Forks on the Left

A romantic dinner for two Jeffs at Sotto, one of LA’s favorite romantic spots known for its intimate setting, fantastic bar and amazing Southern-Italian food. After the guys try and choose the perfect cocktails for each other, the conversation flirts with the connections between food and love. Strauss offers advice for a diving-grab/CVS Pharmacy Valentines' Day chocolate plan that could rescue a last-minute disaster. He also shares a few tips to raise your jar-and-box pasta game to “sexy dinner” levels and tells the story of how spicy soup and strep-throat led to the kiss that changed his life. Come on…hug this one out with us.

Follow us on Twitter (@forks_ontheleft), Instagram (forks_ontheleft) andFacebook.Please rate us and leave us a review on iTunes!

Our Super-sized Super Bowl episode. Super Bowl = Wings, right? Strauss and Phelps set off on the first FOTL road trip as they climb aboard a luxury “sprinter van" to tour the best that “Wing City” Los Angeles has to offer, joined by guest “wingman” Harold Perrineau (of LOST, The Best Man, The Matrix movies, and Romeo & Juliet) and the Forks on the Left road crew. The quest: find wing satisfaction and football-party-snack inspiration among nearly a dozen of LA’s best and most famous wing spots. Deep wingman truths get uncovered along the way… things like, what does it mean to be a married-guy wingman? What’s it like to have dinner at Questlove’s place? How do Strauss’s mom’s homemade wings stack up against the best that LA has to offer? Oh, and what do you do when a wingman road trip goes unexpectedly off the road…??

The contenders include: Buffalo Wild Wings, KT Thai, Hyperion Public, Night + Market Song, Howlin’ Ray’s, Beer Belly, Kyochon, Lukshon… all chosen from the best of the best on Yelp, Eater, Thrillist, Zagat, The LA Times and Food & Wine magazine.

For the full list of restaurants, beers we tried, and road trip photos, visit forksontheleft.com

Guest:@HaroldPerrineau

Part 2 of our conversation with the Actor/Musician/Writer/Producer/New-Wine-Nerd. We talk "Growing Up Zappa," Gail Zappa’s Beef Stroganoff, Ahmet’s biggies fear, and… the source of his "mayo problem." We test Ahmet’s claim of being able to tell the price of any wine just by tasting. And Ahmet shares his story of what may be themost embarrassing Hollywood dinner party experience ever at the home of Monty PythonLegend, Eric Idle...

Special Guest: Jeff Elmassian

Wines Enjoyed: Thomas-Hsi THV Red 2012

Ahmet Zappa

Follow us on Twitter (@forks_ontheleft), Instagram (forks_ontheleft) andFacebook.Please rate us and leave us a review on iTunes!

Strauss and Phelps welcome Ahmet Zappa and Musician/Composer/Producer Jeff Elmassian to talk about Ahmet’s journey from child actor, musician, performer, to movie writer and producer to new-found wine-nerddom…Strauss challenges Ahmet’s claim that he can “taste the price of any wine” within five dollars. Track through some of Ahmet’s favorite wines, growing up “food, wine and Zappa" as well as one of his latest gigs as CEO of Zappa Records and Co-Trustee of the Zappa Family Trust where he’s managing, curating and promoting the rich legacy of his brilliant and prolific father, Frank, whose work in so many ways both defied and defined the idea of the "independent" recording artist…guitar-god, iconoclast, composer, and...chef???

Special Guest: Jeff Elmassian Wines Enjoyed: Paratus Cabernet 2010 (Mt. Veeder/Napa) Wines Mentioned: Stags Leap "Artemis", Orin Swift "The Prisoner" Zappa Tunes: Dirty Love, Yellow Snow

Follow us on Twitter (@forks_ontheleft), Instagram (forks_ontheleft) andFacebook.Please rate us and leave us a review on iTunes!

What’s life like for an actor who loves great food and drink?From "starving-actor" to “starring-actor," Strauss and Phelps sit down with television’s Christopher Rich, star of Murphy Brown, Boston Legal, Another World, Reba and more to talk TV Comedy, the “ins and outs” of eating both on camera and off, cooking dinner for the cast of “Reba,"Chris’s perfect omelet and "quaff-able wine."

