Extra Spicy
74 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 2 years ago -Join host Soleil Ho as they attempt to decipher the bizarro happenings of the food world alongside a mix of fascinating folks. They dismantle diet culture and angry chefs, cover the restaurant apocalypse and pandemic pivots, and dish out advice you didn't know you needed. Extra Spicy will stimulate your mind and your appetite.
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Episodes
How a Recipe Can Become a Protest
November 09, 2020 12:00 - 36 minutes“Chinese Protest Recipes” is an antiracist zine from chef and activist Clarence Kwan, who insists food and cooking are political. Kwan joins hosts Justin Phillips and Soleil Ho to discuss his project, the recipes and anti-Black racism within Asian communities. Plus: some tea is spilled about Drake, Kwan’s fellow Torontonian. Send us your questions about food, life and everything you’re obsessed with at sfchronicle.com/spicy. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about ...
Food Photography Is a Meritocracy — If You’re a White Person
November 02, 2020 09:00 - 36 minutesFood photographer Oriana Koren talks about their work researching and documenting Black contributions to American cuisine, including their notable feature on underground chefs in South L.A. As a Black, non-binary professional, they talk about the politics and power behind the camera — including the extra work it took them to establish a career in food media. Plus: Co-host Soleil Ho got an orb. Send us your questions about food, life and everything you’re obsessed with at sfchronicle.com/spic...
Food Pop-ups in Legal Limbo
October 26, 2020 11:00 - 41 minutesWhile AB-626 legalized the permitted sale of home-cooked food, most California counties have not developed a permitting process, creating a legal gray area. Katie Valenzuela, an incoming Sacramento city councilmember who helped work on the bill, joins Justin Phillips and Soleil Ho to discuss the origin and iterations of the new policy, how it affects racial and class equity, the role of the pandemic, and the importance of being civically engaged. Read a transcript of the full interview, and s...
Three-Michelin-Starred: A Fine Dining Legacy, Burned Down
October 19, 2020 08:00 - 39 minutesLocated in Napa Valley’s St. Helena, the highly acclaimed Restaurant at Meadowood was destroyed on September 28th by the massive Glass Fire, which scorched close to the 67K acres in Sonoma and Napa counties. Under the leadership of executive chef Christopher Kostow, the decades-old resort restaurant earned accolades for its artistic, garden-to-table cuisine. The owners of Meadowood Napa Valley, which housed the famed restaurant, have since vowed to rebuild the property. But amid the news of i...
A Foodie's First Impressions of the Bay Area Food Scene
October 12, 2020 08:00 - 36 minutesSerena Dai, the new senior features editor for The San Francisco Chronicle, talks about her first impressions of the Bay Area food scene and why food writing continues to fascinate her. Dai worked closely with co-host Soleil Ho to produce The Chronicle’s Top 87 Restaurants list and explains why food accolades are here to stay, even amid a global pandemic that has upended the industry. Fun fact: Dai, a veteran food editor and reporter, hasn’t eaten a single avocado since she moved here from N...
What Wildfires Mean for California Wine
October 05, 2020 11:00 - 34 minutesWith more than a dozen California wineries damaged and even more threatened by smoke tainted grapes, this season might prove to be calamitous for the wine industry. Chronicle wine critic Esther Mobley talks about the wineries impacted by fire, the economic toll of the one-two punch of the coronavirus pandemic and wildfires, and what the future of Wine Country might look like as climate change makes fires more frequent and more intense. Read a transcript of the full interview and send us your ...
Barbecue That's Worth the Wait
September 28, 2020 08:00 - 34 minutesMatt Horn, the pitmaster and proprietor behind Horn BBQ, talks about his journey from cooking in a backyard in Tracy and putting on a roaming Bay Area pop-up to opening a highly anticipated brick-and-mortar space in Oakland. Horn’s Texas-style barbecue has become the stuff of legend, earning him regional and national acclaim, as well as a spot on this year’s Top 88, The Chronicle’s list of top Bay Area restaurants. Hosts Soleil Ho and Justin Phillips break down why Matt Horn's barbecue — from...
