The Dave Chang Show

Dave kicks off the pod remotely from Washington, D.C., where he’s spent the week on assignment with the 'Thursday Night Football' team. The episode begins with some Majordomo updates and the three things he always buys at the Korean grocery store. Dave and Chris also break down their favorite places to get prepared foods, produce, and frozen goods among the different Asian supermarkets. Pro Football Food Weekly kicks off with a big announcement before getting into a matchup between Washington, D.C., and Chicago. The week’s upset alert gets into a heavyweight bout between Los Angeles and Philadelphia. The episode rounds out with an Ask Dave about tailgating. Dave talks about the one dish that is easily prepared ahead of time and sure to please a crowd at any gathering. Hosts: Dave Chang and Chris Ying Producers: Victoria Valencia and Euno Lee Additional Production Supervision: Cory McConnell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dave is joined by Euno Lee for this episode, and they kick off the show by talking about Dave’s tips for finding a place to eat—including using people watching to your advantage. Slice dives into the conundrum of when to give up your seat on an airplane—and why there seems to be moral judgment about refusing to give up your assigned seat. Dave also addresses why more ambitious restaurants might be reluctant to put up merchandise for sale in his Ask Dave segment before transitioning to a quick Top Five Rice Dishes. Hosts: Dave Chang and Chris Ying Guest: Euno Lee Producers: Victoria Valencia, Cory McConnell, Euno Lee, and Gabi Marler Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It’s another edition of Pro Football Food Weekly, or as one astute listener complained, “just another excuse for Dave and Chris to argue about food.” This week’s matchup focuses on Green Bay vs. Detroit, and particularly on the bratwurst vs. the Detroit-style coney, as well as other local eats in and around Detroit and Green Bay (35:00). Three Things sees Dave take a peek into restaurant bathrooms, and some of the things he looks for when he goes into a restaurant bathroom (3:54). The discussion also covers a slice about Dave’s experience with automatic faucets and soap dispensers, and the fanciest toilets in the world (23:00). Ask Dave gets a little supernatural, as the pair talk about ghosts, one belief that might disqualify you from winning a Fields medal, and whether it’s appropriate to eat across the street from a cemetery (54:00). Hosts: Dave Chang and Chris Ying Producers: Victoria Valencia, Cory McConnell, Euno Lee, and Gabi Marler Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dave takes the reins solo on this episode and gets into Three Things he sees in a restaurant’s cutlery and dishware—and what it says about the restaurant. Slice of Life takes a “turn” as Dave talks about a high-pressure situation every driver likely faces on a daily basis. Dave then gets into an AskDave segment, with a question about eating in a larger group in New York—and offers ideas for other large groups of diners and some of the best restaurant meal ideas. My Opinion Is Fact covers a wide variety of topics, including one question Dave calls “the best MOIF question [Euno] has ever come up with”: Which bar and pub game would Dave want to be the best at? The surprising answer involves some playful sniping at the Podfather (and perhaps an open challenge). Dave also covers his favorite airports to eat at, his favorite things to prep as a cook, and a FMK of custard-based desserts. Host: Dave Chang and Chris Ying Producer: Victoria Valencia, Cory McConnell, Euno Lee, Gabi Marler Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Chris joins Dave for a novel way of looking at NFL matchups: The Pro Football Food Weekly (or “PFFW”), where Dave and Chris debate which team will win based on the food in a given city. The pair break out the competition into the “Five S’s”: sandwiches, steakhouses, seafood, sweets, and special teams. The inaugural edition sees Dave and Chris square off in a classic battle between New York and San Francisco where they break down the Five S’s and which city takes home the win in each. Other NFL matchups get an abridged treatment of the Five S’s matchup, as we see Cincinnati vs. Los Angeles tussle for ice cream supremacy, and New England vs. New York devolves into a rant on Manhattan-style red chowder. The episode continues with three things Dave looks for on restaurant menus, and Dave picks out key details that can be uncovered just by looking at a menu—and what they might tell the diner about a restaurant. Hosts: Dave Chang and Chris Ying Producer: Victoria Valencia, Cory