765: Inside Steak Zine, Cake Zine’s Medium-Rare New Issue

24 Apr 2026 · 53 min · 31 chapters

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In short

This Is Taste episode 765 spotlights Cake Zine’s new special issue, Steak Zine (a “medium-rare” one-off). Host Eliza Barbinell and co-founder/pastry chef Tanya Bush discuss why steak is culturally charged (luxury, class, gender, health-diet trends) and how the magazine’s reporting and fiction approach the steakhouse fantasy. They also run “Three Things” restaurant/foodbook recommendations.

Guests (and backgrounds)

Tanya Bush, co-founder of Cake Zine and pastry chef; she leads the editorial process for Steak Zine. (The episode also references prior guests: Erica Roby, barbecue champion/former criminal defense attorney; Tucker Brown, 6th-gen Texas cattle rancher; plus cookbook authors Jorge Gaviria and Fermín Núñez.)

Key claims

Steak’s symbolism has intensified as prices rise; the U.S. USDA “inverted the food pyramid” with steak at the top (criticized by health experts). Steak is increasingly “policed” via theft/security tags. “Carnivore tricks” are viral raw-meat influencer videos, often framed as women reclaiming health.

Notable examples

Outback Steakhouse’s “fake Australia” (founders never visited); Fogo de Chão tourist appeal; a plant-based lab technician’s NDA-skirted comparison eating foie gras/wagyu; Texas 72-oz steak contest with 24/7 webcam; “The Cattle Queen” image traced to Rita Bennett; flash fiction set in steakhouse roles (server/cook/bartender/maître d’).

Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.

Chapters

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Exploring the Editorial Process

1:30 to 1:45

Eliza invites Tanya to discuss Steak Zine's creation and themes.

“behind this trip into carnivorous territory and the fantasies sold in each cut of steak.”

Three Things We Love

1:45 to 3:08

Eliza and Tanya share exciting food discoveries from local eateries.

“Well, Clayton and I were just in Colorado for a very special project that we'll be releasing later in the year.”

Salt Bread Co. Experience

3:08 to 4:25

Tanya describes her delicious experience with salt bread from a new bakery.

“It's a beautiful coffee and a great farmer and more to come from Queen City.”

Paradise Bakery Muffins

4:25 to 6:12

Tanya shares experiences at Paradise Bakery and its unique square muffins.

“You don't even have to look up the address.”

Bar Chucho's New Offerings

6:12 to 8:12

Tanya gives insights into Bar Chucho and its exciting food and drink menu.

“It draws between 250 ,000 and 300 ,000 visitors a year.”

Vitamina Te Cookbook

8:12 to 10:01

Tanya discusses a new cookbook focusing on Mexican street food classics.

“My last thing is a cookbook I want to talk about.”

Lady Wong's Bakery Delights

10:01 to 11:34

Tanya shares her experience at Lady Wong's stall and its unique kui desserts.

“Well, I feel like many of my favorite foods start with the letter T, so I'm excited about that.”

Steak Zine Collaboration

13:38 to 14:07

Eliza and Tanya discuss the themes and inspirations behind Steak Zine.

“You deserve mental health care that works for you, not against your budget.”

Introduction to Steak Zine

14:07 to 14:33

Exploration of the new issue dedicated to steak and its cultural relevance.

“Insert like a million other steak puns that we have.”

The Joke Behind Steak and Cake

14:33 to 15:19

Discussion on the origins of the magazine issue and the connection between steak and cake.

“which I think is a recurring theme in our collaborations, which I really enjoy.”
Show all 31 chapters

Steak's Cultural Symbolism

15:19 to 15:59

Analysis of steak as a symbol of luxury, status, and its evolving cultural context.

“I mean, obviously, it's, you know, very like protein maxing, Maha coated right now.”

The Steakhouse Experience

15:59 to 16:40

Delving into the cultural significance of the steakhouse and its varied representations.

“Beyond Meat's stock is down more than 99 percent from its all-time high.”

Diverse Steakhouse Traditions

16:40 to 17:24

Exploration of different types of steakhouses and their unique offerings.

“I'm curious when we were kind of thinking about Steakzine, what were some of the early pitches that we received that like felt like, oh, this is really core to what this magazine is going to be?”

Steakhouse Buffets and Overindulgence

17:24 to 18:35

Discussion on the abundance of steakhouse buffets and the experience of overindulgence.

“like veteran steakhouse waiters who've been there for, you know, 50, 60 years.”

Cultural Reflections on Steak Consumption

18:35 to 21:04

Insights on how steak consumption reflects broader cultural and dietary trends.

“And I found those pieces both so interesting because they're examining how is this kind of like cultural export being framed through the context of a steakhouse?”

Unsettling Stories Behind Meat Production

21:04 to 22:36

Exploration of unsettling narratives about meat production and consumption.

“Like when I go out to a steakhouse, it's about the sides.”

Voyeurism in Eating Contests

22:36 to 24:03

Discussion of voyeurism in steak-eating contests and cultural implications.

“So like through the like auspices of research, they're eating foie gras.”

Carnivore Tricks and Online Influences

24:03 to 25:28

Examination of the rise of 'carnivore tricks' and their cultural significance.

“But if you could choose any food to eat in an eating contest, would it really be a steak?”

The Duality of Carnivore Influencers

25:28 to 26:36

Investigation of the motivations of female carnivore influencers and societal reactions.

“And there's this like, you know, robust history of men doing that.”

Steak as a Luxury Commodity

26:36 to 27:45

Discussion on steak's status as a luxury item and its implications in society.

“Whether or not it's happening in a very public nature, like a plane or like this woman's front yard.”

Steak Theft and Economic Trends

27:45 to 28:00

Exploration of steak theft as a reflection of economic trends and crime.

“because there has been this increase in steak heists, essentially.”

The Rising Cost of Steak and Its Implications

28:00 to 30:00

Explore the impact of rising steak prices on society and consumer behavior.

“So I do think that like steak as, you know, a symbol of luxury continues to proliferate and will probably only continue to as, you know, inflation abounds.”

The Cattle Queen: A Feminist Icon

30:00 to 32:00

Discuss the history and significance of an iconic steakhouse advertisement featuring a woman.

“I think a lot of people talk about how like lobster, for example, used to be a very working class food before it was kind of exalted in status.”

Uncovering Rita Bennett: The Woman Behind the Image

32:00 to 33:20

Learn about the search for the identity of the woman in the famous steak advertisement.

“But also she is really interested in finally like identifying the woman in the advertisement who is like heretofore had not been had not been named.”

Fiction's Role in Steak Culture

33:20 to 35:20

Examine how fiction interacts with and enhances the steakhouse experience.

“But I think this piece could be read on its own as well.”

The Evolution of Steakhouse Experiences

35:20 to 37:50

Discuss changes in steakhouse dining experiences and cultural perceptions over time.

“And they all have little Easter eggs because they're in conversation.”

