Bill Esparza's Tacos Campechano and Maja at Tacos Don Manolito

Today's Lunch Therapy patient, Bill Esparza, is the James Beard Award-winning author of LA Mexicano who's considered by many to be America's leading expert on Mexican food. He's also a renowned saxophonist who's traveled the world playing music with Brian Setzer, Bryan Adams, and Colin Hay. In today's session, Bill explains how to spot a good taco truck, how the pandemic impacted street food, growing up Mexican-American, his grandmother's cooking, and how he didn't learn Spanish until he was in his thirties. We also cover eating while on the road with musicians, how he finds new places to eat, starting his blog in the early 2000s, and where a birria newbie (yours truly) should get birria in L.A. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit amateurgourmet.substack.com/subscribe Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Om Podcasten

Food writer Adam Roberts (The Amateur Gourmet, Secrets of the Best Chefs) has a knack for analyzing people's lunches. Now in its fourth season, Lunch Therapy showcases the lunches of a wide variety of guests: chefs (Fergus Henderson, Marco Canora), actors (Ryan O'Connell, Karan Soni), writers (Mary Roach, Steven Rowley), musicians (Ed Droste), comedians (Kate Berlant, Chelsea Peretti), and family (Adam's mom). Join in as Adam asks the most innocent yet provocative question in the business: "What did you have for lunch?"