Podcast Summary

Podcast: The Church of What's Happening Now: The New Testament
Episode: The Jew Snapped
Host: Joey Coco Diaz
Co-Host: Lee Syatt
Guest: Bianca from Brooklyn
Date: December 2, 2025

Overview

In this lively, food-obsessed episode, Joey Diaz and Lee Syatt are joined live in NYC by Bianca from Brooklyn. The conversation blends old-school New York/Italian-American food traditions, neighborhood nostalgia, social media’s impact on eating, and the shifting landscape of Brooklyn eateries. The trio bring passionate, hilarious, and heartfelt takes on cooking, family, and the joy (and aggravation) of modern food culture.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Proper Italian Names, Accents, and First Impressions

• Joey kicks off with his trademark energy, immediately misnaming Bianca, leading to contagious laughter and setting a casual, friendly tone.

  “How fucking embarrassing is this right off the bat?” — Joey (00:52)

2. Food, Family, and Authenticity

• Bianca shares how she learned to cook from her mother, with family meals every night, and stresses the old-school rule: never order pasta at an Italian restaurant—it’ll never match your family’s sauce.

  “We were trained. If we had to go anywhere, like an Italian restaurant for dinner, you don’t order the pasta ... Their sauce will never be as good as the sauce you have at home.” — Bianca (06:29)

• Joey reminisces about his Italian neighbors’ food rules and Sunday dinners, noting generational shifts and nostalgia for “real Brooklyn.”

  “That generation would not go out to eat Italian food if they ate exotic Chinese. Yeah, that’s as exotic as they got.” — Joey (06:16)

3. The Evolution (and Survival) of Brooklyn Food Shrines

• Bianca and Joey list their favorite classic Italian spots (e.g., Ortobello, Michael’s of Brooklyn, Brooklyn Roots) and the legendary Crispy Pizza.

  “Crispy! My hands down, they do something ... They got the quality, they got the consistency ... and they got the selection.” — Bianca (16:45)

• Discussion on viral social media pizza shops, overwhelming lines, and the challenges old-school places face amid changing demographics and trends.

4. Pizza: Slices, Styles, and Sacrilege

• The art of the slice: Joey rails against chicken bacon ranch and “creepy” pizzas, refusing to acknowledge anything but classic cheese and true Sicilian.

  “I don’t want that person in my store ever ... It’s never been fucking cool to put ranch on a fucking pizza.” — Joey (89:11)

• Lee describes fat-guy food heaven, but all agree baked ziti, a well-made cutlet, and straightforward, honest pizzas are unbeatable.

  “If I only had one Italian thing for the rest of my life and it was baked ziti, I'd be happy.” — Lee (98:51)

5. Chinese Food: Neighborhood Staple, Urban Legend

• Brooklyn Chinese takeout—Red Bowl, Szechuan Delight—gets praise as a family standby; Joey notes the near-impossibility of duplicating real Chinese flavor at home.

  “It’s something I could never recreate perfectly ... of course it’s gonna be one of those things you’re like, holy shit, I want Chinese food.” — Bianca (41:16)

• The arc from $4.99 combination platters to $20 lunch specials highlights urban change.

• Urban legends surface—pigeons gone missing, rumors of “cats in the dumplings”—with tongue-in-cheek skepticism.

6. The Changing Face of Brooklyn

• Bianca laments the impact of gentrification on local food, bitterness over Domino’s delivery in a neighborhood filled with heritage, and the internet’s outsized role in picking “the best.”

  “People go there, promote it, it may help them out ... but then the old guy gets overshadowed ... they don’t understand the power of [social media].” — Bianca (57:13)

• Diker Heights Christmas lights bring crowds, food trucks, and neighborhood bathroom debacles.

• Rants about line-waiting for food, lost mom-and-pop shops, and the end of certain traditions.

7. Cooking at Home, Portion Control, and Diets

• Bianca navigates cooking for a hungry household, calorie bombs, bake-offs, and the hazards of keeping holiday sweets around.
• Joey rails against changes in store-made salads, cold cuts, and chicken cutlets—demanding proper technique and ingredients.