Absence of Recipes: A New Direction

37:50 to 40:00

Understand the decision to exclude traditional recipes in the latest steak issue.

“There's also one piece of fiction that's not a part of the package, which is from Sarah Thinkin-Matthews, who's such an incredible writer.”

The Nostalgia and Performance of Steakhouse Dining

40:00 to 42:01

Explore the nostalgic and performative aspects of dining in steakhouses.

“And if we'd had, you know, like a, you know, ribeye recipe next to it, it might have felt a little strange.”

The Steakhouse Experience

42:01 to 44:06

Explore the social and atmospheric elements that enhance the steak dining experience.

“Occasionally I'm, like, iron deficient and, like, really hungry for, like, a bloody rump of steak.”

Dessert Preferences Post-Steak

44:06 to 46:54

Discuss favorite steakhouse desserts and the nuances of their textures.

“Like, you could, like, make a ganache and then freeze that in the center and then bake the cake around it so that, you know, no matter what, that center is liquid.”

Rapid Fire Steakhouse Questions

48:39 to 53:29

Engage in a quick-paced discussion about various steakhouse favorites and personal preferences.

“and Huntrix Meal have just dropped at McDonald's.”
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Transcript

Automatic transcript. May contain errors.

0:00Morning decisions.

0:02Tanya Bush:How about a creamy mocha frappuccino drink? Or sweet vanilla? Smooth caramel maybe? Or white chocolate mocha? Whichever you choose, delicious coffee awaits. Find Starbucks frappuccino drinks wherever you buy your groceries. It's time to throw your lash curler away. Seriously. Lancome's new Curl Goddess Mascara keeps your lashes curled and volumized. From the pregame to the afterparty, this fast-setting curl and volume mascara gives you up to 30 hours of wear with no way down. You know what? Curls really do have more fun. Shop Lancome Curl Goddess Mascara now on Amazon.

0:48A carnivore tricks is basically like an influencer, a woman generally, who is performing, eating like raw steak or, you know, vast quantities of eggs and liver on camera for, you know, a sort of scandalized and like thrilled audience. This is Taste. I'm your host, Eliza Barbinell.

1:15Cake Zine is an independent literary food magazine, co-founded by pastry chef Tanya Bush and me, Taste Contributing Editor Eliza Barbanel. Our new special issue, Steak Zine, examines the cultural impact of red meat in many forms. Today on the show, I invite Tanya into the studio to talk about the editorial process behind this trip into carnivorous territory and the fantasies sold in each cut of steak.

1:39Tanya Bush:And at the top of the show, it's the return of three things, where Eliza and I talk about what is exciting us in the world of restaurants, cookbooks, and the food world as a whole. Eliza, we are back with Three Things. How are you? I'm good, Matt. Do you want to start? Sure. Well, Clayton and I were just in Colorado for a very special project that we'll be releasing later in the year. But I had a couple discoveries in Denver that I wanted to share about, and one of them is Queen City Roasters. really terrific local coffee company but I'm not I can talk all about them we actually will have them on the episode so I don't want to spoil a good show but what I want to do is talk about one of the coffees that I tasted there it is so special it actually came from Colombia from Victor Bermudez's farm Buenos Aires and it is a geisha and they got 60 kilograms of the green coffee so a very limited run and they're selling them in 100 gram drops and an exquisite coffee i love tasting geisha whenever i can and this one was like and i'm sorry for the coffee pros maybe this is way off way off balanced but it was like purple soda and grape like it was like so crazy like such you know some teas will drink like grape you know sometimes i get that flavor note and yeah it really really was giving that and i just think when when you can get a geisha that's really beautifully roasted as it was here at Queen City.

3:06Tanya Bush:It's a really special thing. I'm going to link to in the show notes. I think they sell some online. It's a beautiful coffee and a great farmer and more to come from Queen City. Okay, I'm excited. That's like a very psychedelic flavor note that you've just gave. So good. So it's such a delicious coffee. What's your first thing? My first thing is that I was walking down the street in Koreatown recently and was overcome with the most delicious smell of bread that I immediately had to go and buy some for myself from Salt Bread Co., which is a new-ish salt bread bakery in Koreatown. I think salt bread is one of the most perfect breads, and they're doing some really cool and fun versions of salt bread.

3:42I just got the plain salt bread because I wanted to try this in its purest form, and also I was kind of overwhelmed by some of the sandwiches and dippings that they had, but I'll tell you about those. But the plain bread on its own, so delicious, crispy, buttery, flaky, bottom with the caramelized butter almost, and then these soft, flaky layers, crunchy salt on top. Very good kind of platonic ideal of a salt bread and kind of on the bigger side for a salt bread, I would say, compared to some of the other ones I've had before. They are doing dips, chili crisp and an Earl Grey chocolate dip, both of which I thought sounded intriguing and also kind of fillings like a raspberry lychee filling or something like that, which I'm sure all would be very good.

4:25But honestly, to me, salt bread on its own, perfect.

4:27Tanya Bush:Love that. Salt Bread & Co. in Koreatown. I'm not familiar. I got to go check it out. I truly like you will. You don't even have to look up the address. If you go to the block, you will smell it. It's like Cinnabon effect. Love that. Subway Cinnabon, but for salt bread. Exactly. I prefer those smells better. What's your next thing? My next thing is we're staying in Colorado. Clayton and I were in Aspen for an afternoon. We had a great lunch there. But also we had a pregame muffin at Paradise Bakery. It was great. Is this the name of the muffin or were you pre-gaming with a muffin? We were pre-gaming with a muffin at Paradise Bakery.

5:04Tanya Bush:Yeah, yeah, yeah. To be clear. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I hadn't been to Aspen in a little while. And, you know, Aspen's food scene is pretty interesting. And I hit up my friend Kate Kassin from Bon Appetit and she'd been there. And she recommended this place and it really delivered. It was a really terrific muffin that was square-shaped. And for some reason, I just connect with square-shaped muffins for some reason. I don't know if you do. I'm trying to picture this. Is it made in a square mold? Yeah, the tin is, it must be, I don't, you know, that's a good question. Does it have a muffin top? Yeah, the muffin top is square.

5:36Tanya Bush:That's what I'm saying. Do you follow me? I mean, I don't think I've ever had one before, but I'm interested. The aesthetic is appealing, but really I think these muffins were great. We had a banana, a chocolate chip, and a morning glory made with grated carrots, apples, raisins, and, you know, orange juice or pineapple juice. I wasn't sure. I'm just speculating. But I like this place. It's been around since 1976, and it almost closed a few years back. There was a Laura Piana store moving in, and they were going to maybe lose their lease, and the community spoke, and Paradise Bakery remained. It draws between 250 ,000 and 300 ,000 visitors a year.

6:16Wow.

