Right at the Fork

Hosted by RATF

Business Arts FoodInterviews guests

Website RSS feed Facebook Instagram

Episodes

100

Latest episode

Aug 2026

Language

About the show

Think Portland, Oregon is all VooDoo Doughnuts and "put an egg on it?" One of Portland's most prominent "food sherpas" and Portland Food Adventures' founder Chris Angelus along with co-host Cort Johnson invite the region's most prominent and up-and-coming tastemakers to pull up a chair and talk about the craft of food & beverage in their own words. This is "Right at the Fork."

Listen to episodes

60 recent

August 15, 20261 hr 17 min

RATF Classic: #448 Maylin Chavez - Nacar and Travel to Oaxaca

We look back at our conversation from earlier this year with Maylin Chavez. Right at the Fork is supported by: Zupan's Markets: www.zupans.com RingSide SteakHouse: www.RingsideSteakHouse.com Portland Food Adventures: www.PortlandFoodAdventures.com It's a pleasure to have Maylin Chavez join us again. This time, we talk about her latest venture, Nacar, and how she enjoys doing pop ups now versus owning her own brick and mortar restaurant. Maylin goes into her background starting in the Baja region in Mexico, what life was like as a child there, and then studying to go into social criminology, until she realized her passion was cooking. The last half of the podcast is dedicated to a discussion on Maylin's love of travel, and specifically here, Oaxaca, as host Chris Angelus and Chef Maylin are curating a trip there next January, through Chris' venture, Portland Food Adventures. https://www.portlandfoodadventures.com/oaxaca2027 https://www.nacaroysters.com/

August 7, 202630 min

#458 Chris' Fish and Chips Update

Host Chris Angeles revisits his favorite fish and chips spots along the Oregon coast, sharing updates and new favorites after a decade. Discover the best places to enjoy fresh seafood, explore coastal towns, and plan your next coastal trip. Listen to the whole episode for a rundown of a over a decade of Chris' faves. ORIGINAL POST Host Chris Angelus loves his fish and chips, and has a few faves ranging 330 miles up and down the Pacific Northwest coast from Port Orford, OR to South Bend, WA. He shares a half dozen, but recommends three places he deems worthy of a day trip from Portland, for those who travel to eat well. One's a nice restaurant, another a dive, and last but not least, a food truck. Locations mentioned in this podcast include: Linda's - South Bend, WA Bowpicker - Astoria, OR Ecola Seafoods - Cannon Beach, OR Old Oregon Smokehouse - Rockaway, OR J's - Lincoln City, OR Gracie's Sea Hag - Depoe Bay, OR Local Ocean Seafoods - Newport, OR Geno's Ocean Bleu - Newport, OR South Beach Fish Market - Newport, OR LunaSea - Yachats, OR Crazy Norwegian - Port Orford, OR Right at the Fork is supported by: Zupan's Markets: www.zupans.com RingSide SteakHouse: www.RingSideSteakhouse.com Portland Food Adventures: www.PortlandFoodAdventures.com

July 31, 20261 hr 16 min

RATF Classic: #409 Lalo Camarena - Now at The Malarkey, when he was at República

We look back at our conversation with Chef Josa Lalo Camarena - now at the Malarkey, when he was at República. Original post from February 2025. This is a must-listen. Chef Jose Camarena, Executive Chef at Portland's highly regarded República, may just be the youngest guest of over 400 on our podcast. But you wouldn't know it if we hadn't drawn attention to that fact. At just 24, he's in a position few others are at his age, and it's easy to see how he got as far as he's gotten at such a young age. We talk about his family Sunday dinners, how he became interested in the food industry and how his family lineage of hard work in horse grooming instilled in him the grit to work hard to reach success in a tough industry We cover some of the places he's worked, who Lalo's Portland mentors have been, including chef Lauro Romero, who passed away two years ago, leaving a huge hole in many hearts. Chef Lalo will be appearing at Steelport Knife Company on 2/22 in the first of a series of knife skills classes Steelport is putting on at their Sandy Blvd factory, where you can meet him and learn some helpful knife skills. Stay tuned to Right at the Fork for interviews with more Steelport chefs. We also talk about his Mazatlan favorite places, as well as his faves in Portland. And we wish him well with his wedding coming up in March! https://www.mexico-forward.com/ @lalocamarena_ @republicapdx @steelportknifeco Right at the Fork is supported by: Zupan's Markets: www.zupans.com RingSide SteakHouse: www.RingSideSteakhouse.com Portland Food Adventures: www.PortlandFoodAdventures.com

