Hello welcome to cookies this is Dave Arnold, your host of cookie cutters coming to you live from the heart of Manhattan Rockefeller Center newsstand studios joined as usual with the sassy the hammer Lopez. Hey Steve, how you doing? I'm good. How are you? I'm doing really well. How to how did you enjoy your non air conditioned ride on I have 95 coming in today in your in your sweet sweet. You're sweet sweet. You like to live like it's the 50s right with your air conditioning message? Yes. Yeah, I do. Yeah. Love it. You're loving it. Yeah. So I'm not going to be here for the rest of the summer because of it. What? How about this might fix your freaking air conditioner. It's it's way too expensive. It's not just the air conditioner. But when we ask you a serious question on the air conditioner. I know that we've you know, joked we're like well, alright, well, Mick Huang is here. We'll introduce him later I've got Joe Hasan rocking the panels how're you doing Joe? I'm doing well. And we got we got Mr. Mr. Jack molecule in the there on the in the rock in the California and all that how you doing? How you doing?

Jack? I'm good. I also don't have air conditioning and it drives me crazy.

But like that's that's kind of a choice you're making? That's like a that's like $120 problem. You invest $120 No, no, no, it's not not how things your

windows, how big is your room? I have the sweat windows that the the unit can't really fit into these windows it would take it would take some like weather proofing in my apartment. They don't seal entirely there's a lot of problems. When you

say slat window give me roughly give me the dimensions of your windows.

I don't know like standard window size,

then what's the problem? If it's a standard window size, then why can't you look? Are you saying they're too skinny?

No, what I'm saying is it's these slats that you kind of crank open and shut and they don't entirely seal. Okay, these like glass panes. So even if I were to like take few slides out I would say it's

the whole thing I have. I have this thing for you. They invented ready for it. Are you ready for this invention? Duct tape? Cardboard, you just seal everything with duct tape and cardboard. It looks hideous. But your career I have lived for decades would be like How about some duct tape and cardboard? And it's just keep it cool man who the hell lives in LA with no air conditioning? Like this day and age? Like it? Why choice by choice. How about this? If you don't want to do that? Go buy us a saws or not a Sears I'll buy one to go buy a saws. I'll cut you a hole in your in your wall. Stick to your conditioner in the hole in the wall. Turn it on enjoy you. I mean, you might have to reinforce the wall. Please don't do that without checking to make sure you're not gonna cut through some structural members. But you know, that's yeah, look where there is a window. There's a way are you on the ground floor? All right. No. That limits you somewhat. A chef friend of mine once was installing an air conditioner in New York City and did the Whoopsie daisy and it went all the way down to the pavement Shippo did not kill anybody. Just luckily, that's why in our apartments technically, we're not no one's allowed to install air conditioners like technically you're supposed to get someone to come to it and install all the brackets and stuff because like an Oopsy daisy in a 20 floor apartment. That's like gate Well, frankly, from like two stories. An air conditioner falling is a game over man situation. Paxton recipes those Paxton right? Came over man let him anyway you guys don't watch movies. I noticed I didn't like to watch movies. But you guys like to watch movies. Anastasia only in the necessities only form of entertainment is to be on the Connecticut side of the Long Island Sound and listen to Long Island radio set true stars. Yeah. And she calls in and they answer her requests. And she interviews like, you know, 70 stars who was at 70 star you interviewed, and I remember his name. What was the song? Brandy? And what was your theory about brandy? And what did he say? She lives in your mind. everyone's mind or his mind. everyone's mind. Does that mean he murdered her and she only lives in your mind or she was always a fantasy? Like not a real person. Fantasy. Creepy. Looking Glass. Yeah, looking glass. The name of the band just makes no sense to me. All right. We are joined in the studio today by Nick long one of our favorite people. How are you doing Nick?

I'm good. How you doing?

I'm doing well. So

I almost went for it and associate.

So Nick one famously to us came on air. I don't know like nine years ago or something like This and said nothing the whole whole time.

Just stoned it like 15 minutes. No whole

damn show. Anastasia Anastasia has no no. Bad person. First time you did it, it was on his own. And then the second time he did it, it was on my behalf. It was only 15 minutes.