6:17Tanya Bush:And it's not that big. It's crazy. It's basically a quick-moving line with a lot of outdoor seating and a really nice view of the mountain. And it was, this was early April. And it was, there's still snow on the slope. They're still skiing. That was cool. That's Paradise Bakery in Aspen, Colorado. Very cool. My next thing is that I got to go to Bar Chucho, which is the new bar from the Karima and Vata team here in New York. It's a sister bar very close to Karima down in Two Bridges on Market Street. And I initially wanted to go because they were kind of advertising their micheladas on the menu a lot.

6:52and I love a michelada, especially in the summer. But they have a really great food program going on as well. The chef, Fidel Caballero, who's one of the owners, is doing kind of more casual food than what they do at Corima, at least. So he has a carne asada-style burger with blistered peppers and chihuahua queso on top, bone marrow also. Kind of a hefty burger, but the size is, you know, very manageable. Mushroom gringa with flour tortillas that they make at Vato, which I still have not been to. Oh, you haven't been to Vato yet. I've heard great things and I need to go. And then the beverage director, Edward Hardeback, is doing drinks.

7:26I got a mango nada, michelada, mostly because they're doing it with a chamoy straw. And I just really wanted to like, it was one of our unseasonably warm spring days. I wanted my full kind of summer fantasy, which I very much enjoyed. But the next time I go, I want to try this Ojasanta Sazerac that they're doing with mezcal, which sounds really good to me. I had just a little snack because I was going to dinner. So I ate their crispy XO rice cakes. So these blistered crispy rice cakes with their version of an XO that I think kind of is blending some Chinese ingredients and some Mexican ingredients, which to me seems like kind of a nod to the neighborhood that they're in as well.

8:00I love having another like bar to stop into and I'm looking forward to drinking my way through the rest of the michelada menu.

8:07Tanya Bush:I can't wait to check it out. It seems like a great compliment to Karima. What's your last thing? My last thing is a cookbook I want to talk about. I was able to have Jorge Gaviria and Fermín Núñez in the studio, and we're going to release that in a few weeks. But I just want to talk about the book because I love it. Vitamina Te, your daily dose of tacos, tortas, tamales, and more Mexican street food classics. So as you can imagine, they're leaning into the tea food groups in Mexico. And I think it's such a fun book. It was shot by Dylan and Jenny. And it has a real reportage feel to it. They spent a lot of time not just in Mexico City but throughout the country.

8:47Tanya Bush:And really they're covering their favorite places and places that they discovered along the way. I love seeing discovery in a cookbook. And you can just tell that they shot some of these scenes and then later went back to the test kitchen and developed recipes around these discoveries. I love books that do it that way. And, you know, this book is from Clarkson Potter and really I think Jorge had released Masa a few years ago. And that's quite a technical book, real breakthrough for kind of demystifying Masa. And many people have picked it up and cooked from it. I've seen it in lots of restaurants.

9:20Tanya Bush:And I think when we were talking about it recently in the studio, there was clearly a way with this book. They didn't want it to be so technical. They wanted to have great recipes. They wanted it to be like a fun hang kind of book. and that really is delivered in the book. A couple of the recipes that stand out to me, you know, there's a smash burger tacos, there's roasted butternut squash tostadas and a cauliflower ceviche that we talked about on the episode. So I think there's some really cool recipes that are not necessarily in the main food groups of Tortas and Tacos. It's a little chef-y.

9:56Tanya Bush:And Fermin, of course, is a great chef in Austin and you can see it throughout the book. Well, I feel like many of my favorite foods start with the letter T, so I'm excited about that. What is your next thing, Eliza? My last thing is I got to go to Lady Wong's stall at Urban Hawker recently with Clayton. Lady Wong is a delicious kind of South Asian French style bakery that has a proper location in the East Village. But I learned recently that they also have a stall at Urban Hawker, which is this South Asian, kind of, I guess, pan-Asian food hall in Midtown, not too far from where we record. And we were walking by after I'm going to the bookstore to get our copy of the new Calculation of Volume series.

10:39We got our new books and then we were walking by and I just really love kui, which is the steamed, squishy, rice cake-based South Asian kind of dessert genre. And when I saw that they had a location, I just really wanted to go and get a little not-too-sweet treat. and they had one of my favorite kinds of kui, which is called kui talam, which is these two thick bouncy layers. One of them is salted coconut. Another one is pandan. I think you have to eat it together so you can get the kind of flavor contrast between the two. It's a very wiggly, just kind of like fun, naturally gluten-free vegan dessert.

11:14And I loved having that. But of course they have a very wide variety of things there. They have kind of slices of their Mont Blanc milk crepe cake that looks super great in addition to the more kind of traditional desserts and now that I know how close it is, I feel like I'm going to be going back to try the whole kind of spectrum of Cui that they have, but that is my last thing.

11:34Tanya Bush:I love that food hall. There's some nice surprises there and got to try that crepe cake. I know. If you like also Mont Blanc, I feel like that's a good version to try it. If you're going to MoMA or like doing anything in this part of town, I think it's actually a very good lunch option for there. Absolutely. Like it's great for groups because if not everyone wants the same thing, It's more affordable than some restaurants in Midtown that are more seated. And it's a really fun place. And they've done a nice job there. Totally. Well, thanks for sharing your three things. Thanks, Eliza. On a recent episode of This Is Taste, I spoke with Erica Roby, barbecue champion, former criminal defense attorney, and the person who taught me exactly what to look for when buying a brisket.

12:16Tanya Bush:She wants striations. She wants white flecks throughout. She described it like a kaleidoscope. Because fat is flavor and that marbling is the whole game. It's what keeps brisket moist from the smoker all the way to the moment the judge takes a bite. We also heard from Tucker Brown, a 6th generation Texas cattle rancher whose family has been in business since 1895. That's episode 754 of This Is Taste. This episode is presented by Beef. It's what's for dinner. On behalf of the Beef Checkoff. You know how much effort goes into taking care of yourself physically, eating the right amount of protein, drinking the latest probiotic soda, hitting those Peloton personal records.

12:59Tanya Bush:Mental health deserves the same energy. But finding a therapist who actually takes your insurance, that's where things usually fall apart. Rula fixes this. They're a healthcare company that works with over 100 insurance plans, so the average copay is just$15 a session. $15. They match you with licensed therapists based on your actual goals and needs, not just whoever's available. And appointments can happen as soon as tomorrow. Thousands of people are already using Rula to get affordable, high-quality therapy that's actually covered by insurance. Visit Rula.com slash taste to get started. That's R-U-L-A dot com slash taste.

13:41Tanya Bush:You deserve mental health care that works for you, not against your budget. Tanya Bush, this is CakezineXSteakzineX. This is Taze. Thank you for coming back, back, back, back, back on the podcast. Here I am again. We can't keep her out. I feel like I have so many things to talk about with you in terms of steak and cake and all of the things in between. This is our special medium rare edition. Insert like a million other steak puns that we have. Foray into carnivorous territory. Exactly. Our one-off issue. Why did we decide this was a good idea? Oh, who knows? I think we wanted to keep things fresh, exciting.

