The Foodfluencers: The Foodie Magician on What’s Actually Worth the Hype

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1:24They're a regular. Built Hospitality is available now for restaurant groups everywhere. Learn more at BuiltDining.com backslash hangout. That's BuiltDining.com backslash hangout. And check out what Built Hospitality is going to do for you and your restaurant. I literally never cook. I only eat at restaurants. Every meal I eat is at a restaurant. That's the thing about me. And I've been doing that in New York City since 2003. So it's 20, it's 20, 20 something years. 22 years. 22 years. Right. So you're OG. So who's the biggest celebrity that you've performed? I don't know. It was Taylor Swift. Just tell me how that works.

2:03Like, does she call you? Does an agent call you? How does that work? No, she was, she was, she was having dinner. We were at the same place and someone asked if she liked magic. She said, maybe. And I stopped by and I did a little shtick for her and her friends and they loved it. They were screaming because I'm pretty good at my job. That's unbelievable. I got to tell you, this is unbelievable.

2:27Live from Amazon Business Studios in New York City, it's the Hospitality Hangout Podcast with the restaurant guy and the finance guy. And joining us today is Josh Beckerman. But you probably know him as the Foodie Magician on Instagram as we continue with our Foodfluencer series here on the Hospitality Hangout. Jimbo, we got a great show. We got a magician. We got a foodie. Oh, my God. What are we going to do today? Shatsy found his intro voice in Vegas. He found it. I'm not losing. He's not letting up. That is the new intro of the Hospitality Hangout. I love it. I have the privilege of welcoming you more formally to the Hospitality Hangout, a hospitality-focused podcast where we bring technology and innovation leaders that are making things happen in the industry we love.

3:14We're continuing with our Food Fluencer mini-series. We're sitting down with the social media content creators who are reshaping how people discover, experience, and fall in love with the restaurants and food. This is great. I love it, Jimbo. Thank you for that kind introduction. It was a little late, but it took me a while. Jim, I got to tell you, we got a great show. We got a great show. We got the foodie magician on, Josh Beckerman, in the house, in the studio. But before we get started, you know what's magic to me? You know what's magic to me, Jimmy? I like what you're doing here. Let's do this.

3:45Amazon business. You probably know in your house, you probably just know Amazon, Amazon Prime. You're like, I buy all my stuff. Every day. Barbara doesn't go to CVS. She gets a toothpaste delivered, right? I know Jillian doesn't leave. She doesn't leave the apartment. She just gets everything delivered. Amazon Prime, you know, but Amazon business is something you don't know. Do you know about Amazon business? I know a little bit. What do you know about it? I know that they are basically a place for procurement for all your hospitality needs. Just throwing out big words like procurement doesn't mean you have any idea what an Amazon business does.

4:14Why don't you tell our listeners about Amazon business? It's a procurement platform. Oh, good. They streamline all your purchasing, Jimmy. But you know what they use? If you think – like Amazon is a tech company, right? They're a tech company. Yeah. They are a logistics tech company. There's nobody better. Am I right? I'd find them to be the greatest shopping mall in the world that has no visitors. I mean I could get things – The greatest shopping mall, the virtual shopping mall ever created. Do you know that sometimes I think about things I need, and when I get to the apartment, it's there, and I didn't even order it?

4:42That's a good Amazon. Because Amazon and Alexa, they know. They know what I'm thinking. It's unbelievable. But I got to tell you, if you own a business, any business, restaurants, hotels, any business, an office, whatever it is, accounting, whatever you do, your whole office, Amazon business could literally load your office up with everything you need. And they use incredible technology to track your inventory, track your purchasing, refill orders, making sure that your shelves are always filled. Pens, pads, cleaning supplies, snacks, whatever you need in your office, you don't have to think about it because it's just coming in.

5:16And they have a very streamlined system. It's innovative. And it gives you that whole Amazon feel. You know what I mean? So if you haven't already, check out business.amazon.com. And I got to tell you, start saving money now. Amazon business. Amazon business. I love it. Okay, Jimbo. We have someone who's not just a food influencer. He's literally a magician who eats his way to New York City two to three times a day. He is the guy that magically cuts the front of lines at viral bakeries. Now, by the way, I cut lines too, but let's not talk about that. He's also performed signature tricks on Jimmy Fallon.

5:54and for celebrities like Mr. Tom Hanks, Mr. David Beckham, we have Josh Beckerman, the foodie magician. I got to tell you, it's unbelievable to have such an amazing guest here. We don't usually get such famous Instagram people and not just of the influencer, Jimmy, but they're also magicians. When do you get that? When do you get the combination? I don't think we've ever had an influencer and a magician. All right, here we go. Ladies and gentlemen, here he is, Mr. Josh Beckerman, the foodie magician. I'm not allowed to do any more intro stuff. Here he is, Josh Beckerman. Come on. Welcome to the show.

6:27Thank you guys for having me. By the way, I think there is only – well, no. There is only one magician foodie in the world. I have that term trademarked. Foodie magician is actually trademarked. So are we not allowed to say that? Can we not say that on the show? No. You just said – yeah. You could say it because I'm here. Do I have to pay you though? Is it like a royalty every time I say it, Jimmy? No, I'm not like Amazon business. He's like a lawyer. Every time you say foodie magician, I get my neck. We have only$20. Meaning the only magician – There is only one foodie magician. Yeah. and that's me.

6:55Yeah, I love it. So it's such an honor to be here. Thank you for having me. That's a lie. No, I don't think it's all I listen. We want to talk about it. It's one thing to have followers, okay? And to post some pretty pictures. It's another thing that to actually fill seats, drive seats for restaurants. Buds in seats is what every single operator is always talking about. And clearly, you are doing something right because not only do you have 100 ,000 followers, but more importantly, you have influence. and chefs, I understand, particularly love you. Not just like some of the legendary and old guards, Jean-Georges and Mr.