McConnell, Euno Lee Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dave and Chris kick off the episode by discussing three moments in time they’d like to travel back to. Slice delves into an “addendum to the hefeweizen principle”—Dave’s theory that bartenders are able to tell what drinks a patron wants before they actually order them. Ask Dave asks: Has Dave fallen out of love with some of his signature dishes? Dave talks about one of his most famous dishes, the Momofuku pork bun, and how he no longer wants to eat it or prepare it, and he draws a parallel to musical acts that have to play their hits. MOIF gets into a road trip convenience store draft, where Dave and Chris have to pick one savory snack, one sweet snack, and one drink. The MOIF rounds out with an overrated/underrated on attending live events, including NFL games, magic shows, and tennis matches. Hosts: Dave Chang and Chris Ying Producers: Victoria Valencia, Cory McConnell, Euno Lee, and Gabi Marler Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dave opens the episode with three things he did after school instead of homework—including using a certain video game system that might have taken up a lot of time. The episode segues into a Slice about robocallers and cold callers—and Dave’s wildly inefficient method of possibly putting an end to cold callers once and for all. He continues the episode by discussing issues he’s encountered with saying no to requests made by strangers in person. The episode continues with an AskDave about a sticky situation at a Michelin-starred restaurant, before getting to a quick MOIF about action movie franchises. Dave dishes on his favorite action movie franchise now that he’s reached his 40s. Dave then goes into an exploration of commonly consumed fruit juices—and which one he finds most helpful in the kitchen. The episode lands with Dave waxing poetic about a lesser-known Korean noodle dish and what its presence on a menu might say about a Korean restaurant. Hosts: Dave Chang and Chris Ying Guest: Euno Lee Producers: Victoria Valencia, Cory McConnell, Gabi Marler, and Euno Lee Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dave and Chris wax nostalgic at the top of the episode talking about three things they ate in high school. Dave talks about his secret love of shepherd’s pie and his not-so-secret love of microwaveable cheeseburgers. Chris weighs in with his clandestine love affair with “RIB-B-Q” at the Cal Dining Hall. The two also share a moment about a certain past food item at Taco Bell. For Slice, Dave talks about his run-in with a foul ball at Dodger Stadium and the internal monologue that led to him missing out on the catch. The conversation turns a bit more serious as the two discuss the state of Cantonese cuisine, one of the most technically demanding cuisines to execute. They talk about its future and how a cuisine survives over time. The episode rounds out with a MOIF distinguishing “dining” versus “eating,” and going through some of the most ambitious restaurants in Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York. Hosts: Dave Chang and Chris Ying Producers: Victoria Valencia, Cory McConnell, Euno Lee, Gabi Marler Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dave and Euno dig in on NFL kickoff weekend for an extended Three Things that Dave is looking out for in the upcoming NFL season. The episode draws parallels between NFL schools of thinking (including the rise of the mobile quarterback and the run pass option) and how changes in the NFL relate to changes in the food and restaurant world. The episode then takes a personal turn as Dave looks back and reflects on his personal competitive drive, the way he’s approached his work, and whether or not this approach will make sense for him as a father and is something he wants to pass down to his kids. Euno weighs in on his recent conversations with Dave and talks about how Dave’s ability to overcome great odds has given him a unique level of grit and perspective—and how belief from someone with that experience can be inspiring. The episode concludes with Dave's NFL hot takes and discussion of how he’s finally embracing the Washington Commanders … in a way. Hosts: Dave Chang and Chris Ying Guest: Euno Lee Producers: Victoria Valencia, Cory McConnell, Gabi Marler, and Euno Lee Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dave and Chris kick off the episode talking about a … strange … take from the 'Ringer Fantasy Football Show' and question their fantasy football knowledge based on their food preferences. The episode continues with a Slice where Dave declares the space of one’s airplane seat to be “personal airspace” and an experience with