699: Exciting News From the Land of Sqirl with Jessica Koslow

26:48And, yeah, it's really hard to talk about. Yeah, I know. And I had to watch the team and the restaurant grapple with my choices, and it was devastating. And I could have gone a couple of ways. I could have closed the doors and hidden and left the culinary world. Or I could have shown up for the team and myself and the restaurant and evolved. And that's what we did, and that's what is really magical about Squirrel. squirrel is a place that is in constant evolution we are not the same restaurant that we were in 2012 or 2020 um and the resilient and delicious place that we are today is because of the work that we put in then and while i wouldn't wish that experience on anyone we went through the fire and we forge through it a better version of ourselves.

27:47And can I just talk about like where we are today? Yeah. And, you know, like we make more jam now than we've ever made. We make about 40 ,000 jars a year all handmade. We make, and we're in more stores than we've ever been in. We are USDA organic certified and that process we did two years ago. And you can only do it when you're under great note-taking inspections and that it's made an organic food process facility, a PFR. At great cost and time to you. Yeah, but in a way necessary in order to – I think necessary for us to be accountable. Necessary and like honestly very challenging to do for a small business like ourselves.

28:41and, you know, a beautiful thing to do. But on top of it, we make jam for a lot of our farmers. And that has been a huge highlight for us, which is making a product from their product that they can sell and make revenue from, not just from their produce. Which is just a great service to a farmer who needs that extra revenue, needs it, like it's required to make the farm work. We have a farm that we work with that they have their own cafe. so we manufacture the product also for their cafe um and and again like that has been great but on top of the jams you know like the culture of the team is really special like there's a like an ethos of kindness that's always been there and is like very prevalent right now in how we communicate and talk to each other and the food is great and yeah and so that's where we are today and where we're going is dinner.

29:34I mean, I think the fact that you just you didn't shudder and you preserved it makes it a stronger business. I just want to go back one more one more question, you know, when when there's mold on the jam and you swiftly make the changes, but it's still there. I'm just going to say there was a level of piling on to the criticism that felt I mean, it was, of course, unmerited but it felt almost vicious and i think uh the fact that you're a woman has uh certainly something to do with it that's my assumption um i mean how do you how do you feel looking back five years at that period and just the way these memes would happen i mean i really have someone was just squirrel jam for halloween and it was like a meme like 20 like this year 2025 yeah like a few days ago so and you're not laughing at it either i mean this is not really i mean you're positive and you're launching dinner, but like that still hurts and must.

30:32It's more that I think about the team. I have grown like a very tough skin where I feel like I can take anything and I can look at that time and take what was important out of it and also see the things that I should put in this category and the things that needed to be put in that category. When I see these things, I think more about them and how to make sure that we continue to be the best versions of ourselves so we don't go through anything like that again. So we are a safe place. But, you know, I won't be able to control people's kind of like meowiness. And that is something that I had to learn is just like you see that and you just go, Okay, well, we're still doing great work and, you know, find the like the pride and passion in like the work that we're doing because the work is really hard.

31:36You know, like I don't know too many people, restaurateurs, places that are actually manufacturing their own product and it can be messy. Well, not just manufacturing because, you know, sometimes restaurants have like a little shop or it's gifts for guests and they have a small production. But you've mentioned the Squirrel Jam is in more stores than ever. And this is like a real CPG company in addition to running this business, this restaurant, and you've got double P &Ls going. I mean, I want to hear a little bit about the jams that you're selling. I mean, I love them and you pick them up. You know, you've got these wild flavor combinations and the quality is high.

32:17Yeah. You know, as we were talking about, like being able to have 15 years of relationships with farmers has allowed me access to just like the most delightful and delicious fruit varietals. And so a lot of times the flavors that come out are flavors based around moments. and there was a like Santa Rosa plum and time flowering is a moment. Or we were doing these, we are doing these collaborations where, you know, we got these apricots and soba cha and we just, we put them together because Zach from Kettle had given me a note about those two flavors working well together. And so I tested it out.