7:30Daniel Bellew, but the young hot chefs all over New York City. They're into it. They're into what you're doing. Yeah, I think the younger hot chefs are more into him. I think, how about this? I think he's hotter now than he was when I met him. Is that possible? It is, because when I met him, he was just starting out, and he was doing birthday parties at Big Daddy's. You know what I mean? He had four followers, and now he's got like yeah and i was like and two of them were like me and julie there you go you know and now he's got over a hundred thousand he's really an influence but you know you got to say it's how do you become a food fluencer because that's what this whole series is about right i literally never cook i only eat at restaurants every meal i eat is at a restaurant that's the thing about me and i've been doing that in new york city since 2003 right that's 20 it's 20 20 something 22 years 22 years right so you're og all right listen he started when he was in middle school well let's get let's get it you grew up in Long Island boy all right Stony Brook so he's Long Island you can see that sexy accent right Stony Brook you know he first he got you know look as a kid I remember my brother was into magic my kids when you're young a young boy I think a lot of young boys are into magic yet a lot of times that aunt or uncle buys you a magic kit you know a magic set when you're young you don't know what you want to do and you just so he got his first magic kit from his pop at age five right yeah how'd you know that because I gotta tell we spoke to your fourth grade teacher at Stony Brook Elementary.

8:51This is the Fraser. How do you, are you a mentalist or a stalker? No, no, I'm mostly stalking, mostly stalking. And he got the bug. He went to Bucknell. He graduates in 2002 with a minor in film. So he thinks, yeah, I'm going to bone the film, right? But he was, at Bucknell, he went door to door and did magic tricks to make like a few extra bucks. And it was very, very little bit of money. It was literally a few extra bucks. It really was. He got into finance, Jimmy. me like you for a little bit. He didn't like it. Didn't like it at all. And, uh, and then he really went and he said, you know what?

9:23I'm going into this magic. I'm going full time. I'm going to become a mentalist, right? He eats out all the time, right? He often dines alone. Why do you dine alone? Well, that's because I'm very spontaneous. I'd never plan my meals. I just, I leave my apartment. I let the universe guide me. So I don't like planning. So you go to the bar and you sit, eat alone. Cause you have the best service at the bar. Jimmy and I always like Yeah, or a table, wherever they're opening. And you do magic tricks for the bartenders or the managers? I mean, I perform at corporate events and private parties for a living.

9:53When I go to restaurants, if someone asks me to show them a trick, I'll do a trick. And I'm very easy. But I don't really go to restaurants to do magic. I go to restaurants to make food disappear. I got to tell you, you also, I mean, you've been on, let's talk, you've been on Fallon. True. Right? Seth Meyers, the late night, right? You've been on the Today Show, the Cooking Channel. I mean, you've been featured in the New York Times, Vogue, Glamour. What are you doing with Glamour? What, they do a feature on you and Glamour? Isn't that a girls' magazine? I got a little mentioned. You know, I get around.

10:20I get around, Shotzi. I get around. So Glamour calls you up. You're like, I'm in. I'm in. I'm in. You got to wear a dress. I don't care. I was at a, you know, celebrity party. But yeah, but I mean, you've done some really, but you've performed events and parties for big celebrities. Who have you performed for? Well, I mean, we don't, I don't, I'm not a big, I don't need a name drop. Yeah, you do. On our show, you got a name drop. You mentioned a bunch. Listen, I've done them all. Did we mention David Beckham? We did. Did we mention Liv Tyler? We did not mention Liv. Who else did you do? Tom Hanks?

10:49I've done that. I mean, you name it. I've done it. To be honest, Taylor and Travis. Jerry Seinfeld. Oh. Yes. You did Jerry Seinfeld? Yeah, I do a lot. Like a kid's party for Jerry and Jessica? No, I don't do kid's parties. I like my audiences drunk. The more you drink, the better my magic, by the way. So who's the biggest celebrity? kind of like this podcast that you've performed for uh i don't know it's taylor swift yeah i gotta be honest yes i would think taylor swift is the biggest there's nothing bigger than that that is definitely that is definitely so when did you perform for taylor swift was it like was it was it travis kelsey taylor swift or was i've performed for her more than more than once uh really july and then where do you go you go down to her house one was at a bar one was at a members Club.

11:33Tell me, can you just tell me how that works? Like, does she call you? Does an agent call you? How does that work? No, she was, she was, she was having dinner. She was at a dinner with her now fiance and some friends and we were at the same place and someone asked if she liked magic. She said, Ooh, maybe. And I stopped by and I did a little shtick for her and her friends and they loved it. They were screaming because I'm pretty good at my job. Yeah. That's a man. It's unbelievable. I got to tell you, this is unbelievable. So you have made a full-time career of being the foodie magician. Taylor's just the biggest person that you think that that's the biggest celebrity you've...

12:08I would say she's one of the most famous people in the world right now, right? I think so. I mean, Kim Kardashian, I think, is pretty famous, too. Have you ever performed for them? The Kardashians? Or I would say the Jenners. I think they're the same. Aren't they the same? I've had inquiries to perform for them. You have? Yeah. Alright, so let's jump into it. Your influence versus other influencers. You weed out two to four times a day. Well, yeah, I do lunch and a dinner. I kind of skip breakfast. You're trying to eat at every single New York City restaurant or hotspot. Yeah. Well, I like to try a different restaurant every day.

12:42I mean, there's some I go back to, but I like to mix it up. Yeah. Like what right now, what's the hottest restaurant you've eaten at? Like what do you like? What's your favorite? Like right now, what's the go to? Like, well, do you want the hottest restaurant in New York? I want you. I want the what's the last. I'll tell you. Like I just went to Carbone Riviera when I was in Vegas. Yeah, and that just opened, and that was a pretty hot spot. I went to the Taylor Sheridan has a steak place. It's like a pop-up at the Wynn. It's called like Four Sixes, his ranch. Okay. And that's like really hot too.