Oh, because he will only do what you want for 15 minutes. I like it as a strong strong. Alright, so if you're listening on the Patreon call and your questions 2917410 1507 That's 917-410-1507 If you'd like to join the Patreon, you can go ahead and do that. We have upcoming guest. Greg Backstrom, I'm not exactly sure the date yet, but tune in for that. And John says he wants to come back and hang out for that, because this is our first official post. John, he's, he's getting ready for his new job getting ready for his new Exec. Exec chef position job, no longer no longer with the booker index customer service. So you guys who need customer service book are actually gonna have to give us a little bit of wiggle room, I suppose. Just a little bit of wiggle room. Have you found in the past that people give us wiggle room? No, they wouldn't talk directly to you. He that's a bad idea. For many reasons. All right. So, Nick, you when did you first come I first met you, Nick was one of our so when I was at the French Culinary Institute as the director of culinary technology, we had a couple of what I would call like, really good, excellent, amazing groups of people. And Nick was part of one of the first amazing kind of like, hardcore groups of people that are still like Francis day, like, what is it? 12 years later? Something like that. 1213 years later, intern squad. Yeah. So when did you come to the to the Sei? 2008. All right. And you were part of the Mandy?

Right? You Mindy Angela ng Su.

Right. But you were slightly earlier than right you left while they were there are now your your same time as Mindy, right? No, maybe I can't remember

you. Mindy was not in school. She was working.

Right. So she she was one of the very first interns and then she started running the intern program before Anastasia Anastasia took over for Mindy, who then you came on Regan roughly the same time as ng Su, and Angela. And then we had a couple of good people I forget. It's very hard for me to remember at this point in my life, like who all the people were at the same time. But back then you couldn't do this anymore. It's not a good idea. But in order to be an intern, the rules were what were the rules.

There's only one rule, you just had to have a talent, right? You had a talent.

You had to like supply yourself with a nickname. Right? And you were not allowed to have the nitrous

goggles when you work with Elon God, wasn't

it? Yeah, back because that was not my rule. And now that's not really a rule. That wasn't my rule. That was like, Look, some of the things that I put the rules I put like, but like we had finagle their way into getting a nitrous tank so that we wouldn't, so that we could do fun stuff with nitrous. And the only way I could do it was to go completely a hardcore on not using it as a recreational drug. Also, like literally nitrous tanks are dangerous because what they're not, it's not if you balloon it, it's not dangerous, like nitrous tanks are dangerous because you don't od you just suffocate. So people will put a nitrous mask on and then pass out with the mask on. And they don't have an oxygen tank hooked up to it and so they just suffocate. That's how, like, basically 100% of people die who die from nitrous. And so but that doesn't matter. Like we just had to have like a zero tolerance on huffing the nitrous. So Nick was there. And we never actually forced anyone to have a special skill but Nick couldn't come up with his like special talent. Right? Stars. You know the story? Yep. Yeah. So Nick couldn't come up with a special talent. So they had a was it hot dogs or hamburgers? Hot the hot dog hot dog eating contest at the Sei? Which by the way, after you left I had to hold down the FCC. I had to hold down the culinary technology team. I had to beat everyone because you had left. So he's like this is gonna be my talent. either. I win this hot dog contest or I'm not coming back upstairs. What happened? You came back upstairs one you want? Yeah. I don't really mind over matter thing.

Everybody's overthinking it. Like oh, I'll eat the bread first and they'll eat the meat and just go pound pound or go pound secret. small bites. Really? You're a small bite man. Small small fast small small fast bite. Yeah, my secret was

wearing a loose sugar mask where I had to clip the edges to get my mouth open wide enough to shove all the all the hot dogs in. Did you like win by a lot or by a little?

I think I won by like a good like 12 to 20 seconds.

Yeah, ours was I think just number. The one I won was I think just how many you can eat in the allotted amount of time. And if my memory serves me, I completely outclassed everybody. Trucks. Yeah. It's not a good. I'm trying to convince my children not to do food bits.

As in don't take any food bits from you.

