5 Questions with Adam Richman of Man Finds Food

Adam Richman has traversed the country in search of culinary gems, eating challenges and America’s best sandwiches through his popular Travel Channel series Man vs Food and the Best Sandwich in America contest.

Of course, Philadelphians know that he named DiNic’s roast pork the best sandwich in America so he clearly knows his sandwiches.

His new show, Man Finds Food will air a Philly-focused show tomorrow night, June 3. Several sneak peak videos and photos are posted on the Travel Channel website.

We had the chance to catch up with Adam to discuss Man Finds Food, Philly’s food scene, a Philly-based dumpling idea and even some soccer.

It was a refreshing interview as Adam is a down to earth food hunting celebrity who clearly has much love for Philadelphia.

What follows is a lightly edited transcript of our conversation. Hope you enjoy!

Tell us about Man Finds Food and what you’re hoping to provide viewers with the concept? 

AR: The greatest thing about Man vs Food was that it gave people a little bit of a road map for iconic good, quality local eats that are revered by locals so you don’t fall into tourist traps. Man Finds Foods is more representational than presentational. So Man vs Food was all about the spectacles and the big challenges and stuff, but Man Finds Food is much more about what is actually in the city and showing places that locals themselves may not know about or dishes instead of very famous ones.

The other thing is showing my crew. Breaking the fourth wall by making the search for places as real as possible and being honest about the way things taste or where they are. Man vs Food was like telling you where to eat, where Man Finds Food is like giving the keys to the car to everybody so everyone gets to know what the special thing is.

Podcast with Craig Rogers, Founder of Border Springs Farm

If you read our last post on Border Springs Farm, you know we’re big fans of their lamb sandwiches.

Our curiosity was piqued to find out more about the people behind this great new addition to Reading Terminal Market. What started as a phone interview meant for a short Q&A with founder Craig Rogers turned into 22nd & Philly’s first ever podcast.

Craig's passion for lamb, his farm and Philly shine through. You’ll gain a greater appreciation for Reading Terminal and learn some interesting tidbits including:

1. Why the Border Springs t-shirt has the tagline "more than a great rack"
2. How Border Springs is aiming to educate Americans on the heritage of lamb
3. Which local market is a carnival for the senses
4. How to cook lamb with three simple ingredients
5. The best part of the lamb to eat
6. Craig’s favorite Border Springs sandwich and why
7. The event that is the most awesome potluck of food and drink ever assembled in a sheep pasture
8. What it means to get called up the major leagues of food markets

Enjoy and please let us know what you think.

The Better Show Features Philly Food... and Us!

Check it out! This morning we appeared on The Better Show as part of a segment on Philadelphia's awesome food. Lesley Nagy and The Better Show came to the Italian Market Festival in May to try out Paesano's sandwiches, Isgro's pastries and more great food. We got to try Paesano's new Italian Hot Dog with delicious roasted peppers, onions and more good stuff on top, as well as a famous Isgro's cannoli. Watch the segment for Peter McAndrews' quick demo on how they make the Italian Hot Dog and our review of the cannolis.

Interview with Jose Garces: Journey along the Latin Road Home

Philadelphia restaurant icon Jose Garces recently published his second cookbook titled, The Latin Road Home: Savoring the Foods of Ecuador, Spain, Cuba, Mexico and Peru. The cookbook has received a lot of attention considering Chef Garces' national reputation.

His first book, Latin Evolution, is where I found the recipe for the orange habanero ceviche I used in my birthday dinner.

The Latin Road Home is meant to be not only a cookbook, but a journey of his life and how his family and heritage influenced his cooking. The stories of cooking alongside his grandmother and mother remind me how I came to find a joy for food experiences doing just the same.

We recently caught up with Jose Garces, who answered several questions about the Latin Road Home, some favorite recipes, Latin food culture and the Philadelphia food scene. See below for the interview.

Philly Food Shed: Turning Vacant Lots into Urban Farms

It is always striking to me when I walk around Philly and see vacant lots everywhere. There is even a vacant lot right off busy Rittenhouse Square. (It would make a perfect whiffleball field!) I’m not a real estate guru, but one would think we can do more with empty lots than let them sit idle for years. From a city management perspective they are an eyesore and frankly disgraceful.

Empty lot off Rittenhouse Sq.

It was therefore a pleasant surprise to learn about Philly Food Shed, which is aiming to turn these empty spaces into urban gardens. This concept is not new, but Philly Food Shed is trying to take it one step further by combining the demand to eat local ingredients with urban farming.

The goal is to work with restaurants, stores and others to purchase produce ahead of the growing season. This "future" demand then allows community groups to develop urban farms on empty lots that grow the food to meet this demand.

It's an interesting idea and could be a big win for Philly if it works. I was curious to find out more and asked the founder, Tivoni Devor, to answer some questions.

What follows is a lightly edited transcript of our conversation.