13:15But like so those kind of like what's like this like, you know. I mean, in terms of hot, I went to like the 86. Doing magic for Taylor Swift or being on our podcast, what makes you more nervous? Probably this. This is more nerve-wracking. I can tell. Like, do we intimidate you as Jimmy? I think it's like a hundred. As the finance guy? I think it's a hundred degrees. Let me tell you something. Nobody sweats like Jimmy and he's not sweating. It's really weird. Why is it, Jimmy? I don't know what's going on. So what do you think makes your post drive people to go to the restaurants that the foodie magician says?

13:44Why do people listen to you? I found out, I don't know, recently or a couple of years ago that most people don't eat at restaurants, just eat at restaurants every day. Some people cook. So the thing about me is since I eat at restaurants. Cooking's not good for our business, by the way. We prefer people eating out. Right. That's why we're on a good run. Yeah. Home cooks are not good. Since I ate at restaurants all day and all night, I have a wide knowledge of the culinary scene, not just in New York, but when I travel for shows around the country and the world, I'm doing my shows and I'm eating at restaurants.

14:16I'm discovering the culinary scene of every city, really. So it's not just New York. Not just New York. You're on the road a lot. Yeah. Well, yeah. I traveled most weeks for shows, corporate events, private parties. Really? Yeah. I don't understand. I got to ask Julie. We have a holiday party. Tech the halls every year. And we've been having magicians. Why are you not coming? Can we not afford you? Are you too expensive? That's probably the reason. That's probably the reason. But you're a nice guy. Wouldn't you just come and hang out and have a few drinks and do some magic and not do like – I mean it's not for free.

14:43He just comes, has a few drinks. Bartering. We get him drunk and then he just starts doing magic. He'd be amazing. Right? December 9th. What are you doing? I might be – I'm booked actually. Are you really? Do you have your calendar? How do you know your calendar? I know. I know. He knows. I know. Listen, let's talk about the business impact you're having. Yep. Okay. Shatsy mentioned that when you post about restaurants, they are seeing a meaningful bump. And from your perspective, when you're working in restaurants, do you think about the return on investment, the ROI you're delivering for them?

15:15Do you think about the owners and the chefs and how you have specific stories or how you're helping them fill seats? Like you're making stuff go viral. You're driving traffic. How do you think about all that? When I'm at restaurants, I actually don't think about that. First of all, I'm there just to have a great meal. But my goal of trying new restaurants every day is to make people aware of any restaurant, be it a hot spot or a gem that no one knows about. Like, for instance, my favorite restaurant of the year of 2025 is a restaurant in Lower East Side called Suns. Have you heard of Suns? Where's that?

15:46They call it kind of Dime Square on Division Street. It's a Korean restaurant. Is that in America? Yeah. It's the United States. Yeah, in Lower East Side. I don't know it. I don't know it either. Jimmy, you're from here. I'm from Jersey. I have an excuse. You have no excuse. Josh, please tell us about this restaurant. Yeah. And experience. Well, now it's getting a little more pressed, but Sun's is a great Korean restaurant. Sun's. Not barbecue. The chef is Sunny Lee. She used to have a pop-up called Banchan by Sunny. Have you heard of that one? No, but I know Banchan chicken. It's the best Banchan I've actually – I think it's the best Banchan in New York.

16:19It's a small place. It's almost like an izakaya, but it's Korean. Right. And she has a rice cake dish with a brown butter gochujang sauce and stracciatella. Although I think she's – anyways. So Sun's is my favorite restaurant of the year. And then there's another restaurant I love. I think the best of eating these food I had this year is called Bananem. That just got written up in the Times, which is good for them but not good for the lines. But do you guys – Yeah, no, I don't. but I'm just thinking like for you, I mean, do you magically, do you like when, when you go onto resi, do you, are you like me and Jimmy and just like get notify, notify, notify, sorry, you know, pick another day.

17:02Or are you like, just call the restaurant? And they're like, Oh, it's the foodie magician. Or do you have like, do they know when you go on like foodie magician wants to come in or do you have people call? I actually rarely, I don't, I rarely use resi. I literally just walk into a restaurant. You just walk in by yourself and you wear like a hat and, and, and like have no, but I mean like a, like a, like a magician's hat. Like, do they know it's you? Like, what are you? Some, some restaurants know it's me. How do you get into all these restaurants? I just walk in. You just walk in. I mean, I can walk in.

17:29By the way, I would agree with Josh here. I have a, I have a theory. First of all, even if you just, even if you're a party of two. Party of two, I would agree. I think you could walk in to almost any joint, as long as you approach appropriately, properly. If he's going to be a party of one, he's just. What are the five Ps? Proper preparation prevents poor performance. Is that what you have to do when you go to the restaurant? You have to approach. Oh, okay. Here it comes. You ready for this? Okay, and then we're going to get back to Josh. Here it comes. You walk the hostess or host station. You say, any chance you can handle a two-party walk-in?

17:58What about a two-top? You say a two-top? No, no. What about a deuce? That means if you say two-top or a deuce, they know you're from the biz. I thought the walk-in. You say, hey, you got room for a deuce, right? If you say hi, you know, then you're like, hey, you got room for a deuce? and we know we're going to have, we're going to get the table back and blah, blah, blah. But for a party of one, I think it's essentially doubled its chances. Yeah, no, I would, especially if you want to sit at the bar. Just sit at the bar. Yeah, no, but you can't walk in four people and two people, I would agree.

18:25One, two people, I think you're going to get into almost any place. I would agree, almost any restaurant. If you go on to Rez your open table or whatever, it's going to say no. If you go in at eight o 'clock and say, hey, and they may say, hey, why don't you grab a drink at the bar? We'll get you down in like 15, 20 minutes. But also Rez and open table don't have all the table. they only have a certain amount of tables. There's always, there's always tables available depending on the rest. Let's, let's zoom out a little bit. You and other food influencers are shaping where and how people eat, what they order and really helping restaurants, not just survive, but, but thrive.