33:05So some of it is like fun collaboration and others like timestamps, but all in honor of a moment, whether it be like that perfect time that that plum is ready or, you know, the time flowering. I mean, I think of you, I think of Malcolm Livingston II. Yeah, I love him. I love him too. And I think both of your pastry backgrounds just makes the CPG extension so much better and exciting. And I love his— Can we give August a shout out right now? No, we've got to give August a shout out. I mean— I don't know where you find it here in New York. I know. Unless he comes and makes it. I think it's when he rolls in with a cooler and he's dropping it.

33:47But, of course, you can get them at Kettle, that collab at Kettle. I got to try that recently. In L.A.? Yeah, in L.A. Yeah, I love that. But I think there's something about having a pastry chef do a product, like a jam or a handheld. Yeah. It's exceptional. Yeah, and I do love the idea that it can live outside of the four walls of the restaurant. Yeah, totally. And it's something that you can take home as an extension of what we do. And the preservation aspect of fruit and that it can live a joyful life in the morning. It's great. Well, I want to move on to dinner and talk about some details. I think we're going to time dropping this release.

34:29A little drum roll. Dropping this release around the time you will be opening. It may be slightly ahead of time. It may be slightly after you open, but reservations will be open. And I love that you're, quote, unquote, building in public. I can't believe I just said that. With your substack, I think you're, like, doing some cool testing. I saw chicken liver with a torn fried bread. You're thinking about celery butter, a gorgeous shot there. You're playing around with tartare. I saw a pan-roasted cabbage. You know, you're kind of playing around with some of this. You see little snippets. I'm not giving you the whole image.

35:02These aren't even trailers. These are like, you know, like cover reveal, basically. Close-ups. But Jessica, like, tell me about the menu. I mean, what's dinner at Squirrel all about? Yeah, I never sent you the menu. You never did. It's all good. It's all good. Tell me about it. It is the question that I get asked most because people are thinking it should be, oh, is this just like Squirrel during the day? The answer is no. It's not. It's full service at night. And the food feels very bistro because that is the feeling of the space, but a bistro in L.A. And when I say that, I also mean in reference truly to the heritage of all of us, the team that's there.

35:49This isn't Jessica has a like my mom's side is British. So I have a lot of like British and Jewish kind of like tones that come into the food. But our CDC and Sue, one is like Mexican Indian. The other is, I mean, he's from Texas, but also has that as his background. And so there's a lot of flavors from their nostalgia that kind of float into this like bistro. And that's the goal of Squirrel Always, which is like make the food that is most delicious and flavorful and nostalgic to you because that is what will come out the best on the other side. And so, yes, is there like a beet-filled annulati that is in this kind of like Polish, like beet, borscht, like reference?

36:42And when you bite into the pasta, it like spews this like caramelized onion beet situation. What's the flour for the pasta? Oh, it's like a double. Yeah, double O. But there is also pasta where beet has been folded into it. So I don't know if you saw those like kind of fun – the pasta itself is like – The ribbons, yeah. Yeah, dual colored. They're kind of like streaked and you're doing some fun experiments. So there's some fun and lots of labor involved in it. The chicken liver that you saw is in this kind of like in a mold with the celery butter is on top. And then when you schmear it onto the bread, it like is bicolored.

37:23And it's a very cool visual cue, but also something that I grew up and I know all of the team grew up in different ways, like eating like on holidays, you know. Yeah. But not in this, not in this aesthetic. No, celery butter. That's amazing. Yeah. It's a very, I mean, the color, of course, just popped right out of the contrast. So we have things like that. We have a chicken that's in like that is koji roasted that honestly and it has like an anchovy juice and like tons of bread crouton. I mean, it's so delicious. I know chickens like everyone, you know, to the chagrin of the culinary world. No apologies needed for chicken.

38:03No, chicken is delicious. Yes, it is. And it is even more so now. And then we have this, you know, this steak with this kind of like tabbouleh mignonette and like braised cipollinis and like a, you know, some sort of sauce that takes four days to make. And it's just the food is honest, but the and the goal always is craveable. Like, I want you to come. I want you to remember how often you go to a restaurant and like you actually remember the dishes that you had. I mean, yeah, I know it's this sorrel rice bowl at Squirrel. Yeah. You remember it. You know, it's definitely you have the DNA to kind of do this.