  “If I went to a supermarket ... I was buying chicken cutlets. I threw them all away. [...] There are levels to a chicken cutlet, Jack!” — Joey (63:25)

8. Restaurant Loyalty and The Magic of Old Joints

• Joey describes the “magic” of becoming part of a restaurant’s family—the feeling that’s missing in new, Instagram-driven spots.

  “It’s not even the food. It’s the magic in this restaurant ... at one point you’re like, you know what? I’m with family ... That’s the magic of a restaurant.” — Joey (75:10)

9. Food Review Culture and Hesitation Toward Criticism

• Both Joey and Bianca express skepticism about online food influencers, and Joey’s discomfort at reviewing restaurants without candid credentials.

10. Personal Food Rituals and Memories

• From Joey’s elaborate egg-yolk-and-butter bread breakfasts (102:15) to Lee’s struggles with portion control, and Bianca’s generational recipes, all three share how meals tie deeply into memory and identity.

11. Community and Family Traditions

• The necessity and joy of gathering at the table, freezing pasta for guests, and always having something “in the freezer” for the unexpected.
• Memories of grandmothers, basement smells, and English muffin pizzas.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Bianca (on authenticity):
  “People are always gonna have a stupid comment ... I’m like, listen, I grew up eating this shit. I don’t care what you think is authentic.” (23:03)
• Joey (on food snobbery):
  “Some people think they’re pizza experts now—shut the fuck up!” (18:26)
• On changing Brooklyn:
  “They got food trucks now on the avenue. People are complaining, people are hopping people’s fences to go piss in their driveway. There’s no bathrooms ... it’s wild.” — Bianca (51:59)
• On lost restaurants:
  “When a place like that closes, I get sad like an actor died... like a family member died.” — Lee (84:00)
• On Domino’s defeat:
  “Imagine having a pizzeria for 30 years ... and you see these three college kids walk by with two Domino’s pizzas. That would take the heart out of me.” — Joey (55:03)

Timestamps for Important Segments

| Timestamp | Segment | |------------|------------------------------------------------------| | 00:03-02:00| Intros, Bianca joins, classic Joey banter | | 05:04 | “Who taught you how to cook?” (Family & Food Trad.) | | 06:29 | Pasta rules at restaurants—a family edict | | 08:01 | Best old-school Italian Brooklyn restaurants | | 14:28 | Crispy Pizzeria deep-dive: lines, style, selection | | 16:32 | Favorite specialty and sandwich orders | | 20:06 | Food obsessions: switching up go-to Italian orders | | 23:03 | Authenticity, “progressive” recipes & pushback | | 41:03 | Brooklyn’s Chinese Food: History, favorites, myths | | 51:56 | Diker Heights lights, gentrification, food trucks | | 55:03 | Domino’s and the heartbreak of old shops closing | | 57:13 | Social media’s impact on neighborhood businesses | | 75:04 | Restaurant magic and loyalty | | 84:00 | Grief over closed restaurants; emotional stakes | | 102:15 | Joey’s ultimate breakfast: egg yolks and bread |

Flow, Tone, and Takeaways

• The vibe is as raw and flavorful as the food—laugh-out-loud, deeply nostalgic, and highly opinionated.
• Joey’s delivery is brash and affectionate, leaning into old-school immigrant humor, Lee plays the relatable everyman, and Bianca embodies generational pride, adaptability, and culinary creativity.
• The episode is a loving ode to food as memory, belonging, and identity—peppered with rants about what’s lost, what’s delicious, and what’s worth fighting to keep.

For Listeners Who Missed the Episode:
If you love food, family stories, and classic New York rants, this episode is a feast. You’ll come away craving a slice, calling your mother, and maybe even shedding a tear for the neighborhood pizza joint you took for granted.

Find Bianca:

• Instagram, YouTube, TikTok: [@BiancafromBrooklyn]

Closing Words:
“We told you to be prepared. Did you listen to me? Fuck no. You bought tickets to go see the Rangers. Go fuck yourself.” — Joey (107:17)

“Have a great week. See you next week. Stay black.” — Joey (108:43)