Mad Food

Dave Stassen aka Pints Sr. returns to talk his current life of ice cream, how to best stay in shape with that nasty sweet habit, and he then faces off with Max in everyone's favorite game, Will The Real Cream Boy Please Stand Up, where Jordan seeks the tough dairy answers on cone options, gelato differences, free sample etiquette, and the truth about sorbet. Plus, Running Point season 2 is now streaming, what exactly is a "showrunner," and when is it acceptable for a man to suck his fingers? ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Visit Jumbo Time Wines, and use promo code: MADJUMBO for 20% off all orders

Chef's Table co-creator Brian McGinn joins Jordan and Max to talk the fellas recent crawling through New York's cocktail scene with reviews of Katana Kitten, Sip & Guzzle, Martiny's, Schmuck, and Superbueno, and how it all compares to what's happening in Los Angeles.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Visit Jumbo Time Wines, and use promo code: MADJUMBO for 20% off all orders

Drinking everyday of your life, issues with the trainer, dad noises, Jordan guesses Summer ingredients, Vegas restaurants the fellas plan to dine at, a bakery rant, Bar di Bello goblet and cutlet, the Boston Celtics vs. Jordo and seafood, and a recent McDonald’s order and subscription rumor are just some of the topics covered as Jordan and Max answer audience questions. ⁠⁠⁠Visit Jumbo Time Wines, and use promo code: MADJUMBO for 20% off all orders

L.A.'s lack of Spanish restaurants, how many steps are the fellas getting, showering behavior on vacation vs. at home, why Jordan never goes to Hillstone anymore, Addison vs. Somni vs. Providence, broccoli insanity, a disgusting listener NY coverage complaint, the Baldi order, an Eater steakhouse article upsets Jordan, and does Max really not know how to ride a bike are just some of the topics covered as Jordan and Max answer audience questions.⁠⁠⁠Visit Jumbo Time Wines, and use promo code: MADJUMBO for 20% off all orders

Jordan and Max discuss their recent hotel choice in New York, a 97-room SoHo boutique experience that served as their home away from home. Jordan's three keys to hotel success are reviewed before the fellas talk all the beverages, nuggets, a certain manner of hospitality, and the signature design identity of it all. Plus, an interview with chef Alex Stupak on the hotel's food and beverage approach to Mad Food approved Manner concepts, The Otter, Sloane's, and a guest lounge to end all guest lounges, The Apartment.Promo code: FRIENDS for 20% off room rates at The Manner

Jordan and Max sit down with Luger's VP and great grandson of current ownership Daniel Turtel to talk the perfect order, a possible new burger concept, the secret salad, an appetizer meat the boys have never experienced, tips for cooking Luger steaks at home, all the schlag, and Jordan begs for a new location on behalf of Los Angeles.

Jordan and Max have returned from New York, where chicken was all the rage, so the boys talk two meals where poultry was the star. At Torien, an upscale yakitori experience was had, where Max failed at making champagne connections, and Jordan had little heart, but the tail and knee made it all work. Then, Max finally visited Torrisi, where the Major Food Group elements all took center stage, the sandwich was an issue, and the bird happily flew right down the throat.

Octavio Olivas is a one-man showman of the Silverlakemariscos counter that is so far under the radar it’s officially too under the radar, so Jordan and Max have the fish slicing king in to talk his menu, wild daily schedule, and how to balance it all as a father and husband. Plus, date night recommendations from the most romantic fellas in food, a Jordo knife sharpening rant, beer condiments, and everyone’s favorite freak of the oceangame show.

The stomped grape maestro himself, Max “Bubbles” Shapiro,tastes and reviews his three favorite Jumbo Time Wines, offering tasting notes, pairing advice, and thoughts on Jordan’s glassware.

Jordan and Max are joined by Jackie Gebel (@noleftovers on social media) to answer questions on mayo confusion, a shocker top 5 Noma bite, all the best bites at SushiK, Mei Lin departure intel, influencers needing to learn how to eat, Jordan's drinking past, menu font sizing, Max's writing, Triple Dipper desires, ticketed food fests, Josh Skenes' pizza & cocktails spot, at home plating tips, an actual delicious beer, NYC pizza plans, and a live celebrity caviar brand tasting.⁠⁠⁠Visit Jumbo Time Wines, and use promo code: MADJUMBO for 20% off all orders

LA's hottest bar was visited by Jordan, who downed cocktails in an unprecedented move. Then, the Jewish Mad Food boys talk participating in Easter for the first time, and all the tasty delights that came with their resurrection celebrations. Plus, a Cadbury egg rundown, Max went to church, and ham needs to become a bigger thing. ⁠Visit Jumbo Time Wines, and use promo code: MADJUMBO for 20% off all orders