38:40And when people come, they're like, oh, yeah, I was here like four years ago. And it's like, what do you have? And they're like, oh, I don't really remember. I'm like, no, I didn't do my job. My job is for you to remember. Like your palate is like, I need that again. So that is, you know, that is like the foundation of the menu. But it feels very bistro and like what we were saying about AM where, oh, yeah, what's squirrel salad sandwiches, bowls? And you could say the same thing, like a chicken, a steak, some potatoes. Like, but is it? No. Is it like an order the full menu kind of menu or are there going to be 20 plus menu items?

39:14There's 20 plus menu items. I like that. I appreciate that. I mean, yes and no, right? Like there is something – I just went to this place in Paris called Restaurant Dandelion, which also deserves a shout-out. And it has like nine items on it, and you can order all of them. And it was so delicious. It was so good. And I will tell everyone hands down to go there. And I'm like, man, I want more options. It's a tough hang when you have under 10 menu items, I think, especially if you have a group. It just can be – just not like customer-centered. It's a little more chef-centered. that menu construction.

39:51Yeah. I mean, I also get it. Like maybe your kitchen's small. 100%. Maybe you're trying to be, make sure that your food goes out quickly and like efficiently. When you have more items, it can get messy, you know? Yeah. It can. I get it all. So booking on Resi? Mm-hmm. So reservations, what's the story with that? Follow the sub stack and we'll let you know first when they come out. Yeah. I have a feeling like reservations beginning of, will kind of soft launch somewhere in early December. Okay. And we're shooting for December this year. December opening. So we'll. But maybe it's a little later.

40:24I think we're in December now if we're recording this in November. But we will run it in December. Oh, thanks. It's the magic of podcasts. Oh, cool. Magic of podcasts. Beverage. Yes. Because I feel beverage. Oh, yeah. We didn't talk about this. We can't forget about beverage because, you know, LA's beverage scene to me is extremely exciting. Oh, tell me why. Tell me where you've gone. It's not centered always. It is centered in beautiful places and there's great wine shops and great beverage service and cocktail bars. But L.A. is a town that is probably drinking less than any major American city right now currently for a lot of reasons.

41:04So while I know you have a full bar and there'll be a big bar program and I'd love to hear about it, you're probably thinking about some other things too on the NA side, which interests me the most. Have you been to Cato? Of course. Austin's amazing. He's been on the show. God, he's killing it. Yeah, maybe he should do the drinks at Squirrel. He's a partner at Kato. I'm kidding. He's not leaving. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Also love John, and I wouldn't, you know. Yeah, no, we are kidding here. That's super inside right there. No, but let's just go back to this, because if y 'all need to go to one place for drinking in L.A., I would suggest going to the bar at Kato.

41:47Cato is a very expensive and beautiful tasting menu. It was just there for my birthday. Oh, cool. I love what they're doing. The bar program at Cato is next level. Best bar program I've had anywhere in the United States. And part of it is because his focus on N.A., right? And it's not just like – it was like the New York Times list that came out that was like less of. And so many people were like, like, give me – I don't know. I feel like it was Kim Cypherson. It was like, I want less, you know, like fake Negroni and give me more NA that's like dynamic and interesting, right? And that is true.

42:32That is something that I believe in, which is like how do we make a very delicious NA program? And we already have – like we have a water kefir that's on draft that we do. We have a frozen machine that we have an N.A. coming out of right now. Oh, great. And would we like to do like some sort of other N.A.s? Yes. And then, you know, like we just hired this. We hired a bar manager for Squirrel. And she's coming from Kumiko in Chicago where she was the head bartender there and they won a beard for a bar program. and if I just like back up a second squirrel didn't get their liquor license till the day before Christmas of last year and that's really what was stopping us from opening even like considering a dinner program was that we I knew that in order to like do the experience right we needed the full experience whether it's na or whether it's not like we we needed that full experience so now that we do have that bar program where we have the the license having her on to like build that out is going to be very exciting.

43:41That will be exciting. I mean, I just think with your connection with the farms, having an incredible lineup of shrubs and drinking vinegars and just going in that direction, which excites me. We already have that too. And yeah, I agree. I think that is what really compels me when I'm drinking NA in LA. I think Austin's doing amazing work with like teas and adding body through, you know, steeping teas into other liquids. That's cool too. There's many ways you can go with NA. Before we get to Taste Check, you might have thought I forgot about this question. I prepped for it. You worked on American Idol.

