J. Kenji López-Alt

I tried everything on the new pckle menu at @Popeyes. Here’re my thoughts.

I went to a Buc-ee’s for the first time at the insistence of legendary musician Edgar Meyer on our way to Big Ears.

I had a real nice visit with my friend @aragusea at his beautiful home in Knoxville yesterday afternoon. We talked tamales as we are told ones from Good Golly Tamale

I had some biscuits and gravy and some really excellent coffee from Stay Golden in Nashville and enjoyed it all. A real different style of biscuits from Nashville Jam Co., whose biscuits I’ve also enjoyed here. Where else to get good Nashville biscuits?

Want more tender, juicy burgers? Don’t salt them until *after* you’ve formed the patties. Here’s why. Get the full recipe and video for my favorite burgers on my free Patreon or on my YouTube channel.

I spied an @auntieannespretzels while waiting on a connection in Dallas International and realized I’d never had one before. So I tried one. What are your thoughts? Also: I’m headed to Knoxville for a real short trip. Anywhere I should eat? Casual and delicious over fancy!

When it comes to woks, a 12 1/2 to 14 inch, 16 gauge, carbon steel flat bottom is the way to go.

Smoked and grilled pork chops.

Wendy’s has good fries and… nondescript burgers. Here are some thoughts.

A Seattle dog is a hot dog with cream cheese and grilled onions. Sounds weird but when done right, it’s a magical combination. So who serves the best Seattle dog outside of T-Mobile Park before the @Seattle Mariners game? I tried them all to find out. Wondering exactly what the deal with Seattle dogs is? Check out my new post “What’s the Deal with Seattle Dogs” available to read for free on my Patreon (link in bio). And tell me: what’s your favorite regional hot dog?

I tried a couple of new snacks from my friends at Uwajimaya. One I loved. The other…

Here’s a pizza bake from start to finish in my @Ooni Pizza Ovens Koda 2 Pro. This is the 7th or 8th Ooni I’ve owned (starting way back with the very first pellet-fired model), and it’s my favorite so far. It’s gas (I’m running mine on a regular LP tank), which I frankly prefer to wood, coal, or pellets for these backyard ovens. Easier start up and maintain heat, which means I’m more likely to use it often. It’s also adjustable on the fly so you can preheat really hot and drop the flame down low when the pizza goes in if you prefer a style with a crisper bottom crust and more even golden brown color, like New York or a neo-Neapolitan. When it comes to pizza, wood doesn’t make any discernible difference in flavor anyway. A proper wood fire should be mostly smoke-free and the pizza is not in there long enough to pick up any discernible smoke flavor. This oven is an upgrade from my previous fave pizza-focused oven, the Koda 16. At 18 inches it’s two inches wider, which gives plenty of room for maneuverability, larger pizzas, or dual personal pizzas. It has flame bars on both sides for more even heating, a glass heat shield so you can see the action, and a built-in ambient temp thermometer as well as a probe thermometer for keeping track of the temp of meat or other things you cook in it. I’m also a fan of the Karu series of ovens which are multi-fuel and have a taller ceiling so you can do things like roast a whole chicken or a tall loaf of bread. (IE the Koda is my choice for pizza fanatics and Karu for folks who want more versatility). #ooni #sponsored #ad

I went to Outsider BBQ and was blown away.

I’m working on a new set of recipes designed for baking in an outdoor pizza oven. Ooni sent me their new Koda Pro 18” to test on. It’s an upgraded and bigger version of my previous favorite model, the Koda 16. We unboxed it and put it through its initial cook. The pizza was EXCELLENT. (And stay tuned to my channels for those recipes, all coming soon). #sponsored