Hey there, it's me, Jesse Tyler Ferguson.

You might know me from Modern Family, or maybe even saw me on Broadway, but I'm also a

foodie.

Oh, I hate that word.

I hate the word foodie, but you know what?

It is what I am, and I just got to embrace it.

I co-wrote a cookbook called Food Between Friends with my good friend, Julie Tainus.

I have hosted the James Beard Awards twice, but you know, who's counting?

Obviously me.

So sure, I love cooking, but there's something about eating out at a really great restaurant.

First of all, there's a journey, you know, trying to beat LA traffic or deciding whether

you want to walk 10 blocks, even though it's 100 degrees.

You arrive and you instantly have to share the heroic feats involved to get to Republic

during an atmospheric river in Los Angeles.

I'm telling you, it wasn't easy, but the kimchi fried rice really was worth it.

Then there's the restaurant itself, the ambiance, the food, the history, and then you sit down

over this delicious meal, maybe with a martini or a glass of wine, and it suddenly feels

more intimate.

I mean, some of my favorite memories are the first dates that I had at the little Italian

restaurant in my neighborhood with my husband Justin, or even on set lunches when we were

shooting Modern Family that I would devour with my on-screen sister, Julie Bowen.

That's why, for my first podcast, I thought I would shake things up a little bit and take

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