712: Building Bridges with Sam Lawrence

29:35Right, like nothing happens in a vacuum. It's the cumulative effect. So you went to Hong Kong after Australia. Yeah, but I was there mainly for eating and traveling and I didn't cook there, But I think traveling broadly is something that, I don't know, everyone talks about annoying Australians that they see traveling all around the world, which is true. I wouldn't say annoying, but you guys are definitely around. There is a kind of rite of passage or a way that Australia is an island. It's small. It feels somewhat the same sometimes. Depends on where you are, but it's nice to travel and see different things.

30:09And that's why I think so many people go overseas in search of different kind of cultures or history. And it's a relatively young country in general. So it's nice to be able to travel to somewhere like Europe or where there is history that is really interesting and particularly in relation to food. And that's one of the things that I loved when I first went to Europe is learning about a lot of the history and cooking there. Yeah. I mean, I grew up in California, which is also a relatively young part of the United States, which is a relatively young country. And I think the first time I was in Europe and I was just walking down a street and thinking about how old the stones were in that street and the farms that were growing the same food for generations.

30:53Is that kind of the feeling that you were getting at too? Yeah. And even outside of the main cities, you go to places that have been there and it hasn't changed for so long. There's an old farm that I went to outside of Paris to eat and it had been operating for hundreds of years. And it was just, it had been the same for so long. And you think like there's, there aren't as many opportunities now in the world to see those kinds of things and to experience that kind of longevity. And it's really exciting. Okay, so then what drew you to New York and how long have you been cooking here? I was cooking in France before I cooked in New York.

31:31And I started cooking in Australia, moved over to France and kind of learned how to cook really there. You're cooking terrine and cooking, roasting a whole pigeon in a pan. And it's like nothing you ever experience cooking in Australia. But I cooked there and I was supposed to work at a restaurant called Le Doyenet, which my boss said it was going to open. And it was way too long. It ended up taking seven years to open. But then I managed, while I was waiting to see if that would happen, the owner said, I have a friend in New York looking for a chef. Do you want to go over there? So I went over for a week, a one-way flight and spent a week here and then got a job and stuck around.

32:16and I've been here for 10 years now. Wow. I feel like there are a lot of Australians in New York, but it's always so interesting to me because it's such a world away and I can't even imagine what it must have been like for you to come to New York and experience it for the first time. That's exciting. Everyone always says it, but there's so much opportunity. It is hard at times, but anything you could possibly be interested in, there is a world for you and an exciting part in New York. So when I came here and I started, it was intimidating at first, honestly. And then I arrived and started eating and making a few friends and feeling like I was part of a community here.

32:57It was, yeah, now I can't imagine living anywhere else. Yeah. I mean, I feel the same way. And New York has a way of kind of settling in with you. And can you take me through a little bit of what your kind of restaurant career has been like in New York? Yeah. So I started working at a place called Estella. And I worked there for the whole time I was cooking really at the start in New York and for four or five years. And then after that, I worked at the other restaurants and part of that restaurant group and moved around as culinary director to a few of the other places, which was a completely different job.

33:34Like I wasn't cooking as much, doing some menu development, that kind of thing. But then I stopped that maybe two years ago and focused on trying to open bridges. So most of my time in New York has been cooking at Estella and then also moving throughout those restaurants in the group. Yeah. And this is Ignacio Matos, very widely regarded restaurant group here in New York. And he is such a well-known chef internationally, certainly here in the city. I'm curious what it was like to be his culinary director? Like how much were you kind of in service to his vision as opposed to kind of seeing what you want to see in the restaurants?

34:12I learned a lot from being the culinary director, but it wasn't as much to do with cooking. It was much more to do with how to be a mentor, how to be an effective teacher. You're in that position, you're responsible for 50 young cooks who need attention and guidance and you need to learn how to communicate effectively and also make it fun and work on education programming and that kind of thing. So I learned a lot of what I now find to be so helpful in running a business. I learned a lot of that being the Cullin director and less so hands-on cooking. Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. I feel like I was asking you that question and I really didn't know what a culinary director meant and like the day-to-day practice kind of thing.

35:03Yeah, we do some menu development, but it's also you're maintaining businesses and training staff. You need to be able to train people effectively to do the job that you used to do, which is always difficult, but can be so rewarding and so fun. And I think a skill that is underrated in the hospitality industry, particularly because there's not much training you can do for it. You need to learn by making mistakes and having a good rapport with the people you're teaching so you can receive feedback and that kind of thing. And that's something I really enjoy now. But I think that it did take me a while to learn how to do it well.

