Robicelli Argument Clinic: Food Podcast 4 Schmucks

It's the Robicelli Argument Clinic's end of summer spectacular, with so many rapid fire arguments that we can't begin to list them all. Evan tries explain what Monsanto is to Noah, Allison bemoans her inability to befriend a fancy boat person, Matt yells at everyone for sucking at their jobs. It's a fun one, folks.

During the height of Popeyes Chicken Sandwichmania, we were burying our friend James who was skipping dialysis because, as an hourly food service worker, he couldn't afford to miss work. Luckily, this week we had booked social justice journalist Lisa McCray, the perfect guest for our "very special episode". There's a lot to learn about race, equity, and how utterly f***ed food capitalism is. Plus Noah tells us what it's like to fry bacon in the nude, because even in tough times we stay on brand. 

Damian Higgins - aka Dieselboy - has been one of the coolest people on earth since birth: he's the son of yacht rock royalty, a super-famous drum and bass DJ, and a frequent artistic collaborator with some of NYC's hottest chefs and mixologists. And, for some reason he enjoys Allison & Matt's company, so here we all are! We argue about food tattoos, Noah makes us discuss Komodo dragons, and then we all force Evan to explain how snakes "do it". We'll probably make that last part a recurring segment. 

This week we welcome James Beard nominated cookbook author, Washington Post columnist and pie KWEEN Cathy Barrow to experience this audible crapshow live and in person! Outside of pies we discuss dump cakes, aquatic taxidermy, Dump Cakes, and whether astrology applies to cats. All of these are very important topics, and we're happy to help you stay on top of them. 

Allison has long contended that the worldwide phenomenon of Diner en Blanc -- a paid ticket event that requires you to bring your own food, tables, chairs, and decor while dressed entirely in white -- is incredibly dumb. On this episode the organizers of this year's Baltimore DEB, Kimberly Shorter and Candice Owens, join the podgang to convince her otherwise. They may have sold out of 2,500 tickets almost immediately, but they don't understand Allison's hatred of white pants! Those are dumb, too!

Have you every participated in or been a casual observer of potato salad Twitter? It is a very real thing, and it is intense. On this episode, we fulfill the request of Brian Koppelman, creator of Showtime's Billions and active potato salad theorist. The podgang each bring their personal recipe to the table, we eat, we discuss, we yell. Also discussed: why Allison and Matt pronounce capicola as "gabagool" and why The Sopranos can go fuck themselves.

A few weeks ago we got a DM from Keith Chow (co-founder of Nerds of Color & host of the Southern Fried Asians podcast) saying he had opinions on Americanized Chinese Food, and absolutely had to be on the show to share them with all you good people out there. And share them he did! We also talk about the magical event that was Wicomicon, abortion, making sci-fi inclusive, gerrymandering, and argue about the best items at an Asian buffet. Visit Keith at NerdsOfColor.org, and follow him on Twitter @the_real_chow.

Technically, this is a "food podcast", though if you've ever listened you know it gets off the rails pretty quick thanks to Allison's ADD and Noah's....whatever Noah's deal is. In episode 20 the podgang is joined by Peter Shankman: author, entrepreneur, 2x Ironman, Class-B skydiver and host of the #1 ADHD podcast Faster Than Normal. They argue about too many things to type up. Does Evan Quit? Does Matt throw himself out the window? Tune in to find out!

After an absolutely spectacular argument between Evan and Noah on the merits of astrology, Allison decided to invite improv comedian and amateur astrologer Justin Brashear onto the show to read everyone's (but mostly Evan's) charts, because that's what good friends do to each other. Does Evan become a believer? Does the universe hold the secrets to Allison & Matt's successful partnership? Does Noah grace us with so many Noah-isms that he may have unlocked the meaning of life? You'll need to listen to find out!

God has truly blessed us all with his gift of Myka Fox: a viciously hilarious comedian, a writer for Comedy Central, and a very sweet piece of ass though you really should love her for her mind. She joins the podgang to smoke a blunt and have a conversation about junk food, and then everything quickly devolves into a discussion about female body hair, donating our bodies to science, finding appropriate jobs for the elderly and other highly important topics that you should all be on top of. 

This week we welcome Sheila McMenamin: tree person at The Baltimore Tree Trust and moonlighting comedian at BIG Improv! Our goal was to talk about urban gardening and the flora of native ecosystems. We actually did some of that, but we discussed killer birds, walrus vaginas, and goat semen (like, a lot of goat semen). It's informative? 

Chef Carlos Raba makes the best goddamn Mexican food we have ever tasted. We  have eaten at beachside shacks and late night-only trucks and Michelin-starred restaurants -- nothing comes close to what we've tasted at his restaurant/mezcaleria Clavel. Better than his food is the story of how he got here -- murder, corruption, political asylum and Whole Foods are all major plot points! We also talked about Noah hurting his balls in a parasailing rig, because we try to lower the bar just a little each and every week. 

