The BEST episodes of Taste the Nation with Padma Lakshmi
Every episode of Taste the Nation with Padma Lakshmi ever, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of Taste the Nation with Padma Lakshmi!
Host Padma Lakshmi takes audiences on a journey across America, exploring the rich and diverse food culture of various immigrant groups, seeking out the people who have so heavily shaped what American food is today.
#3 - The Gullah Way
Season 1 - Episode 4 - Aired 6/18/2020
The Gullah Geechee people of South Carolina are fighting to preserve the traditions passed down from their ancestors, West Africans forced into slavery. Padma catches and cracks crab with new friends and old, all working towards reclaiming their heritage.
Watch Now:Amazon
#5 - Fufu for the Win - Houston, TX
Season 2 - Episode 5 - Aired 5/5/2023
Padma's spice metre is put to the test by comedian Yvonne Orji and others when she travels to Houston, home to the largest Nigerian population in the U.S., where she gets an insider experience of Nigerian food and pride.
Watch Now:Amazon
#6 - Don't Mind if I Dosa
Season 1 - Episode 3 - Aired 6/18/2020
Padma asks family, friends and those she admires how they hold onto Indian culture and pass it to the next generation. In NYC, she cooks the dishes that remind her of her original home and tastes Indian foods near her current home.
Watch Now:Amazon
#9 - Ciao New York - New York City, NY
Season 2 - Episode 10 - Aired 5/5/2023
Padma reminisces about her years in Italy, where she experienced the spirit of "la bella vita," the beautiful life; hungry for some life balance, she turns to her Italian American friends in NY to reveal their secrets, starting with pizza.
Watch Now:Amazon
#10 - Burritos at the Border
Season 1 - Episode 1 - Aired 6/18/2020
El Paso was once part of Mexico. Its border location defines the region’s identity and the complexity of America’s political landscape. Padma eats her way through this border city while discovering the origins of one of America’s most beloved cuisines.
Watch Now:Amazon
#11 - Dancing in Little Lima!
Season 1 - Episode 8 - Aired 6/18/2020
Peruvian cuisine hasn’t quite had its moment on the American food scene, but Padma knows the power of a great bowl of ceviche. She visits Paterson, New Jersey, a Peruvian enclave, for a deeper look at this vibrant culture.
Watch Now:Amazon
#12 - What Is Chop Suey Anyway?
Season 1 - Episode 5 - Aired 6/18/2020
Chinese food is one of the most popular cuisines in the U.S. but the flavors of a vast country have been simplified over time. In San Francisco, Padma explores how Chinese immigrants and Chinese-Americans are broadening our understanding of this cuisine
Watch Now:Amazon
#13 - The Pad Thai Gamble
Season 1 - Episode 9 - Aired 6/18/2020
Las Vegas is home to one of the largest groups of Thai immigrants in the country, many of whom were women who came here after marrying American soldiers during the Vietnam War. Padma hears their stories over delicious food - Pad Thai is just the start.
Watch Now:Amazon
#14 - The Original Americans
Season 1 - Episode 7 - Aired 6/18/2020
What is the original American cuisine? Padma travels to Arizona to eat food that is indigenous to this land. She tries some surprising dishes and explores how Native Americans seek to reestablish a connection to the past in order to protect their future.
Watch Now:Amazon
#15 - Zen and the Art of Poke
Season 1 - Episode 10 - Aired 6/18/2020
Padma dives into Japanese culture, ubiquitous in Honolulu, to understand just how far their cultural footprint reaches. She slings fish and rolls sushi where a century and a half ago Japanese immigrants first docked on Hawaii’s shores.
Watch Now:Amazon
#17 - From Kabul with Love - Washington, DC
Season 2 - Episode 2 - Aired 5/5/2023
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.
Watch Now:Amazon
#19 - The All American Weiner
Season 1 - Episode 2 - Aired 6/18/2020
Hot dogs, hamburgers, pretzels… Many think these foods are quintessentially American, but their origins are actually German. In Milwaukee, Padma meets descendants of early German immigrants who hold onto their heritage by celebrating and reclaiming it.
Watch Now:Amazon