14:27I mean, I think that's the pleasure of like making an indie magazine, right? It's like we can follow our interest. Yeah, I think I was telling people this started as a joke that we decided to take very seriously, which I think is a recurring theme in our collaborations, which I really enjoy. The The joke being that steak and cake rhyme. Do they go together? It's hard to say. I mean, I think people often eat them in the same breath. Right. Hopefully not in the same bite. But, you know, we can talk about the steakhouse desserts, of which there are many in that regard. But I think we wanted to do a deviation from the cake scene kind of core theme after seven issues.

15:05And meat just felt like a really, I guess, meaty topic, pardon the pun. But I think it means so much in society. And also, I feel like in this moment, like steak feels kind of culturally relevant. Would you agree? Yeah, it feels very topical. I mean, obviously, it's, you know, very like protein maxing, Maha coated right now. But like the price of meat has gone up astronomically in the past 20 years. So, you know, I think meat consumption is up. Prices are high. People are all on Ozempic and like their stomachs are shrinking. and meanwhile, like, we're as carnivorous as we've ever been. Yeah, I'll read a very brief excerpt from our editor's letter that starts off the issue.

15:46We say, just as this issue went to print, the U.S. Department of Agriculture inverted the food pyramid and placed a chunky slab of steak at the tippy top, a decision made by a panel with ties to the meat industry and criticized by many health experts. It's 2026. Beyond Meat's stock is down more than 99 percent from its all-time high. Domestic meat consumption is on the rise and the subject of beef has become a cultural flashpoint. And I think when we set out to make the steak issue, obviously we felt that steak was topical in a sense that steak always kind of symbolizes making it and like luxury and status and all of these things.

16:21But it's always a surprise to me. It takes us six months to make the magazine just about. Like I think it became even more relevant over the period of time we were working on the issue. Yeah, I think so. I think like cake steak is this object of fascination and like fetishization and demonization and everyone has like a kind of feeling around it. I think maybe that made us feel good about setting off on the issue. I'm curious when we were kind of thinking about Steakzine, what were some of the early pitches that we received that like felt like, oh, this is really core to what this magazine is going to be?

16:52I think definitely like the fantasy of the steakhouse, right? Like it's this like site of birthday dinners and promotions. it's like luxury it's opulence like there's this amazing piece in the issue by emma specter which is about sort of like the pleasure and sort of seduction that happens in a steakhouse and those like red banquets and you know like the americana of it all but she sort of thinks about it in a subversive way with her partner at the time and you know i think that like the steakhouse as this iconic part of like american lore felt like you know core to the issue you know there are these like veteran steakhouse waiters who've been there for, you know, 50, 60 years.

17:34It's, you know, a huge part of what steak means today. Yeah, I think like the symbol of the steakhouse is really where we kind of started with this issue. And then also acknowledging that there are different types of steakhouses. And I think in this issue, it's kind of interesting to look at that. There is this kind of like classic old school New York institution that we're talking about. But then there is like a restaurant in East Texas that does chicken fried steak and has for generations. Or there are these restaurants in Hong Kong that do this like sizzling, very soft, almost spoonable steak that's this idea of kind of like Western nostalgia that still exists today.

18:08And the chains of it all, right? The Fogo de Chow, Outback, you know. Yeah. Have you been to an Outback Steakhouse or Fogo de Chow before? I'm devastated to say that I haven't. Have you? I haven't, but there is a Fogo de Chow walking distance from this podcast studio. So I would suggest we go for lunch, but I think it might kill me to like eat that much steak and then go do something else afterwards. I mean, to be like confronted by the abundance of it all, right? Like that is so much of the pleasure of, you know, the buffet. Yeah. And I found those pieces both so interesting because they're examining how is this kind of like cultural export being framed through the context of a steakhouse?

18:47And they're interesting. The Outback Steakhouse piece is written by a writer who is Australian, who's going to one in, you know, Chicago, hoping, I think, for a taste of home and instead being encountered with this very American interpretation of what Australia is, which I didn't know before reading the piece is partially because of the fact that the people who founded Outback have never been to Australia. Yeah, they were like, it would make it too authentic if we visit. That's actually a direct quote from one of the founders of Outback Steakhouse. They were like, we didn't want to muddy our interpretations of what Australia is with what Australia actually is.

19:19Yeah, exactly. They're like these fantasy environments with like fake cultural symbols. They have like the Australian flag displayed prominently. And then like basically nothing else about it is authentically Australian. Yeah. They don't even say good day when you walk in. And then the Fogo de Chão example is kind of the reverse in that that is a Brazilian steakhouse chain that did originate in Brazil that is, you know, trying to do the churrasco like steak skewer experience of it all. But I don't know if like it feels like being in Brazil when you're there necessarily. Yeah, well, it was interesting because Adam Dalva, who's the writer for the piece, talks about how it's sort of like this hotbed of tourists.

20:01And he's sort of questioning why that is. Like, why would a tourist who's coming to visit New York be interested in, you know, something familiar? And I think that, you know, we want the familiar when we're traveling. We want the nostalgic and something that feels close to home and proximate even when we're far away. Definitely. And also I've kind of noticed online that there is a lot of tourists who come to, I don't know where all the Fogo de Chow's are in the world, but there are some tourists who come to America who really want to go to like Raising Cane's or Five Guys, like these kinds of like chains that you see on social media that it's your opportunity to try.

20:37So I think there's like many different reasons why somebody would come, you know, maybe they're going to see a show on Broadway and like that's one of the closest restaurants to go to. And they're like, why not eat as much steak as I can handle before I go see a Broadway play? Have the meat sweats through the second act. I'm feeling nauseous already when we're talking about some of these stories. And I don't know if like that's limited to me. Like, how do you feel about steak after spending so much time thinking about it? You know, I feel like steak has never been about steak for me. Like when I go out to a steakhouse, it's about the sides.

21:11Like it's like, you know, creamed spinach. It's palm puree. It's like a wedge salad. So when we were like delving into like the meatiest of all territories, it did feel a little bit nauseating. You know, we have this amazing story by the lesbian vegetarian farmer of a cattle stud rancher in Australia, you know, going deep into the like insemination process of how, you know, you know, your meat gets to the plate, essentially. And, you know, we have a story on meat glue, which is this like crazy substance that is used in fish sticks and like, you know, tethering disparate pieces of meat together in freaky little ways.

21:51And like all of that was just so disgusting, for lack of a better word. Yeah, I think one of the pieces that I found the most unsettling is the only piece that is uncredited to a contributor because this is the second time that we've published somebody who's skirting their NDA, which somebody with more business sense would probably tell us not to do this. But our solution was to redact the author of this piece, which is somebody who worked as a plant-based meat lab technician, was a vegetarian, started this job kind of altruistically. And then over the course of the job, began to eat huge quantities of like luxury meat, essentially, so that they would have a better like example to compare their plant-based versions to.