44:18It's on your resume. All right, Jessica, tell me about working on this show. Do I have to? Exactly. No, it was fun. The cool thing, so I left Ann in 2007. I went back and worked with her in 2010. but I moved to New York here in this beautiful city. Yeah. And I ended up getting a job because of my degree at Fox, um, at news corp. And I became a producer for American idol. Um, and it was all digital production. So like all the videos behind the scenes, you know, and I was like a fish out of water, you know, you kind of like you sink or swim. And I swam. and the thing that I learned that I brought to I would say the restaurant is like when you are a producer you are bringing all these different components together to turn the lights on every day to like make the the video happen and um so I was able to take that work and put it into Squirrel and that that kind of like bringing everyone together to set the scene for the day But working on the show, you know, I voted.

45:34I called in. You called in. I made sure to vote. Were you working like the audition lines out in like a Jersey mall and doing those shoots? No, no. I was doing like top 10 shoots for that was like behind the scenes of the top 10 for Coca-Cola. Oh, right. So you're doing like the branded stuff. But you would get like a little. So you were on set during the actual filming of these competitions and you would grab one of the contestants with a Coke in hand. We had a you. We had a person that would go and speak to them. I was always behind the scenes. You were producing it. Yeah. I mean, wild job, but clearly connected to project management.

46:13Yeah. Which is like the job of a— Wild job. Today's episode is brought to you by ButcherBox. As a food writer, I can be a little skeptical about subscription cooking boxes you hear about on podcasts. There's big talk about cooking simplicity, but you're usually left with disappointment after smashing that promo code. Now, Clayton, have you ever tried one of those subscription boxes? Yeah, Matt, my friend gave me a code for that one that has all the chopped vegetables in little baggies. I felt like a drug dealer trying to cook dinner. Yeah, man, I have so been there. Butcher Box is a true exception.

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47:27As an exclusive offer, our listeners can get free protein in every box for a year, plus$20 off your first box when you go to butcherbox.com slash taste. Visit butcherbox.com slash taste to get this limited-time offer and free shipping always. That's butcherbox.com slash taste. Don't forget to use our link so they know we sent you. On This Is Taste, we ask guests about the discerning taste. So to close this interview, here's a little rapid-fire, fast, and furious taste check. Are you ready? Yes, but can I not just answer in one word, but maybe a few? That tends to be the mode here. Okay, good. So we're good.

48:05The best fruit. Okay. Quick story is that I hated fruit growing up, and this is why I do what I do. Because I would take fruit and spit them out as a little kid. and turning going to the pastry world was my way of like turning fruit into something that I would eat now the way that I eat fruit is in small tiny bites to check the brightness of their acidity because I like a high acid fruit to go along with the sugar or you know the preservation that we add to it so I love a satsuma plum I love a Blenheim apricot something that tastes like it's from the backyard. Things I don't like because I like commodity bananas, commodity melons, things that just stink up a room.

48:51Like you might come for me, but someone eating a banana on a flight is like, it's malicious. Like, why are you doing that to us? It has a bouquet, so to speak, that is not great. I know everyone loves them. I get memes from my friends about them. So I look forward to getting more the worst vegetable um kind of like a for a similar reason as a as a banana or commodity melon like a green bell pepper yeah like they just take over they take over the item the the meal you're creating instead of bringing harmony yeah it's like so vegetal yeah it's like glue why it's like glue or something. What's yours?

49:41What do you hate? My worst vegetable? These days I'm thinking like any summer squash. I'm in that camp too. They're hard to cook. That was exactly what I was saying. They're hard to do and I find myself putting a lot of pecorino on it and pepper and making it work, I guess. Yeah, I agree with you. I feel like you gave me a look like that pairing is bad. No, that pairing's great. That's an honest pairing. No, I'm like, I'm not self-conscious at all. I was like, okay, am I doing it right? Because I like peccary and pepper works. But yeah, it's a hard thing for me. All right, let's do, what is your typical breakfast?

