One of the most enduring and telling scenes of the new series Gentefied, which premiered Feb. 21 on Netflix, comes in episode three, which opens with the iconic Mexican bolero “Sabor a Mi."

In a flashback, we see a young Chris Morales and his grandfather Pop in the kitchen getting ready to heat up some chicken in the microwave, when his grandmother Delfina walks in, shaking her head.

“Hey chiquitos, así no se calienta la comida,” she says. Hey boys, that’s not how you heat up food.

She ushers into the kitchen, turns on the stove top for a cast iron skillet and embraces her grandson.

“Requerdan, mijo, la comida verdadera es hecho con mucho amor.”

Remember, mijo, real food is made with lots of love.

Every so often you hear a song that sounds both brand new and like it came from another era. It’s somehow got novelty and timelessness, hand-in-hand -- and more often than not, it ends up being a hit. Restaurants sometimes do this, too, taking a classic culinary style and updating it for the current era, adding modern touches and techniques to traditional cuisine to create something new and delightful. We found a fistful of such places around the country, starting with Cafe La Trova in Miami (the subject of our updated-classics video), which echoes 1950s Cuba in its vibrant cocktail program and inspired riffs on Cuban fare. We’re also shining a light on a Mexican restaurant where they use masa, an ancient ingredient, alongside modern, locally sourced touches; an Upstate New York diner that is unlike -- and somehow also still very much like -- any diner you’ve ever eaten in; and a Miami spot taking traditional Southern food to tasty new places, to name a few. Whichever of these restaurants you choose to visit, you’re guaranteed to find the old and the new combining in ingenious, delicious fashion. 

I love Biryani, the famous layered, fragrant rice and meat dish that takes hours and hours to prepare. It is one of the things that my mother cooks the best. Every Indian household has their own complex way of preparing it, and their individual secret ingredients. According to my family lore, it is the water of a particular city that gives each Biryani its distinct flavor. You’ll find different versions in various parts of India--and at restaurants in the US as well. 

But wherever you enjoy your biryani, whatever recipe it comes from, know that you are eating a dish with a royal lineage.

Indian folklore traces the origins of biryani to Mumtaz Mahal (1593-1631), the Mughal Shah Jahan’s queen. It was for her that the Shah built the iconic Taj Mahal in the northern city of Agra. It is said that she once visited the army barracks and found under-nourished men. Saddened by the sight, she ordered her chef to prepare food that was well-balanced in flavor, nutrition, and energy for the soldiers--think protein (meat) and carbohydrates (rice). Thus the Biryani was created.