22:35Right. So like through the like auspices of research, they're eating foie gras. Foie gras, wagyu beef, like heritage pork shoulder. At the very beginning, they're talking about going to eat barbecue ribs for the first time. And they say, I still can't forget how it sat stolidly in my stomach, a stomach that had never encountered a cow for the whole next day and a half, like a whale in a lace sock. There's something about the texture of that image that I just, it's stuck with me. It's so evocative. And that is kind of how you feel when you've had like all you can eat steak, you know? Yeah, there's also another all-you-can-eat kind of interpretation in this book, which is a story by Greta Rainbow about this live stream steak eating contest that happens in Texas where you have to eat 72 ounces of steak in 10 minutes.

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23:26And there is a 24-7 webcam of this, so anybody who's listening can tune into this website and try to watch somebody attempt this feat. And clearly, like, hundreds of people have achieved this, but thousands more have failed. And she's kind of has this fascination of logging on and trying to, like, see what's happening and having this, like, very voyeuristic way in. Yeah, there's a lot of voyeuristic pleasure in the piece, totally. Would you partake? I mean, obviously not. I kind of feel like I could do it. I don't know. I have some lust for eating contests. Like, I see that as something in my future.

24:03But if you could choose any food to eat in an eating contest, would it really be a steak? Well, it includes the sides as well, which feels like it helps me. Like you can like pad the stomach with the potato, you know. I don't know. I mean, it's like it's raw protein, baby. I'm protein maxing. I think if I had to eat like 72 ounces of anything, it would probably be fruit. You would win. You would win. I would win that, but like nobody would want to watch that. That's not as interesting. I guess the other voyeuristic piece to me is Ella Quintner's story about the carnivore tricks, which is, I think, a term that she created.

24:37She coined that term. Yeah. What is a carnivore tricks? A carnivore tricks is basically like an influencer, a woman generally, who is, you know, performing, eating like raw steak or, you know, vast quantities of eggs and liver on camera for, you know, a sort of scandalized and like thrilled audience. And it's this genre of video content that has been coming up recently on my Explorer page more than I would like. It is unsettling. I think we were doing research for this story and we saw this Italian woman who was eating a raw slab of steak on a plane. Yeah, unsanitary. So scary. But it's, you know, it's about these women who sort of feel, you know, like disenfranchised by like diet culture or, you know, like the health care system.

25:27And, you know, so they turn to sort of like alternative, you know, diet structures and protein and meat sort of becomes, you know, their way forward. And there's this like, you know, robust history of men doing that. But I think what's particularly like titillating and, you know, unnerving is the fact that they are that they are these like, you know, often scantily clad women, you know, housing a porterhouse. A raw porterhouse. A raw porterhouse. Yeah, it is interesting because Ella does a really great job, I think, of interviewing a lot of women who are eating this raw meat and showing them doing it online.

26:02And their motivations for doing it, as they explain them, are very much rooted in reclaiming their health and that they have found a lot of benefits from eating this way and that they want other women to feel like this is an opportunity that they could also have. And their initial audience is very supportive. It's either like other people are interested in eating this way or like probably some men who are like, oh, this is so hot. But it's very positive. And then, you know, often the half-life with viral videos is that it then reaches a much wider audience of people who are, I think, understandably nauseated by like watching somebody eat in this kind of way.

26:36Whether or not it's happening in a very public nature, like a plane or like this woman's front yard. But I think in this like much larger moment when mukbang and like what I eat in a day, like there's so much kind of like viral diet content online that it's kind of interesting to narrow in on this like very specific version of that. Yeah, especially when it feels like, you know, like gym bros who sort of like cast heavy meat consumption as this like aspirational lifestyle, you know, like has been a part of, you know, the cultural moment so prominently for the past like whatever decade or longer.

27:10And so it feels like interestingly subversive that it's women who are doing it. Yeah. And it is it does buy into this kind of like fantasy in some kind of way of like people who eat steak being strong and powerful. And obviously it's not the most affordable thing you can be eating. So there's a certain degree of like financial privilege and power in that kind of way. I'm curious what other kinds of fantasies you see steak projecting, like maybe in this magazine specifically. I mean, I do think about it like in terms of class, right? Like it's very much become a luxury commodity. I think of this surveillance stake piece by the journalist Aaron Mock, who's writing about how, you know, grocery stores across the world are locking up their stakes as if they're like, you know, prize jewelry.

27:57because there has been this increase in steak heists, essentially. Like people have been, you know, out here stealing 1 ,600 pounds of, you know, prime rib because costs, you know, are skyrocketing and soaring and, you know, demand continues to increase, you know, in the wake of, you know, protein maxing and legitimizing masculinity. So I do think that like steak as, you know, a symbol of luxury continues to proliferate and will probably only continue to as, you know, inflation abounds. Yeah, definitely. This piece is called The Policed Steak, which— Such a good pun. I really like that title. And it does talk about kind of this really large scale organized crime rings that are stealing like 1 ,600 pounds of beef from a tractor trailer in Philly.

28:47And obviously they're not eating all of that themselves. No, they're reselling it. Resold, it's being funneled into black markets. But then also the story talks about shoplifting and more like kind of like personalized crimes of people who, you know, can't afford to eat this steak otherwise. And so they're stealing it in that kind of way. And this discourse that's happening online about it as the cost of living crisis increase. And I think like the takeaway for me in the story, which you mentioned before, is like this like status item has become even more prized and out of reach. And even like the image of like walking through a grocery store and seeing a cut of meat that has like security tags on it.

29:24It's kind of similar to me of like when you go to a CVS or another kind of pharmacy, especially here in New York, like I can't buy toothpaste or like a razor. Like you have to like press the button and have somebody come and unlock it. And like what does it mean as a consumer to see these things that we think of as almost like everyday necessities that are behind lock and key? Yeah. And it's really interesting also because Aaron writes about how, you know, the history of steakhouses were that they were like these like working class banquet halls. And like now they've become, you know, whatever, like the pinnacle of luxury.

29:57You know, it's interesting how like the way that a food changes over time. Yeah, totally. I think a lot of people talk about how like lobster, for example, used to be a very working class food before it was kind of exalted in status. The same with oysters and that kind of way as well. And steak obviously is subsidized by the American government. Like there's a reason why it's been so affordable to have something that, you know, is literally a life that's being commodified and that takes time to grow and land to grow and all of these things. So I think some of this is maybe a correction of the way things should naturally be.

30:33But when you are raised with expecting something to be one price or expecting something to be the way that you can celebrate a promotion or a birthday and then that feels less attainable, I think that does feel like a pretty big shift. Yeah, totally. I think in addition to class, another big theme for me in this issue is gender and kind of like the gender roles that play in. And we're talking about this a little bit with these carnivore tricks that are eating raw meat online. But I think there is another story that I found so interesting in this piece, which was Rachel Osip's story, The Cattle Queen.

