Feed Me’s first podcast, Expense Account, launched this morning. The show grew out of Jason Lee (formerly Semi Anonymous Restaurant Critic
)’s restaurant column of the same name — a sharp, funny, often deranged diary of New York restaurants that has become essential reading for anyone who wants to know what happens at the hardest tables to land in New York City (foie gras-washed Old Fashioneds and a $150 burger).A few months ago, while editing one of Jason’s pieces, I paused on a line that read “I’ll save that for the pod.” He didn’t have a podcast, but the phrase felt like a manifestation. I texted him: Do you want one? He said yes, so we made one.
This morning I looked through my inbox at my first email with Jason from July 2024. When I asked if he’d consider writing regularly for Feed Me, he replied with the pitch that started it all:
“I’m thinking the main thing will be ‘Expense Account’ where I write proper reviews of restaurants that I don’t normally cover on my Instagram. Business guy restaurants, the bistros, sushi spots and lounges. Patrick Bateman spots. You are a ‘business’ substack after all. I’ve wanted to do Indochine/Buddakan/Mr Chow forever. I’m thinking one of those will be my first. and maybe sometimes it’ll be a hypey restaurant, but I prefer to not be writing about places at the same time as other food writers.”
He delivered. Since Expense Account (the column) launched, he’s become a star within Feed Me’s universe. I love how Jason writes. He’s able to capture the spirit of a restaurant in a way that sets him apart from every other food writer I read. When I get the first draft of his columns, I imagine him sitting at a restaurant and proverbially scribbling away at his Notes app – I feel him tracking a meal from the moment his finger lands on the paper menu to the instant his fork plunges through the layered cake on his dessert plate, attentive to each layer in the way a pastry chef dreams each customer would be. And I think that’s why a lot of people are attracted to his work. Expense Account (the podcast) evolves Jason’s opinionated and plugged-in editorial content to a new medium that we believe will resonate with Feed Me readers and, more broadly, anyone who appreciates opinionated people who like talking about restaurants. Our first episode is with Alison Roman.
This is Feed Me’s first podcast, and I’m looking forward to working on more non-newsletter projects in 2026. If you’re interested in working together or have a guest idea, email emily@readfeedme.com.
The Expense Account podcast is built in partnership with Substack. New paid subscribers can get a free month of Feed Me in the Substack App by going to substack.com/Emily.
“Feels like the ‘Page Six’ for my food industry (in the best of ways). Insightful and fun. Always ahead of the game.” - Tamy, paid reader.
Glossier’s homepage had no makeup on it this morning. It did have keychains, lighters (people are upset they ditched the Pennsylvania-made Zippo lighters from last year) and cherry-shaped padlocks.
Wet Paint reported that The Met has a very new, modern coat check system. Max Hollein, the CEO of The Met, posted a photo with the caption, “We love old things, but our coat check from 1971 was ready for an upgrade in the age of AI. Here it comes - high-tech software! touchscreens! space optimization! doubled capacity! personalized pick up numbers! separate VIP service for members! Only our great security guards stayed the same! spend less time in line, and more looking at art!”
Dealbook’s 2025 lineup includes David Ellison, MrBeast, and Erika Kirk. I went last year, Andrew Ross Sorkin is a masterful host.
New York is getting a new party restaurant. When I was driving up 10th Ave by Chelsea Market this weekend, I noticed “opening soon” signs for a restaurant called Verde. The Yeeels Group has Verde restaurants in Dubai, St Tropez, and Paris already, and according to their site, they consider their restaurants, “a real playground for the international jet set.” Okay so it’s for people who can’t get into Casa Cipriani.
Jean-Georges Vongerichten hasn’t had a restaurant on the West Coast since his restaurant at the Waldorf Astoria closed in 2023. But Laurie Lynn Stark, the co-owner of Chrome Hearts, might be changing that. The fashion company known for leather and chains bought the Surfrider Hotel in Malibu for $37.5mm. In an interview with WSJ, Stark said Vongerichten might run the hospitality program at the 20-room hotel.
The Infatuation’s Best New Restaurants of 2025 list dropped this morning. I spoke to Editor in Chief Arden Shore last night and asked her about the state of the New York list. “In 2025, new restaurants tried hard to woo New York with cinnamon rolls, celebrity-made sandwiches, and Mexico City-inspired everything,” she told me. “We tracked over 900 openings this year and included 14 on our Best New Restaurants list. #1 is Smithereens, a seafood restaurant that’s less seaside cottage and more sexy submarine.” When I asked her if she had any thoughts about restaurants during holiday party season, she said, “New York City and its restaurants shine brightest during the holidays when everyone gets a little closer and cozier. Right now I have my eye on the red velvet, Lynchian private dining room at Bridges, without a doubt my holiday party pick.”
