The Dinnernet with Mark and Meg

Friend of the pod Karuna Long (Sophon, Oliver’s Twist) stops by to chop it up! Learn about his journey from bartender to bar owner to chef/owner—and how the pandemic made him realize an opportunity to create more space for Cambodian culture in Seattle. Karuna also tells us about how his family briefly crossed paths with “donut king” Ted Ngoy, and why donut boxes are pink.We

Get to know Edgar D’Souza, the elusive but very real human being behind the SeattlePopups Instagram account—an essential source of info about the Seattle area’s thriving and super diverse pop-up scene. Edgar tells us why he likes to maintain a level of anonymity on the account, what compelled him to create an ongoing pop-up events calendar on IG, and where he sees the scene g

In the Dinnernet’s two-guest premiere, we’re joined by José Garzón and Stef Hieber, co-owners of Garzón Restaurants (Bad Chancla, Latinx Street Food, Topless Tapas, Lola’s Supper Club, Chifa Baby), for a wide-ranging conversation about going from FOH to BOH, the benefits of Bad Chancla’s all-electric kitchen, karaoke sharks, bodega cats, and why Lynnwood is an actual din

Cultural anthropologist (!) Michael Wong (Asian Verified,The Stranger) chops it up with us about what makes something Asian Verified, why he switched from covering food on IG to covering it in print, and the problems with foodie influencer culture. And he’s got some tough-love content creation advice for small business owners who don’t know where to start.We also talk about the

Gabby Park (Paper Cake Shop) talks to us about going from politics to pastry school, ushering in 2025's Year of the Snake with cake, what “Asian flavors” means, and the wildest savory cake she and Rachel Yang ever conceived. Meg goes on a birthday excursion to San Francisco for a (Republic of) Georgian feast and comes back with tales of khinkali and a craving for Dutch crun

Rachel Belle (Your Last Meal podcast, The Nosh with Rachel Belle TV series, plus her new cookbook, Open Sesame) joins us to talk about the process of creating a cookbook, what the James Beard Award show is like IRL, being a teenage metalhead, and the value of getting out of the house. We also discuss tough interviews, Christopher Kimball's sartorial acumen, and William Shatner&

Brian O'Connor (PopPop Pizza and Wine) tells us about pursuing the platonic ideal of thin and crispy tavern style pizza, sourcing great wine, and transitioning a dinner party concept to a brick and mortar. We also talk about the landlord/business tenant relationship in Seattle, the recovery of late night dining (or lack thereof), and our favorite older restaurants and bars. Plu

Lisa Bi (Ba+Me popup, Family Meal supper club) joins us to talk Viet comfort food, creating a more communal and collaborative restaurant concept, and how to get started in the Seattle popup scene. We also discuss Michael Wong's must-read article in The Stranger about pricing expectations for Vietnamese and other south Asian cuisines. And as always, we've got restaurant news , and o

In our inaugural episode of The Dinnernet, we chop it up with chef Brendan McGill (Hitchcock Restaurant Group) about Seattle's minimum wage hike and tip credit expiration, what it takes for a restaurant to succeed in 2025, and the restaurant ghosts of Belltown Past. Pictured: smoking (eating) cariyaki (teriyaki caribou) stogies (jerky) made by Brendan's friend.