This project has always had an end point, and that end point is here.

Since we started this journey together in the early Summer months of 2007, I have set out to learn as much as I could about food, food culture, and the truth behind what we put on our tables every single day. And my goal has always been to share what I’ve learned with you.

Through it all, I hope I’ve helped make a difference at your dinner table, challenged you to try new things, and entertained you along the way.

Don joins me today as we put the audio portion of this journey to bed. This is not the end, as the multitude of video projects we have in place will continue our exploration of restaurants, recipes, and other features I am excited to bring to the table on YouTube.

I’m grateful to every single one of you for listening, for your input, support, and for creating one of the most tight-knit communities on Facebook. I’m very proud of what we’ve accomplished and what we continue to do.

The podcast may be over, but our life as foodies will never die.

Thanks for everything.

Phil

Download the final episode of My Life as a Foodie

Music in this episode:
“Let the Sparks Fly” – Thousand Foot Krutch

“Halo” – Evans Blue

Don & I after recording episode 100:

Here are some photos from Don’s Paella Day:

Editing clips for the final show started early last month. I have never prepped harder for a show than I did for this one:

Before hitting a pivotal 100th episode, I wanted to do something special and devote a show to a chef I admire, a friend, a unique artist — Ludo Lefebvre. With his new book being released next week, Ludo Bites: Recipes and Stories from the Pop-Up Restaurants of Ludo Lefebvre, we were able to visit with him, and eat some favorite dishes from his many pop-ups at a recent event at Quiksilver in Fashion Island, Newport Beach.

His book is a thorough collection of stories of each of his pop-ups throughout Los Angeles, including recipes of some of his more popular dishes from each one. It sums up quite nicely what I think started this phenomenon of chefs moving into restaurants that normally aren’t open for dinner service, bringing in their own staff with their own menu and serving up special limited-time dinners.

We also were given a chance to screen a new short film that Ludo appeared in for Quiksilver titled “Chef and The Sea” which was filmed several months ago when Ludo and Krissy hosted their pop-up in the Big Island of Hawaii. Along with spearfisherman Mark Healey, Stephanie Gilmore, a five time world champion surfer, and another surfer Reef McIntosh, Ludo uses fresh, local ingredients to accompany fresh local fish that Mark catches off of the coast of Hawaii. You can watch this short film below.

Download Episode 99

Watch “Chef and The Sea”

Some of Ludo’s dishes from the Quicksilver event:

Dorado ceviche

Vegetarian salad with smoked couscous, basil, melon, garbanzo beans, and yogurt

One-bite lobster amuse bouche

Squid carbonara with bacon and the yolk of a quail egg

Mini taco with Brandade and arugula

————-

Kona Crab, Cabbage, and Kimchi Butter Mini Tacos

Unless you’re in Kona, you’re not getting Kona crab. So use whatever crab you want for this dish. Dungeness, blue crab, or if you can’t get a whole live crab, buy some king crab legs. Just get some crab meat – the fresher the better.

Serves 4 (6 mini tacos each)

You’ll need 2 whole crabs, several blue crabs, or a few king crab legs.

To make the Kimchee Sauce:
1 gelatin sheet
1/2 cup water
3 ounces unsalted butter, diced
1 1/2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 teaspoons Three Crab fish sauce
2 teaspoons finely grated peeled fresh daikon
2 teaspoons finely grated peeled fresh ginger
2 teaspoons sambal sauce
1/2 teaspoon finely grated garlic
1/2 teaspoon honey

Cabbage:
1 green cabbage leaves
1 red cabbages leaves
2 teaspoons olive oil
Kosher salt

To prepare cabbage:
Using a 3-4 inch-round cutter, cut out 24 discs each of green cabbage leaves and red cabbage leaves.

Cook the green cabbage discs in a large saucepan of boiling lightly salted water for 30 seconds, then remove the cabbage discs from the boiling water and transfer them to a bowl of ice water to cool. Remove the cabbage discs from the ice water and pat them dry with paper towels. Repeat with the red cabbage discs.

To make kimchee sauce:
Place the gelatin in a bowl of ice cold water and set aside until the gelatin softens, about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, bring the 1/2 cup of water to a boil in a small saucepan over high heat.

Add the butter and blend with an immersion blender.

Add the vinegar, daikon, sambal sauce, ginger, fish sauce, garlic, and honey, then blend well again with the immersion blender.

Remove the gelatin from the ice water and stir it into the butter mixture until it is dissolved. Keep the sauce hot.

In a big saucepan, add water, bring to boil. Add the crab, cook for 12 minutes.

Meanwhile, steam the cabbage discs in a Japanese bamboo steamer until they are hot. Remove the cabbage discs from the steamer and toss them in a small bowl with the olive oil and season them with salt.

Place the cooked crab in a bowl in ice water, to cool. Open the crab, clean the meat, and crack the legs and clean the meat. Set aside.

Lay the cabbage on a plate. Place some crabmeat on each piece of cabbage. Spoon the kimchee sauce over the crab.