35:41Yeah. And also, it's not like a small scale operation. There's Estella. There's Altro. There's Lodi. There's all of the nine Orchard Hotel restaurants. I think there's three of those probably. Yeah. It's a beast. I think that it was very valuable for a time, but I really like having one restaurant. Yeah, I mean, I can see that being a much more manageable task. I guess I'm curious when you started thinking about Bridges two years ago, what kind of restaurant did you want it to be? And is it kind of the same restaurant that it is today? Well, I think I was lucky in the early days. I have two business partners, Josie Stewart, who was a colleague of mine at the restaurant group.

36:25She was working in design and development. And then we became fast friends and had a similar kind of view of what we loved in restaurants that we didn't like. And then Nick Mouchel, who I met, grilling fish on a fire escape in Chinatown doing an event. And he said, if you ever want to do anything, let me know. and in the moment you kind of don't think much of it but then you remember all of those times when you really need experience and people to help you do this thing. So we opened bridges together and I think that timeless is a word that gets thrown around in a really horrible way that to me I don't enjoy very much but I think that what we tried to do was make something that we could see stick around for a while because those are the places we really admire in New York And I think that's the type of restaurant that you want to be and that you hope you can be there in 10 years and be really have regulars in your teenage years that have been going for a long time.

37:30They're the places that I really admire here. And I think that that's what, even with the design, Josie worked with the designer Billy Cotton to try and make it feel like in five years, it wouldn't just look like it was trendy at a time or anything like that. And I think with the food, too, draws from some tradition and culinary references and is delicious, but also a little bit interesting. Yeah, I feel like there is such a specific point of view when you step into the restaurant, when you look at the menu. Are there a couple dishes or elements of the restaurant that you think really showcase the Bridges point of view or the Bridges world?

38:13It's supposed to be fun. It's supposed to be a good time. I think that people go there for – we have a lot of regulars. We also have some people that go there to celebrate occasions, so it should feel a bit like an occasion. And I think that the room does that well. And sitting in a booth that feels comfy and the room is sexy, but it's not designed to the point where it's in your face, that feels good. And I think for the food, well, this is where I've been. I put a dish on a menu that was a tuna and dates dish that I've been told I can't take off the menu and my girlfriend will kill me if I do it.

38:56It's really good. I don't think you should take it off either. But those are the ones that I think are exciting to me because it was a replacement for another dish. We were going out of summer and didn't have tomatoes anymore and wanted to do something with tuna because we get some really nice stuff from Maine. And it just so happened we got sent a sample of some dates and we're messing around with it. and it worked out well. So I think that that's exciting where it can be, like seafood can be rich and comforting and doesn't need to be just with a acidic dressing or something. So like, I think that sitting at a table and eating that is a time that I've had in the room that I've really enjoyed.

39:40Yeah, I think we have to talk about the Comte cheese tart also because I really associate that with Bridges as a signature dish and it's such a, just like profound eating experience. Like I find myself eating way more cheese than I normally would because the tart is just, it's so luxurious and the texture is so perfect. Where did that idea come from? It wasn't supposed to be on the menu at all. It wasn't on any draft menu that we wrote. And then it was a last minute addition because it was, I thought, oh, we don't have anything vegetarian on the menu. Maybe we should add something in the week before we opened.

40:15But it was something that I actually worked on in 2018 for lunch at Estella. And there's been many iterations since then, but I think that the texture and decadence of having a cheese tart, something that is really delicately set, is something I really like. And I think that even Japanese chaoanmushi, those kinds of textures are really pleasant. So I think that's what we tried to work on. But the thing that was hardest to nail was the crust because I'd made bread in France with malted barley and we've been trying to work on a crust for ages that would work for a tart. And it so happened that in the week before opening the restaurant, it all came together and worked well.

41:02But that was supposed to go off the menu two weeks after when we found a replacement and it's never gone off now. You just can't because so many people want to order it? Well, yeah, that too, but also it's a nice one where it is a bit of a, the tart itself is about technique. Like it has to be really well made. And I think that's part of the cooking. And I have a fantastic team that focuses on the craft. The craft is the exciting part of cooking and like, I don't know, make it on sausage and make it on pastries and all that kind of stuff. It feels like that is a great technique to work on and to have.

41:40And if it's made well, it's almost like a blank canvas for anything you want to put with it. So you can change it throughout the seasons. We did morels and peas in the spring. We're doing chanterelles now. We did tomatoes and like a much lighter one in the summer. So it feels lucky to have something you can change throughout the seasons, but still focus on the technique. Yeah, I think the tart as a canvas makes a lot of sense. You also, and I was last at Bridges, had a chocolate tart. Is that the same tart crust or is it a different one? Well, that was, but now that's off. And we've got a different tart crust that's with spelt that is with a warm hazelnut tart with quince and chamomile that's on for a dessert at the moment, which is nice.