Holy sh*t guys, this is a good one. Probably our best, ever. Maybe not just our best, because it may very well be THE best food podcast episode in all of existence. We knew inviting Daniel Gritzer into the studio was going to make for great radio -- he's the culinary director of Serious Eats, a chef with serious pedigree and experience, and a damn good time of a man on Twitter and in real life. We sat down ready to have an argument, but it was impossible once we asked Daniel to tell us a little bit about his background and we learned that this man's story is absolutely insane. There are horses and useless sheep, shirtless Australians and Nelson Mandela's (possible) best friend, and if that wasn't enough THERE ARE FREAKING LUTES. LUTES, PEOPLE! THOSE FUNNY LITTLE GUITAR LOOKING THINGS THAT ARE ONLY PLAYED BY OLD TIMEY MINSTRELS AND STING! If you're a chef who wants to know what goes on in the mind of a food writing VIP, an aspiring writer who wants to know how to make it to the big time, or just someone who wants to know what happens when you shave a sheep's balls, then this is the podcast for you! If you enjoy it, kindly leave us a review and tell your friends -- the more people who hear this story, the more beautiful the world will be. 

This week we welcome pastry savant and all around spectacular human being Miro Uskokovic to the studio! Not only is Miro very popular on Instagram, but he is also the pastry chef of Gramercy Tavern, which is, like, super impressive. He shares his incredible journey -- from his childhood in rural Serbia to one of the most prestigious and influential pastry kitchens in the world -- and the podgang makes up dumb jokes and gets into arguments about important things like the KGB, augmented reality, and how to find one night stands through Instagram stories. As always, this show is a hallmark of professionalism. 

This week the Robicelli Argument Clinic manages to stay on topic, and oh what a topic it is! We invite Leandro Legara and Steph Hsu of The Charm City Night Market & Chinatown Collective to the show to discuss white people's relationship with "authentic" Asian foods. Everyone learns a lot, and we hope you will, too. Follow our guests on Twitter and Instagram, keep the conversation going, and get stoked for their future events celebrating their Pan-Asian culture: @CharmCityNightMarket @TheChinatownCollective @ChinaDollBaltimore @FoodNomad

This week we let 39 year old Evan and 19 year old Noah start the show, and they chose to spend ten minutes talking about boobs vs. butts before seguing into the hot topic of "nipple sizes". We let your sidekicks spread their wings a little, and this is how they repay us. There's plenty of quibbling about Trader Joe's, giving up pizza, bagel sandwiches, and other terribly non-important stuff that will act as a lovely distraction to the fact that society as we know it is collapsing. 

This week we welcome one of our closest personal friends and personal dessert heroes to the podcast: David Alima of The Charmery! For those of you who don't know Allison's second favorite dessert is ice cream, and The Charmery is her favorite ice cream shop in America (it may have played a part in the decision to relocate to Baltimore). Join us as we discuss (and argue about) the ice cream science, price of vanilla, how to juice meat, flavor inspiration, Raven-Symone, waffle cones, library security guards and, as always, a bunch of stuff that has absolutely nothing to do with the topic we had planned for. 

This week on the Robicelli Argument Clinic it's a near-death extravaganza! Join Allison (stage IV cancer survivor), Matt (9/11 first responder with an unclassifiable autoimmune disease which attacks his organs), and Evan (he's okay) as they talk to chef Doug Wetzel, who shares one of the best stories any of us have ever heard. You'll learn why you should never participate in triathalons, why chihuahuas should be respected, and why Katy Perry may have supernatural powers (we have evidence!). The gang also argues about what a last meal actually should be, liver transplants, and Matt's highly limited list of adjectives. 

Inspired by the Cat Cora vs. Alinea drama, the RAC gang asks "Is is ever okay to trash a restaurant on social media?". Hosts Allison & Matt Robicelli (bakery and restaurant owners), producer Evan Siple (molecular biologist and independent beef jerky entrepreneur), and sidekick Noah "Nogz" Parker (19 year old "Instagram influencer") are joined by restaurant critic and Baltimore Fishbowl correspondent Kit Waskom Pollard to argue about their personal opinions, share industry horror stories, determine the right and wrong ways to share criticism and/or dispense cold hard justice, the power of compliments, and illustrate once again why the phrase "The Customer Is Always Right" is complete and utter bullshit. 

This week Allison, Matt, Noah and Evan are joined by are food writer, cookbook author and culinary OG Dara Bunjon for a fun discussion about the ritual of coming together as a family for dinner. And by fun we mean fun for you guys, because shit for us got DARK. As we all know the best comedy is deeply rooted in tragedy, so this very well may be our best episode yet!