July 24, 20261 hr 33 min

#457 James Malarkey - The Malarkey and Hawkeye & Huckleberry

A fun interview, James Malarkey joins Chris to discuss his family history from his great grandfather's lumber company beginnings, which led to Portland's Malarkey Roofing, to now, the opening of The Malarkey in the former Oba! space in the heart of Portland's Pearl District. James talks about his celebrity-chef brother's culinary journey. which has its roots planted in culinary school in Portland. From there to San Diego, with a bevy of restaurants, to Bend, when James began partnering with his brother and now The Malarkey, opening the last day of July, 2026. James also brings us through the chronology of events in Portland that led to opening this quite large undertaking—a 285-seat restaurant in the midst of a very competitive and vast restaurant city—including the hiring of former Republica chef Lalo Camarena. James also shares some of the details that will play to the Portland theme of the restaurant. We also talk about another venture of James', Portable Dwelling Company and how he's building that. Host Chris and James are connected through James' mother-in-law, who is also Chris' girlfriend. :-) (This connection happened outside of Chris' involvement in the food world, and it's also touched on here.) James has led quite an interesting life. You'll get a taste of that here. web: themalarkeypdx.com Insta: @themalarkeypdx Right at the Fork is made possible by: Zupan's Markets: www.zupans.com RingSide SteakHouse: www.RingSideSteakhouse.com Portland Food Adventures: www.PortlandFoodAdventures.com

July 17, 20261 hr 27 min

#456 David Sigal - Gabbiano's & James Beard Public Market

Gabbiano's and Gabby's David Sigel takes some time to share his journey from studying Chinese history at Lewis and Clark, and then his experience working at a club in Beijing. After his eyes opened to the food scene with visits to places like Clyde Common and Olympic Provisions, he was drawn bac to working at and opening restaurants in Portland. We talk about what's changing in restaurant economics, including a shift from cocktails. Since David is on the Board of the James Beard Public market, he shares his enthusiasm and some details about what's exciting about that project, and how it may revitalize the downtown area. gabbianospdx.com @gabbianospdx jamesbeardpublicmarket.com Right at the Fork is made possible by: Zupan's Markets: www.zupans.com RingSide SteakHouse: www.RingSideSteakhouse.com Portland Food Adventures: www.PortlandFoodAdventures.com

July 10, 20261 hr 37 min

#455 Carrie Welch - Where is she now? Professor | formerly of Little Green Pickle and Feast Portland

A blast from the past! Carrie Welch—former owner and operator of the PR firm Little Green Pickle and co-founder of Portland's world-class food festival, Feast Portland—joins us from Camillus, New York, to talk about her new career in academia. After leaving Portland when COVID-19 hit and closing her businesses, Carrie is now an adjunct professor at Syracuse University. In this episode, she discusses her early thoughts about becoming a teacher, and now living out that dream with her wife Jannie and two children outside of Syracuse, and what she misses most about the Portland food scene. We also dive into what she's teaching at Syracuse and her take on the current state of social media and AI. There's pizza, lobster rolls and a good dose of media to hear about. https://www.carrietwelch.com/ @Carriewelchlikethegrapejuice https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FXXV8N7P?lv=shuf&channelId=500&plpRedirect=mhFallback Right at the Fork is made possible by: Zupan's Markets: www.zupans.com RingSide SteakHouse: www.RingSideSteakhouse.com Portland Food Adventures: www.PortlandFoodAdventures.com