Well, Jen, my wife is a strictly anti stupid she's kind of ant like strange that she married me because she's kind of anti stupid like in jet not anti stupid but she's not pro stupid. And so like, I think like all the food beds I used to take like, who could be the first person to finish a gallon of jello? Like who could you know eat like the full, you know half gallon of food service container of mustard who could chug the entire food service jug of crappy pay salsa like all that stuff? Like you know like, how many tea bags can you eat before you vom things like this. She finds this to be not amusing, you know, I'm saying and so she doesn't want our kids to follow me Booker's not gonna do that. But she doesn't want DAX to do that. She does want to DAX be like, Well, Doug did it. So I'm gonna do it. He doesn't talk like that. Anyway, so she's not for it. So I don't I don't do and I don't think I could do it anymore. I'm too old for food bets. I think there's like a limit. There's like a limit. The trick with food. Eating food is to get past your mental revulsion where you feel like you want to upchuck if you put another bite of that specific object into your mouth, right? Yeah. So how do you get past on the price? Yeah, like just think this goes straight through it. plow through it, right?

Don't look at anybody else. Don't look at competing against them. Convenience you.

There you go. There you go. All right. So after you graduated, you went to sambar Ko Ko Ko. Oh, how was that? Was that Serpico days?

Yes, sir. You got me the job? Yes. I don't know if you remember that.

Yes. Yeah. I remember. I remember there were some issues. Like everyone had issues like Like, no one wants to cooking issues like cooking issues. Nine we're gonna get into it. So you got that job. But then you like we're like looped into the Momofuku world for like a long time. Yeah. You ended up at som. And then but there was for a while you went to encounter in between, which is Chris Konstantinos restaurant in California, right? And then he made the big break and he moved to Houston. Why Houston, which is where you live now,

which is where I live now. The move to Houston was not really thought through all the way. It just kind of happened. When I lived in New York in 2017, I kind of did a zigzag road trip across America. And I had Chris Shepards contact info. He's a famous chef in Houston. For those that don't know, reached out to him, set him up in Houston for a few days. Give me some recommendations, suggestions. And he rolled out the red carpet for me. Got back at the end of my trip back to California. And he just kind of followed up and was like Hey, we're thinking about opening a restaurant next year and your name keeps coming up. Is this something that you'd be interested in? And I said I'm unemployed and I live at home my parents

in Milpitas.

Now you keep on trying to make Milpitas a thing and it's it's not that's not where it is that's not how you pronounce Milpitas that is how you pronounced Milpitas. I want you to be from Milpitas. So bad I know I know was just back home in Milpitas. I got the call.

How close are you to Milpitas like 20 minutes. Milpitas equivalent.

Yeah. Okay, Milpitas, adjacent. Yeah, all right. Yeah, and I said, you know, I'll come check out the city. I went out for a week. At the end of the week, I decided to, you know, want to give it a shot. So then went back home to California two weeks later drove out to Houston from San Francisco. Sorry, Milpitas, Milpitas. And we opened the restaurant a month later.

And that was that was you started it up preserved, you start somewhere else, you'd be preserved, right. So you'd be preserved. And you did that for a long time till it closed. Yep. Right. And then you moved and I went, there was delicious. And then I went to I'd never got to go to Georgia, James, which was your most recent, more of a sticky housey.

So there's two of them as Georgia jeans, which is the steakhouse. And then there's Georgia James tavern, which is the smaller concept downtown Houston. And I was there just for a few months and then decided to leave the company and just taking some time off recharging and,

and that's, that's what we're going to do. We're going to talk about a minute but a few questions. How much of that menu is still? Your menus had been totally changed at

the tavern? No,

none of it's mine now, because I was looking. I was like, What is a ghost pepper caviar. Why would I want ghost peppers in my caviar?

You like spooky caviar?

Okay, all right. All right. So my question to you is, first of all, like, I don't know, like, what's your Are you willing to talk about what you want to do next after you recharge or no? Yeah.

It's always been kind of the goal to open on my own place. And I think I'm in a good spot now that I feel confident that you know, I can open up a spot it'll be in Houston, because it's way easier to open a business in Houston than that either here in New York or back home in Milpitas,

and what? What's your favorite bonamy? Shop? And is it still California or wherever it's called?

Cali sandwich pretty good. I also like this place called Don, and tn on. There's my three.

So what's it like? Because I think this is the thing that a lot of people who are more on the pro side who listen are going to be curious about, like, you know, you didn't weren't that long with with Constantino right, like six, eight months or something like that. Yeah,

yeah. Not that long. All right.