Eat with your hands, like a mini-taco.

Purchase Ludo’s new book:

Music from this episode:
Angel On My Shoulder – Kaskade

Someday Soon (Headcleanr Remix)

[ watch the video ]

This time on out to lunch we’re visiting Boiling Point in Irvine for Hot Pot, an Eastern Asian stew consisting of a simmering metal bowl of stock on a burner charged by Sterno filled with vegetables, tofu, blood cake, clams, cuttlefish, fish cakes, and other tasty treats.

Unlike Shabu Shabu, where meats and vegetables are dipped into a simmering stock, then eaten, hot pot has everything in it. You just pick out your food, dip it in an optional sauce, and eat.

Comforting and delicious, Boiling Point is the perfect lunch time stop on a cool Fall or Winter afternoon. Watch this episode of Out To Lunch.

Boiling Point
14140 Culver Drive
Irvine, CA

It’s a subject that we’ve hit on many times in the 5 years that this show has been rolling along, but it bears repeating now and again because the situation doesn’t seem to be getting any better — only worse. That is, if you listen to the “experts” and reports like this from ecologists and economists.

Not to say that there isn’t a shortage, because there certainly seems to be one – at least in many sectors of our oceans. The question is, what do we do about it? Suggesting a shut down or major cut back on the global fishing industry hardly seems like a viable solution when you stop to consider the number of jobs that will be lost.

So it begs the question of what is worse – a global decline in fish population, or global unemployment in the fishing sector?

Download Episode 98

In this episode:
• Michelle Obama has turned into a health food nazi
• A Home Brew Review: Don’s IPA
• Mama’s Italian Fish Stew from Dom DeLuise
• Radiation fallout from Fukushima hits the Bluefin Tuna population
• The case for a leaner, meaner global fishing industry
• FACTS: farm raised vs wild caught
• Farm raised Bluefin Tuna from the Croatian Coast
• Chef Eddie Shephard’s new eBook is eye candy for the iPad
• Waterzooi from Sean Paxton, The Homebrew Chef

Music in this episode:

“Dirthouse by Static-X”
“Lizard” by Plicherss

Mamma’s Italian Fish Stew (courtesy of Dom DeLuise)

4 tablespoons olive oil
3 garlic cloves
1 onion, chopped
1 large tomato, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
1 cup dry white wine (or light colored beer)
2 28-ounce cans crushed tomatoes
1 8-ounce bottle of clam juice
1/2 pound of calamari
1/2 pound cod filet or red snapper, cut into 1 1/2 inch chunks
freshly ground pepper to taste
1/2 teaspoon freshly chopped oregano
1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
1/2 pound shrimp, shelled and deveined
1/2 pound scallops
6 live clams, well scrubbed

In a large kettle, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the garlic, onion, tomato, peppers, and celery, and sauté lightly. Add the white wine (or beer), crushed tomatoes, and clam juice, and bring to a boil. Lower heat to simmer, throw in the calamari, and cook for 3 minutes. Add the cod and the red snapper, and simmer for about 10 minutes (add a little water at your own preference – I used a full cup). Season with pepper, oregano, and thyme leaves. At this point, add the shrimp, scallops, and clams and cook for another 5 minutes. Pull off the heat and serve.

[ watch the video ]

The name may sound ridiculous, but this Japanese restaurant is one my favorite places to slip into, enjoy a quiet lunch (or dinner) of authentic Japanese food.

On this episode of Out To Lunch we’re enjoying Zaru Soba – cold soba noodles with a shoyu-based dipping broth, a couple of Maki Rolls (hand rolls – like a Japanese sandwich without the peanut butter & jelly), and small bowls of rice topped with marinated tuna and Unagi (grilled eel).

At the Tustin location, they make their own udon and soba noodles in-house. And if you know Don & I at all, you know that we’re both noodle whores, so we fit right in. This is NOT that 50 cent dried package of ramen you survived on in College. This is real authentic hand made soba, and there simply is no comparison.

OKI DOKI
13681 Newport Avenue # 9
Tustin, CA.
714-730-7051

Unless you’ve been living under a rock (or on vacation), you’re aware of the the situation Dan Cathy, President of Chick-fil-A has found himself in. For years, he’s been donating money to Christian groups that oppose gay marriage. He has a right to give his money to whoever he wishes. And while I’d love to know just how pure and affair-free the marriages of these people are, I have a right to disagree with his stance and promote alternative meals – especially those in the form of fresh vegetables.

Dan Cathy should think less about the sanctity of marriage and more about the sanctity of his chicken. God only knows where that’s coming from.

We’re in the dead heat of Summer, and the markets are exploding with freshness. So the timing is ripe. Get knee deep in all of the vegetables and fruits that you can and enjoy the best vegetables of the year. With the help of a mandoline, I was able to enjoy a new raw root vegetable salad from Chris Cosentino that blows the doors off of Cathy’s poor attempt to rip of the Colonel, and provides a far healthier alternative.