18:58I know Julie, our partner, our producer, Julie checks, you know, where you're eating before she's making reservations. So I can, I now know one person very well who you are influencing um do you how do you take that responsibility because you have clearly in addition to julie you have quite a lot of people who are being influenced 99 ,999 how do you take that responsibility and how do you think food influencers have changed the our industry over the past decade well that that the thing is the culinary landscape of new york and all the all of america has changed because of social media so you know you you can make or break a restaurant just by what with one post a lot i mean if you have you if you look at new york city especially on the weekend it's all lines have you walked around new york in the way it's just lines yeah but but that's what what gets me at the whole food influencer thing is sometimes they're real like it's really a line because it's really fantastic and sometimes it's fake it's just you know an influencer posted something and was even paid to post and it's not real it's not necessarily fantastic and unbelievable well so that's the thing that gets me sometimes me too because first of all i'm all about positivity and if i ever i actually rarely have bad meals but if i eat something bad like i i don't i feel bad for the restaurant but if i i've you won't say anything bad you won't write a bad review or if i don't like if something i really eat something bad i won't post it right i mean i post it on my story but not on the on the grid or anything because i don't want to recommend something that's bad but although i've but i've seen a lot of uh scenes on social media be it instagram or tiktok where i've been influenced i went like this is not good but it's all the algorithm of tiktok or instagram is shaping the culinary culinary scene that that's what because i've been you know on the sandwich safari i go around and we look for sandwiches great sandwiches and if it's a sandwich or not and we go and sometimes we pick a lot of places based on what the influencer saying is the best sandwich in this city or that city and i go there and honestly something there's a big line people wait and i go and i talk to people and then they're from all over the world like oh i saw it on tiktok and it's not that great like you said there's a lot better so that's what i when you say there's lines all over it's not always justifiable like sometimes it's not that great we're being controlled by the algorithms of but don't you think sometimes at a restaurant that gets that line when they open that they're it's not good for them because it's it's that initial hype and then people realize it's not that great and then it just fizzles out well yeah some sometimes it fizzles sometimes it doesn't yeah but i mean i mean you know the restaurant industry is very small market it's tough you know it's not not i don't know how you guys do it but god bless i mean that for me that you guys are the real magicians here turning pennies turning pennies into profit question question josh have you heard of metal lane and yes i've heard about this tiktok viral tribeca kind of hey it's the newer one it's the new or that's what they're saying you know yeah i don't i won't lines out the door just open the lines and they've been and they've been doing social media for weeks and weeks saying it's gonna open it's gonna now it's yeah i haven't gone and by the way so you guys know foodie magician does not wait on lines so you don't know i agree with you you know who else doesn't except that bar mitzvah's and wedding for sushi jimmy right You don't wait online.

22:23I do wait online. I go to the front, though. Yeah, you go. I go to the front. I just want a couple pieces of sushi. I don't wait online for it. I know what I want. All right? Well, anyways, yeah, so what do you think? Have you been there yet? No. I mean, it's just open. I saw a video. I saw a video. Well, by the way, I rarely go to markets anyway, because I don't really. But this is like, this is like, like, Erwan. This is like, you know, this is like, you know, you get smoothies. This is the, you know, you get the whole, you know, experience of it's like a whole foods on steroids. I'm not saying I don't wait on lines either, but not because I have the ability to get in some of these joints, nor will I cut the line.

23:00I'm just not going to wait in line. If there's a line. Yeah, I agree. I'm going to wish them well. I'm going to congratulate them. I'm not mad. I'm like, hey, good for you to have the line. It's a very tough business. And if people are oversubscribed, God bless. Good for them. I'll go find something else. Let me ask you something. what we talked about the restaurants and working with influencers as an influencer what what are restaurants what do restaurants get right and what do they get wrong what should restaurant operators be doing to work with influencers should they should they be paying no info i didn't even finish that oh i mean i didn't he could name that note all right well listen so should restaurants be giving money should be paying for influencers i don't think i mean I mean, it depends how much private equity you got behind you, I guess.

23:44But being serious, like Pura Vida opened up that big private equity. They're opening all over the place. I mean, I don't know if they are there. Should they be paying influencers? Go check it out because they're all over social media. To be honest, I think at this point, I think everyone is actually an influencer because if you go to a restaurant, Shatzi, and you tell people about it or post it on your Instagram, your friends are going to go. So you're influencing everyone. I mean, you might not have millions of people. Can you say that again? Can you say that? Because I want you are a real influencer.

24:12Julian, you hear that? I'm a real influencer out there. Everyone is an influencer. I like Josh's point. Everybody has some influence because there's there are people that do follow or friends. Oh, that's interesting. I think I think the point you're just saying here is particularly interesting. If because the whole life, I think the challenge with food influencers or food influencers is the authenticity and the truth. You are taking great pride in that you are going to you're going to be positive. but if you have a positive experience you will share if you don't you don't right and i think the idea that people are being compensated creates the whole misalignment because you're someone's being paid you can't then by definition not endorse it so i think that's the one of the challenges of the influencers you're saying no payments let it be organic organic i like it organic i actually don't even like the word what about free meals what about free meals well so that's a great if i see a great influencer in new york no freak should i go on instagram and say hey would you like to come to isabel's and and and i'll offer you a free meal is fine a couple i mean i get emails every day from owners and chefs and publicists asking me to come into them i could literally eat every meal okay so when they eat when they message you what do you say i'll come but i gotta get a free meal i actually don't respond often you don't because i like again For me, I like to let the universe guide me.

25:31I don't want to go – I like to go where I want, when I want, not just because – Where did you go last night? Actually, last night I went to an Italian pasta restaurant near me in the East Village called House of Pasta. House of Pasta. And they had a great – Is this new? It's somewhat new. I don't know when it opened, but I was craving pasta, and they had an amazing mushroom lasagna. It was delicious. Delicious. But it was – Now, are you going to post about that? Yeah, I will. You will. I actually will. And where did you have lunch yesterday? Yes. I don't remember. What did you eat this morning, Julie wants to know?