So we won't we won't include that. Right. But you worked for at very high level for two very famous chefs, with very large, like media presences. Right, like, so Chris Shepherd runs that awesome charity. You know, obviously, Dave Chang is Dave Chang. Yeah, who's that guy? Yeah. And you know, zillions of restaurants like a lot of stuff and you work in a very high level for them. And when you're in a position such as yours, you are relied upon and seeing kind of part of the DNA once you get to a certain level, you're part of the DNA of the establishment. Right. And then when you leave, this can be I mean, I wasn't there, obviously, when you left, you know, the underbelly, which is Chris. Chris shepherds, Restaurant Group. Right, but I was certainly there when you left. Momofuku?

You remember that last night? Oh, my God, you came in? You came in strapped? Do you remember that? When you plastic wrapped a Smirnoff Ice to your chest, oh, my god and water jacket over it and then walk to the pass. And Smirnoff Ice to me.

Well, why don't you explain for people who don't know what Smirnoff icing is?

It's a dumb frat boy game. Yeah, go ain't on Google. Stupid. It's just a nickname, your Chugga chugga. Disgusting Smirnoff Ice while you're on one knee? Yeah, that's basically it.

Yeah. But anyway, it was something you had to do back then. Anyway. But, but it's, it can be challenging, right? Because like, you, you need those people support? What's it like to leave a group like that?

Honestly, I think it's, it's fine for me, because I, again, I feel pretty confident in what I want to do next. And I think leaving the company is gonna allow me a little more freedom, I'm also kind of getting to the point where I just kind of don't want to have a boss anymore. Like I would, I would rather work for myself, if I'm going to put in the hours and do all the stuff I'd rather have that be for me. And I guess for people, cooks, sous chefs, whatever, working in today's environment, the thinking about branding, and things like that is like less of a new concept. I think for maybe my peer generation of cooks, it wasn't something that's consciously thought of, like, cool, I need to build a social media following and have that be my own thing separate from wherever I'm working at.

Well, right, except for, like, what's messed up from the public's perspective is it's not like the, in the 70s, right. And in the 60s and 70s, I wasn't, you know, conscious, I wasn't alive during the 60s. But, you know, prior, the chef, maybe people who knew knew who the chef was, but the restaurant who was more important, and the name of the restaurant itself was more important, right? So there really wasn't an opportunity to build yourself. You know, really with the rise in the, I would say, like, mainly in the 90s, right, the rise of like, the celebrity chef made that kind of a thing. But in other words, it's hard to build a business without building around a personality or had been hard, right? You know, unless you've already been in business a billion years, you can't build a business around a name unless it has a personality attached to it. But the downside of that is it makes it more difficult for someone like you to get the light shone on themselves unless they're willing to branch out. So I think it's a difficult thing for people to find our way through. Because I also think that something that gets lost in the shuffle of people constantly trying to push themselves forward is, I think, to do a really good job in his business, you need to have some loyalty, right? You need it to a concept to a place to a team. You know what I mean? So how do you so it's interesting that you were Mr. team player, you know what I mean? Like super team player, you know what I mean? Like hardcore, like, I've seen you take some serious crap from people that you should never have taken. Like, I won't, you know, talk about it, but like, hardcore, you know, what I mean, like, inappropriate, you know what I mean? And, you know, you you took it which is not right, you know what I mean? But I'm saying about, you know, my direct experiences with you not like, you know what, I don't know anything about us Everything was very pleasant when I was there not gonna say anything. But, you know, how do you help people navigate that difference? Because I think there are that that line because there is a line if you're only out for yourself, but you can be lucky and make it. But I don't think you're ever going to be great. If you're only really enough for yourself, you know what I mean? Or maybe you aren't, maybe I'm wrong.

I think there's also people in the industry that maybe they don't want that spotlight, and they're totally fine to just work. Be a company, man, you know, essentially,

yeah, no, I know, people who are great at that. And so it's like, kind of like a team. There's the person who like is that name that's built around? And there's someone who's willing to do that for, like, 2030 years? I don't know people, you know, who do it. But I mean, I don't know. It's weird. It's like I don't know, I don't know how I feel about that. You think that they're truly happy with the decision? In other words, like, I'm, I'm trying to wrap my mind around whether this is something that they are super psyched about. I'm sure sometimes they're psyched about it. And sometimes they're not right to be in that position. Because there's a certain comfort level to it. Right? No one wants to be out there. I mean, I think a lot of people who need to put themselves out there don't really want to be out there on the social having people lob bombs at you because that's going to happen. Yeah, you know, no one loves bombs at the right hand. Yeah, everyone always loves bombs and whoever the face is and that can be very hurtful for some people so you know, you know, I don't know what do you think raid have some bombs lobbed at you? Not right now.