July 2, 20261 hr 5 min

ENCORE - #454 Richard Matusow - Carioca Bowls

We welcome Richard Matusow to the podcast to talk about his eye-opening journey to Rio de Janiero at the turn of the century, where he discovered the wonders of the superfood açai. That led to a new career. On his way to opening Carioca Bowls in Portland, he learned what he could about a açai, working for a premier company in the industry. Now, Carioca Bowls on Alberta, has a loyal following of healthy customers. Richard also fills us in on the celebration of his 11th year in business with a big party at the restaurant on June 28th. A week later, Carioca Bowls and Richard participate in the Portland Waterfront BluesFestival. Richard fills us in on some of the particulars for the Festival taking place July 2-4. Richard also shares some of his favorite Alberta haunts, and others in the area. www.cariocabowls.com @cariocabowls waterfrontbluesfest.com @waterfrontblues Right at the Fork is made possible by: Zupan's Markets: www.zupans.com RingSide SteakHouse: www.RingSideSteakhouse.com Portland Food Adventures: www.PortlandFoodAdventures.com

June 26, 20261 hr 11 min

#454 Richard Matusow - Carioca Bowls

June 19, 20261 hr 0 min

#453 - @GarytheFoodie and Portland's 2026 James Beard Award Winners

Right at the Fork is made possible by: Zupan's Markets: www.zupans.com RingSide SteakHouse: www.RingSideSteakhouse.com Portland Food Adventures: www.PortlandFoodAdventures.com Friend of the podcast Gary Okazaki joins us once again to lend his thoughts about the current Portland (and elsewhere) James Beard Award winners. No one is better qualified to discuss this than Gary, especially since two of his favorites in Portland won, Ryan Roadhouse of Nodoguro for Best Chef Northwest / Pacific and Scotch Lodge got the nod for Best Bar in the USA. We talk about those two places and their proprietors and also how the JBF Awards have changed over the years. @thenodoguro @ryan.nodoguro @elena_roadhouse @scotchlodge Listen to our episode with Ryan from from Nodoguro here: https://rightatthefork.com/shows/2015/4/15/48-ryan-roadhouse-nodoguro Listen to our episode with Tim from Scotch Lodge here: https://rightatthefork.com/shows/2019/9/19/215-tim-artale-scotch-lodge

June 12, 20261 hr 13 min

#452 Piyanut (PJ) Sampaotong - Hua Hin

We are joined by Piyanut of Hua Hin to discuss his journey toward opening and operating his fresh new Thai restaurant on Hawthorne Blvd. PJ talks about his mother's influence on his career, as well as some instances in Vancouver, BC that led to his professional growth. We enjoy a glimpse into the kitchen and Piyanut's philosophy for creating an atmosphere positive for both team members and guests. Instagram: Huahinpdx Right at the Fork is made possible by: Zupan's Markets: www.zupans.com RingSide SteakHouse: www.RingSideSteakhouse.com Portland Food Adventures: www.PortlandFoodAdventures.com

Is this your show?

Claim this listing to keep it up to date, reach guests who want to pitch you, and manage bookings with Guestify.

Claim this listing

More Business podcasts

MACRA

MACRA Website

Business

Right at the Fork

About the show

Listen to episodes

RATF Classic: #448 Maylin Chavez - Nacar and Travel to Oaxaca

#458 Chris' Fish and Chips Update

RATF Classic: #409 Lalo Camarena - Now at The Malarkey, when he was at República

#457 James Malarkey - The Malarkey and Hawkeye & Huckleberry

#456 David Sigal - Gabbiano's & James Beard Public Market

#455 Carrie Welch - Where is she now? Professor | formerly of Little Green Pickle and Feast Portland

ENCORE - #454 Richard Matusow - Carioca Bowls

#454 Richard Matusow - Carioca Bowls

#453 - @GarytheFoodie and Portland's 2026 James Beard Award Winners

#452 Piyanut (PJ) Sampaotong - Hua Hin

Is this your show?

More Business podcasts

One moment, please...

One moment, please...

Swallow Your Pride Podcast

One moment, please...

One moment, please...

MACRA