26:03I had a PB, which peanut butter punch protein shake after that. Where'd you get that? Juice Vitality on First Avenue. Great. So Juice Vitality you like? Yeah. The House of Pasta opened in January 2025. Now you live in that neighborhood. Did you not see it earlier? I mean, we're almost done with the year. You know, I'd walked by it before. What did not? You didn't like it? You know, it looked like, you know, it didn't look. I don't like the name. I thought I was going to say. I got to say how to look. It's not like, let's put it this way, I wouldn't call it a Michelin-starred restaurant. It doesn't sound like it's open to an Italian person.

26:35What was the house of pasta? It just sounds like, what's the name? My mother's name, my father's name, house of pasta. Well, that's why I hadn't gone in since the last seven or eight months. Was it decor? It sounds like Seinfeld from when Babu opened up. Wasn't it Babu? When he opened up. Like your old pizza? No, when he opened up. He opened an American restaurant. He's like, why don't you open Pakistani and do something? I mean, like it just doesn't like, I don't think it's not Italians there, right? No, no. No, there was no one Italian there. There's no one Italian. I know. See, that's not authentic.

27:06I know, but the mushroom lasagna was delicious. By the way, it could be delicious. It was. The mushroom lasagna was great. It was super chill. It's one of these casual spots, not a three-star Michelin, whatever. I'm just curious why you picked the house of pasta. Because it was near me and I was craving pasta. Really? Oh, wait, Shetty. The universe took him to the house of pasta. That's correct. My question to you is, foodie magician, because you are the magician. if you want great pasta as the foodie magician like a can't you teleport there b what is the best pasta in new york city for you well i i think well that's a great question there's so much italian but i like a restaurant called teresi bar and restaurant you guys been in teresi you mean major food group yeah well obviously you like that it's like the hottest italian right it's like oh i like well i mean have you had the tortellini there it's unbelievable you're very funny you're like well i mean you go from teresi you're from house of pasta that opened a year ago next to your house you've never been to, to Teresi, arguably one of the best Italian wrestlers.

28:02That's what the foodie magician's all about. I go high end, I go low end, I go all over. He has range. Listen, we've got to take a quick break. So don't go away. We're going to be right back with Is It a Sandwich, then some magic, then something else, and we've got a lot to get to. We'll be right back, guys.

28:23All right, Jimmy, we're going to Is It a Sandwich. You've never done this before. This is a new bit we're doing. All right. Josh, let's jump into it. Is a hot dog a sandwich? No. Is a taco a sandwich? No. He's angry. Is a calzone a sandwich? Definitely not. Is a dumpling a sandwich, Foodie Magician? No, but I do love dumplings. Is a quesadilla a sandwich? No. A bagel? Is a bagel a sandwich? Say it depends. Say it depends. You can have a bagel sandwich, so yeah. Is a hamburger a sandwich? I'm going to, no. Jimmy, we got the only yes we got, and it's not really a full yes. You got a maybe on the baby.

28:58Yeah, so he basically said nothing is a sandwich. The only sandwich for you is a, let me ask the last one, tuna on rye. Is that a sandwich? That's a sandwich. Oh, okay. Ding, ding, ding. Two pieces of bread with shit in the middle. So, by the way, first of all, I agree with Josh completely on every single answer he gave. And where I'm struggling, I admit, was only the last one. Which one? With the burger. Oh. And I would have gone with a no. And then Chatsy, who has a very broad definition of sandwich, he did challenge me that says my definition is two pieces of bread that then has protein and stuff in between.

29:34I liked your answer. The burger is its own thing. It's its own thing. It's not bread, though. It's a bun. Okay. Let me ask you this. What about when you take a melt? Like a melt. A melt. That's on bread. Yeah. That's a burger melt, a patty melt. What's that? That's a sandwich. There you go. So a hamburger between two pieces of bread, but if it's a bun. Yes, a bun is a bun. Bun's own thing. Bun's own thing. I take a piece of chicken off the grill. I put it in between a bun. What is that? A piece of chicken cutlet. Grilled. You know what? That's a sandwich. All right, there we go. Jimmy, you see what's happening here?

30:11You said something earlier that you eat sandwiches all over. You have a sandwich club or something? I do. I have a sandwich safari. You want to come with us? We'll do the foodie magician on the sandwich safari. He goes to great sandwich joints. Do you have a favorite sandwich in New York? I got to tell you, I mean, I go everywhere and I love sandwiches. So do I? So, you know, the old Eisenberg's S &P is still. I mean, I go there. I'll get a tuna on whole wheat toast, lettuce and tomato, bag of potato chips. I am happy as a clam. Give me a New York Post. Give me a bag of chips and an iced tea. I could sit there for hours and I tell Jimmy I'm working.

30:44Don't bother me. But I'm really at S &P. I think for a great sandwich, if you're baking your own bread in-house, it takes the sandwich to another level. So like L 'Industry Pizzeria for me has some of the best, not only the best slice in New York, but some of the best, if not the best sandwiches in New York. Have you been to L 'Industry? Love. But you know what I was going to say? I love that. But you know what I like? That's great. Danny and Coops. Love. I live right near there. I had it too. That steak sandwich. That's what's his face? Bradley Cooper. Bradley Cooper. The guy from Angelo's. and they get bread they bake their own bread and it's like semolina it is unbelievable i told them what'd you tell them i said i this is a 9.9 sandwich yeah but but if it had a little more crunch and crisp it would be a ton what happened i think that you got a bad thing because when i got mine well first of all all you can get is a steak sandwich and it's just with peppers or without that cheesesteak cheesesteak i mean cheesesteak cheesesteak with peppers without are you allowed to have it without cheese no it's just a cheesesteak with or without peppers it's And then I think they have like water and like a Pepsi or something.