Yeah. Bomb bomb. Yeah. Let's go. Alright.

So when you took time off, or when not time off when you when you left underbelly? You took a car trip? Because a friend of yours needed to drive their car from Houston to New York. Yes. That's why I'm here right now. So the first stop from Houston in the drive was Memphis What did you eat? I've never been to Memphis

not very good barbecue. Not bad weather. It was just from a Rando. Please because this first Memphis stop was kind of last minute. So no researching. No whatever. Just spend the night. Get back on the road the next morning, right? Oh, for one. Okay, but really like Memphis though? Good luck music. Okay, but euro for one. All right, I'd say zero for zero. It was not a negative food experience. Okay, but it's not a superlative one.

What kind of barbecue what was what was the meat? Ribs neck, and just a goopy goopy sauce. dry meat stringy,

dry meat stringing. Not that much sauce. I actually just had like a random bar. Okay, it was just sustenance.

Okay, beers. No. Okay. Okay. Then you drove to Nashville. Food. Nashville pretty good. Do you have any of that chicken? Yeah, I've never I've never been to Nashville. So I've never had any of their the hot

chicken. Yeah, didn't do the hot chicken last time I did my road trip to the hot chicken. I wasn't hot. real hot.

Hot leg uses hot you're jack you cosign on this useless hot

the hottest is useless hot and the regular hot is tasty. Yep.

You know, you know tasty and my family means that it's garbage. That's what my stepfather says when he hates something. Oh, it's tasty. It has taste. It is not. It is not. Aguilar and water. Is not tasteless. Is taste T hot chicken. What you like your fan but you don't like the useless hot?

No useless hot is exactly. Yeah, it's useless.

I gotta say I agree with that. I think you think there's a reason it's called useless hot, right? Because it's just a show that you can do it.

It's not enjoyable. It's not enjoyable. When I had that useless hot, it wasn't even seasoned. It's just hot. Like they're not even trying to make this have any flavor at all just there to hurt you, ethically.

So you didn't have that this time when you have this done.

That's barbecue. Pat. Pat Martin. Yeah, good. Good. With Arnold's mean three No relation. Yeah. Very delicious. Yeah.

That's why it's no relation. Very delicious.

What else went to this place called Lou? is pretty cool. did good.

So you stayed a while there? Yeah, a couple days. What are your thoughts about the Martin's potato roll? Controversy. I know it's not the same Martin. What do you think about the Martin's potato roll? Controversy? I can't I just eat have been without it being a thing. No, you can't. Can't you can't just have a bun.

I don't think it's it mean it's getting hard and harder to separate. You know? That is voting with your dollars, right? Like so.

Were you on the potato roll? Were you a potato roll man back in the back in the day but For this became a thing

didn't release a lot of sandwiches only like though in life I mean that'll get crazy over them there's just been Are you

one of those Hawaiian roll sweet roll freaks

I do like a Hawaiian roll on from a freak about it though.

Maybe freak stars do you have any been feelings? Are you any sort of feelings on bonds whatsoever? Oh no, I like and no this is dumb. I like the oversized Martin's with the sesame's on it.

I've seen those I think I've also seen them being used and just watching all the sesame seeds just get all over the place.

Speaking assessments Did you know that in January it's going to get listed as one of the major allergens so all the Baker's are going freaking bananas because all these places that have sesame seeds in their bakery now have to like change all their labeling and all this stuff because it's being added to the major allergen list. I think it's an underreported story to be honest. me Have you heard anyone talk about it?

No, the sesame cabal is keeping it under wraps.

Yeah, this is the sesame people are really keeping it down. They're hoping to murder everyone with a sesame allergy before the end of the year. So if you have a sesame allergy, like watch out, they're out there after you, Joe and Jack What are your What are your been? What are your been situations?

What are my buttons? It's white. My preference? Yeah. I actually like a good sesame bun.

Yeah, yeah. But like do you don't care whether it's potato like what do you have a brand you go for? No,

I don't. I'm not that like, I'm not that worried about it.

