Taste the Nation with Padma Lakshmi Season 2 Episodes

Episode 1

Ketchup or No Ketchup

Fri, May 5, 2023

Padma gets to the heart (and stomach) of Puerto Rico's fight for independence by examining a surprisingly controversial topic: does ketchup belong on the beloved Puerto Rican dish pasteles?

Episode 2

From Kabul with Love

Fri, May 5, 2023

On the heels of America's longest war coming to an end, Padma joins the Afghan American community in DC as they welcome new arrivals over feasts that remind them of the Afghanistan they left behind, and what can be built anew.

Episode 3

Padma and the Beanstalk

Fri, May 5, 2023

Appalachia is reinventing itself through its most beloved resource--food. Padma eats her way through the Mountain South, unearthing the inventive recipes, humble ingredients, and complex history--picking up some banjo along the way.

Episode 4

The Borscht Identity

Fri, May 5, 2023

Padma heads to New York's Brighton Beach and the East Village to learn why the debate over who really created borscht symbolizes a larger fight for Ukrainian identity.

Episode 5

Fufu for the Win - Houston, TX

Fri, May 5, 2023

Episode 6

Ube in the Bay - Daly City, CA

Fri, May 5, 2023

During Taste the Nation with Padma Lakshmi on "Ube in the Bay", Lakshmi visits the San Francisco Bay Area and specifically Daly City, California, a city with a large Filipino population, in order to try local Filipino-American cuisine. Included are visits to Jollibee, Cafe 86, The Sarap Shop, and Abacá. Critical care nurse and second generation Leslie Solorzano shared a family recipe for "Sinigang", a traditional sour soup. The Balikbayans band lead singer, Ruby Ibarra highlights how music pushes to strengthen the diaspora community. They discuss many topics about Filipino culture, history, and the diaspora, as well as issues of cultural food shame, the diversity of ingredients, internal colonization, and the effects of colonization on Filipino cuisine.

Episode 7

Greeks on the Gulf - Tarpon Springs, FL

Fri, May 5, 2023

Episode 8

On the Tip of my Kreung - Lowell, MA

Fri, May 5, 2023

In the symbolic heart of America's industrial past, Padma travels to Lowell, Massachusetts and sees how Cambodian immigrants (and their cooking) have become the backbone for the revival of this New England town.

Episode 9

Halal from Dearborn - Dearborn, MI

Fri, May 5, 2023

Episode 10

Ciao New York - New York City, NY

Fri, May 5, 2023