How cool was it to have Anya von Bremzen in the studio? In this fast-paced episode, we cover Anya’s tremendous journalism career, which has brought her multiple James Beard Awards and a handful of reported books that are considered modern classics. These include the memoir Mastering the Art of Soviet Cooking and her latest, National Dish: Around the World in Search of Food, History, and the Meaning of Home. We talk about what makes (or doesn’t make) a culture’s national dish, and how food writing has undergone great change in the past two decades.
Also on the show, Aliza and Matt catch up about three things they are feeling at the moment. The new SPAM® flavor, Cardamaro, a visit to the Albanese gummy bear factory store, goat butter ice cream, a great new book Imagine a City: A Pilot’s Journey Across the Urban World, a great new movie Theater Camp, and a really smart sunburn recovery hack.
Matt Rodbard is the editor in chief of TASTE and author of Koreatown: A Cookbook, a New York Times best-seller, and Food IQ: 100 Questions, Answers, and Recipes to Raise Your Cooking Smarts.
