Serious XM Podcasts.

Hey everyone, Dan here with another reheat, and this one is one that, you know, even all the years since this episode came out, people still come up to me and ask me about it.

They tell me that it's one of their all-time favorites, so I'm really excited to share it with you today. It's my conversation with Gustavo Alvarez. He's the author of the cookbook Prison Ramen, recipes and stories from behind bars. Now, when we spoke, Gustavo told me about how he connected with people over food during his time as an inmate. First as a teenager, then again in his 30s.

Gustavo also explains how to make terriaki sauce using commissary ingredients, and he tells an

incredible story about a riot that broke out when he was in prison and the role that food

played in a pivotal moment in that very scary situation.

Remember, if there's an older episode of this porkful, you want us to reheat, drop me a line. We take requests. I'm at hello atsporkful.com.

Thanks so much and enjoy. When Gustavo Alvarez was 18, he was convicted of assault with a firearm

and sent to prison for the first time.

On the day he arrived, he was met by a group of guys like him, Hispanic men from West L.A.

They took him to a common area and sat him down at a table.

My heart is pounding through my chest. I just turned 18. I was just, you know, peach for us on the lip.

I was a kid, you know,

and these dudes were grown men, killers. And what they do is they have a spread,

which is just like a meal, potluck or whatnot. And then that meal is where they're going to get to

know you. They're going to get to read you. They're going to get to figure out who you are.

Gustavo, or Goose, as he's known, was served a plate of makeshift cheesy tacos. And the older guys at this meal were trying to answer one question. Can we trust this kid? They already know if you're a snitch. They'll know that because you'll never make it to the table. You feel me? They'll have somebody stab you before you get there. And of course, they question me to see if I'm honest. And of course, 100% honest. And, you know, that causes him to say, okay, he's good. And once you have that blessing is good, then the schooling begins. The first lesson Goose learned, prison is tribal. A lot of people say, oh, well, I'm not racist. Yeah, neither am I, but guess what? If you want to survive, you have to run with your people, man. You have to take care of your own. And it's sad because, you know, I have a lot of brothers and friends and, you know, they're obviously not my race, but they're my family. But when it comes

down to prison, all that is left at the door. And it's a sad experience because you're bred

to hate. And that hate is what protects you in there. And it saved my life many times.

The older guys in the West L. West LA crew taught Goose more specific survival skills.

If you're not a good fighter, you better use some steel, a weapon.

And in most cases, they teach you how to, first of all, how to cut the weapon,

...