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Mad Food

Author: Jordan Okun and Max Shapiro

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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.
143 Episodes
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Losing, gaining, and maintaining weight is all about calories, and the three meals a day tradition of eating, especially when visiting restaurants, makes counting calories downright frightening. Jordan was recently frightened after a day packed with too many meals, leading the boys into an exploration of health and restaurants, including bites at Max & Helen's, Ètra, Perse, Flour, and Bacio di Latte.
Martinis and beef sandwiches are trending all over the country for all sorts of reasons, so Jordan and Max sit down to discuss both culinary movements, while dissecting what they love, hate and tolerate about both icons of the food & beverage game. Plus, the boys visited Baldi in Beverly Hills, leading them into a steakhouse rant, gout fears, and Jordan has voice issues.
Mayo, booze, jerky, ranch, and more genius new products are pitched by the fellas, using Expo West as the inspiration to create the next big consumer packaged goods concepts.
Sqirl After Dark

Sqirl After Dark

2026-02-2740:34

Do you believe in second chances? Jordan and Max think you should after visiting Sqirl for their newly launched dinner menu as Los Angeles continues its onslaught of new enticing dining options. Head over to Mad Food World The Substack for a more in-depth look at Sqirl After Dark
The Protein Trend

The Protein Trend

2026-02-2535:35

It's all about protein these days. But most people don't even know what protein is, how much of it we need to consume, what foods are the best source, or even why it's trending, so Jordan and Max (who were as clueless as most people), did the bare minimum research and break it all down.
Jordan and Max answer audience questions and it's all quality tells at restaurants, if Max is using ai, Jordan heard back from Joan's on Third, LA food media thoughts, Noma & Rene getting their backs blown out, ice buckets, NY hanging, celebratory dining, a Hollywood phone call, Mar Vista NIMBYs, are the fellas entitled or just impatient, and the best time in the history of LA restaurants.
Jordan and Max talk their Valentine's Day eating and it's all pizzas, bagels, steak, potatoes, eating like a child, the world's worst Valentine's dessert, and Jordan can't clean up the kitchen anymore. Plus, the Eater LA issue explained, a non-food romance tip, and some rare Hillstone slander.
Marcus Jernmark is a 3 Michelin star chef who has planted a dining flag on Pico Blvd. as the good times and openings roll along in Los Angeles. Jordan and Max ate at Lielle, Marcus' $150 tasting menu destination, and sat down with the chef to talk his concepts, approach to cooking and restaurants, wine rules, and yes, even Swedish meatballs.
The Super Bowl Recap

The Super Bowl Recap

2026-02-0950:59

Jordo went chubby and Max blew the big game episode. Plus, the reason Shake Shack actually loses to In-N-Out, weight loss drug life, the porno home, kids ruin the guac, fancy cocktail bars are missing this one thing, and all the sandwiches, cheese, cakes, halftime shows, and ranch dressing drips.
Sophie Dalah joins Jordan and Max to go head to head in a big game recipe showdown against Bubbles, putting their chef minds to the test.
Jordo and Max are back answering audience questions, and it's all IQ issues, reservation bummers, a New York trip, sake recs or a lack thereof, no pizza for the big game, too much of a single restaurant, merch is coming, and the Substack is very live.
Mad Food: A Preview

Mad Food: A Preview

2026-01-0916:16

Jordan and Max are back and dropped their first video podcast on Substack.  SUBSCRIBE TO MAD FOOD WORLD TO SEE & HEAR THE FULL EPISODE
Jordan and Max break it all down, from a shocker in the top spot to the 3 Michelin star Spanish hatred. Plus, the paper's neopotism picks, strange disregard for a phenom, continued Budonok disrespect, the hall of fame inductee to appease Jordo, sushi snubs, and Bill Addison finally exposed himself (but not like Max). 
A chef's recent email to Max has Jordan concerned, and then the fellas talk dining at new restaurants on the scene, and it's all Brentwood cougars, sweet butters, the Pasadena schlep, shrimp balls, a salt issue, the spoonable pasta, poor Bill Bush, booze enhancing food, and let's stop with the "American bistro" thing.
Welp, another ridiculous list has hit the food media landscape, so Jordan and Max break all the losing and winning down. But first, Genghis Cohen has finally re-opened in a new location and the fellas have the shrimp toast and orange chicken first look featuring a member of Jordan's family. And no restaurant in Los Angeles is currently more hyped than Baby Bistro, so the fellas talk it and their experience with the Echo Park farmer's market driven hospitality house.
Jordan and Max review two recent restaurant experiences with very different outcomes, and then explore a few negatives critques the podcast has received, and it's all fire grilled meats, Ventura Blvd. souffles, hidden shmears, a finalized Max (Hector) meter, the most egregious dish, the worst cooking method, coming burger correct, and an exclusive Studio City special order.
The Q&A Episode

The Q&A Episode

2025-09-0501:15:02

Jordan and Max are back to answer audience questions, and it's all new L.A. restaurants on the horizon, monk milk, Bub & Grandma's pizza, wines by the glass, Montecito dinners, Disfrutar vs. Somni, how to gain 100 pounds, LA Times vs. NY Times food coverage, the bottled & filtered water thing, a new rating system, all sorts of shrimp cocktail talk, the schelp meter, Max working for Michelin full-time, bagels, Jordan's new coffee dilemma, orange wine, Post Ranch Inn pricing, Paso Robles, Bavel no longer respects the neck, and rest in peace Dan Tana.
Jordan talks with co-hosts Brad Metzger and chef Neal Fraser of LA Chef Conference, which is taking place October 6 in Los Angeles, and features a who's who of chefs and food industry notables to not only talk the major issues of the day, but to eat like royalty. And one of those bites will be an exclusive menu item designed by Jordan with all the shrimpy help from the team at Santa Monica Seafood. Then, Jordan is joined by Gather For Good, a charity taking care of community with hospitality, who together with Guittard Chocolate and a collection of the most talented pastry chefs in town, will be serving up a wild collection of desserts at the conference. And you can enter the lottery ticketing system for LA Chef Conference by following this link.
Jordan recounts a recent trip to the Wednesday Santa Monica Farmer's Market where it was all mangoes, peaches, pork, olives, and butter. But before that, an incredibly important croissant discussion goes down, sparked from a first time trip to Petitgrain Boulangerie. Then, Air Jordan's Japanese lover and Sushi Park hater Bubbles-san talks two new and different recent sushi experiences he respected in Los Angeles.
Jordan and Max are back, answering audience questions, and it's Tesla diner talk, Michelin idiots dissing Bavel, Dunsmoor dining room rules, cooking burgers, LA's lack of Indian food and our pizza era, Summertime assclocks, seasonal cocktails, 3 star desserts, tuna salad sandwiches vs. melts, Paris for normies, and do the fellas care about Cole's French Dip's impending closure?
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Comments (4)

Carson reeds

Save money while enjoying fresh, flavorful meals with Sweetgreen codes, which unlock discounts on salads, warm bowls, and seasonal menu favorites. You can visit here https://sweetgreensrestaurant.com/sweetgreen-promo-codes/

Feb 5th
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Holly Verbeck

Love this podcast that I just discovered! I really enjoyed the New York episode and learning about some of the best restaurants in the city. Looking forward to more episodes!

Oct 26th
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Guillermo Guerrero

great episode guys

Oct 3rd
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Guillermo Guerrero

loved how then review was handled. 💯💯💯

Oct 3rd
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