Ali Khan
Finally, I’ll throw Bribery Bakery, the Austin snack
segment, in there. On paper I wouldn’t touch anything
with pineapple in it unless it came with a mug of rum,
but the blonde butter blondie changed my mind. It was
ridiculously decadent and since shooting there I have
come up with multiple excuses to make repeat visits
since they opened a second location 10 minutes from my
house. In the land of BBQ and breakfast tacos, Austin has
managed to create a dining scene with serious culinary
chops that fits the laid back motif. An ex-pastry chef from
Per Se is making cupcakes 10 minutes from my door? Call
me a regular.
FT: Has there ever been a time on
the show so far where you thought
that you may go over-budget? What
city was hardest to scope out?
I guess the obvious answer is Charleston, because we
did go over budget there! Charleston was also a bit of a
challenge because even though it has an amazing food
scene, much of it is beyond our price point and many
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FoodTraveler l Winter 2016
shows have visited restaurants there. One factor that most
people don’t think about is that we are looking for new
restaurants to be featured and when you consider the price
point we are aiming for, it can be slim pickings. Miami and
Charleston were both tough in this aspect because they both
were featured heavily on television. Places like Chicago
are teeming with restaurants, many new ones popping up,
which makes it a relatively easier town. It’s never too easy,
which is the point, but Charleston and Miami were tough
ones from this last season.
FT: What types of food do you make for
the family at home? Do you incorporate
your fun findings into everyday meals?
We grill a lot. In fact we try and cook meat and fish outdoors
almost exclusively. We watch a lot of sports at home; my wife’s
family is from Philadelphia and they are obsessed with every
team, so we will make fun meals for the games like ballpark
night hot dogs and cheesesteaks if the Phillies or Eagles are
playing. When the Copa America games were on, we would
make meals inspired by the countries that were playing like
Jerked chicken for Jamaica or Asado for Argentina (I could