Welcome to Season 6 of My Life as a Foodie.

Download Episode 97

In this episode:
• The bitch came back
• Michael Phelps will retire next week. Will he retire his diet?
• For a bunch of foodies, we sure don’t spend a lot on food.
• Beer Review: Stone Smoked Porter with Vanilla & Chipotle Peppers
• Foie Gras is officially banned in California, but nothing’s changing
• Jose Andres tells it just like it is
• Chick-fil-A supports anti-gay-marriage groups, Cat Cora gets hammered & drives home
• Chris Cosentino’s Dirty Vegetables
• Grilled Eggplant Cannelloni with Ricotta & Proscuitto
• Adam Carolla exposes the lyrics to the “Roach Coach Song” (and they’re not pretty)

Music in this episode:

“Gorgeous Nightmare” by Escape The Fate

“I Remember” by Kaskade

Show Resources:

The hot dog. It epitomizes baseball, Summer, and outdoor grilling in our country. So why, with the world’s culture at our culinary fingertips, do we constantly make the one American Summer standard the same way over and over again?

Today we’re discussing the many ways we can bring the world’s incredibly vast flavors to our boring hot dogs, and make things fun again. Who said it was against the rules to make a hot dog that wasn’t topped with ketchup, mustard, relish, onions, and/or (if you live in Chicago) the addition of fresh tomato and a pickle wedge?

Put on your big boy pants. This is going to get messy.

Download Episode 96

In this episode:
• NYC’s mayor Bloomberg bans servings of soda over 16 ounces
• Sah’tea from Dogfish Head – 6 out of 5 stars. It really is that good.
• Around the world in 80 dogs, courtesy of Bon Appetit
• Eating healthy is actually far cheaper than eating poorly, despite what you’ve heard.
• Thomas Keller tells locavores to stuff it. He’s got a restaurant to run.
• Do we really need all-you-can-eat restaurants anymore?
• Mario Batali to celebrity food judges: “Who the f**k are you? Who let you in this room?”
• Bourdain leaving Travel Channel for CNN in 2013

Music in this episode:

[ watch the video ]

Summer is at our doorstep, so in this episode of Dude Food I’ll show you how to make sausage – specifically, beef sausage. Making sausage requires some gear, but it’s exceptionally easy to prepare.

You can grill it, boil it, sauté it – however you like it prepared. It’s like a hot dog, except that it’s made with freshly ground short ribs – not lips and assholes. This is a very basic recipe so feel free to riff on it however you wish.

BASIC RECIPE:

2 1/2 pounds beef short ribs, bones removed
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon of kosher salt
1 tablespoon of dry mustard
1 tablespoon of hot paprika
1 teaspoon of ground coriander
3 minced cloves of fresh garlic
1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1 cup of ice cold water (or beer/wine if you want to be creative)

Music by Speaking The Kings. Check out the band on Facebook, SoundCloud, and YouTube.

[ watch the show ]

This time on Out To Lunch we visit The Bruery Provisions, located at 143 North Glassell Street in Orange, CA. It’s a specialty market and tasting room devoted to serving the finest in craft beer, wine, cheese, and a wide array of specialty foods. They’re a branch of The Bruery, an Orange County craft brewery specializing in Belgian and Experimental style beers which I’ve featured on the show several times in the past.

I’m joined by my friends Don and Jason as they sample sour beers and we enjoy some great sandwiches. And while this seems to turn into how much I don’t care for sour beers, you should know that it’s a matter of taste. Patrick’s sour beers are world class, having won several World Beer Cup awards.

Sitting on a patio with friends, drinking great craft beer after a long day of work is the perfect way to end the day. Visit The Bruery Provisions at brueryprovisions.com or call them at (714) 997-2337.

When you change your lifestyle, you change your life. And perhaps my recent lifestyle change has overturned my life as a foodie – in a good way, of course.

On my road to better health (and better shape) I’ve learned many things. I’ve learned how to maximize my time on the bicycle or in running shoes to burn as many calories as I can, in as little time as possible. I’ve learned about life balance, good fat versus bad, how to raise my metabolism, and when my body is most susceptible to burning fat.

But the most important lesson? That eating more often helps you lose weight. They say that weight loss takes baby steps. It also takes baby meals – several of them a day. Forget the fat burning pills, the special diets, the shakes. All you need is to stock your house with fresh fruits, vegetables, nuts, and protein. It’s something I’ve known for years. I just didn’t listen until now.

Download Episode 95

In this episode:
• The hot dog truck hooker
• Evil Cousin IPA from Heretic Brewing
• How I raised by metabolism, got my life back, and stayed a foodie
• Chris Cosentino no longer wishes to be on TV
• The good and bad thing about Food Network
• Add another food writer to Bourdain’s shit list
• Cosentino’s book “Beginnings”is available now, and it’s not what you expect

Watch the rejected TV pilot for Cosentino’s show “Chef Unleashed”:

Pea porn. Get them while they’re fresh.

Music from this episode: