Podcast
Mad Food
Comedic food talk covering restaurants, cooking, eating habits, hospitality, and even some respectful interviews with big name chefs, celebrities, and regular schnooks hosted by Jordan Okun and Max Shapiro (the team formerly of Air Jordan: A Food Podcast). Straight outta Los Angeles, but covering the entire mad food world.
- Food chart
- #53
- Episodes
- 208
- Releases
- Twice a week
- Typical length
- 50 min
- On air since
- 2018
- Latest episode
- 16 hours ago
Episodes
208 episodes, newest first
-
50 min
Superiority Burger LA, South Beverly Grill Advice, More LA Times 101, Food Fights, Night Night LA Taco
Show notes
Why doesn't Los Angeles care about Superiority Burger coming soon, the LA Taco debacle, HiHo's new thick drop, 101 updates and fallout with Bill and Jenn, Jordan & Max's Oki dog recipes, Little Fish love, influencer food fights, more Soupy Ps, lots of Husk, and what dishes to avoid and order at South Beverly Grill.
-
38 min
Rumi's Kitchen Cheer & Halloween Here
Show notes
The fellas give some time to the spookiest day of the year (not the release of the LA Times 101 list), but it's all about Persian food in Century City, where they nailed the cuisine defining dish, somehow screwed up the simplest protein, Jordan was wronged with numerous incidents, Max was constantly praised, and it all ends with a mall parking behavior debate.
-
51 min
THE 2026 LA TIMES BEST 101 RESTAURANTS RECAP
Show notes
We were done with this. We didn't want to do it again. But you begged. You pleaded. And we enjoy servicing you. So, here it is. And please remember, it's not personal, it's strictly business.
-
52 min
Max vs. Massimo Bottura: An Instagram Saga
Show notes
After dining at three Michelin star Osteria Francescana in 2018, and having less than a stellar night, Max went on a food criticism journey bringing him all the way to present day, where hewrote about that night eight years ago on Substack, shared it to Instagram, and then everyone entered the chat, including Massimo Bottura himself. Jordan and Max sit down with Max’s dining companion that night, Pistol Pete to talk their strangeevening in Modena and the reaction from the Instagram crowd.
-
51 min
A Jordan & Max Tale of the Charity Chubby
Show notes
The bites, booze, hits, losers, regrets, and social nightmares all for an incredible cause at LA Loves Alex's Lemonade.
-
50 min
Q&A: Best & Worst Fall Ingredients, Max's Wedding, An Egg Roll Debate, Late Night Eating, Raisins & Ranch
Show notes
Plus, what have the fellas done for each other, LA burger crawl options, more Jordanator shame, one steak for the rest of your life, Fall is here and there's nothing we can do about it but eat, The Husk, Mad Food corespondents, LA Times Food Bowl, Lakers vs. Warriors, and Souplantation is back, but will it be worth the schlep, and Max's thoughts on Jordan's Soupy P's move?
-
50 min
Q&A: Influencers vs. Food Critics, Does A Good Restaurant Have To Offer Coffee, At Home Cooking Tools, Did Jordan Break His Streak, Pre-Dinner Showers
Show notes
Plus, tipping habits, perceived value restaurants, Sora Craft Kitchen is on the move, food cities to visit, cookware and tools curation, an investigation into an Infatuation personality, bringing seasonings to meals, the coffee test, owning a dry-ager, and random ass neighborhoods.
-
52 min
Max's Jordanador Review, The Greatest Food Event Coming Soon, Matū Brentwood's New Meat
Show notes
After much talk, it was time for Judgement Day as Max critiques Jordan's cheesy shrimp taco collab with Santa Monica Seafood. The fellas talk all the sesame seed sprinkling, big name chef interactions, a horrendous mistake, and the continued haunting Jordudo history. Then, they preview an a-list chef lineup they're going to attack together at LA Loves Alex's Lemonade, the greatest food event of the year, benefiting the most deserving charity. Lastly, the boys recently sampled Matū Kai's newest dish, an elk chop that deserves all the attention.
-
40 min
$60 NYC Bread & The Food Influencer Test
Show notes
Jordan and Max talk the most expensive loaf of bread in New York (and possibly the world), if it could be worth it, why it's working, and where it may all lead. Then, Max outlines what a test would look like to qualify as a food influencer in a perfect world, which Jordan attempts to take, and you may be surprised with the results.
-
50 min
An Inhospitable Ranch Rant & Was The Venice Seafood Schlep Worth It?
Show notes
Jordan asks Max for a reality check and wonders if he's entitled after a recent experience at a pizzeria featuring not enough ranch dressing, an ornery owner, and Diet Coke corkage that may explain it all. Then, the boys talk their recent meal at San Damian, the highly acclaimed Abbot Kinney Mexican seafood restaurant that demands all the salsas, better lighting, and less pineapple.
-
44 min
Q&A: Dining Companion Pros & Cons, Paris Confusion, The Future, LA Times 101, Brentwood Issues, What's Scungilli and is Cereal Soup?
Show notes
Jordan and Max answer audience questions covering MaisonSota in Paris, looking five years into LA's dining future, what cuisine Max would love to learn, sous vide chicken directions, Uncle Pints vs. Lasker, why can't Brentwood have nice things, New Jersey seafood, a Venice schlep decision, the creepy daughter question, LA Times 101 is coming, and a Max fit check.
-
45 min
Q&A: LA Times Right & Weird on Lielle, Bad Sushi, Storing Booze, Illegal Ingredients, The Zoom Episode, Tokyo Talk
Show notes
Jordan and Max answer audiences questions covering SoFi Stadium suite life, Jordan's son's dessert beating all Yom Kippur contenders, grocery store sushi, Mexico City plans, Max's weird storage issue, LA sesame dishes and the "Jordanador," Highland Park chewing, smuggling horse and birds, Tokyo love & hate, the LA Times got Lielle right but butter wrong, and most people thought the Zoom episode actually sounded great, leading Jordo down a dark path.
-
47 min
Sora Craft Kitchen, Carmel California Eats, More Pod Tension
Show notes
Jordan went to Sora Craft Kitchen for the first time and breaks it all down for Max, who was in Carmel with KB eating and drinking during a wedding weekend, and the fellas had to Zoom record this one, which pissed off one of them. Plus, notes for all navigation systems, an aphrodisiac town, and the future of Mad Food may be in peril after this one.
-
1 hr 6 min
BJ Novak on Vegas, Catalina, Membership Clubs, Cereal, and Chain's New Mall Food Court
Show notes
The fellas talk their recent time together in Las Vegas, LA Indian food options, Max possibly being a white devil, the famous punim effect, more Japanese vs. American toilet debating, Rick Caruso dream projects, consuming inside yurts, Jordan's Michael Jackson story, maybe there is pod tension, and all the new menu items at Chain's Westfield Topanga pop-up.
-
38 min
A Tale of The Chubby
Show notes
Jordan recounts a hellish caloric day where the daughter had a birthday party, his GLP-1 wore off, and way too much sushi, pizza, candy, and cake was in sight. Plus, marone vs. madone, Max finally ate a Dubai bar but never goes full chubby, disappointed nurses, and way too many pills.
-
57 min
Escargot Beignets, Au Poivre Burgers, Tiramisu Brûlée, and LA with Marcus Jernmark
Show notes
Marée is the newest bistro from Michelin starred chef Marcus Jernmark, whose ode to French cuisine and California is now open on Pico Blvd., where Jordan and Max sit down with Marcus to experience the food and beverage game before talking it all.
-
42 min
Overrated Dishes, Reservation Platforms, San Diego, Pod Tension
Show notes
The Q&A returns with Bar Sawa vs. Shunji, homemade ice cream thoughts, Pizzeria Sei bar pies and NY slices, a Catalina discussion, an Israel trip, Alphabet in the Palisades, movie theater soda drinking, a diabolical FMK, Rosh Hashanah meal highlights, 3 Michelin Star bug rules, and are Jordan and Max feeling tension?
-
49 min
Q&A: The Infatuation Problem, Server Green & Red Flags, The Bel Air Hotel Heist, Parenting Advice
Show notes
Jordan and Max answer audience questions covering Enclos, what pairs best with ramen, fish bloodline thoughts, wine bags, DTLA's possible return, Saint James Iced Tea vindication, paying for bread baskets, dropping the check speed, real estate rivals, waiter behavior, more bidet talk, an ungodly pour of scotch, and the good, the bad, and the ugly of Infatuation LA's recent work.
-
58 min
Michael Cimarusti's 3 Michelin Star Life, Seafood Thoughts, Mount Rushmore Status, and LA Chef Conference
Show notes
This year's LA Chef Conference will feature Providence's Michael Cimarusti and Jordo is participating again with a shrimpy collab to feast on, so the Mad Food fellas travel to Hancock Park to talk kitchen leadership, hot vs. cold lobster rolls, clam bellies vs. strips, Michelin ketchup and cocktail sauce, disrespectful nicknames, love for Max, throwing Jordo a bone, the worst and most difficult fish to cook, Michael's at home eating, and reaching and maintaining mountaintop status.
Purchase tickets to LA Chef Conference (October 5th) to hear Michael speak and taste Jordan's newest shrimp creation with Santa Monica Seafood HERE
-
48 min
Alice Waters’ LULU?, Japanese Toilets, The Dark Triad Returns, LA French Food
Show notes
Is Jordan the Joe Pesci of the show? Are toilets with bidets and seat warmers better? Is Max officially a Dark Triad after a text with the all-star formerly known as Netflix Andy? Plus, what's the Pasjoli schlep meter, will Max start shooting up with Reta, and is the closest thing to an Alice Waters restaurant in LA any good?
Food lists
More Food shows picked out from the charts
More in Food
Placed highest on Apple Podcasts' Food chart right now