42:21But this is the evolution of the restaurant is the first year we're just finding our footing. And now we're just over a year old and able to start to incorporate some things that we have an identity. And now we can start to do things like a hot dessert that's ordered at the start of your meal and have a bit more fun with the menu and with the dining experience that we previously couldn't have. Yeah, I love that. I feel like quince is also such an elusive special fruit to get to have, especially in a restaurant context, because I love smelling them at the market. But I basically never take them home and do what needs to be done to actually eat them.

42:55We've used them in savory dishes a lot, too. I'll give you a recipe after this. It's exciting. You can definitely just put them in a pot and boil them and they can be delicious. You don't even need to peel them sometimes. Oh, wow. You can, you do, it's easier. But I've done it where you throw the whole thing in the oven and leave it for a couple of hours. And then you can scoop it out like a cooked apple. But yeah, quince, much more versatile than you would think. I love that idea. And you were kind of characterizing your first year as getting your footing. But I think to the larger restaurant world in New York, the first year of Bridges was like a smash success and you even got a Michelin star in your first year.

43:33What was that experience like? Shocking. Absolutely, like big surprise. Yeah. No one, no one, I think no one in the space expected it at all. And it wasn't, we didn't even know anyone was coming into the restaurant to eat or to review or to look. It's been, we were trying to survive, honestly. It was trying to make this thing work and and everyone was working so hard that it wasn't even really thought about. But it feels pretty special just because whatever you think about awards, best of lists, all that kind of stuff, I think that there's a historical component. Michelin's been around for over 100 years, and I think with the team, there are a lot of people that have moved to New York to work and that this is a risk or a difficulty, like a financial burden being here.

44:30But then I think seeing the team get some recognition in that way after a really long, hard year of work is pretty special for me. And that was so much fun. It was really good. Yeah. Do you display it somewhere in the restaurant? We haven't got it yet. Apparently they're supposed to give it to us, but we don't. Really? No. They give you a weird jacket when you go up on stage. With the Michelin man is on stage, right? Yeah, I was standing on stage and like, do you hug this guy? He's a big blow-up thing. Yeah, it was very confusing. Did you like a fist bump or was you? No fist bump. I put my arm around him.

45:09Big squeeze. Was he squishy? Yeah. Yeah, it was like a blimp. But yeah, it was a really weird experience. I just got off a plane from Paris because I was cooking an event there with my old boss from Paris. That was pretty special. And then with my business partners, Josie and Nick, and with Annie from Lay, she was there too. So exciting. She got the sommelier award, which is so well-deserved. But we're all there together, and it was so much fun. But I was severely jet-lagged and then didn't really know what was going to happen. Yeah. So did they invite you there, but you didn't know what it was?

45:52Exactly. You have no idea. But I mean, it must be something, right? Otherwise they wouldn't have invited you. Well, maybe, but we didn't know. And we were, didn't want to jinx it. But they invited everyone up who was in the guide before the Philadelphia and for Boston. So we thought, okay, we're just here because we've got a little blurb of us in there. So it was even a surprise in the moment, too. That's crazy. Did you go celebrate afterwards? Yeah, we did. We were all exhausted. But we went and had a bite and some drinks around the corner and then tried to get a cheesesteak on our way out of Philadelphia.

46:30And we were going to miss our train, so we had to abandon the cheesesteak. We were waiting for too long. That was the celebration. But then it was so nice. We closed the restaurant early the next night and had a little party with the team. So that was the celebration. That's a really nice thing to get to do with everybody. Definitely. Okay, well, if Michelin is listening, send Sam his star. There's an empty star-placed hole on the wall of bridges that needs to be filled with this. Yeah, no idea where we'll put it. We'll have to figure that out. You can mount it. You have this, like, great, to me, it's like a silver blob, but maybe it's a light fixture in, like, the center of the back dining room.

47:06Do you know what I'm talking about? It's, like, reflective. The big, you can see a reflection in it. Yeah, we're both just making, like, crazy gestures in the studio right now. but you could just kind of mount it to that feeling. Mount it to the bottom? I think it needs to be somewhere more discreet. We have an all red private dining room at the back. Maybe you hide it behind one of those curtains. You can only see it when the curtain's pulled back. They've got to pay you the big bucks to get to see the curtain, see the star. I know, that's right. It's got to be a private dining room to see it.

47:32That's so funny. So you're saying that you feel like you can experiment with the menu a little bit more, kind of grow in this next year of Bridges. Is there anything especially that you're looking forward to or wanting to do more of? It's also the way we work, but it's every part of the restaurant. And that's what's exciting is I think we've only done half of what's possible. And only in the past few months, we started getting whole four quarters of beef in or a whole lamb or pig and using that. And one of our sous chefs, Seb, is making bread and working on a bread program. And we've done so many things to change the way we work, but also the bar can be more fun.