50:22It's just typical. I like a piece of toast with some nut butter and jam. Why not? I mean, after this many years, I still eat the food at the restaurant. It's like I eat it every day. Why would you not? Yeah, the best. It's your food. Yeah, it's the best. The best dessert? I have a lot. Sure. I have a lot. I love like a creme caramel, especially from Otofuku in L.A. Yeah. I love a lemon tart. Josh Nyland does the best version at his restaurant in Sydney. The crust is so thin. I love a malva pudding cake. like that custard caramelized like filling any like like treacle tart um and you know my desert i you know my my last meal food is always ice cream so you know we talked about zero zen zero in yeah in seoul yeah and shout out to zen zero in korea for in seoul for having just like such delicious, unique flavors.

51:31Seasonal. So, like, a perfect ice cream. I'm done. I feel like Akira Kudo gave me that wreck. I think that's where that came from originally. That makes sense. Makes sense. I'm pretty sure. But it's in Korea World. We have a nice little section about it. Shout out to Korea World. Thank you. Shout out to Korea World. All right. A restaurant you wish you could bring back from the dead. I want to know yours. Tell me yours first. Oh, my God. Because I hope it's not mine. Turning the – I still want to go to Kate's Joint again. Okay. In the East Village. What's that? It's a vegetarian restaurant. Opened between, like, 95 and closed in, like, probably 10 or 12.

52:09And a funky place. I remember, like, going to CMJ and going there and hanging out afterwards. And, like, to me, it's just more like that era and that vibe. It was less about the food. Thank you for asking me. I guess I haven't said that in a while. I probably haven't said that before. People should be asking you questions, too. Your knowledge is deep. Thanks, Jessica. Yours as well. So what is yours? So you're such an East Coast New Yorker answer. And mine's such a West Coast Angeleno answer. Because mine is Suzanne Goins' Luke. Oh, yeah. And that restaurant is in this gorgeous, beautiful building.

52:44And the food, like, it was one of those places where you got an amuse. Like, you got, like, Castle Votrano olives and almonds at the table as a gift. And like what a kind gesture that is rare at restaurants these days. And the food was just always seasonal. She would have these Sunday suppers that were legendary. Her book, by the way, Sunday Supper, is a terrific cookbook. It's a terrific – like people should own that as like a foundational cookbook. And it was just like the room, it was just such a joyful place. Like I went there when I graduated high school when I was 18. Amazing. I had these moments where like I would – I'm from Long Beach, so a little south.

53:27And we'd come up to L.A. and it was kind of like the place we would go in L.A. I love that. What a dream. I still make the Luke Brussels sprouts with pancetta and balsamic reduction for Thanksgiving. Every year it was featured in the New York Times in 2003, 2004, around then. And I still to this day it's my go-to. I feel like at the time, you know, now it's like, oh, you're doing Brussels sprouts and bacon? Like, cool, me too. But then you're like, oh, legendary. And you just have to take yourself back to these moments of like where things kind of originated from. And that's one. When you're craving fast food, where are you going?

54:03Where do you think I go? I mean, you're going to say In-N-Out likely, but you're also possibly going to say Del Taco. Or you're maybe going to go. I like that you were Del Taco. I know you're like you're wincing at that answer. You know, those are my guesses, but are you a McDonald's person? No, my husband is. My husband is. Husband's a wise man. Yeah, my husband's a wise man. Your husband's a wise man. That might be his answer, actually. What's yours? I mean, obviously mine is In-N-Out. Like, there is nothing better than that griddled bun. Yeah. And, again, like, this is very sexy. I love raw onions on that burger.

54:42I do. Yeah. And just for crunch and the lettuce for crunch, it is a great burger. I also, I mean, you weren't far off. Like, I have a nostalgia for Taco Bell for the cinnamon twist and, like, the bean. Like, I would get that. The bean burrito. Yeah. I would get that as a kid. And I also have, like, the breakfast sandwich from Jack in the Box from, like, my, ooh, from my, like, high school rave days. So, I don't know. A different thing for different moments of my life. But if it was just one is like in and out, like ride or die. Yeah, I love those answers. I mean, LA is where fast food was born and where it thrives.

