The restaurant industry is under pressure... and we have a few things to say about it. On this episode of Over Seasoned, we respond to The New York Times podcast The Daily's episode The Restaurant Industry Is Broken. Can It Be Fixed? and get into the big questions facing restaurants today: rising food costs, shrinking profit margins, the future of dining out, and what it really takes to run a sustainable restaurant.

From a Minneapolis restaurant experimenting with a pay-what-you-wish model to the idea that steakhouses are easy to operate, we unpack the realities of restaurant ownership and hospitality.

We get into: debates on whether delivery apps are worth the cost, why restaurant prices keep climbing, and how the pandemic changed the way people work, eat, and think about going out.

With decades of restaurant experience between us, we give you our own stories about running steakhouses, the economics of dining, and why making money matters if you want to keep doing what you love. We also tap into the growing divide between diners who can afford a $25,000 restaurant membership and families wondering how often they can afford to eat out.

It's a conversation about restaurant economics, hospitality, and the future of the restaurant industry, with plenty of opinions (naturally!), a few strong reactions, and one very expensive shrimp cocktail.

Listen to Over Seasoned for more conversations about food, restaurants, hospitality, and the people who make the industry tick.

Xavier and Tony are back on Over Seasoned to recap the dishes, restaurants, and culinary adventures that made their summer unforgettable. Summer eating has been very, very good to us... and naturally, we have a few things to say about it.We're talking Oysters Kilpatrick in Australia, live-fire cooking and freshly caught brook trout in the Idaho backcountry, grilled lobster drenched in Old Bay butter, wild mushrooms in Barcelona, and a Basque Country crab tartlet that might just make waiting in line worthwhile.Along the way, we get into the art of grilling for a crowd, cooking over an open fire, finding incredible local ingredients, and the restaurant experiences that remind you why food is worth traveling for. There's plenty of chef talk, questionable quantities of butter, a little culinary history, and the usual friendly debate over what makes a truly great dish.Plus: Check out the new Over Seasoned interactive map for restaurant recommendations, favorite spots, and travel guides from us and the other food nerds in our lives.Pull up a chair, pour yourself something good, and let's get into it.Welcome back to Over Seasoned... where the food is serious and the conversation rarely is.Explore more at Over Seasoned's website (overseasoned.us) and check out Over Seasoned TV for more food, chefs, and culinary adventures.Instagram: @overseasoned.us Website: https://www.overseasoned.us/Collab for this project: @saigonpodcaststudio

Saigon, Day Three... and it's all coming together. This episode of Over Seasoned comes to you straight from the incredible Saigon Podcast Studio, where Xavier and Tony unpack their first real deep dive into Vietnam’s food culture — from tiny plastic stools and alleyway pho shops to an ambitious Michelin-star tasting menu that somehow bleeds into a full-blown waxing poetic about herbs.

There’s more pho chronicling, tendon talk, tight-chair survival tactics, and ample Vietnamese coffee praise.

The guys also break down their dinner at Anan Saigon — a modern Vietnamese tasting menu experience blending French influence with local flavors — and compare it to some of the unforgettable tasting menus they’ve had across Thailand and Bogotá. Along the way: foie gras spring rolls, turmeric black cod, pigeon with sticky rice, and an ongoing jealousy toward the French table next to them.

Even though it's the final day... this somehow feels like just the beginning of the Vietnam food tour.