Korean fried chicken goes glam, Rocco DiSpirito's star power and Mooyah's from-scratch mentality

This week on Menu Talk, Restaurant Business Senior Menu Editor Pat Cobe and Bret Thorn, senior food and beverage editor of Nation’s Restaurant News, share their take on some recent happenings in the world of food, drink and restaurants. Pat recently visited Coqodaq, a classy NYC Korean fried chicken restaurant with a casual vibe run by the owners of upscale steakhouse Cote. Both Bret and Pat attended an event for Rocco DiSpirito, the James Beard Award-winning chef and TV celeb who just released a new cookbook called “Everyday Delicious.” Although DiSpirito isn’t currently affiliated with a restaurant, he earned acclaim as the hot and talented young chef helming the kitchen at Union Pacific. And we played clips from Pat’s podcast with Doug Willmarth, president of Mooyah Burgers, Fries and Shakes, the 72-unit better burger chain. Willmarth talked about how Mooyah differentiates itself in the crowded fast-casual burger segment with its laser focus on quality ingredients cooked from scratch. Menu Talk is a collaboration between Restaurant Business Senior Menu Editor Pat Cobe and Bret Thorn, senior food & beverage editor of Nation’s Restaurant News and Restaurant Hospitality. You can subscribe to it wherever you listen to podcasts.