55:22I mean, it's car culture, right? Car culture. How do you get into that? A couple more, your favorite city outside America to visit for food. I mean, gosh, every place is always a curious space. Look, I always go back to Paris and London. I think that, like, I'm always looking for food that is willing to take risks on nostalgic or, like, familiar dishes. So I find that Paris and London do the best job of, like, exploring, like, traditional meats, like, new mindset. Love Tokyo. Love going to Seoul. You give us a lot. Yeah. You give us a lot. I could just keep going. It's unfair. Just go travel. Go travel if you can.

56:13You'll learn something. You'll be delighted no matter where you go. Last one, your favorite sandwich. These are good questions. I love the hamembert at Shailene in Paris. I love the little egg sando and the prosciutto with shiso that come out of Camelback in Tokyo. I don't know if you've ever been there. But that little egg sando at Camelback is so Japanese and just like it's perfect. Like the bread is perfect. The egg is done so well. Like those are the two. Breakfast and lunch. Jessica Koslow, what a fun conversation. Thank you so much for joining This Is Taste. Thank you so much for having me.

57:03Tigis Retta, welcome to This Is Taste. How are you doing? I'm good. I'm good. How are you? I'm great. I mean, I'm excited to hear all about your life. We're doing the Resi Questionnaire. So lots of great questions. But first, tell me a little bit about your restaurant, Chicago DiMera. You've been open nearly 20 years. I mean, that's incredible. Yeah, yeah. We've been open 18 years. I think we're celebrating this week of 18 years. I mean, it's been up and down. Like, you know, the restaurant business is never easy, but it's what I love to do. And we keep coming back and staying strong. And for that, we are like a Chicago State restaurant.

57:42But yeah, we opened 2007. The Cubs hadn't won a World Series yet. Right? It's been so many years. But tell us a little bit about your cuisine and a little bit about, I mean, 18 years. That's such, you know, staying power. I mean, what are some of the most popular dishes? We do like authentic Ethiopian. So everything we eat is with the jarra, which is our flat bread or like almost utensil. We eat it with everything. but the most popular is damarama sap which is like we created in the beginning in the menu where we wanted people that never had the food they can try many a few items versus one menu item so you see when you walk in like if you pick damarama so we get to try three veggies three meat but that became like what people wanted to do and like 70 to 80 percent of our order is that so that just became our staple.

58:44I mean, when you opened up in Chicago, was Ethiopian cuisine known that well? Yeah. Like, especially in the north side, like, you know, there was, I think, like, in Wrigley Field, there was about four or five restaurants, and then they started closing, and then it went a little bit north, like, to Edgewater and uptown. So it's been concentrated in one area, but yeah, it's been around. Well, well, Tegis, are you ready to take the resi questionnaire? Sure, sure. Okay. Favorite thing you have ever cooked? It was recently. I did, we called it like helbert and halibut. Halibut. So halibut is like fava beans, red lentils, and fenugreek grounded and made.

59:34And then when you whip it, it gets foamy. And then we have this silci, which is onion, garlic, ginger, and barbari. So it has like, you have this foamy with something spicy. And we put the helibut fish on top of it. And then we put like our clarified butter and cherry tomato, like sizzled with like the butter and lemon and things like that. It was amazing. What a beautiful pairing. I mean, I'm loving that. Your favorite meal from childhood? Oh, it has to be Dara what? like our national dish was a hard-boiled egg and injera. Yeah, Dorawat. If it's good, there's nothing better. Oh my gosh. A kitchen tool or equipment you couldn't live without?

1:00:19Like a good pot, you know, to make our sauces. You need like hours of cooking. Yeah. So you need like reliably thick bottom pot. Pot, a good sturdy pot that can cook those sauces. Yeah, it is. All right. Your favorite cookbook? I'm reading this American, Young American Chef by Kawami. Yeah, yeah, that's a great one. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm reading it right now, so I'm loving it. But that's a tough one. There are so many good ones. That's a great one. This is a big one. Your favorite pizza in Chicago? Oh, I'm going to be in trouble. I love the pizza, but I've been like loving the fire burning 500 to 800.

1:01:10Neapolitan. Yeah. Yeah. Is there a favorite restaurant spot you go to for that pizza? No, it's whatever I find it. That's been like my favorite pizza right now. Yeah. What restaurant industry person do you admire the most? I think my friend Chef Sarah. Love her. She's a badass, like two times Jimmy Spears award, but she does also some money. humanitarian work. She's the co-founder of Green City Market and co-founder of Chicago Chef's Cook, which supports, like, chef's vision of non-profit. That's a great, great answer. What's been the greatest restaurant experience of your life so far? I think so many, but Dog On in D.C.?

