Sharing Tasty Stories Through FoodNotes* — From left, Christina Le and Enrique Sandoval

Have you ever wondered why it’s called pico de gallo? Or tacos al pastor? Do you know how to turn honey into alcohol? Maybe you’ve looked at a huge pile of rice and thought, “It would be so much easier to eat this with my hands.”

Well, we thought that too!

When a small team of content creators at PBS Reno sat down and investigated these answers, we found that they weren’t so easy to find. So we decided to fix that ourselves through an online food series called FoodNotes*.

Hi! We are Christina Le and Enrique Sandoval. We’re co-hosts and co-producers of FoodNotes* on PBS Reno, an award-winning online series that highlights the facets of cultural cuisines that exist in our region. We visit a variety of establishments across Northern Nevada to dive into a specific culture or topic. The name FoodNotes* is a play on the word “footnotes.” As we explore a specific topic, words or phrases will be used in the conversation that the audience may not have heard of. This is an opportunity for a FoodNote, a visual footnote that explains the meaning and importance behind that word or phrase. You can watch right now on the PBS Reno YouTube Channel or at Pbsreno.org/foodnotes.

A jalapeño margarita drink from Mari Chuy’s Mexican Kitchen in Reno

We finished our first season back in the fall of 2024. We learned about so many different foods and cultures that exist in our region. We traveled from Reno to Elko to explore Basque family dining, North Indian thali, Ethiopian cuisine, and more! A lot happened along the way, even more than what we share in the show. So we both wanted to take a moment and reflect on our experience during the first season of FoodNotes*.

Enrique Finds Food Connections
For this show, I had a hope that I could contribute to a collective knowledge of the people in our community — it is a privilege to share the stories of these individuals and their cultures. The show creates an opportunity to point at food from all over the world and say, “Do you recognize this? Oh, this piece here is a little different, but not by much! Let me tell you how.” I wanted to show the ways foods can be closely related, especially through connections that aren’t obvious. We could bring people together by highlighting both what makes foods unique and the qualities they share in terms of their histories, ingredients, or regions of origin. Growing up, I never thought of how my tacos al pastor were related to Middle Eastern shawarma, nor did I think of how bonding with my friends over coffee resembled a centuries-old Ethiopian ceremony.

Tacos al pastor from Mari Chuy’s Mexican Kitchen

Lamb chop dish from The Star Hotel in Elko

My greatest experiences all include the different ways in which we demonstrate our humanity through food. In the search for different kinds of stories, I found the same qualities among all of them. Food is a way to pass down traditions, to socialize, and to creatively express ourselves. In particular, I’m comforted by how we use food to express love. We cook to say, “I love you” and to look after one another. Across many different cultures, one commonality is how food feels like friendship, both old and new. It feels like family. It feels like love.

A Natural Passion for Christina
A lot of my world involves food. My parents have worked as cooks, and quality time always centered on meals together. Another thing we’d do together was watch TV. My parents would watch a lot of travel food shows, where hosts would get to showcase regional cuisines in faraway countries I couldn’t yet name. Whenever I was asked, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” I always thought how great it would be to host one of those shows we watched.

Fast forward to last year (and much to my surprise), and I had an opportunity to share a love language that I feel most people understand right away. Cooking and sharing food have always been personal and approachable ways to connect as a community. With the show, I hope we’re able to share that connection — through storytelling and making space for those who want to share their passion.

I’m constantly learning through the show and hope that when someone watches, they, too, take away something they didn’t know before and bring us a bit closer in understanding one another.

Christina, Enrique, and Albert “Al” Sindlinger at Al Bee’s Pure Nevada Honey Co.

An iris (a stuffed and fried Sicilian brioche) from Dolce Caffé in Reno

So Many Stories to Tell
Season one was a great learning experience. We spoke to the owners of restaurants, big and small. It didn’t matter whether it was The Star Hotel and Bar in Elko, MariChuy’s Mexican Kitchen in Midtown Reno, Zagol Ethiopian Restaurant in South Reno, or even the little bustling Dolce Caffé in West Reno — everyone has a story, and food is often the center of it. We’re happy to share some of those stories and cuisines with anyone who watches.

Please come along and learn with us! FoodNotes* is available on the PBS Reno YouTube Channel and on our website, Pbsreno.org/foodnotes. It’s also available via broadcast on PBS Reno Channel 5.1.