Spoon Mob

On this week's Parts Now Known podcast we head to Russia to talk about Putin, Bourdain's eastern block travel buddy Zamir Gotta, caviar, the train to St. Petersburg, the Sochi Olympics, Putin opposition and critics, protesting in Russia, Boris Netsov and his assassination, the KGB, Snowden, Vodka's, public toilets, and if we can get Ben on a 90 Day Fiancé TV Show before going through the categories and updating the rankings. For all things Spoon Mob, visit spoonmob.com and make sure to follow us on Instagram (@spoonmob), Twitter (@spoonmob1), and Facebook (@spoonmob1).

On the first restaurant review of 2021, Ray talks about one of Denver's best restaurants, chef Alex Seidel's Mercantile Dining & Provision. After recapping Seidel's career thus far, Ray talks about chef Matt Vawter, his bachelor party trip to the Mile High City, and the epic paella. For more on chef Alex Seidel and Mercantile Dining & Provision, visit spoonmob.com/alexseidel. For all things Spoon Mob, visit spoonmob.com and make sure to follow us on Instagram (@spoonmob), Twitter (@spoonmob1), and Facebook (@spoonmob1).

On the first episode of Spoon Mob's Chefs & Guests podcast series, Ray chats with chef Jay Kleven of Cleaver located in the Grandview neighborhood of Columbus Ohio over FaceTime. They talk about how Jay found his way to Columbus, how he got into the culinary industry, culinary school, his time at The Pearl, joining Rockmill Tavern, taking over as executive chef of Rockmill Tavern, how he got the gig at Cleaver, the challenges of opening a restaurant during a pandemic, what Cleaver will look like after the pandemic ends, the state of the city's restaurant scene, and the lack of food media in Columbus before answering the "burning grill" questions, a series of cool questions you never knew you wanted answered! For more on chef Jay Kleven and Cleaver, visit spoonmob.com/jaykleven and follow him on Instagram @jay.kleven, @cleavergrandview & @butcherandgrocer. Visit cleavergrandview.com for menu details, reservations, and online ordering. For all things Spoon Mob, visit spoonmob.com and make sure to follow us on Instagram (@spoonmob), Twitter (@spoonmob1), and Facebook (@spoonmob1). Audio Editing by @TrackEditPrint. Intro music by @kabbalisticvillage.

The season 3 mid season recap pod. The Nashville Bombing, why it's so hard to make a good food show, food show rankings, coronavirus, Fyre Fest, what rich guy industry you'd want to be in, is a billion dollars enough, private jet's, animated movies, scotch, and so much more are covered on this episode. For all things Spoon Mob, visit spoonmob.com and make sure to follow us on Instagram (@spoonmob), Twitter (@spoonmob1), and Facebook (@spoonmob1).

On this week's restaurant review, Ray remembers his memorable visit to chef David Kinch's Manresa in Los Gatos California. Ray talks about traveling to the San Jose area, David Kinch's culinary career, Kinch's appearance on Mind of a Chef, Manresa catching fire two different times, James Beard Awards, breakdown the courses, and tells the story of a table side conversation he had with the chef himself in the middle of dessert. For more on chef David Kinch and Manresa, visit spoonmob.com/davidkinch. For all things Spoon Mob, visit spoonmob.com and make sure to follow us on Instagram (@spoonmob), Twitter (@spoonmob1), and Facebook (@spoonmob1).

On this week's Parts Now Known podcast, Ray and Ben head to the belly of the cartel beast that is Mexico. They talk drug cartels, the best cartel movies and shows, violence in Mexico, and kidnapping before shifting to lighter topics like chef Eduardo Garcia, Oaxaca, Mezcal, Stephen King, Airport layouts, the state of the movie industry right now, 90 Day Fiancé, and famous Northeast accents. Then they wrap up the pod by going through the categories, updating the episode rankings and provide some updates on spoonmob.com. For all things Spoon Mob, visit spoonmob.com and make sure to follow us on Instagram (@spoonmob), Twitter (@spoonmob1), and Facebook (@spoonmob1).

On this week's restaurant review, Ray talks about his return visit to Chapman's Eat Market. Ray talks about the new menu, dining out on Halloween, and how great it is to have a new restaurant nearby. For more on chef BJ Lieberman and Chapman's Eat Market visit spoonmob.com/bjlieberman. For all things Spoon Mob, visit spoonmob.com and make sure to follow us on Instagram (@spoonmob), Twitter (@spoonmob1), and Facebook (@spoonmob1).

It's the 75th episode! On Season 3's food porn episode of the Parts Now Known podcast, Ray and Ben talk Daniel Boulud and the Lyon. They cover Lyon chefs, charcuterie, the legacy of Paul Bocuse, the Michelin Guide, the Paul Bocuse Institute, the MOF, the Bocuse D'or, the chicken blatter dish, the rabbit dish, elementary school food, teachers, the U.S. school system, U.S. food vs food in France, the Boulud Farm, hunting, French pubs and bistros, Troisgros, and the old Citron car before going through the categories and updating their episode rankings. For all things Spoon Mob, visit spoonmob.com and make sure to follow us on Instagram (@spoonmob), Twitter (@spoonmob1), and Facebook (@spoonmob1).