31:46There was nothing else there. So it's really easy. I think something happened to you there because what I love that is the bread was so crispy. Really? Oh, my God. The roof of my mouth was like a Dorito bleeding. Around the corner from Lendistry is Mama's too. Have you been there? I've been there. Great cheesesteak as well. I love their cheesesteak. Well, there they do. Doesn't Mama's too – did I get the Fra Diablo? Not the Fra Diablo. Yeah, chicken alivaca. The chicken alivaca sandwich. See, that was one that everyone was waiting on line for. And then I got that and I was like, it was fine. But I got to tell you, you gave me a chicken parm, I would have been happier.

32:16Shotzi, by the way, come with me. We don't have to wait in line. No, I didn't wait in line because I walked in with my safari hat and my safari scarf. And people were just so enamored that someone would walk around the city like that. They were scared. Okay, so Josh is going to do his tricks right now. All right. We have Josh Beckerman, the foodie magician, live on the hospitality hangout, about to do the most amazing magic. Jimmy, are you ready? I'm ready. Let's go, Josh. So I figured I'd come on the podcast, do an hour show of mind reading magic and just a little comedy. No, we'll do two things.

32:46I actually specialize in what you call mentalism, mind reading. Have you ever met a mentalist before? I have, but I think you already knew. I have a signature trick as the foodie magician that I do in New York at parties around America on TV. I have people think of restaurants in their mind, and I attempt to read their minds against the restaurants. So we're going to try that with you, Shatsy. There's around 27 ,000 restaurants. You have one in your mind, correct? Yeah. You have not told anyone this restaurant. No. I mean, people know this restaurant. It's been there for years. But you're focused on one, yeah?

33:17Yes, right now. Somewhere in New York. Yes, I go there frequently. Have you ever been there, Jimmy? Yes or no? Jimmy has been there. I know that Jimmy's been there. I've sent them. I'm going to try to guess the restaurant that's in your mind out of 27 ,000 restaurants. It'll take me about 45, 60 seconds. I'm going to start saying stuff aloud right now to try to redo what I'm saying aloud. It could be right. It could be wrong. You're just going to be poker face. Once I think I have it, I'll write it down on my little pad that I have with me, and I'll show the camera. I'll show Jimmy. Are you ready?

33:41Yes. I'm going to ask you two more questions. Have you been there this year? Yes. And where did you grow up as a kid? I grew up in Short Hills, New Jersey. So it's very interesting. My shows that I do around the world are about connection. Everyone's connected. New Jersey, Shotzi, happens to be one of my top 12 favorite East Coast states. So you and I are very connected. Jimmy, you hear that? New Jersey's favorite place. Top 12 East Coast. All right, clock starts now. Maybe he's thinking about something Italian. We said Teresa earlier. Maybe he's thinking about Carbone or Emilio's Bellotto, Great Chicken Parm.

34:12Great place. Or Elio's on the Upper East Side. Nope. Too crowded. The tables are too close together, but I like the food. Usually when I do the mind reading, I don't have the audience interject shtick stuff when I'm wearing it. I'm not speaking. I got to try to read you. I'm not speaking. Maybe you're thinking about Nobu or Sushi Seki or Sushi Evgari. Nope. Maybe you're thinking about Thai Diner or Fish Cheeks Thai. Now, Fish Cheeks is next to Il Buco on Bond Street, which is down the block from Bond Street Sushi. All right, think of the cuisine. We'll do this quick. Folks, I'm going to go with this cuisine.

34:4127 ,000 restaurants. I'm going to show the camera here when I'm writing. There you go. I can't see it. No, I don't want you to see it. Oh, I don't see it. Actually, close your eyes. I'm closing my eyes now. I'm going to go this area of New York. Let me just show that. God. I'm going to go with this one. This is tough. Closing my eyes. My eyes are closed. The Foodie Magician. Have you ever heard that? Are you thinking about a restaurant? It's an American restaurant. It's actually near where we are right now. It's called Union Square Cafe. Union Square Cafe, yes or no? I'm not thinking of that restaurant.

35:14Have you ever been there? I have. It's literally downstairs. It's absolutely amazing. What kind of food do you think about? What's the cuisine? I'm thinking about French food right now. Is it called Le Bernardin? It is not called Le Bernardin. What area of New York would you say? Why don't you tell me the name of the French? He's written it down. He's locked in. Oh, he is? Oh, okay. It's on the Upper East Side. At 27 ,000 restaurants, Shotzi, what restaurant is in your mind? Say it out loud. What's it called? It's called Couturesby's. Like this? Yeah. Yeah. That's unbelievable. Exactly what I wrote down.

35:44That is unbelievable. Jimmy. Now, we got it. Well, people listen to this. You got to tell them what I wrote down. You wrote down French food, Upper East Side Coutures. And you spelled it right because it's like 14 in French. And you just got foodie magiche. Give it up for Shotzi, everybody. Foodie magiche. Just got foodie magiche. Unbelievable. That was really terrific. I got to tell you, Jimmy. 27 ,000 restaurants. Now, hold on a second. Not only do I eat at restaurants all day and all night, and I love food and restaurants, I also love dogs. Did you ever have a dog? Yes. You had a dog growing up or you had a dog now?

36:16I've had a dog in my adult life. Okay. Not as a kid growing up. Is it a golden retriever? Golden doodle? It was a rescue with 99 things, but it certainly looked a lot like. It had a lot of gold in it. in your mind and you never told me the name of this correct can you think about the number of letters in the name in your mind okay now when i was a kid when i was your age jimmy i used to do card tricks now i specialize in mentalism it is all tricks by the way but i brought a deck of cards with me and my shows i do around the world are about connection so how long you know if you know someone for five minutes or 30 years doesn't matter everyone's connected how long you know shatzi here for it's approaching 40 years 40 years since you were born is that going to help or hurt the trick um actually help because there's a very strong connection very strong So just so the listeners know, I'm taking out a deck of cards.