a pushy passenger. "Ask Dave" sees Dave encounter a problem that plagues chefs and restaurateurs everywhere: What do you do if a former chef copies the dishes from their former employer at their new job … and the new job is down the street from their old one? The episode turns to Cory McConnell and Victoria Valencia’s experience at the Spotify headquarters in Stockholm, and their meal at Ekstedt. Dave and Chris pay their respects to Copenhagen and Stockholm’s dining scene. Finally, the two land on a MOIF where they talk about the best seafood tower selections, and the proper way to enjoy an oyster. Hosts: Dave Chang and Chris Ying Producer: Victoria Valencia, Cory McConnell, Gabi Marler, and Euno Lee Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dave kicks off the episode with a SLICE containing an interesting conundrum: What happens when a group needs to split a check and one person didn’t consume as much as the others (or didn’t drink)? Ask Dave sees Dave answer a couple interesting questions. He starts off with the one thing he would teach high schoolers before they go to culinary school (or enter the workforce as cooks). Dave then walks through the perfect day of eating in Tokyo (“Pitching a Perfect Game”), including skipping breakfast and eating THREE pizzas at the legendary Seirinkan and more. He also talks about his real-life “epic day” through Tokyo with famous Instagram gourmand Little Meg. Things close out with an abbreviated MOIF, including Dave’s hot (?) takes on Korean food, declaring Korean cold noodles to be the best, and a discussion on the best hot foods to eat to cool down. Hosts: Dave Chang and Chris Ying Guest: Euno Lee Producers: Victoria Valencia, Cory McConnell, Gabi Marler, and Euno Lee Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dave and Chris pick up their conversation from the previous episode with a discussion of Shohei Ohtani’s greatness (and Dave’s persistent man crush on the Angels’ two-way phenom).  The conversation turns to a breakfast-themed MOIF. Dave and Chris assemble their absolute best box of donuts, poke fun at Chris’ bagel preferences, the Asian cuisines that do breakfast best, and a big rant about the proper (only?) way to serve hash browns.  Host: Dave Chang and Chris Ying Producer: Victoria Valencia, Cory McConnell, Gabi Marler, Euno Lee Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dave is joined by Chris, and he opens up the show with an excuse for being late: a story about cooking breakfast for Hugo. The conversation detours into a reflection on the work ethic of bees. Ask Dave sees a question about wearing chef coats and other chef equipment, and Dave explains the functional importance of a chef uniform, including the chef coat. Dave also reflects on his worst cut and burn stories in the kitchen. The two then discuss IQ tests and scores, the implications of a high or low IQ score, and the (scientifically dodgy) debate on whether it correlates to a higher EQ score. Hosts: Dave Chang and Chris Ying Producer: Victoria Valencia, Cory McConnell, Gabi Marler, Euno Lee Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dave’s Three Things segment starts off with three things he loves about the show’s guest: a world-class chef and the owner of the Empellón restaurant group, Alex Stupak. Stupak catches up with Dave (whom he hasn’t seen since before the pandemic) and reflects on his culinary journey, including his admiration of Albert Adrià, his time at Grant Achatz’s Alinea, and his experience helming the pastry program at Wylie Dufresne’s WD-50. The two ponder the dampening effects of restaurant criticism on creativity—and Dave suggests that Stupak is a culinary Prometheus for his constant innovation of new culinary techniques. The two continue talking through Alex’s journey of making Mexican food, culminating with a discussion of Alex’s new critically acclaimed restaurant, Mischa, in New York. Host: Dave Chang and Chris Ying Guest: Alex Stupak Producer: Victoria Valencia, Cory McConnell, Gabi Marler, Euno Lee Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dave takes a Slice of Life segment talking about wedding attendance—and how his eagerness to attend a wedding has significantly changed with age. The Ask Dave turns into a “Would You Please Stop” as Dave talks about being asked for a last-minute table as a favor—and why he’s unwilling to fulfill these requests. Finally, Euno and Dave break down various stereotypical diners, and assess which dining group they’d like to eat with the most. Host: Dave Chang and Chris Ying Guest: Euno Lee Producer: Victoria Valencia, Cory McConnell, Gabi Marler, Euno Lee Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices