives for a performance from Anni Rossi.  An American singer, violist and keyboardist from Minnesota, she is notable for her unique style of playing the viola and singing, often at the same time.  Anni shares details surrounding her uniquely constructed instrument as well as her release from Spring 2015.Snacky Tunes: Music is the Main Ingredient, Chefs and Their Music (Phaidon), is now on shelves at bookstores around the world. It features 77 of the world’s top chefs who share personal stories of how music has been an important, integral force in their lives. The chefs also give personal recipes and curated playlists too. It’s an anthology of memories, meals and mixtapes. Pick up your copy by ordering directly

Snacky Tunes is on the continent for an all new episode of delicious food and fantastic music.  Darin’s first stop is Amsterdam, where he chats with Kevin Kearny & Amber Leugs of the newly opened Stacks Diner.  They talk about the road to opening, American food in the Netherlands, and what’s on the nightly soundtrack. Then it’s over to Spain for a hang with Sergio Díaz De Rojas, whose new album, Muerte en una tarde de verano, was released on March 10th. He shares the inspiring influence of his grandfather & great aunt, the story behind the new release, and what he likes to cook when he’s at home. Snacky Tunes: Music is the Main Ingredient, Chefs and Their Music (Phaidon), is now on shelves at bookstores around the world. It features 77 of the world’s top chefs who share personal stories of how music has been an important, integral force in their lives. The chefs also give personal recipes and curated playlists too. It’s an anthology of memories, meals and mixtapes. Pick up your copy by ordering direct

Austin’s very own Birdie’s stops by for a chat on this episode of Snacky Tunes. Tracy Malechek-Ezekiel (Chef and Co-owner, Birdie’s), Arjav Ezekiel (Wine Director and Co-Owner, Birdie’s) and their son, Remy sit down with Darin for a chat about the local dining scene, their new approach to running a restaurant, and who gets to pick the playlist at their fine-casual spot. Then we dig into our archives and rustle up one of our favorite performances from December 2013, when singer-songwriter Cassandra Jenkins dropped into the studio to talk about growing up in a musical family on NYC’s Upper West Side. She also played us some songs from her newest self-titled EP at the time. Cassandra’s still making music we love, and you should check out her latest album, Play Till You Win.Snacky Tunes: Music is the Main Ingredient, Chefs and Their Music (Phaidon), is now on shelves at bookstores around the world. It features 77 of the world’s top chefs who share personal stories of how music has been an important, integral forc

Darin talks music and Irish bars with Liam Craig, the Director of Music for NYC’s legendary cocktail bar, The Dead Rabbit.  Liam chats about the bar’s decade long legacy, the modern shifting of music & bar culture in Ireland, upcoming Irish bands at SXSW, and legal Poitín from Dublin being served in NYC.  Then we dig into the archives for a dream pop performance from Brooklyn’s Gingerlys. The Dead Rabbit’s PlaylistsTaproom DaytimeTaproom EveningTaproom Late NightParlor EveningSeisiúnSnacky Tunes: Music is the Main Ingredient, Chefs and Their Music (Phaidon), is now on shelves at bookstores around the world. It features 77 of the world’s top chefs who share personal stories of how music has been an important, integral force in their lives. The chefs also give personal recipes and curated playlists too. It’s an anthology of memories, meals and mixtapes. Pick up your copy by ordering directly from Phaidon, or by visiting your local independent bookstore. Visit our site, www.snackytunes.com for more info.Heri

Influential food writer and LA scene maker, Andy Wang, sits down with Darin to chat about the local culinary scene, the community building through Industry Only LA, and some of the stories he’s been covering across the nation.  Then singer-songwriter Rachel Grae stops by for a chat and live performance in advance of her national tour. She talks about using writing as therapy, her dad’s best recipes, and what she is most looking forward to being on the road. Snacky Tunes: Music is the Main Ingredient, Chefs and Their Music (Phaidon), is now on shelves at bookstores around the world. It features 77 of the world’s top chefs who share personal stories of how music has been an important, integral force in their lives. The chefs also give personal recipes and curated playlists too. It’s an anthology of memories, meals and mixtapes. Pick up your copy by ordering directly from Phaidon, or by visiting your local independent bookstore. Visit our site, www.snackytunes.com for more info.Heritage Radio Network is a listen

To kick off Valentine’s Day, Darin sits down with Valerie Gordon of Valerie Confections to chat about her lifelong dedication to giving the perfect gift. She reminisces on the early days of the business and shares the details on her new headquarters located in beautiful Glendale. In the second half of the show, we feature a live in-studio performance by Diane Birch, whose 2016 album is the self-produced Nous. Written and recorded mostly in Berlin, Nous draws on musical influences as varied and rich as Birch’s own international upbringing—from her childhood as a preacher’s daughter in Zimbabwe and South Africa, to her wedding dress and black-lipstick days as a Goth teen in Portland, to her late teens in L.A. where she paid her musical dues playing piano and singing covers in fancy hotels.Snacky Tunes: Music is the Main Ingredient, Chefs and Their Music (Phaidon), is now on shelves at bookstores around the world. It features 77 of the world’s top chefs who share personal stories of how music has been an importa