1:01:56Yeah. It was a good one. Like, yeah. Take us back there. What was so great about that? I think it's just, like, the perfect solution of like Caribbean and African food, but also just, oh my God, the use of the ingredients. Yeah. Yeah. Your greatest professional achievement. I think opening up a second location. Yeah. Yeah. The way I wanted to open it, it's going to be in Brunsville. We're in 2026 and it's going to have 5 ,000 square foot kitchen, which I'm like, can't wait for it. Wow. and a beautiful restaurant and rooftop. So that would be it. Oh, with a rooftop too. Yeah, yeah. I love this.

1:02:37This is great. Is the menu going to be the same at Damera or new name? We're going to keep the authentic Ethiopian food, but we'll also have small plates that we're playing around, like, you know, fusion food. It's exciting. Yeah, it is. What single dish best describes your personality? I think we have one that is, I like the beets. It has cinnamon, it has cardamom, It has onion, garlic, so just like very, not one thing, but many things, yeah. And that's you? That's your personality? Yeah. I like that. Yeah, yeah. What is your wish for the restaurant industry? I think to get out of, like, you know, to be back to where, like, it's always been tough, but it's just getting harder and harder.

1:03:22But where we find where it works for everyone, for the team, for the owners, for the chefs, where it's really healthy and profitable because restaurant is the toughest business and like everyone has been working hard, but it's really been tough on chefs, owners, and the team. So like something we found, some way we found our ways. How do you get through your day then with all these challenges? Like, you know, I stay positive. I work out a lot. I do yoga and have family, friends, and good friends, like really good friends in the industry. So it's like talking with people in the industry and like sharing notes and maybe having a drink at the end of a long day with your friends.

1:04:05Yeah, absolutely. If you could eat through a city for a day, where would you go? Chicago. Chicago is wonderful. I love that answer. Okay. Take me through that day. If you could go to a couple places, you're not working, it's your day off. I think I would go like, you know, there's so many beautiful restaurants in Chicago. It just be like, you know, it's a Mexican restaurant. It's an Italian. It's a Ethiopian. It's a farm to table. Like I would just like kind of have one meal or sample everywhere. So yeah. I love that. Yeah. The one thing you can't resist splurging on when you go out for dinner.

1:04:44I think good meal. Like I want to taste everything. Like if I go out, I want to taste everything. Yeah. Is there one dish, though, that you're like, I have to order that? It's like my splurge. If I go to a restaurant, there isn't I wouldn't order. Like, if I go there, like, I'll order it. Okay, I see, I see. You go in with a plan. Yeah, I go in with a plan. What do you value most in restaurants? I think the people. Yeah. The people. Like, it's really pretty awesome. It's a really stressful job, but, like, people come together. Like, especially, like, you know, like, being there for each other.

1:05:18It's the people. Yeah. Last one. It's your last meal on earth. What are you eating? Last stuff. But I think it's going to be Dorawat. It has to be. That's your favorite dish. How do you serve? Like when you have Dorawat, what's the whole table looking like? Like, so like Dorawat, by the way, takes like, like you say, if you do it right, six to eight hours to cook. Like cooking the onions, caramelizing the burper, right? But like you have Dorawat is like, like I use African hand chicken that's been stewed for a while. and we have like hard boiled egg and cheese, like our egg and some veggies. So I like veggies.

1:05:53I add veggies to it. Of course. Yeah, yeah. Well, thank you so much for taking the Resi questionnaire. It's been so fun speaking with you. Thank you.

1:06:06This is Taste is hosted and produced by Eliza Abarbanal and me, Matt Rodbar. The show is edited by lead producer Clayton Gumbert. And supervised by Pat Stango, director of media production and development at Penguin Random House. Thanks to Shalia Harris and the production team at Penguin Random House. Theme music by Steve Rydell. Episode portraits by Louise Zergon Pomeroy. Logo design by Ellie Skrzat and Ian Dingham. Visit Taste Online at tastecooking.com and make sure to subscribe to our newsletter to keep updated on all cool things in the world of taste.