Show 656, December 6, 2025: Gelson’s Kitchen with Corporate Executive Chef Tony Dang

Tony Dang Corporate Executive Chef or Gelson's

Our guest, Tony Dang, is the Corporate Executive Chef for the 27 Gelson’s stores in Southern California. Every location has a Gelson’s Kitchen where shoppers can get everything from fresh coleslaw to full meals mostly all prepared in the onsite kitchen. On offer are full Hanukkah and Christmas meals or all the components available separately. There are also a variety of enticing chef-created meals to-go. Most stores even have an onsite sushi chef.

Chef Tony also conducts interactive cooking classes and demonstrations as well as cooks for in-store wine-paired dinners.

The newest Gelson’s will be opening in January in Toluca Lake. It’s a pocket market with a walk-up window for coffee and breakfast, seating for lunch and an indoor and outdoor fine wine and tapas bar.

“On a warm summer morning in July 1951, two boyishly enthusiastic young men wrote the stirring first paragraph of an ongoing and endlessly appetizing story, as they cut the ribbon on the very first Gelson’s supermarket. The Burbank store may have been distant in miles but not in spirit from founders’ Eugene and Bernie Gelson’s parents’ Iowa grocery store, where the boys learned the importance of exemplary customer service — which to them meant giving every last person who walked in the door the very best in quality, selection, and value.”

Show 608, December 21, 2024: The Milky Way, Los Angeles – Latke To-Go Kits and Lights & Latkes Dinner

Stephanie Wilson of Milky Way LA

NOTE: Due to technical issues at KLAA, the majority of hour two was not recorded and we don’t have podcast segments for segments 6-8. The SoCal Restaurant Show apologizes for the inconvenience.

“Opened in 1977 by Bernie & Leah (Spielberg) Adler, The Milky Way is a storied, family-owned Kosher Dairy restaurant located in the heart of the Pico-Robertson neighborhood of Los Angeles. Their New American menu is a celebration of California’s bounty of fresh, seasonal produce and sustainably-sourced seafood, carefully selected and thoughtfully prepared. Now under the ownership of the next generation of Spielbergs, The Milky Way continues to be a gathering place for locals and visitors alike, as well as a tribute to the family’s beloved mother Leah, warmly known as LeeLee. Her adventurous spirit and tireless sense of hospitality imbue everything from the décor to the menus to the way The Milky Way treats their guests—as she would—like family.”

For Hanukkah The Milky Way is offering Executive Chef Phil Kastel’s Latke To-Go Kits. It’s a dozen latkes with sour cream and house-made apple compote packaged in The Milky Way’s custom blue tulip boxes. Available from December 25th to January 2nd, 2025. Curbside pickup or order via Milky Way’s site or DoorDash.

On Wednesday December 25th at 6:00 p.m. the first night of Hanukkah, The Milky Way is hosting a Lights & Lakes Dinner with a festive Menorah Lighting. The Hanukkah menu specials feature premium Israeli wine, their soon-to-be famous Latkes, Chef Phil’s seasonal specials, and sufganiyot jelly doughnuts.

General Manager Stephanie Wilson is our guide to all the Holiday doings at The Milky Way.

Show 9, December 15, 2012: Jet Tila, William Lewis and Chef Elizabeth Whitt Part One

To get the party going Jet asked each of the panelists to share their holiday food traditions of Christmas and Hanukkah.

Chef Elizabeth then offered some suggestions for holiday hors d’oeuvres including Brie and Truffle Oil Tartines with Chives. All of Elizabeth’s hors d’oeuvre recipes are available on her Web site.

William then suggested festive wine pairings for the hors d’oeuvres.