Comfort food, with Danny Meyer

This weekend, we talk about when food feels like home. Lilah goes to lunch with the renowned restaurateur Danny Meyer, chief executive of Union Square Hospitality Group, which owns the likes of Gramercy Tavern and the $3bn Shake Shack empire. They eat at his favourite classic New York restaurant, Sparks, an old steakhouse where Meyer found an unlikely mentor in his early years. Over a shared sirloin, they consider what makes a place an institution. We also visit the historic Chinese province of Shanxi to learn about its legendary noodle arts, with listener Zhiwei Gao and award-winning FT food writer Fuchsia Dunlop.

Links from the episode: 

—Fuchsia Dunlop on the noodles of Shanxi: https://www-ft-com.ezp-prod1.hul.harvard.edu/content/86e7d353-27dc-4ce3-a60d-6304fc339571 

—Fuchsia’s culinary tour of North Korea: https://www-ft-com.ezp-prod1.hul.harvard.edu/content/1f9bbfc0-9d93-11e7-9a86-4d5a475ba4c5 

—Danny Meyer’s essay on Sparks: https://blog.resy.com/2021/09/the-most-amazing-things-can-happen-after-a-meal-at-sparks/ 

—More about Resy’s classics collaborations: https://blog.resy.com/2021/09/the-classics-remix-presented-by-american-express/

Want to say hi? Email us at ftweekendpodcast@ft.com. We’re on Twitter @ftweekendpod, and Lilah is on Instagram and Twitter @lilahrap. 

If you want a great discount on an FT subscription or a $1/£1/€1 month-long trial, we’ve got you: http://ft.com.ezp-prod1.hul.harvard.edu/weekendpodcast 

Mixing and sound design is by Breen Turner, with original music by Metaphor music. 

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