Was it disgusting, challenging or worth the $1,500 price tag? Was a bag of $3 chips really served? Max talks his entire night at Noma LA including the corkage issue, protestors at the entrance, a taxidermy and car dealership greeting, the hilarious dish, the dish he loved, the dish he refused to finish, the unthinkable service blunder and amateur hour all over the 1923 Silverlake mansion, a final Noma LA rating using the very exact and respected Hector Scale, and what was René Redzepi doing during it all (besides unfollowing Max on Instagram)?Visit Jumbo Time Wines, and use promo code: MADJUMBO for 20% off all orders

Jordan and Max explore all the chewing fun available at ballparks, while debating popcorn vs. peanuts, fries vs. nachos, the best dessert combo, new items at Dodger Stadium, all the crazy fusion menu delights and which ones they wanna take for a spin, and if the 9-9-9 challenge is in Max's future, because he hasn't been to game in decades and can't even sing baseball's most popular song.

This week a Food & Wine contributing editor asked the question: What if we just got rid of fine dining? To which Jordan and Max answered, "uh, no thank you." Max breaks down the biggest fine dining misconceptions while Jordan offers popping off advice to all online creators. But first, Spring is flirting with us, and Shapiro details the best market finds.

Jordan and Max answer audience questions on their upcoming New York eating schedule that's giving Max anxiety, Jordo's Chicago and New York pizza thoughts and how LA compares, Peckerman's return, European eating styles, home cooking advice, dining at Bruce, The Grove ain't exactly Napa Valley, community tables, Max's old wardrobe, and to dine or to not dine at Noma.

Jordan and Max answer audience questions on San Sebastian bites, the most expensive meals, old bubbles, Jordo's ass clock igniters, Alta and the West Adams experiment, a tough pizza debate, Rene's friends have his back, sucking down that sweet fat loss juice, and Ceviche Project is a wonderfully strange place right now.

Jordan and Max are joined by talent manager to the stars, Michael Lasker, to talk filthy eating and the Oscars, including the In-N-Out awards visit and disrespecting Wolfgang Puck, fast forwarding through the boring parts, Babs Streisand, Tom Cruise news, the best Bret Easton Ellis adaptation, Jordo’s Hansen’s cake order, Sherman Oaks is no Rome, a McDonald’s morning, Sonny’s pizza, lots of Oreos, and did Timmy blow it?

The Dunsmoor chef and co-owner joins Jordan and Max to talk new Champagne interests, a secret weapon general, the pork chop vs. the ribeye, perfect taco construction, dice vs. pool, tattoo everything, marrow vs. lard, grabbing the sesame, mussels vs. anchovies, Brian's next project, Jordan's brunch dreams, and did Brian screw over Max or can Bubbles actually not cook?

Losing, gaining, and maintaining weight is all about calories, and the three meals a day tradition of eating, especially when visiting restaurants, makes counting calories downright frightening. Jordan was recently frightened after a day packed with too many meals, leading the boys into an exploration of health and restaurants, including bites at Max & Helen's, Ètra, Perse, Flour, and Bacio di Latte.

Martinis and beef sandwiches are trending all over the country for all sorts of reasons, so Jordan and Max sit down to discuss both culinary movements, while dissecting what they love, hate and tolerate about both icons of the food & beverage game. Plus, the boys visited Baldi in Beverly Hills, leading them into a steakhouse rant, gout fears, and Jordan has voice issues.

Mayo, booze, jerky, ranch, and more genius new products are pitched by the fellas, using Expo West as the inspiration to create the next big consumer packaged goods concepts.

Do you believe in second chances? Jordan and Max think you should after visiting Sqirl for their newly launched dinner menu as Los Angeles continues its onslaught of new enticing dining options. Head over to Mad Food World The Substack for a more in-depth look at Sqirl After Dark

It's all about protein these days. But most people don't even know what protein is, how much of it we need to consume, what foods are the best source, or even why it's trending, so Jordan and Max (who were as clueless as most people), did the bare minimum research and break it all down.

Jordan and Max answer audience questions and it's all quality tells at restaurants, if Max is using ai, Jordan heard back from Joan's on Third, LA food media thoughts, Noma & Rene getting their backs blown out, ice buckets, NY hanging, celebratory dining, a Hollywood phone call, Mar Vista NIMBYs, are the fellas entitled or just impatient, and the best time in the history of LA restaurants.