The baby Jesus invented a button called Comelec. Have you ever had this one to come out the commode? The wick is the couple bonds it's Caraway and salt on top of like a standard like soft bun. That is a great oh my god anyway, Caraway. Yeah, that's the buffalo it's not inside. It's not rye bread. It's a white bread Bong. soft white bread Bong. eggwash. With with like, salt, they flaky salt, and caraway seeds. And with sliced roast beef and horseradish. Super money. It's also hyper money with burgers.

Well, it's like available in grocery stores

or not here. No, you have to go to Buffalo. You have to go to Buffalo. And really, you should just make yourself listen. If anyone wants to try this. Go buy caraway seeds. I know 910 So you probably don't even have caraway seeds in your in your house. I have carefully seeds like dribbling out my hair. I have so many caraway seeds in my house. Oh, what's your most used to do? What's your most used spices? People? What's the one what's which spices do you rip through other than crushed crushed pepper? Everyone knows I've ripped and crushed red pepper. sumac. Really? Yeah. What brand do you use? Get it from the joint over there on the west side? No, they international grocery. Yep. Nice. They are Turkish but they still know they're Greek and know they're Greek. But they sell a lot of Turkish stuff. Or the Greek word about that place over in the East Village to that how to grow on Avenue B or avenues to our specialty. Wow. Yes. And includes the ends. Yeah, yeah, those are the Those are three good places to buy that stuff. How salty is the one that they have there? Because my issue with most sumac is they dope it with too much salt. So I can't use it in Cognos salt on I added myself. Okay, is it brown or red? It's a good question. It's I can't remember when we first got it, but it's definitely on the browner side right now. Yeah. People if you live anywhere near so it's different sumac that they harvest over there and they bring in but if you live anywhere near where they're Staghorn sumac, the hairy stuff. It's not quite ripe yet where I live, but man harvest some of that yourself. Anastasia brought it in once that's That's delicious. The linear Maratha Delicious. Delicious. So what do you think about the Portuguese bun? Oh, I like Portuguese Bong.

What's a Portuguese button?

They're like slightly sweet like not as sweet as the Hawaiian no but do your den Oh yes. Yeah, really good with like, like a Portuguese sausage sandwich like real good. I also but but you could take any base bread and and canalize it if you want just like eggwash and then salt and caraway seeds my family show Yeah, yeah. My favorites my spices I use the most are cumin and coriander probably cumin Yeah, yeah, I love cumin let you know who doesn't like human this lady behind me when when really cheap well I don't know whether she likes or doesn't like it but she and Piper I'll never let her forget it made quote unquote chili

no cumin, no cumin. Stew

and get this there was cumin in the in the lab. There was cumin in the lab

cumin Cumin is human is a fan of Korea, cumin and coriander. Like they transcend like every every cuisine tastes good with some like there are recipes and tastes good with cumin And I like cardamom to

I don't use a lot of blast through session one peppercorns my house.

Really Can I tell you a secret that I think I've said on the air before? Go buy the oil. It's cheating. Danny Balan did all that stuff. No idea. If you ever bought Sichuan oil,

I think I've ever seen it. Yeah, yeah,

it's called prep mate. It's just called prickly ash oil. And there's a red variety and a green variety, right?

I've tried buying prickly ash, because the store was out of session on peppercorn zoom was not the same thing.

But the oil I think is all the same. There's a red and a green. So there's one that's like Sansho like it's green, and there's one that's red, it's more red, like, and it's just like the numbing stuff. It's mainly like numbing oil. And it's easier to dose and those rancid Sichuan buttons that I hate so much. And I use that in my house, but no one else likes it. I'm mixing into things. You try it. I like cheating. Why not cheat?

I'm over. Better Living Through technology.

