About this episode
This week on The LA Food Podcast, we dive into one of the wildest chef vs. critic stories in recent memory: Thomas Keller of The French Laundry allegedly asked SF Chronicle critic Mackenzie Chung Fegan to leave the restaurant. Was it a momentary lapse or a sign of a chef in crisis?Then: Chef Ari Kolender of LA seafood hotspot Found Oyster and Eagle Rock’s Queen’s Raw Bar & Grill joins us to talk about his gorgeous new cookbook How to Cook the Finest Things in the Sea, the rebrand of Queen’s, and his journey from Kosher kid in South Carolina to one of LA’s most celebrated chefs.We also get into: ? Congress' push for a No Tax on Tips law and what it means for restaurants and diners ? Questlove’s no-beef burger spot in Westlake Village? A Katz’s Deli dupe in Burbank ? The unhinged, erm, rise and chaotic fall of Dough Drop Pizza, cyber-vigilanted by the one and only Turk’s Pizza Party in defense of LA’s pizza sceneHit play for chef drama, seafood revelations, and the latest in LA food chaos.Helpful Links:Ari Kolender on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/arikolender/?hl=enHow To Cook The Finest Things In the Sea https://www.arikolender.com/cookbookFound Oyster https://www.foundoyster.com/Queen’s Raw Bar & Grill https://queensrawbar.com/Mackenzie Chung Fegan on her dinner at The French Laundry https://www.sfchronicle.com/food/restaurants/article/thomas-keller-french-laundry-20290670.phpQuestLove’s new spot per Rebecca Roland https://la.eater.com/2025/5/19/24433364/mixtape-burger-restaurant-opening-neighborly-westlake-village-questloveNo tax on tip law https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/21/dining/no-tax-on-tips-bill.htmlKatz’s Deli dupe per Matthew Kang https://la.eater.com/2025/5/19/24433481/katzs-deli-jewish-deli-burbank-sandwiches-opening-los-angelesDough Drop Pizza lol https://www.instagram.com/doughdroppizza/?hl=enTaqueando with Bill Esparza Episode 3, featuring Si! Mon chef Jose Olmedo Carles Rojas –