Jordan and Max talk their Valentine's Day eating and it's all pizzas, bagels, steak, potatoes, eating like a child, the world's worst Valentine's dessert, and Jordan can't clean up the kitchen anymore. Plus, the Eater LA issue explained, a non-food romance tip, and some rare Hillstone slander.

Marcus Jernmark is a 3 Michelin star chef who has planted a dining flag on Pico Blvd. as the good times and openings roll along in Los Angeles. Jordan and Max ate at Lielle, Marcus' $150 tasting menu destination, and sat down with the chef to talk his concepts, approach to cooking and restaurants, wine rules, and yes, even Swedish meatballs.

Jordo went chubby and Max blew the big game episode. Plus, the reason Shake Shack actually loses to In-N-Out, weight loss drug life, the porno home, kids ruin the guac, fancy cocktail bars are missing this one thing, and all the sandwiches, cheese, cakes, halftime shows, and ranch dressing drips.

Sophie Dalah joins Jordan and Max to go head to head in a big game recipe showdown against Bubbles, putting their chef minds to the test.

Jordo and Max are back answering audience questions, and it's all IQ issues, reservation bummers, a New York trip, sake recs or a lack thereof, no pizza for the big game, too much of a single restaurant, merch is coming, and the Substack is very live.

Jordan and Max are back and dropped their first video podcast on Substack.  SUBSCRIBE TO MAD FOOD WORLD TO SEE & HEAR THE FULL EPISODE

Jordan and Max break it all down, from a shocker in the top spot to the 3 Michelin star Spanish hatred. Plus, the paper's neopotism picks, strange disregard for a phenom, continued Budonok disrespect, the hall of fame inductee to appease Jordo, sushi snubs, and Bill Addison finally exposed himself (but not like Max). 

A chef's recent email to Max has Jordan concerned, and then the fellas talk dining at new restaurants on the scene, and it's all Brentwood cougars, sweet butters, the Pasadena schlep, shrimp balls, a salt issue, the spoonable pasta, poor Bill Bush, booze enhancing food, and let's stop with the "American bistro" thing.

Welp, another ridiculous list has hit the food media landscape, so Jordan and Max break all the losing and winning down. But first, Genghis Cohen has finally re-opened in a new location and the fellas have the shrimp toast and orange chicken first look featuring a member of Jordan's family. And no restaurant in Los Angeles is currently more hyped than Baby Bistro, so the fellas talk it and their experience with the Echo Park farmer's market driven hospitality house.

Jordan and Max review two recent restaurant experiences with very different outcomes, and then explore a few negatives critques the podcast has received, and it's all fire grilled meats, Ventura Blvd. souffles, hidden shmears, a finalized Max (Hector) meter, the most egregious dish, the worst cooking method, coming burger correct, and an exclusive Studio City special order.

Jordan and Max are back to answer audience questions, and it's all new L.A. restaurants on the horizon, monk milk, Bub & Grandma's pizza, wines by the glass, Montecito dinners, Disfrutar vs. Somni, how to gain 100 pounds, LA Times vs. NY Times food coverage, the bottled & filtered water thing, a new rating system, all sorts of shrimp cocktail talk, the schelp meter, Max working for Michelin full-time, bagels, Jordan's new coffee dilemma, orange wine, Post Ranch Inn pricing, Paso Robles, Bavel no longer respects the neck, and rest in peace Dan Tana.

Jordan talks with co-hosts Brad Metzger and chef Neal Fraser of LA Chef Conference, which is taking place October 6 in Los Angeles, and features a who's who of chefs and food industry notables to not only talk the major issues of the day, but to eat like royalty. And one of those bites will be an exclusive menu item designed by Jordan with all the shrimpy help from the team at Santa Monica Seafood. Then, Jordan is joined by Gather For Good, a charity taking care of community with hospitality, who together with Guittard Chocolate and a collection of the most talented pastry chefs in town, will be serving up a wild collection of desserts at the conference. And you can enter the lottery ticketing system for LA Chef Conference by following this link.

Jordan recounts a recent trip to the Wednesday Santa Monica Farmer's Market where it was all mangoes, peaches, pork, olives, and butter. But before that, an incredibly important croissant discussion goes down, sparked from a first time trip to Petitgrain Boulangerie. Then, Air Jordan's Japanese lover and Sushi Park hater Bubbles-san talks two new and different recent sushi experiences he respected in Los Angeles.