There you go. All right. So yeah, so I'm saying no matter what kind of bond you like, and I'm gonna say I said this on the air before I was back in Connecticut taking DAX up to figure I was doing and I went to UConn Dairy Bar, by the way that I've already talked about this honor. No. So you can't I have not been I've been to Cornell has an amazing ice cream program. I've been to their dairy. Good. I've not been to I think it's up at UPenn Penn State, not UPenn Penn State Nittany Lions sorry, apologize for saying UPenn at all. Penn State has an amazing ice cream program. They teach a lot of people all over the country how to make ice cream they have one of the famous ice cream courses. I have not been there. How do you pronounce that place in Canada, Guelph, Guelph, Guelph, Guelph, Guelph, Guelph, Guelph, Guelph, Guelph, they have an amazing dairy department, right, then they they do a lot of the internet stuff. So if you want to research dairy on the internet, they're a good place to go. I have not been there. UConn has had an agricultural started as an ag school, I think and had an agricultural thing, including an ice cream program, which is freaking amazing. Because you can see the cows where they get the milk from while you're buying the ice cream, single otter ice cream, single otter ice cream, it's like it's just like, they milk it right into the like, they just do the uncle, they just pasteurize the eggs and then then they milk it right in and then spin it right there where you can see the machines. And here's what's cool. You can take it as a class as an undergraduate. And every year the seniors make a flavor. And so like I had the, you know, the SR 22, you know, Dash 22 flavor. And it was just like a bunch of chocolate stuff. And so like, and like, you know, so, you know, Jen got a milkshake, you know, and I got my cone. And I was like, Hey, I got the SR flavor with all the trials that she's like, like 8090 years of work, and they're just now coming up with chocolate as their secret flavor. I was like, wow, it's harsh. Their ice cream was very good, though. But I also went to cheese wings, which I have talked about Shady Glen, if you ever heard of Shady Glen Nick. So Shady Glen in the 40s they needed a gimmick so they have one of those big flat top riddles and so what they did they the Bernice was the name of the lady who was like one of the owners it was the guy and Bernice and so they they made the burgers they put the burgers down it's not like a full smash it's more like Paddy and like little bit little bit of a press not a lie smash to let it go for a while. Then they flip it to a different side of the grill. And then they put four slices of cheese on top and then they melt down and they oh my god DAX time that I wish I had remembered I think he said it was exactly was exactly something but I don't know what the exact thing was what's called 45 seconds it's on that order. And then the guy goes in with a spatula and just goes through and lifts them all up into for like like flying non like like Freako ties like things and then puts them on the bond and their bonds which is why I'm talking about it now are very fresh Kaiser's and I said it before but as a follow up Kaisers are good. Good. Kaiser's are good. New York Kaisers are stale. I know I've been hating on New York foods recently. But the average Kaiser bond in New York City is a stale said Kaiser. But a good Kaiser is good. Alright. So you go from Nashville to where?

Nashville to Detroit. Now?

Did you have counties when you were in Detroit?

No. Didn't do counties don't want to do any of that kinds

of Why do you hate you hate? You hate?

I thought I found more interesting things. Okay, like what went to Dearborn? Which makes Yeah. Oh, cool. It's like 15 minutes away. Got some really good Lebanese food.

Oh, yeah. What

was got the full

beans. Well, how do they do it? Like Like, why not beans. What are those things called? Like? I thought a full was

released. The one that I had was chickpeas. Okay. I think the ones

I had was, was it father's? I don't remember. It's been a long time then. So yeah, it was good. Yeah. All right. We're

good. What else for better fat fatty that too. I don't know how to pronounce it.

There's a Lebanese dish I had recently but I forget the name of it. It's cooked, like almost like a roti on a tava that's enrolled with like some sort of like a lob. No like filling, but I can't remember the name of it. But you know what? It was no idea. Good. No, it's good. But it was like I was passing by there's a Lebanese place on my street. And I'm passing by it and I see this like, you know, upside down like tava thing. You know what I mean? And then he's got the got the fire under it. And so I'm used to seeing that more for like the big rotis. Right. You know, talking about that, like uptown walkie looking things. Yeah. And I'm like, yo, what do you make and and that was the name of it. I forget the name of it. Now I gotta go look it up. It's like three letters. Nothing. No clue. Good. Good. All right. And then to New York here anything good New York so far.

Uh, had a really good dinner at Bonnie's problem

and Ben now Nastasia will be mad at me. Because last night what did you do if I don't bring this up? What did you do last night?

I visited some of my old haunts in the East Village namely drop

off service oh my god you go to drop off service Yeah. Oh my god that's where my my brother and my sister in law region travel travel shop my book that's where they had their like, like like engagement party or somewhere out that's where my last drinks when I left sambar right near what is it 13th or 12th or something of that or like 12 them a it's it's in an old laundromat right that's why it's called drop off service because it used to be in a laundromat building I don't even know the place was still there.

