French fry fight, the Oscars & Wolfgang, Northern Thai food

Hosted by Evan Kleiman Feb. 23, 2019 Food & Drink

Wolfgang Puck has been catering Hollywood's elite for 25 consecutive years. Photo by Amy Ta/KCRW

This is the 25th year that Wolfgang Puck has catered the official Oscars after-party. So how does he pull it off year after year? Also, we explore some controversial french fry rankings. Writer and photographer Austin Bush dishes on the food of Northern Thailand, and we learn about an exciting new taco stand from Bill Addison. Plus: gentrification in Virgil Village.

From this Episode:

A taste of Wolfgang Puck’s 25th Oscars menu

The 91st Academy Awards are this Sunday, and while many will be watching, one of the night’s biggest events won’t be on TV: the Governors Ball.

8 min

Unpacking the LA Times’ french fry power rankings

Recently the LA Times Food section put out its official fast food French fry power rankings of 19 different restaurants.

12 min

“The Food of Northern Thailand”

What do you know of Northern Thai cuisine besides khao soi? Austin Bush is an American writer and photographer who makes his home in Thailand.

13 min

Tacos and showmanship at Tacos 1986

LA Times restaurant critic Bill Addison talks with Evan about Tacos 1986 , a buzzy Tijuana-style taco stand luring crowds at Koreatown and at Smorgasburg LA with...

6 min

Displacement in Virgil Village

TheLAnd magazine is a new source of local journalism in the spirit of the alt-weekly. The first issue features a photo essay of women in LA’s Virgil Village...

9 min

Market Report: Persian Mint

The Vietnamese-inspired menu at Khong Ten in West LA features many herbs, and one of them is Persian mint, which has a spicy, earthy flavor, says chef de cuisine Justin...

8 min