Comfort Food for Your Pandemic Hunger
September 21, 2020 08:00 - 38 minutesAs the coronavirus pandemic keeps stress levels elevated, Brenda Buenviaje, chef and owner of an eponymous restaurant mini-empire, shares her coping strategy: producing YouTube cooking videos with her son. Plus: Buenviaje discusses having a French Soul Food menu in the Bay Area, while Justin and Soleil explore the concept of comfort food. Read a transcript of the full interview, and send us your questions about food, life and everything you’re obsessed with at sfchronicle.com/spicy. | Unlim...
Don’t Call the Cops on Pop-Ups
September 14, 2020 08:00 - 38 minutesPalestinian chef Mona Leena Michael went from heading up Oakland’s Middle Eastern restaurant, Dyafa, to putting up a Mana’eesh pop-up once the coronavirus pandemic struck. Michael talks about how the Alameda County health department shut her operation down due to an anonymous complaint — even during a global health crisis that has rendered many food industry workers like her unemployable. Plus: Michael shocks co-host Soleil Ho by saying that she’s “elevating” Palestinian cuisine. Read a trans...
Mark Canha: Big League Foodie
September 07, 2020 08:00 - 37 minutesBaseball players are mostly steakhouse guys, but Mark Canha of the Oakland A's is a self-proclaimed food influencer. Canha talks about his unlikely turn as a Bay Area food influencer and how he connects with his fans via his food-centric Instagram account, @BigLeaugeFoodie. Canha is rethinking the types of restaurants he eats from amid the coronavirus pandemic and talks about how food has kept him connected with his loved ones while living in isolation during the season. Plus: Canha gives li...
Adapting to the Realities of Outdoor Dining
August 31, 2020 08:00 - 37 minutesPrubechu, a popular restaurant in the Mission district, is adapting to the times. As the coronavirus pandemic reshapes how restaurants function, co-founders Shawn Naputi and Shawn Camacho are steadfast in their dedication to show San Francisco what Guam has to offer. In this episode, they discuss their challenges and triumphs. Read a transcript of the conversation with “the two Shawns”, and send us your questions about food, life and everything you’re obsessed with at sfchronicle.com/spicy. |...
Can Vegan Soul Food Tackle Meat’s Masculinity Problem?
August 24, 2020 08:00 - 30 minutesToriano Gordon, a rapper-turned-restaurateur, talks about finding his place in veganism, meat’s masculinity problem and the history of plant-based eating in Black communities. Gordon’s vegan soul food restaurant, Vegan Mob, has made a huge splash in Oakland’s food scene, offering everything from plant-based cheeseburger egg rolls and fried chicken po’boys to Impossible meat tacos and gumbo. Read a transcript of our conversation with Toriano Gordon, and send us your questions about food, life...
Can Free Fridges Avoid “Poverty Porn”?
August 17, 2020 08:00 - 44 minutesGabriela Alemán and Ashley Rahimi Syed, who’ve helped bring a fridge stocked with fresh food to the Mission, talk about protecting the dignity of those they serve, and mitigating the “performative” aspect of some of the giving. Read a transcript of our conversation with Gabriela and Ashley, and send us your questions about food, life and everything you're obsessed with at sfchronicle.com/spicy. | Get full Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone....
Centering Black Foodways in A Hungry Society
August 10, 2020 08:00 - 43 minutesKorsha Wilson talks about her website and podcast, A Hungry Society, and how she’s protected her byline by only taking on writing assignments she believes in. Her focus on Caribbean cuisine and Black foodways at large has been an inspiration to Soleil Ho and Justin Phillips. Plus: Soleil and Justin compare their writing careers to the acting career of Nicolas Cage. Read a transcript of our conversation with Korsha Wilson and send us your questions about food, life and everything you're obsess...