31:03I love that piece so much. So basically, Rachel's grandfather was like a steakhouse maven in the mid-20th century in Midtown. And he commissioned this advertisement that, you know, has gone on to have a life of its own. It's of a naked woman kneeling on her haunches and her body is vivisected by all the cuts of steak. So there's, you know, loin and haunches and rump. And you've probably seen this if you're listening to this. It's become a it was one of like the early viral images and it's had many different lives. Yeah. Like tourist postcards or like a towel. Towels. Sold at Urban Outfitters. No, baby tea sold at Urban Outfitters.

31:42Baby tea. Oh, excuse me. Which they also immediately had to pull from circulation because I think for a lot of people, It's obviously a very offensive image to see a woman who has been drawn and quartered as if she was a stake. Yeah. Yeah. And Rachel basically sort of traces how like the history of this image can be attributed to like second wave feminism and like the notion of bra burning more generally. But also she is really interested in finally like identifying the woman in the advertisement who is like heretofore had not been had not been named. And it's, you know, this beautiful sort of devastating search for the for the cattle queen, as she calls her.

32:23And I don't know if I want to we should we spoil the end? Well, I do want to say her name because I think, so this image, which was first an advertisement for Rachel's grandfather's steakhouse, then became a protest sign in the second wave feminist movement as a symbol of the way that like the patriarchy was commodifying women, then became a commemorative postcard, then an Urban Outfitters tee, all of these different things in between. and this whole time, this image is so widely known, but the name of the woman who's posing in it was never really attributed. And I think Rachel did a lot of great reporting to find her name and try to find out what happened to this woman.

32:57And her name was Rita Bennett. And I don't really want to say too much of that journey because I think it goes to a lot of unexpected places, but I do think her name should be more widely circulated. So I'm happy to name Rita Bennett here. And this is a piece from the issue that we excerpted online in the magazine N Plus One. So I'll link to that in the show notes. I think hopefully if you're interested in this journey and the kind of like larger situation, obviously we'd love you to buy Steakzine. But I think this piece could be read on its own as well. Yeah, it's a really good place to start.

33:26I think that one comes to mind for me. And then also this piece we have in the issue about being a female butcher at like a West Village butcher shop that Sophia Jaffe wrote for us. And kind of her misled like early ideals of being like the cool girl butcher. I really enjoyed reading that one too. Yeah, the girl who can like butcher a whole pig and put it on her hinge profile. Yeah, which she did use to get a vegan boyfriend. So I don't know what it says. It worked in her favor. Yeah, I don't know about like why that guy would look at that and be like, this is the woman of my dreams. Yeah, I mean, I feel like we got so many pitches about like, you know, like steak grilled masculinity, you know, like the notion of a man behind the grill, you know, wielding his tongs is, you know, sort of iconic.

34:12And so I do think it was very important in this issue to have subversive takes on the theme and, you know, make it very clear that, like, just because steak has historically been associated with men, that it, you know, very much ramifies in every gender. Absolutely. And I think, like, I'm sad that we didn't get a piece about Kiss the Cook Grill Aprons, but that'll be for another time, maybe. Steak scene 2.0. Oh, my God. Well, I want to talk about fiction also because I think fiction fits into this issue in a really interesting way. And we had a lot of conversations about how would we want to include fiction?

34:45What could fiction provide to this magazine that the reported stories cannot? And I think the Flash Fiction package that you worked on with Michelle was so interesting. Can you speak to that? Yeah, yeah. So Michelle Moses came on as a fiction editor for this round, and we ended up commissioning a package of five different writers who we assigned a character or role at the sort of platonic ideal of the steakhouse. So there's, you know, the server, the cook, the bartender, the maitre d'. And they all sort of add up to this like kaleidoscopic portrayal of the your steakhouse, you know, this like old school New York institution.

35:21And they all have little Easter eggs because they're in conversation. And the idea was that, you know, as you sort of flip through the magazine, you are transported back in time into the atmosphere, you know, like the bartender who's stirring a martini and, you know, like the hushed crowd and, you know, the sounds of the kitchen that you would really feel sort of like immersed in the steakhouse by reading the steak magazine. Yeah, the self-important maitre d'. Exactly. Maybe D'. Exactly. Our designer and art director, Noah Emmerich, does all of our issues so beautifully. But I think this issue especially is so special.

36:01It's a pocket-sized issue, so it's about half the size of what we normally do. And it's basically a two-tone red and white issue. And what he did for the flash fiction package is all of those pages are a dark red page. So it's kind of a nice little signal to the reader that if you're flipping through and you wanted to read all of those flash fiction stories at once, you could kind of find them that way in addition to the table of contents, obviously. Totally. And I think like all of the writers were sort of like hearkening back to the, you know, bygone era of like old school steakhouses. Like I'm thinking about Isle McElroy's piece they wrote about the bartender who, you know, ends up giving his shoes away to one of the patrons, you know, in the name of hospitality.

36:42or, you know, The Cook by Stephanie Wambugu, the cook character protagonist in her story is reflecting on how times have changed and how, you know, people want to make sure that their steak is gluten-free and... Yeah, I think there's a line that's like, the menu has stayed the same, but the requests have changed. So what's the different variable in that? It's the guests. Exactly. And like these guests that don't have the grit to take some gluten in addition to their ribeye. Exactly. They're like looking it up on Yelp and like stumbling in with the hopes of, you know, immersing themselves in old New York.

37:17Yeah, which is funny to me because I think that is what I care about the most when I go to a steakhouse is I want to feel like I'm in a different era. I agree. That's the pleasure of Keene's, I feel. That is a great steakhouse. I think there was a version of this issue where we really like focused in on did specific highlights of different restaurants. And I think we ultimately avoided that just because I think to me, like, the steakhouse is a larger concept than one specific place. But I think Keynes did kind of loom large in our imaginations when we were working on the issue. There's also one piece of fiction that's not a part of the package, which is from Sarah Thinkin-Matthews, who's such an incredible writer.

37:57And it's kind of like a, would you say apocalyptic? Yeah, it's like a surreal sort of like dystopian story about like the last cow and a protagonist who's on their way to visit their grandmother. And it really is. In a world where there are no cows left. In a world where there are no cows left. Exactly. Exactly. And I like that also because I think if part of the steakhouse fantasy is being created through the fiction, then I think also the fantasy that could be our future in which like there are no cows left and our world is so different. Like that felt like it needed to have space in the issue as well.

38:30Yeah, 100 percent. I think another thing that makes this issue unusual is that it doesn't contain any recipes. Why was that the direction that we went in? well maybe we didn't want to like incentivize people to go out and buy more meat necessarily um also i feel like i don't know i don't really want to magazine with steak recipes it's so much less seductive than like a cake i think like that the first thing that you said was probably something that i said in like a late night because i i do feel very um i do eat meat But in a variety of ways over like how my diets and like my anxieties coalesce.