Also across the street from Zurich go so which I'd forgot exists.

Oh, yeah, I used to have to buy ingredients there when I couldn't make it all the way up to the 40s which was the old place where I used to get like ingredients because they sell made things and ingredients. What do you get there?

I probably should have gotten some tacos.

I think that you have never had their tacos pretty good really going for New York goat is the one to go if they got it. Yeah your goat man. Yeah, Jack What do you think about the goat taco? Yeah, what's your least favorite time for what's a taco you've had that you want to love and you've never had one you that you that you've had that you've liked

no palace

you only know palace. Have you had it all the different ways have you had how many different ways have you had no pot? How like how many different ways have you tried it not liked it? Because I can see not liking it. I'm not I'm not going to ride you on this. I'm just curious.

Well, it's not that I don't like it necessarily. It's my least favorite. Maybe I've only had it a handful of times though. I don't know that I've really exhaustingly gone through all that Nepalis. So I'm

not a huge fan of candle Paulus. Because they just don't think they offer that much is it but my question is, is that? Do you not like that? Tart, there's tart greenness to them. If you don't like that you're not going to like nail polish. But if it's the if it's the slime Enos that you can work around. That's where I'm trying to get to, you know, I'm saying, Nick, you know, I'm saying

more textural for me, but I like okra, I like to apologize. Generally. I just think because in a taco, it's like, I've almost rather anything else at any point. I'm never in a mood for an unpolished taco if I have options. Yeah.

Hmm. So, back on the thing so in an oni Giri, do you like an MA on onigiri? or No? or No? Like you like the plum in the in onigiri. So you don't We don't mind things that are tart. That should be savory. Okay. All right. It's not it's the texture that it passed. All right now. For me pig ears. I've never had a pig or a taco. I've liked really? Yeah. Oh, I've tried several. I've had them more crunchy. I've had them less crunchy. And I've never been like, you know what? I wanted a pig your taco. And I want to like it. Like real bad. And I'm saying

no to Mexico City. Maybe like a month ago? Yeah. tried an otter taco

for the speaking of utter to utter to people. Yeah, under the table. Yeah,

it was okay. I don't think I'd order it again. It was my favorite way to butter. Is it

part of the actual like, like where the milk comes out of is it like spongy fat or is it when

it was muscley muscley. But like, like Oregon, soft muscley not like meat. muscley

Yeah, yeah, cuz like a real dairy cow with like, with a full utter they look like a bodybuilder. They look like they're all stretched out and veiny and that doesn't look appetizing at all. What about us does what do you think about that? No, I don't know about that.

Surprisingly, eyeball taco pretty good.

Oh, God. I have never liked eyeballs. Can I say this? I've had eyeballs plenty of times. I did not like them. Why do you like them? Did they take the

is all chopped up? It wasn't like a. It wasn't looking at you in the taco. It's not the looking. It's just like texturally I think like I would have preferred a better ratio of like let's make some some face meat or something into this.

Is that the name of your restaurant? Face to face meet? I wish I would go to face meet. Make long opens face me. It's all sandwiches.

Face meat sandwiches based meat sandwich. Wow, classic

fancy face meat sandwich. My wife, my favorite meat that I rarely like the way that it's actually cooked hearts. I really I love hearts. But I find that like, for instance, like before chili. It's just ground up too much. I'm not really getting the heart. You know what I mean? Like I want the heart.

It's more an execution thing. Yeah. Yeah. Cuz

like my favorite part of the chicken is chicken hearts. That's the best tasting part of children to me. Like I could eat infinite skewers of chicken hearts at like, you know at like one of those like South American barbecue joints. Like I could do chicken hearts. You know who else loves chicken hearts, Booker. It's one of the few things that he actually likes other than salmon. Heed salmon. Like chicken hearts.

A matter of taste. And chicken ours.

How do we get on Oh, so you're out yesterday? You did not get a taco did not right. So then where did you go?

Left drop off service went to Planet rose karaoke.

Ah, this is where this is where the rub Nastasia was there the only time I've ever I went with you. That's the only time I've ever done karaoke and we went there. We those the only time we've ever done that. Yeah. Only have ever been once he won his dossier came close to opening a karaoke bar. Like that's the that's the have only been once.