The VICE Podcast Show is a weekly unedited discussion where we go inside the minds of some of the most interesting, creative, and bizarre people we come across. This week we talk to restaurateur and food personality Eddie Huang about his new book, Fresh Off the Boat: A Memoir and the first season of his VICE show that’s also called Fresh Off the Boat. Host Eddy Moretti and Eddie also covered such wide-ranging topics as philosophers, reading shit on the internet, and how Orlando is a city with all the bad parts of the south (i.e., racism) without the good things (i.e., pickled veggies).
In the season finale of Fresh Off the Boat, Eddie follows Chef Creole to the heart of Little Haiti, where food is paramount to the neighborhood’s Creole roots. They stop at Creole’s kitchen and trade techniques before grilling up a 100-pound pig and serving it up at a Dolphins tailgate. Bookending Fresh Off the Boat’s season finale, Creole’s clan brings Eddie out on Biscayne Bay to barbecue steak and vibe out Haitian-style.
Eddie links up with 2 Live Crew rapper Uncle Luke at Club Rol-Lexx in Opa-locka to taste what Luke thinks is the best BBQ in town. Guys come more for the food than the girls. After eating sauced up St. Louis-style ribs and smoked chicken, Eddie and the “Mayor of Miami” take a stroll to another of Luke’s hood favorites, the conch truck.
We catch a ride on the Bangbus for a drive through Hialeah, Florida with porn star Jada Stevens. Eddie takes Jada to the restaurant Morro Castle for his favorite fritas before witnessing her make a few unsuspecting guys’ days—or lives? Whatever. After work, Eddie and Jada wine and dine over Argentinian in South Beach and get real about the misconceptions of her career.
In this episode of Fresh Off the Boat, Eddie heads back to Taiwan to get heavy into the heavy metal scene—face paint, screaming lessons, and furry pink pillows. Along the way, Eddie makes a quick pit stop to taste Taiwan’s famous “little snacks” in Gongguan before debating the pros and cons of Taiwanese independence over a home-cooked meal with local metal group CHTHONIC.
Coming up on the next installments of Fresh Off the Boat’s Taiwan adventure, Eddie goes deep into Taiwan’s unique subcultures. He vibes out in the metal scene, judges a cosplay fashion show, and taste tests stinky tofu, all while learning how Taiwanese identity is defined.
In the first part of the LA episode, Eddie rolls through Tehrangeles and shops for Persian rugs that cost as much as cars, eats brain and tongue sandwiches, and tests out magical saffron ice cream before ending the night at Little Tehran’s most famed hookah spot.
In Fresh Off the Boat’s LA stop, Eddie Huang combs through the city’s crevices eating Mexican food and saffron ice cream, and barbecues with one of the most legendary lowrider clubs in town. LA never fails to bring the weird and unexpected to the table.