37:02And Shazzy, you're going to reach in and touch a card. Just touch one. Hold on to it. Put it down. Don't look at it. Don't look at it. Put it down. So every card is different. There's 52 cards. The number in your mind, associate with the dog, what's the number? The number is three. What number did you take? Can you tell everyone what number did you take? Say it into the microphone. Three. Three. Connection. There's a connection there. Okay. Now, think about the first letter of the name. Think about the last letter. Okay. If it's really about connection. I dropped the card. That's okay. If it's really about connection, the last letter of this dog's name that kind of looks like a golden, it's a mutt, is either going to be J-I-M-R-Y.

37:39The letters are your name, right? Is one of those letters the last letter of the name? It is. Okay. And I'm going to go with this. Look at my eyes. Who named the dog? My wife. Can I ask you in a loud voice, what was the name of this dog? What is the name? Say it out loud. Eli. Like this? And of course I wrote down Eli. And can you guys please welcome to the very, very hot podcast studio a little golden retriever. Come here, little guy. That would have been crazy. You lied. That would have been crazy. I don't think Eli's running as much as we'd like. Yes. Now, just to show you the power of connection, on my phone, we'll do one more thing.

38:17On my phone, on my notes, I have a list of 100 restaurants. They're all different. It's not a ranking. It's a list. Oh, I love this music. And Shatzi, Shatzi, Catorze is somewhere. Am I pronouncing that right? Catorze is fine by me. It's somewhere on the list, okay? They're all different. But I'll show you the power connection. Jimmy, you've known Shatzi here for about 40 years. Name a number between 1 and 100. Name any number. Name a number? Yeah. 23. 23. Look, Shatzi, you're going to be the eyes and ears for all the listeners out there. If I go to my restaurant list, take the phone. Just take my phone.

38:57Do you see all those restaurants? Yes, I do. I see the restaurants. First of all, they're all different, right? Yes, they look all different. What number would you have said between one and 100? What number or what restaurant? What number would you have said? Name it a random number. Name a random number. 87. What restaurant's at 87? Cat's Deli. Cat's Deli. Great. On Ludlow and Houston, pastrami sandwiches. Who's our friend recording here? That's Drew. Drew Raimi. What number would you have said, Drew? Four. What restaurant's at four? Four is Le Bernardin. Le Bernardin, French, beautiful. It was very fancy.

39:28What restaurant's at 50?

39:32Norita. Norita actually is one of my favorite restaurants in New York. It's a Hawaiian restaurant, First Avenue between St. Mark's and 7th. I love this place. I highly recommend it. What restaurant is at 88? What restaurant's at 88? Hometown Barbecue. Hometown Barbecue, my favorite barbecue. Great barbecue. Great brisket, Billy Durney, The Man. And then what restaurant's at 5? what restaurant on the five at five is cafe mogadour cafe mogadour moroccan restaurant in williamsburg and in the east village they're all different is that fair they're all they're all different but you could we could have gone with any number we went with 23 23 and for the first and your restaurant was catorze right yeah the first time what on the list though what restaurant wait what restaurant at 23 that's what we went with what restaurant is at 23 gramercy tavern restaurant we went with was gramercy tavern well hold on there's got to be You went with 23 Gramercy Tavern.

40:21So there's a connection there because that's literally down the block from where we are, right? Yeah. But if it's really about connection and really about magic, I knew this morning that you'd go with 23 Gramercy Tavern. And that's why I've been wearing this shirt. That's why you've been wearing this shirt? All day long. Look it. That's why you've been wearing this shirt? I'm 27. Gramercy Tavern. I mean, this poor guy's sweating his ass off because just for this trick. We've got to do for the magic. For the magic. I've got to tell you. Unbelievable. Josh Beckerman, the foodie magician. Unbelievable.

40:52All right, this or that, okay? Sweet or savory, this or that? Savory. Pizza or pasta? Pizza. Brunch or dinner? Dinner. Are you a street food guy or a fine dining? What is the foodie magician? Both. Yeah, you like it all. I like it all. Instagram or TikTok for you? Instagram. Oh, we laughed about that. Is it New York City or L.A. when it comes to food scene? New York City. Wow, Jesus. Another laugh. I mean, that was like a laugh there. That was a laugh there. Honestly, New York City is the greatest. Why New York City? Why New York City? New York City is the greatest city in the world for food because you can walk to an American, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Thai, Vietnamese, Malaysian, Italian restaurant on the same street.

41:32It's unbelievable. You have Flushing Queens. You have Brooklyn. If you rank cities in America, because I know this is New York, LA, because I think we're going like East West. What about Chicago? Chicago is a great food town. One of my favorite restaurants in America is in Chicago. It's called Acidore Bastion. Have you heard of it? No. It's a Spanish steakhouse in the River North area. I hope people are taking notes. I mean, Foodie Magician is dropping knowledge right now. I thought that would be – So if you rank cities in America, would it be like New York, Chicago, L.A., and then San Francisco?

42:01New York, L.A., Chicago. New York, L.A., Chicago. And then where do you go? Is it like San Francisco, Miami? Is it Dallas or no? No, you don't go to Miami. You don't go to Miami. I mean, maybe San Francisco, but believe it or not, Las Vegas. What about NOLA? What about NOLA? I was there two weeks ago. Great food. Like, NOLA's great. Like, for a little city, it's pumped. It's loaded with good food. NOLA's got great food. You just don't go there if you're on a diet. Very heavy. So, would you think – so, if you had a rank, would you put New Orleans or San Francisco? Where would you put four? That is a great question.