39:11And I think like I didn't want to be endorsing one thing or the other. I think this issue is it has some very carnivorous moments. It has some very kind of militant vegetarian moments. And sometimes those coalesce like in Brooks Hadley's piece for us, for example, who's the chef of Spurity Burger, which is a great vegetarian restaurant here. I think we could have done like steakhouse desserts as recipes in the issue. But I think ultimately when we decided on doing a smaller size, I think the recipes would have been more difficult to fit into that format. And I think we just had so many great pieces already that it felt like since we're doing something different, we have this opportunity to not do recipes and not have that seem like such an oversight.

39:52Totally. And I think we also like allowed writers to go a little bit longer than we ordinarily do. You know, like The Cattle Queen is one of the longest pieces we've ever published in Cakesy. And if we'd had, you know, like a, you know, ribeye recipe next to it, it might have felt a little strange. Yeah. The problem is that now I love making tiny books. I'm kind of like, this is like a half size, but 200 plus page book. And there's something like a steak. It's very satisfying to me. Yeah. It feels like a steak in your hands. It does. It does. I always sniff it because I like the smell of fresh ink and the paper.

40:27But then there's part of my brain that thinks I'm going to smell something maybe more like metallic and bloody. We should have done like a scratch and sniff. You know that is like a pet. Interest of hers. I don't think a steak-scented scratch and sniff would be my— Could be like Worcestershire sauce or something? A little A1? That's just like salt in the wound, though, because I was really gunning for a Worcestershire sauce sponsorship for the issue, and then it didn't come through. There's still time, Worcestershire. I guess that is possible. If you're listening. So I mentioned dessert recipes and we actually, I think if I could do one thing differently about this issue, we don't have any like proper steakhouse dessert story in it.

41:08But I would say that I think desserts are a big part of steakhouse culture. Totally. I mean, I think they're like often so sort of like opulent and sometimes sort of interactive. You know, there's like the baked Alaska, you know, there's like flambeying and, you know, big towering ice cream sundaes. And like so much of the pleasure to me in a steakhouse, you know, beyond the sides is the desserts. Key lime pie, cheesecake. It feels to me they're kind of frozen in time. But what decorate, I would say, maybe 50s, maybe 80s. Totally. Maybe like 80s doing the 50s. Yeah. Very like chocolate lava cake, like fondant au chocolat, you know, which is like you're rarely going to find that on a menu in 2026.

41:52But at the steakhouse, it's always there. Yeah. Do you think how much of a steakhouse is the nostalgia for you? I think so much of it is the nostalgia. I mean, like, don't get me wrong. Occasionally I'm, like, iron deficient and, like, really hungry for, like, a bloody rump of steak. But, you know, I think so much of it is about, like, the atmosphere and, like, the white tablecloths and, like, you know, the, like, immaculate service and, you know, the pleasures of, like, seeing other diners, you know, drinking their martinis. is like it's the whole performance of it less than it is really about the food.

42:26Yeah, I totally agree with you. And I think that's why this was such a fun issue for us because we got to kind of like peel back the curtain a little bit and look at like all of the elements of the way that steak gets to the table from the farm, from the butcher shop, from the grocery store. And also like what does the performance feel like to different people in different moments? Totally. What's your steakhouse dessert of choice? Well, okay. Cheesecake is like kind of my favorite dessert of all time. I like cheesecake. But it's really hard to eat a cheesecake slice. After you've had like meat and like potatoes.

42:57After, because I'll, yeah, I mean, I'm having like three kinds of potatoes probably and like cream spinach and like maybe like a piece of the steak. But I'm not really like a big steak consumer either. So I think also like a key lime pie, something that's kind of bright and acidic but still has that creamy quality to it. I appreciate that. And chocolate lava cake, it just feels like a bit whenever I order it. Like, it's so rare to come by. Do you remember those, like, Domino's chocolate lava cakes growing up? They used to make, I don't know if they still do, but they would make just, like, these, like, uber sweet but, like, totally decadent, like, molten center chocolate lava cakes that we would order.

43:37And they were so good. As a pastry chef, how annoying do you think a chocolate lava cake is to execute? Oh, it's not annoying at all. I've made them, like, many times. They're randomly very easy. They can bake from frozen, which just makes it very easy to scale. And I feel like there's just so much pleasure in, like, the oozing and the aahing that comes from that. So it's fun that they're, you know, quite simple to make. Is it just a matter of timing? Yeah, you're basically, like, underbaking the cake. Like, there are a few different routes to it, right? Like, you could, like, make a ganache and then freeze that in the center and then bake the cake around it so that, you know, no matter what, that center is liquid.

44:15Or you could also do it sort of like, you know, a classic chocolate cake with like a high, you know, egg content and then just like basically underbake it. And so that this, you know, center is still really loose and, you know, chocolatey and delightful, but the outsides are, you know, sort of chewy and set. I think this is my reality TV brain that I've seen an episode of like Chopped or Great British Bake Off or something where like they didn't get the timing right. And it was either like completely liquid or it didn't ooze at all. And I think when there's like a very – when the name itself implies that there should be a certain texture happening and it doesn't meet that mark, then it's like, well, you're done.

44:52100%. Yeah, I had a cake in London at a restaurant that I will not name that was presented to me by the server as supposed to have two textures. And the server literally said as he was setting it down, it only has one tonight. And I was like, what is that about wine? And he was like, the bake was off. And I was like, okay. They could have just said nothing. Said one texture. Did it say that on the menu? It said like, the Londoners are all going to know what I'm talking about. It said like, you know, twice baked chocolate cake. Oh, but it was once baked. Or maybe it was twice baked, but, you know, the timing was a bit off so that there was like no textural contrast.

45:32How was the flavor? It was delicious. It was like bittersweet and salty. Okay. I like that. I think if I could give a critique to some of the steakhouse desserts, it's that I think they could be a little saltier. I think the ice cream sundae at Keens has like the perfect amount of salt in it. The fudge is very like, I think it has a high quantity of salt in it. And then the vanilla ice cream is like fully unsalted. So it's like this perfect, perfect balance. Are there other things going on in the sundae or is it just chocolate fudge vanilla ice cream? No, there's other things. There's obviously whipped cream, of course.

46:05There's this like amazing sort of like wafery cookie that is perched on top. And I believe there are nuts. Don't hold me to it. It's been a month or two since I've had it. But it's really just such a good Sunday. Like it has like all the textural interplay, the temperature sort of contrast. It's like maybe my favorite Sunday in the city. This reminds me of mint and chocolate together as a flavor combination. Feels very steakhouse to me. Totally. The Andes Thin Mint of it all. Yes. I do have an Andy's Mint in my pocket. This just reminded me. Wow. I don't even know where I got it from. Maybe my tea party.

46:41I had them as favors. Maybe. This is like saying a lot about me as a person that I just like pick up Andy's Mints whenever I see them and leave them in a pocket. And I don't know how old it is or like if it's even good, but I will probably eat it after this. That shit never goes bad.