On this week's restaurant review, Ray talks about one of his favorite chef restaurant combo's, chef Joshua Skenes & Saison. Ray talks about how owner chef Joshua Skenes gave up martial arts for cooking, bet on himself with a pop up before pop ups were trendy, built a 3 Michelin starred restaurant, created and expanded his more casual concept Angler, his experience at Saison, and gives some highlights from the tasting menu. For more on chef Joshua Skenes and Saison, visit spoonmob.com/joshskenes. For all things Spoon Mob, visit spoonmob.com and make sure to follow us on Instagram (@spoonmob), Twitter (@spoonmob1), and Facebook (@spoonmob1).

On the Las Vegas Episode of Parts Now Known, Ray and Ben talk about what Vegas represents today, the things that have changed in Vegas since the filming of this episode the Bootlegger throwback bar restaurant, Raiku, EDM, Lotus of Siam, E By Jose Andres, their own trips to Las Vegas, what Vegas will be going forward in the age of coronavirus, and hit the categories. NOTE - There's an abrupt audio cut just over six minutes in due to a technical issue. About ten minutes worth of conversation about discount airlines, Dan Bilzerian, the Las Vegas shooting, and the Cesar Palace villa are lost unfortunately. The issue was discovered in post production so we weren't able to recreate the magic but are thankful it didn't happen on a higher ranked episode. For all things Spoon Mob, visit spoonmob.com and make sure to follow us on Instagram (@spoonmob), Twitter (@spoonmob1), and Facebook (@spoonmob1).

On this week's restaurant review, Ray talks about his latest visit to Veritas for their Italian Supper Club menu, the news that chef Josh Dalton is partnering with Edward's Companies once again to open a French Bistro downtown, the potential move of Speck Italian Eatery downtown, the launch of a wine shop with Veritas sommelier Greg Stokes, the upcoming Veritas chicken pop up, the Thanksgiving meal take home, and the upcoming Christmas meal take home. For more on chef Joshua Dalton and Veritas, visit spoonmob.com/joshdalton. For all things Spoon Mob, visit spoonmob.com and make sure to follow us on Instagram (@spoonmob), Twitter (@spoonmob1), and Facebook (@spoonmob1).

Ray and Ben kick off the 3rd season of Parts Now Known by bringing in the podcast's resident expert in all things India, Katie. The three talk about where Punjab is located, British rule, the creation of Pakistan, the Paksitan V India nightly dick measuring contest at the border crossing, the Sikh religion, vegetarian food, the stuffy royal meal at the Chapslee, Ben's YouTube subscription recommendations, the controversy surrounding Bon Appetite, cancel culture, Bollywood, cab rides, the train up through the Himalayas, monkey's, and mountain roads. Ben explains the proper way to make sweet tea, Katie talks about her weeklong stay in India, and Ray talks about never having had a good buffet experience in his life before hitting the categories and episode rankings. For all things Spoon Mob, visit spoonmob.com and make sure to follow us on Instagram (@spoonmob), Twitter (@spoonmob1), and Facebook (@spoonmob1).

On this week's restaurant review, Ray talks about The Charter Oak, chef Christopher Kostow's 2nd restaurant run by chef David Guilloty. Ray provides background on Guilloty's career so far, breakdown the dishes, reinforces the need for more lunch and not brunch restaurants, and speculates on future Kostow appearances at the restaurant given the state of his flagship, The Restaurant at Meadowood. For more on chef Christopher Kostow, chef David Guilloty, and The Charter Oak, visit spoonmob.com/davidguilloty. For all things Spoon Mob, visit spoonmob.com and make sure to follow us on Instagram (@spoonmob), Twitter (@spoonmob1), and Facebook (@spoonmob1).

On the season 2 wrap up / season 3 preview episode of Parts Now Known, Ray and Ben chat about the current state of college football before making predictions on the next eight episodes of Parts Unknown and talk Taxi Cab Confessions versus Cash Cab, Bill Burr, Emmett's Cafe, shitty wine, wonder what 2020 Santa will look like (Ben says jail, Ray says canceled), wonder why Amazon Prime Video is terrible or if its sheer genius, are confused by the lack of good travel and food shows on TV, think on if Howard Stern could have the biggest podcast in the world if he tried, remark at how bad Nancy Pelosi and Gavin Newsom are at managing political optics, touch on the new developments with the Michigan militia and Michigan GOP, try to recommend some worthwhile TV content to watch, talk about the few other podcasts they enjoy (Tim Dillon, Your Mom's House, Josh Potter Show), wonder why Jenny McCarthy hasn't been canceled off The Masked Singer due to her anti-vax beliefs/stance, and give their predictions on what happens with the end of the Trump presidency. For all things Spoon Mob, visit spoonmob.com and make sure to follow us on Instagram (@spoonmob), Twitter (@spoonmob1), and Facebook (@spoonmob1).

On this week's restaurant review, Ray talks about the originally second now only location of Flock & Fowl. Ray starts off recapping Sheridan Su's culinary career in Las Vegas before touching on how Flock & Fowl came to be, what happened to the original location, and why its home to the best Bahn Mi ever. For more on chef Sheridan Su and Flock & Fowl, visit spoonmob.com/sheridansu. For all things Spoon Mob, visit spoonmob.com and make sure to follow us on Instagram (@spoonmob), Twitter (@spoonmob1), and Facebook (@spoonmob1).