42:34It can't be Vegas because that's just knockoffs of everything else. I like the energy more in NOLA. I'm going to go NOLA. But there is good food in San Francisco. Because NOLA's got the jazz. It's got – it's like people are partying. and people are in their south they're all happy and everyone's having a good time right my wife went to tulane and my son went oh really so i go i've been there a bunch i just i love it that's great there yeah it's an awesome place we're going a little quick fire with them ready i'm asking five lightning round questions don't think too long don't think too hard are you ready josh back how many steps do you walk a day foodie magician around 25 000 why 25 000 that sounds like i think the doctor recommend 10 why are you doing 25 000 i don't have a day job so i just walk day from restaurant to restaurant i like to get 10 miles a day i do you ponder when you walk yes i ponder when i'm not walking to ponder yeah it's fun pondering ponder i don't have a day job so you're just walking around pondering i'm walking around thinking about where i'm gonna eat next that's literally what i'm doing the last thing you posted on instagram stories what was the last thing you posted was a house of pasta or not yeah it was it happened already happened already so when you post like when you go somewhere do you go home and edit do you edit on the fly like When I'm with Jillian and we're traveling a lot, we're always out and about.

43:42My wife, Jillian, she edits on the fly during our meal. And it sometimes infuriates. I'm posting Instagram stories like usually when I'm at the restaurant. So she's doing it right. She should be in the moment. But sometimes if I don't want people to know where I am, I wait. I basically want people to know that I'm eating all day. That's part of my shtick. Yeah, I hear you. Do you have more than one lunch a day? No, no. So it's just one lunch, one dinner. That's it. It used to, I used to eat like more than one dinner and lunch and dessert a day. But then as I'm getting older, I'm getting a little whiter.

44:16So are you taking the new Ozempic suppository? No, no, no. I just go, I go to the gym now. You go to the gym. And you walk 25 ,000 steps a day. I think that's really good. If you were to delete one of your social media ads, I think I know what it's going to be. Would it be Instagram or TikTok? I would imagine it'd be TikTok right now. Oh yeah, I would delete TikTok. So you would keep Instagram. Although according to all my friends, TikTok's the thing. Like everyone's on Instagram. It's the thing, but not free. I mean, it's good, but it's still. I've been with Instagram since 2012. It's what I know.

44:39So you like it and it's really well. But if you want to grow, by the way, if you want to grow your audience, you got to go on TikTok. That's what I hear. That's what you hear. How do you take – how does the foodie magician take his bagel? I love bagels. I like everything bagel, whitefish salad, and onion. That is my bagel. I will say there's a – I mean I think the best bagel is Apollo bagels. Have you been? Yeah, yeah. You like Apollo. But Tompkins Square bagels on Avenue A. They have a sandwich. Sandwich. Yeah, it's a sandwich. Kneed after me. Right? They have a sandwich. What is it called? It's called the Beckerman, my last name.

45:09Are you shitting me? It's turkey, cheddar, lettuce, tomato, mustard. I did not create it. I just walked in 10 years ago, 15 years ago, and my name was on the board. I go, why is my name there? They're like, yeah, we named a sandwich after you. That's a sandwich. Did they really name it after you? That's unbelievable. It's on the board. The OG on the original Tompkins Square bagels on Avenue A. Right. Wow. I got to go there and check that out. Drew, we're going there and trying that. We went to the not the original one. We went to one over a square. It's all good. I got to tell you, New York, there's so many great bagels.

45:36It's hard to pick which one's the best. They're all kind of the same. Crispy, delicious. Who do you love as a food influencer? Who are you following? Who are you excited about? Oh, that's a great question. Is there somebody? I mean, listen, I got to give it. It could be more than one person. I mean, I do watch those pizza reviews by Portnoy. Oh, he's like a star. That guy's awesome. Yeah. Everything he's doing is great, right? Yeah. And then I look at the food blogs. You know, I look at the eater.com. So the infatuation for the New York Times. There's not like a person outside of Portnoy that you're like, oh, I really like.

46:11Like, do you get information from a food for like, oh, wow, I didn't even think about it. I didn't even heard of that place or not really. Not really. I mean, I mean, I. You're so plugged in, you know, everything. I know. Yeah. Because you're working 25 ,000 steps. You know, I'm on the I'm on the pulse. I'm on the streets. I'm on the streets. And you're the magician. Yeah. Shit just comes to you. Right. One food you'll never eat. No matter what. But is there something in the world that Josh Beckham, the foodie magician, will never eat no matter what? So that's a great question. If you put it in front of me, I will eat it.

46:39But there are three dishes I've eaten that were that bad that I won't eat them again. Go ahead. Number one was turtle liver. I had that in the Cayman Islands. And I'll tell you, do you want to know what— Do you have diarrhea? No, but you want to know what turtle liver tastes like? Shit. Tastes like turtle liver. So I won't do that again. It doesn't sound good. No. I had turtle soup in Jamaica one time and I had diarrhea. I didn't get sick. I just didn't like the flavor. I once had a barbecue flavor soft serve from Momofuku Milk Bar. I won't do that again. Will you eat uni? I love it. You love uni.

47:10I'm an uni addict. You're an uni addict. You love uni. I love uni. So you'll eat anything outside of those. Turtle liver. Just no turtle liver. No turtle liver. And chopped liver, like from grandma? I'll eat. Yeah, I'll eat it. I'll eat it. I love it. I got to tell you, this was absolutely. Listen, we got to get Josh out of here. So let's, Josh, if anybody wants to find you, what do we do? It's at Foodie Magician. At Foodie Magician on the gram. at josh at foodiemagician.com if you want to book me for a little magic myriad and comedy show. So he's doing no kids parties, by the way. Don't hock him for kids.

47:37He's not a kid. He's way past that. He's doing corporate events, big events. And I got to tell you, his magic, his foodie magic is all tied to eating out and food and that. So it's just it's a real different experience. I got to tell you, one of the most intriguing people we've had on the show, part of our Food Fluencer Series, and nobody is influencing food. like Josh Beckerman, the foodie magician. If you want to check out our newsletter, hospitalityheadline.com, you can check it out every Saturday morning. We got over 400 ,000 readers now. That's right. With a crazy open rate right now. And if you want to check out how good looking and how much Josh Schwartz, you can check us out at YouTube at Hospitality Hangout.

48:20Cheers, everybody.