What do you eat after a long Saturday service?
Cold soba noodles with a very spicy dipping sauce and a frozen beer. It needs to be mechanical, quiet, and cold to reset the system.
What's your perfect day-off lunch?
Oysters. A dozen, very cold, with nothing but a squeeze of lemon. It’s the only thing that feels like a total departure from the heaviness of the kitchen.
"The best meals aren't about the technique; they're about the silence that happens when the first bite hits."
Best $20-$25 meal in your city?
The pork carnitas at the back of the bodega on 4th and Main. It’s consistent, soulful, and they give you more lime than you could ever need.
One dish in Iowa you'd drive two hours for?
The loose-meat sandwich at Taylor's Maid-Rite. It’s a piece of history that defies modern culinary logic but stays in your marrow.
A place tourists never find but locals love?
The jazz bar basement that serves late-night congee. No sign, just a red light and the smell of ginger and white pepper.
What food do you cook at home that you'd never put on a menu?
Instant ramen with a processed cheese slice and an excessive amount of toasted sesame oil. It’s a crime against my training, but it’s the ultimate comfort.
Last thing you ate that genuinely surprised you?
A fermented honey and charred leek tartare. The depth of the umami was so unexpected—it tasted like the forest floor after a summer rain. I sat in silence for five minutes after the first bite.
What did you eat growing up that you still think about?
My grandmother's blackberry cobbler. She never measured anything, yet it was the exact same every Sunday. I've tried to replicate it for fifteen years and failed every time.
Is there a chef whose food you wish you could have eaten?
Fernand Point. I want to see the discipline and the excess of that era of French cooking before it was modernized. The weight of that history fascinates me.
What's one thing diners do that drives you quietly crazy?
"When they reach for the salt before they've even tasted the dish. It’s a lack of trust. We spent twelve hours building that balance, give us at least one bite of faith."