Rest in peace, "Food on Franklin."
Midday on Tuesday, Gawker released the second episode of its inaugural podcast, dedicated to absurd chatter about restaurants on Franklin Avenue in Crown Heights that is definitely too terrible to be real.
But just a few hours later, it became clear that the show’s second episode would likely be its last. On Tuesday afternoon Gawker announced that it will become a politics site, the New York Times reported. The media company also cut seven positions, including that of Taylor Berman, the co-host of “Food on Franklin," who had this to say afterwards:
anyone know of any open podcast gigs?
— Taylor Berman (@tcberman) November 17, 2015So, the world will never again hear the scalding hot takes of the self-described Franklin Avenue “celebrity,” including thoughts on popular Mexican eatery Chavela’s (“solid B-plus,” he said on Tuesday’s 40-minute episode) or leftovers from pizzeria Barboncino (“a good snack later that night [or] the next morning”).
But a question remains if his co-host, Gawker writer Hamilton Nolan, will take the wheel — or fork —on “Food on Franklin.”
On the recent episode, he offered some strong opinions on cheese quesadillas (they’re “pretty good everywhere,” he said), the weird pastries served for free at Chavela’s brunch and breakfast pizza:
“It’s not a real dish. What breakfast pizza is, is if you have a pizza restaurant and you look up and down Franklin Avenue every weekend morning and there’s a thousand people out there eating brunch and you’re like, ‘How can we get in on this scam?’ ... and all you have is a pizza restaurant, you’re like, ‘We’re going to make a pizza and put some eggs on it.’”
The two hosts hoped to keep the show alive for at least another season or two, they said at the end of Tuesday’s episode before the news of the Gawker layoffs was announced.
Now, Crown Heights residents may never again get “insider tips” from the pair, such as asking for special "herb butter" on your Barboncino pizza. Who knew?
But for now, local foodies will have to make do with another neighborhood food podcast in the works; shortly after the news of Berman's firing came out, two kosher foodies from the area released "Food on Kingston Avenue," an answer to Gawker's short-lived show. You can listen to that here:
