This Week on Good Food: Decoding the Japanese Supermarket, Zinfandel 101, Queso

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Jim Russell, accompanied by his service dog, Beau, in the facility where he processes macadamias at his farm in Fallbrook. 12/29/12 © David Karp
Jim Russell, accompanied by his service dog, Beau, in the facility where he processes macadamias at his farm in Fallbrook. 12/29/12 © David Karp (The original image is no longer available, please contact KCRW if you need access to the original image.)

Are you intimidated when you shop at a Japanese grocery store? Cookbook author Andrea Nguyen guides us through the aisles of dried mushrooms, soy sauce and tofu at Mitsuwa Market and kimchi producer Lauryn Chun explains how to incorporate kimchi into familiar dishes. Gustavo Arellano takes us to the oldest Iraqi restaurant in Orange County while Jonathan Gold focuses on the upscale Tex Mex at Bar Ama in downtown LA. Zinfandel gets a new look from Good Food wine-guru Stacie Hunt and food historian Andrew Smith offers a quick history of both beer and soda in America. At the market Chef James Trees tells Laura Avery about the “culinary incubator” called This is Not a Pop Up and notes pomologist David Karp tells the story of macadamia nut farmer Jim Russell.