Jordan and Max are back, answering audience questions, and it's Tesla diner talk, Michelin idiots dissing Bavel, Dunsmoor dining room rules, cooking burgers, LA's lack of Indian food and our pizza era, Summertime assclocks, seasonal cocktails, 3 star desserts, tuna salad sandwiches vs. melts, Paris for normies, and do the fellas care about Cole's French Dip's impending closure?

More wagyu cheesesteaks are coming to Los Angeles from Jerry Greenberg, so the fellas sit down with the Air Jordan all-star to discuss the who, what, where, why, and how in the world does this not help Jordan when it comes to the new delivery radiuses, but the good breaking news is well receieved nonetheless. Plus, to ketchup or not to ketchup, no cheese vs. extra cheese, the perfect Matū dessert may also be coming, and Jordan's new sandwich idea for Jerry is actually in the works.

Jordan and Max review their travels and eating over the past month, answering questions from the audience while breaking it down; and it's all Spain, Chicago, New York, the new Max reveal, Jordan's wedding debacle, a Sadelle's text apology, and Los Angeles Michelin talk.

On this blast from the past episode, Jordan and Max travelled down to Del Mar to visit and dine with Air Jordan all-star chef William Bradley, who was fresh off being awarded his first 3 Michelin stars.

Forget that Summer bod and get large with Jordan and Max while supporting Los Angeles restaurants with everyone's favorite eating adventure, the Bang Bang. Ten of the fellas favorite bangs consisting of twenty restaurants across town are highlighted, giving you the chubby knowledge you need.

In this all-star episode, Jordan eats at LA's recently three Michelin star awarded Providence for the first time, while joined by a very single, lonely and Instagram unverified Shapiro and blast from the Air Jordan past, Mushroom Max.

In this all-star episode, it was the height of Covid, so Jordan jumped on a video call with Andrew and Michelle Muñoz of Moo's Craft Barbecue to discuss their origin story and upcoming transition from pop-up concept to brick and mortar - a destination that is now, fours years later, widely considered the best Texas barbecue restaurant in Los Angeles.

The podcast was written about this week and the fellas have thoughts, Jordan went on another podcast and was forced into an awkward situation with a group of LA food media types, a past beef is re-visited and most likely re-invigorated, and podcast gold is discussed. Plus Sean Brock is coming, Salt Bae is outta here, Angler's sundae is kinda back, Bay Cities definitely isn't, a real Saint James Iced Tea moment, the New York Times and Jordo have the same plan, a prelude to the new 101 talk, and Max oddly receives a Father's Day gift.

Jordan finally visited LA legend, Dal Rae Restaurant for the first time to soak up all the old school steakhouse vibes while trying their infamous pepper steak and a tableside dessert in the cozy, friendly confines of Pico Rivera. Then, Max was scheduled to try a new restaurant for the first time and cover it on the pod, but he bailed on his plans because of a "meltdown," and Jordan investigates.

Booze podcasting continues inside the newly opened Bar Benjamin where Jordan and Max sip a ton of cocktails to let the audience know what exactly can be expected from the newest watering the head destination to hit Los Angeles, and all questions are answered, and all drinks are explained by Ben, Kate, Jared, Chad, and Jason aka team Bar Benj. Plus, despite Jordan being an alcohol expert, he is somehow schooled once again, and the fellas enjoy some exclusive bites to the Benjmain universe that can only be enjoyed inside the Melrose Penthouse. 

The fellas are blowing serious blood alcohol levels on this booze episode as they talk LA's newest bar, and Jordan lists the definitve top ten adult liquids, but the only thing Max agrees with is the dishonorable mention. Then, Bubbles provides insights into his five favorite traditional cocktails, and the list is validated by everyone's favorite trivia game. And once Shapiro's bonafides are established, the recently released North America's 50 Best Bars list is expertly scrutinized.

Jordan and Max answer questions from the audience, and it's all reminding everyon about Max's big life change, 88 Club shrimp toast canoes, Jordan still can't make tea, steakhouse ideas, Vegas Jordo and the perfect 24 hours of eating and drinking in The Sin, dealing with celebrities, lots of decanting talk, does Max hate Alinea, Jordan met an iconoclast, Hector's name, bar pies, LA NY style Chinese food, Tsubaki vs. Budonoku, wines bars, lunch institutions, dealing with freebies at restaurants, and bad IG DM behavior. 

Jordan and Max start with the bad news: more Los Angeles restaurants are closing. The fellas pour a little out for Yangban, Mandarette, and Papa Cristos, talk Genghis Cohen moving locations, and what restaurants they fear could be next. Then, Jordan talks two recent meals at Peter Luger Las Vegas, breaking down the menu must orders, which leads to a rant about the state of Los Angeles steakhouses.