Recipe -The “Perfect” Thin-style French Omelet

Day Drinking: Squall Red Blend (discussed but not consumed) and Forks on the Left 2013 “Mixed Blacks” from Longtable Wines.

Chris Rich Twitter, Instagram

Follow us on Twitter (@forks_ontheleft), Instagram (forks_ontheleft) andFacebookPlease rate us and leave us a review on iTunes!

Chef Neela Paniz’s food journey spans a lifetime and tens of thousands of miles. After growing up in India in the years following the fall of the British Raj, she landed in the US in her twenties having never cooked anything and by the time Strauss and Phelps sit down at her kitchen table, she’s a veteran chef who’s launched three restaurants including Bombay Cafe, LA’s pillar of modern-Indian street food; she’s a “Chopped” champion, a cookbook author and one of the most articulate and knowledgeable voices in cuisine.

Neela welcomes us into her home kitchen and not only cooks for us, but also gives us a cooking lesson with a great recipe for the killer-ketchup replacement - her incredible and not-hard-to-make Sweet Tomato Chutney. Strauss reveals that it is this chutney and Neela who cost him a hilarious trip to the ER and a small part of himself. Neela talks about learning to cook watching Julia Child and their eventual meeting. She takes us on an intercontinental adventure of her life from being a schoolgirl in India to owning and running restaurants in Napa and Hollywood. We learn secrets of “blooming” spices to maximize their flavor and impact. And of course, there's a little Indian-food-friendly Day Drinking with Taj Mahal Lager and Meyer-Nakel Rose of Pinot Noir.

Recipe - Neela’s Sweet Tomato Chutney

Follow us on Twitter (@forks_ontheleft), Instagram (forks_ontheleft) andFacebook.Please rate us and leave us a review on iTunes!

Hangover Cures! In honor of New Years and "The Great Morning After” we dig deep into the downsides of alcohol consumption and tips on prevention as well as a wide-ranging exploration of remedies from the mythical to the medical. Hair of the Dog? Hydration? Does mixing beverages matter? What about clear vs colored booze? Is there anything you can eat or drink the next day that makes a difference? Is there something that medical science can do for you? In true Forks on the Left style, Phelps throws himself all the way into his hangover research — both on an evening spent “getting in” and to the final “stab” he subjects himself to in his search for answers. We search for expert help from Bar Manager/Mixologist Sean Griffin as well as actual medical insights from our friendly, anonymous neurologist friend, Dr. ?????? and traveling nurse, Kendra Butler from The I.V. Doc (theIVdoc.com). And whether you’re suffering or just want a great brunch the next day, Strauss breaks out a pair of amazing egg recipes that are sure to perk you up on New Years or any morning (“after" or not).

Bar Manager/Mixologist: Sean Griffin

The I.V. Doc
Promo Code:FORKSLEFT

Happy Holidays! Here's a musical gift of laughter from all of us at Forks on the Left brought to you by the brilliance of Jeff Elmassian, Andy Rehfeldt, Grant Cornish and Mary Catherine Finney.Cheers!

Subscribe!Follow us on Twitter (@forks_ontheleft), Instagram (forks_ontheleft) andFacebook.Please rate us and leave us a review on iTunes!

For more visit forksontheleft.com

Happy Holidays! Here's a musical gift of laughter from all of us at Forks on the Left brought to you by the brilliance of Jeff Elmassian, Andy Rehfeldt, Grant Cornish and Mary Catherine Finney.Cheers!

Subscribe!Follow us on Twitter (@forks_ontheleft), Instagram (forks_ontheleft) andFacebook.Please rate us and leave us a review on iTunes!

For more visit forksontheleft.com

Cookbook Gift Ideas from one of the world's most knowledgeable cooks and cookbook authors: Susie Heller, co-author of all 5 of Thomas Keller’s cookbooks including “The French Laundry," “The Pizza Bible” with Tony Gemignani, and “Happy in the Kitchen” with Michel Richard. There's something here for every cook and foodie on your list!

Check out our website for links to each of the books Susie recommends.

Susie Heller: @susiefeast

Follow us on Twitter (@forks_ontheleft), Instagram (forks_ontheleft) andFacebook.Please rate us and leave us a review on iTunes!