RATF Classic: #409 Lalo Camarena - Now at The Malarkey, when he was at República
Release Date: 07/31/2026
#458 Chris' Fish and Chips Update
Right At The Fork
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...
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RATF Classic: #409 Lalo Camarena - Now at The Malarkey, when he was at República
Right At The Fork
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...
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#457 James Malarkey - The Malarkey and Hawkeye & Huckleberry
Right At The Fork
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. ...
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#456 David Sigal - Gabbiano's & James Beard Public Market
Right At The Fork
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...
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#455 Carrie Welch - Where is she now? Professor | formerly of Little Green Pickle and Feast Portland
Right At The Fork
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...
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ENCORE - #454 Richard Matusow - Carioca Bowls
Right At The Fork
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...
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#454 Richard Matusow - Carioca Bowls
Right At The Fork
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...
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#453 - @GarytheFoodie and Portland's 2026 James Beard Award Winners
Right At The Fork
Right at the Fork is made possible by: Zupan's Markets: RingSide SteakHouse: Portland Food Adventures: 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...
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#452 Piyanut (PJ) Sampaotong - Hua Hin
Right At The Fork
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: RingSide SteakHouse: Portland Food Adventures:
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RATF Classic: #450 Jaco Smith - Lechon
Right At The Fork
It's an instant classic with Jaco Smith! Listen for details on how you can travel with Chef Jaco and Chris Angelus to South Africa. ORIGINAL EPISODE POST: In our first episode where we discuss the influence of Apartheid on a guest, Jaco Smith talks about his remarkable journey from South Africa, where his mother cooked for diplomats when he was a child, to cruise ships and high end hospitality in the USA deep south, to Portland and Lechon. If anyone is interested in going deeper into this podcast, why not travel with Jaco and have HIM take you to the places that mean so...
info_outlineWe 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!
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Right at the Fork is supported by:
Zupan's Markets: www.zupans.com
RingSide SteakHouse: www.RingSideSteakhouse.com
Portland Food Adventures: www.PortlandFoodAdventures.com