Only Nigerian Restaurant in San Francisco Burns Down
August 03, 2020 08:00 - 41 minutesSimileoluwa Adebajo, owner of San Francisco’s Eko Kitchen, speaks with hosts Soleil Ho and Justin Phillips just hours after her restaurant burned down in a major fire. She remains positive she can rebuild the city’s only Nigerian restaurant and has launched a GoFundMe in support of her business as well as several others that lost property in the fire. She also talks about performative support for Black-owned restaurants by white folks amid the surging Black Live Matters movement. Read a trans...
Hungry Hungry Hooker
July 26, 2020 08:00 - 38 minutesSan Francisco food blogger and professional companion Adahlia Cole talks about the ways in which sex work intersects with the food industry. Cole also talks about her pandemic-era work documenting the myriad side hustles that laid-off or underemployed restaurant workers have taken on in recent months to supplement their incomes. Plus: Justin Phillips and Soleil Ho tackle some listener questions about foie gras and the things they miss about restaurants. Read a transcript of our full conversat...
The Pandemic Pivot: Restaurant to Grocery
July 20, 2020 08:00 - 41 minutesAnthony Strong, the chef and owner of San Francisco's Prairie, talks about his restaurant’s quick pivot to a general store at the onset of the pandemic. Hang on to the end to hear some nonsense about Hot Pot Panic, Soleil Ho's new favorite computer game made by a Bay Area local. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
How JustUs Kitchen Feeds the Movement
July 13, 2020 08:00 - 37 minutesBay Area chef and community organizer Jocelyn Jackson is the founder of JustUs Kitchen, a project that provides healing food experiences for Black women and femmes. Jackson, also the co-founder of the People’s Kitchen Collective, talks about what it means to create liberated spaces, the ancient history of mutual aid, and how we can sustain the political moment. | Get full Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Not Interested In American Cuisine
July 06, 2020 08:38 - 42 minutesHawa Hassan, CEO of Basbaas Somali Foods, talks about her work to promote African cuisines here in the U.S. and her new cookbook, “In Bibi’s Kitchen.” She also has a frank discussion of her work with Bon Appetit’s Test Kitchen, which she says used her image to uphold the illusion of diversity while not affording her the respect she deserved. | Get full Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Drama at the Dinner Table
June 29, 2020 08:00 - 39 minutesWriter and advice columnist Daniel M. Lavery talks about potatoes for dessert, imaginary restaurant ideas and the persistence of the dinner table as the place where family tensions come to a head. Plus: In this week’s Dear Spicy, Soleil Ho and co-host Justin Phillips dole out their own advice about making it as professional food writer. | Get full Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
A New Deal for Restaurants
June 22, 2020 08:02 - 39 minutesOrganizer and sommelier Vinny Eng talks about working with SF New Deal, a nonprofit that has provided financial relief for restaurants by enlisting them to cook meals for people and organizations in need. Eng lays out how the program works, as well as how crucial this kind of aid can be for restaurants and communities suffering during the coronavirus pandemic. | Get full Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Pickle Jar Time Machine
June 22, 2020 08:01 - 36 minutesPickle profferer and master fermenter Kelly McVicker geeks out about pickles: how time is an essential ingredient, and how an increased interest in the craft during the coronavirus pandemic is a sign that people are rethinking the place of pickles in our food system. | Get full Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Padma Lakshmi: Redefining “American Food”
June 22, 2020 08:00 - 39 minutesThe writer and television personality talks about her new show, Taste the Nation. Lakshmi, an award-winning author who previously hosted “Top Chef,” talks about using her show to broaden the definition of “American food” — as an antidote to xenophobia and ahistoric notions of who “Americans” are. | Get full Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
This is Extra Spicy
June 05, 2020 16:30 - 2 minutesSan Francisco Chronicle food writers and columnists Soleil Ho and Justin Phillips talk to fascinating food folks in the Bay Area and beyond about restaurant life, cookbooks and the devastating horror of ranch dressing. Their attempts to decipher the bizarro happenings of the food world will stimulate your mind and your appetite. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices