The Cast Of The Bear Tell Us Their One Perfect Bite

Much of this final season of "The Bear" looks back on where the characters have been to understand how they got to this point. In episode four ("Ribs"), after Carmen (Jeremy Allen White) prepares a lamb tonnato (tonnato is a gourmet sauce made from a can of tuna), Sydney (Ayo Edebiri) tells him it's the "second-best bite I've had in a long time." When he asks her, "What was the first best?" She tells him it was a grapefruit scallop dish at the restaurant Empire, where Carmy used to work.

It's a lovely bonding moment for two characters that have grown apart and come back together, showing mutual respect for each other's work. With that idea, that the "best bite" of food can bring us into some of our fondest food memories, we exclusively asked the cast of "The Bear" about the best bite of food they've had in their own lives.

For someone who has played a chef with an extremely elevated palate for five seasons, actress Ayo Edebiri keeps things simple in her real life. However, both Sydney and Edebiri's sense of innovation remains consistent. Her "best bite" ever is not one particular meal, but something anyone can recreate when they go out to the movies — or even at home. For those of you who like your snacks both salty and sweet, with just a little bit of mess, Edebiri has the perfect idea.

Edebiri explains, "I like movie theater popcorn with plain M&M'S. When you kind of get to the end, or like the middle, so the popcorn is still hot, but the M&M'S are slightly melty."

With the heat wave settling over most of the country this summer, it seems like no better time to dip into a cool movie theater and grab your own Ayo Edebiri-recommended concoction! Maybe try a different flavor of M&M's, just to personalize your batch.

It's good to have friends who are at the top of their profession, especially in the culinary world. If you know anything about Momofuku chef, restaurateur, and five-time James Beard Award-winner David Chang, you know that he is a wildly successful and respected individual who gets his seasoning right every time. Brian Koppelman, who plays The Computer on "The Bear," happens to be friends with him. Additionally, Koppelman is also friendly with another acclaimed James Beard Award-winning chef — Kwame Onwuachi, owner of Afro-Caribbean restaurant Tatiana.

When Koppelman had the chance to dine at both of these celebrated chefs' personal homes, you know it was a memorable experience — and he couldn't choose his favorite bite between them. Koppelman explains his first best bite as more of a full meal: "David Chang had us over to his house with his wife a couple years ago. And every single thing that Dave cooked, that were home versions of what he would prepare in the restaurant, for his kids too — it was made with so much love and attention. Utterly mind-blowing." When we asked if there was something specific in the meal he recalled, he simply said "a pork-focused dish."

As for the Kwame Onwuachi meal, Koppleman recalled that he also went to the chef's house, where he was served the "filling that's in the goat patties at Tatiana ... [and] dirty rice on a plate." He described the experience similarly as "the single best thing I've ever eaten in my entire life."

Before joining the cast of "The Bear," actor and producer Matty Matheson was already a prolific chef, restaurant owner, and TV personality, creating two of his own food-related shows. Matheson has had the chance to taste many dishes over the years, and his character of Neil Fak has grown into an indispensable member of the core cast, also indulging in some high-end meals. However, Matheson's best bite harkens back to a family tradition.

When asked where his best bite comes from, Matheson says, "Honestly, I think just going to the lobster pound with my Grampy in PEI." He describes getting "a bunch of lobsters, a bunch of mussels, and just like steaming [them] in his driveway." He loved getting full on fresh seafood with bread and butter. You can imagine the Faks of "The Bear" also having some memorable family traditions — while probably just as messy, maybe not as delicious.

When we spoke to Oliver Platt, who has played Uncle Jimmy for all five seasons of "The Bear," it was clear his tastes run a bit more high-end than his onscreen counterpart. While Uncle Jimmy may be all about The Beef's simple (yet flavorful) sandwiches, Platt likes something a little more unique.

"The first time I tasted really fresh uni, you know sea urchin, at a sushi restaurant, it changed my life," Platt says. When we asked if that's his "go-to" at a sushi restaurant, he bemoaned, "It's so hard to find really fresh uni." When not chowing down on one of the many ways to use sea urchin, Platt also said his other favorite bite "is jamón — the Spanish version of prosciutto. It's the most extraordinary flavor; it doesn't need any help. Like no sauce on the good jamón." Incidentally, jamón is also a part of Martha Stewart's favorite sandwich, so Platt is in good company.

From what we've heard, Platt is a man who likes his savory snacks, for sure. You heard it here first: find Oliver Platt at the sushi bar or tapas restaurant the next time he's shooting in your city.

Finally, we spoke with Sarah Ramos, one of the cast's newer additions, who plays back-of-house expediter Jessica. When asked about her best bite, Ramos lamented the loss of Los Angeles restaurant Pot, helmed by Chef Roy Choi in the Line Hotel in Koreatown.

She says, "I used to be obsessed with this restaurant in LA called Pot. It was Korean. It was these noodle dishes. I wish it was still here; I wish it would come back. And they had these big batch drinks." On multiple food blogs, dishes are featured that show everything from steamed dumplings and egg custard to fried rice, along with several hot pots that inspired the restaurant's name. I can see why Ramos loved dining there!

While Sarah Ramos may wish for the return of Pot, I'm wishing "The Bear" makes a comeback in some form, as well. Hopefully we'll both get our hearts' desire, but in the meantime, we'll continue to yearn while we safely enjoy some hot pot.