46:54Tanya Bush:This episode is brought to you by Wayfair. I talk to chefs and restauranteurs for a living. People who are obsessive about every detail of a space. That thinking doesn't stop at the restaurant door, and I'm always looking for ways I can upgrade my kitchen, dining room, and really all the aesthetics in my home. And Wayday at Wayfair is the moment I've been waiting for to make that happen. From April 25th through the 27th, you can score up to 80 % off with fast and free shipping on everything. Furniture, outdoor, decor, home improvement, all of it. What makes Wayfair work is how easy it is to find exactly what fits your style and your budget.

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48:20Tanya Bush:And a flexible spending capacity that can grow with your business. you'll have the confidence to keep building. Apply today and earn a welcome offer of$1 ,500 cash back after you spend$50 ,000 in qualifying purchases on your new card within the first six months of card membership. Terms apply. Learn more at go.amex.com. K-pop Demon Hunters, Saja Boys Breakfast Meal, and Huntrix Meal have just dropped at McDonald's. They're calling this a battle for the fans. What do you say to that, Rumi? It's not a battle. So glad the Saja Boys could take breakfast and give our meal the rest of the day. It is an honor to share.

48:52No, it's our honor.

48:54Tanya Bush:It is our larger honor. No, really. Stop. You can really feel the respect in this battle. Pick a meal to pick a side. And participate in McDonald's while supplies last. So I want to play a rapid fire game with you to close today. And it's all steakhouse themed. Hell yeah. Your favorite steakhouse? Keens. I will say, I also was going to say Keens, honestly. But I'll say Musso and Frank's in LA. like a lot also not that i'm like go there often but um it has such a like hollywood kind of classic steakhouse quality and the room is a very nice room to sit in your favorite steakhouse side mashed potatoes for sure specifically palm puree like i really like when they're like really soft like they have been they have gone through that you know sieve a few fucking times is that the difference to you between i mean yeah i think mashed potatoes i think of like i don't know like my mom pulling out her like old school like masher.

49:54What are those called? A potato masher? Or like there's also a ricer, like the food mill that it goes through? No, like just like the old school handheld. Potato masher. Yeah, the potato masher. And they're sort of like, you know, chunky and like the texture is still a part of it. Maybe like the skins are still there. Whereas like a proper like palm puree at a steakhouse to me is like so suave and soft and like there's so much butter and so much cream. And it's like, yeah, you can just spoon it endlessly. And it's French. And it's French, exactly. I will say Caesar salad, but like the table side Caesar when they like wheel out the cart and they like make the dressing in the bowl and everything smells like anchovies.

50:31Who's still doing that these days? Oh, what's this restaurant in L.A.? Oh, Dear John's in L.A. Great name for a restaurant also. It does a table side Caesar. And this is like a windowless room restaurant, basically. They have like a plug-in electrical fireplace. It's very, it actually has not been around for that long, but it feels like it's been around forever. And they do the table side Caesar there. Damn, I've got to try it. Let's go back to LA. Your favorite steakhouse drink? Oh, always dirty gin martini. I'm so jealous. Extra olive. Because I love the aesthetic of a martini glass, but I just cannot drink a martini.

51:09Yeah, you can't drink a martini. I've tried. Tanya has witnessed. I have witnessed. And it's like three sips and she's done. I give it to someone else. It's just because every so often you're in a room and it feels like it just requires that. Is it just like you hate the taste or you're like, I'm just going to be like hammered if I finish this thing? Well, I don't like drinking gin or vodka. So it's just the taste, I would say. My steakhouse drink, if I'm doing like the stiff drink, is a Mezcal Negroni. Delicious. Finally, your favorite steakhouse dessert? Hot fudge sundae, baby. Easy. What would your ice cream scoops be?

51:42If I could create my perfect sundae, it would be like malted vanilla ice cream because I really love malt. And then like a very like thick, bittersweet fudge, like no Hershey's syrup vibe. I really want like that like suave, delicious mouthfeel, very bittersweet. And then toasted hazelnuts because I love chocolate and hazelnuts. And then whipped cream and a cherry. What about you? I love that. Well, I would like to eat that sundae. I will say key lime pie or like a lemon meringue pie. But that like kind of tart, creamy, ideally with a salty kind of thick crust beneath it. Like a graham buttery.

52:22Yeah, exactly. Also for like that kind of textural contrast. We had a really good passion fruit pie in L.A. Oh, we did. But I feel like sort of had that feel to it. It was like very tangy and bright and like almost citric acidy in the actual filling and then like a super thick, salty, delicious graham crust. This was at Chainsaw, which is a great restaurant. Okay, I want to add another question to the end. Tell me. Which is, if you were going to become an old school steakhouse waiter, what would your name be? Oh, my God. Bunny. You're like a chain smoker? Yeah, I'm a chain smoker and my name is Bunny.

52:57I have for some reason decided that I would be Raymond. Probably because my middle name is Ray, so it feels like my alter ego. It's your alter ego? Yeah, Raymond. Maybe that's what you should be for Halloween next year. Well, you can bring the mustache back out. I do have a mustache already, so I'm waiting for this moment. Only if you get us like the jackets to match. Okay, will do. Well, I love that we've gone so deep into our steakhouse fantasy and our Girl Scout cookie fantasy and everything else along the way. It feels very fitting for our very serious issue that began as a joke. So thank you for talking about Steakzine with me.

53:31Thanks for having me. And if you're listening and you want to learn more about Steakzine or get your own copy, you can head to cakezine.com to order directly or find a stockist near you.

53:45This is Taste is hosted and produced by Matt Rodbard and me, Eliza Abarbanel. The show is edited by lead producer Clayton Gumbert and supervised by Pat Stango, director of media production and development at Penguin Random House. Thanks to Shalia Harris and the production team at Penguin Random House. Theme music by Steve Rydell. Episode portraits by Louise Zergang Pomeroy. Logo design by Ellie Skurzat and Ian Dingham. Visit Taste online at tastecooking.com and make sure to subscribe to our newsletter to keep updated on all cool things in the world of taste.

From the publisher

Cake Zine ⁠is an independent literary food magazine cofounded by pastry chef Tanya Bush and TASTE contributing editor Aliza Abarbanel. The new special issue, Steak Zine, examines the cultural impact of red meat in many forms. Today on the show, Aliza invites Tanya into the studio to talk about the editorial process behind this trip into carnivorous territory and the fantasies sold in each cut of steak.

And it’s the return of Three Things. Aliza and Matt discuss what’s interesting in the food world, including a trip to Colorado for an exceptional gesha at Denver’s Queen City Collective Coffee⁠, and a visit to Paradise Bakery in Aspen. Also: Stopping by Salt Bread Ko., Bar Chucho, and Lady Wong at Urban Hawker in New York. Plus, a deep dive into Mexico’s iconic “T foods” in with cookbook Vitamina T.

Subscribe to This Is TASTE: ⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠, ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠   
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