You have to really love food to create a food show. You also need to have a unique and personal take.

Sam E. Goldberg is the creator and host of “Respect the Chain,” a pop culture travel food show that dives into the stories behind America’s most iconic restaurant chains and the people – like Goldberg – who love them.

“Whether it’s Moe’s versus Chipotle, ketchup versus mustard, everybody’s got an opinion and everybody’s educated enough to discuss it,” Goldberg, who is team ketchup, told the Journal. “I put ketchup on my rice, I put ketchup on my eggs, I put ketchup on everything.”

An attorney who specializes in real estate law, Goldberg launched “Respect the Chain” about five years ago, during the pandemic. All the courts were shut down and he always wanted to host a food show, so he decided to give it a try.

“I started going to restaurants, ordering food and filming in my car,” Goldberg said. Once the restaurants started re-opening, he started filming in their kitchens, talking to chefs and trying new menu items. From the get-go, it was a lot of fun.

“It’s really a nice balance because, when you’re doing law, it’s extremely serious,” Goldberg said. “‘Respect the Chain’ is fun, it’s upbeat, you’re sharing passions.”

Goldberg is based in New York City, but loves traveling and exploring chain restaurants throughout the country and around the world.

“I love going to a chain … I like knowing that if I’m in Hawaii and I go to the Cheesecake Factory, it’s gonna taste the same as it does in New York,” he said. “So my friends would … never want to go to a chain restaurant; they’d say, ‘Sam, we can do better than that,” but my opinion was, ‘If it’s a chain restaurant, that means it’s good.’”

Goldberg always said to them, “Why don’t you respect the chain?” Hence, the title and concept for his show.

“My two top favorites are Cheesecake Factory and Panda Express,” he said. “If I’m traveling … you can’t do much better than an orange chicken, and then, the Cheesecake Factory is just a place [of] nostalgia.”

Cheesecake Factory was his high school and college haunt. Another favorite. Planet Hollywood, also evokes memories from his youth.

“For my bachelor party, I went to Orlando and I made everybody go to Planet Hollywood with me,” he said. “We all ordered the Captain Crunch chicken fingers.”

Goldberg also enjoys international chains, and seeing how they do things differently than their US versions: this applies to promotions, as well as the food they serve.

“Even McDonald’s Happy Meals are different from ours,” he said. Spain, for example, did an adult Happy Meal with “Friends” action figures as the toys.

Plus, there’s a trend on TikTok, um, where people who are traveling internationally, run to McDonald’s and KFC and film themselves going through the entire menu.

“Ironically enough, the menu items outside of America always seem better,” he said.

A recent “new” discovery for Goldberg is “Ratatouille,” the dish and the movie about the rat in Paris who becomes a chef, when he was at Disney World earlier this year.  Afterward, he got his mom’s recipe, which is below.

Growing up a Jewish New Yorker, Goldberg said a love of food is in his DNA. He’s a fan of New York delis – obviously – and he likes to share his Jewishness through his show. It’s especially important, since he remembers being a kid, wondering: where is all the Jewish stuff in the media?

“We had the Adam Sandler song, we had that one “Rugrats” episode for Passover, but that was pretty much it,” he said. “During the holidays, I always try to do Jewish episodes … If I’ve got a platform, I’m going to make sure everybody sees some Jewish content.”

When asked his favorite Jewish food, Goldberg again goes with a standard: matzo ball soup. He is also a fan of the pastrami Ruben at Katz’s deli. His bagel preference is a toasted raisin bagel with cream cheese. Nice, simple and easy.

“That’s why I like the chain restaurants, because you have a taste [and] you get to get that taste wherever you go,” he said.

Goldberg calls himself a creature of habit. And through his show, he makes being a creature of habit very entertaining.

Follow @RespectTheChain on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube.

For the full conversation, listen to the podcast:

Watch the interview:

Ratatouille

1 eggplant, sliced

1 zucchini, sliced

1 red bell pepper, diced

1 yellow bell pepper, diced

4 large ripe tomatoes, sliced

1 onion, chopped

3 tablespoons olive oil

1  large can crushed tomatoes

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1 teaspoon dried oregano

Garnish: Fresh basil leaves

In a large frying pan over medium heat, separately saute the eggplant, zucchini, peppers, onions and tomatoes in olive oil until they soften. While you can saute them together, it is better to do it separately, since they soften at different times.

Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).

In a small bowl, combine the crushed tomatoes, sauteed onion, salt, pepper, thyme and oregano. Mix  and then spread it evenly across the bottom of a baking dish.

In a circular pattern, alternate the eggplant, zucchini, bell peppers and tomatoes over the tomato base

Drizzle remaining olive oil over the top. Cover with foil or lid and bake for 30 minutes. Remove cover and bake an additional 15–20 minutes until vegetables are soft and edges are lightly caramelized.

Garnish with fresh basil and serve.

Debra Eckerling is a writer for the Jewish Journal and the host of “Taste Buds with Deb.” Subscribe on YouTube or your favorite podcast platform. Email Debra: tastebuds@jewishjournal.com.