48:13I love eating alone in New York, and I think that there aren't enough places to do that well. So adding a few items to the top of the menu that are per piece and that people can sit down as a solo diner at the bar and have, I think that's something where we're doing. And the wine list is going to get way bigger. We've got three chefs coming next year for collaborative dinners. It's just it's really exciting that now there is a foundation and an identity with a restaurant that now we can really focus on doing the fun things that are great for the team and also that fun for us, too, because the things we talk about, but they kind of get forgotten in the difficulty of day to day running of restaurants in the city.

48:54But I think the opportunity is there to do those things. Yeah, I feel like hosting guest chefs is something that a lot of New York restaurants, especially the newer, younger restaurants, seem to really enjoy and take pride in doing. And I imagine it's just because you also were hosted at other places and want to return the favor. But what does that kind of element add to the overall restaurant? I think there's so much talent in New York at the moment. It's a really exciting time to be part of the cooking scene here. And I think that's recognized internationally. and as you said there are a lot of like younger newer restaurants it feels like there's a graduating class of chefs and restaurateurs that have worked at places for a long time that now have finally got their shot and that's why it's really exciting and inspiring to be eating in New York at the moment but I also think that there is more focus on bringing people over creating relationships with restaurants overseas and going back and forth it's been like friends have even done like Hastag Biet did some time in Paris.

49:59Yeah. And then Bistro Paul Berg came and did some something over here. We had Thomas Parry from Bratt and Mountain in London come and cook with us and Hans from Chevaldor in Paris. Like there is so many exciting things happening. And I think that that's just because the talent level is high and the desire for like those relationships is there. Yeah. And I imagine also with social media, it's like so easy for people to kind of follow along with like the new dishes that are happening on a menu you know my friends in London are texting me about like something that Hasdak Bia is putting on their menu or their new restaurant that they're opening and I think there's just kind of an awareness of restaurants that maybe seem similar in terms of what they're interested in or like what kind of people they are in the location is just kind of something that eventually gets overcome with time like you go there they come to you I think that's the amazing opportunity with like there are so many things that are not good about like international food media.

50:54Yeah. But the one great thing is the closeness now that you can feel like you know what's going on elsewhere. And it's, my friend just wrote a Vietnamese cookbook that I wouldn't have known about unless I saw it on Instagram. It's just like, those are the things that there is an increased awareness and level of interest in what's happening internationally that I think is really positive and that is encouraging that people want to come to New York and go to other places in the world and cook and have a bit of a back and forth and a rapport of ideas too, which has been really fun for me with friends overseas.

51:33Yeah, and I think you even mentioned Annie, She, and Lei as a new opening this year, which is very close to Bridges. And I think that Chinatown and Lower East Side has not be it. There are kind of a bunch of new openings. When you were looking for a location for Bridges, Were you thinking about the neighborhood and closeness to other restaurants? Or how did you kind of land on where the home would be? Not exactly with the other restaurants. I think that we looked at, so Josie, Nick, and I looked at 60 places over maybe a six-month period. 60 is a lot. And yeah, it was a long, it was frustrating at times.

52:11But it was the first place that we saw. and we decided to look at a bunch of other places and kept coming back to that kind of Chinatown area and it was so lucky to find a place there but also now there is a community of restaurants there that is doing really special things and that I think is really exciting in that Lower East Side area too but I think that's the opportunity of young and up-and-coming restaurantes and chefs that previously didn't really have the opportunity to open a place of their own. And I think they're taking a few more risks than maybe restaurants that were open five years ago.

52:54And that's really exciting to be a part of a young, exciting restaurant, a group of restaurants in that area. Yeah. It's like a cohort of, I don't know how much you guys talk or you know are in connection with each other but it seems to be that there's just a lot of like excitement and energy in that place all the time i borrowed a case of charcoal from karima the other week and they came and got towels from us and we we spend a lot of time at lay uh all the time so it's like i think there is a um or like sunny lee from sun's doing incredible things like we are close friends so it does feel like it is a community of restaurants in lower manhattan that support each other and are really excited to be open and to be working together.

53:45And that feels really good and so fortunate for us to be a part of it. Yeah. What's the like lower Manhattan after the restaurants closed group hang location? Is there a bar you go to? So lucky to be in Chinatown. Yeah. And there are a lot of like local Chinese spots that are fantastic that have been there for years. but even like when we get off earlier in the afternoon like Ping Seafood I love there's a couple of other dumpling houses that we go to but we go to Cellar 36 and have a drink too which is great and that's also not just in the restaurant world but I would go and drink at Ted Bells years and years ago before the two owners then opened up Cellar 36 there are a lot of places there that make the area there's so many exciting things in the area that, yeah, we're fortunate to have them.

54:36I just went to the new Maxi's Noodle location that's in Manhattan. Have you been there yet? I haven't been there, no. It's a little further west in Chinatown than where you guys are, but I have never had wontons this, like, huge and packed with shrimp and pork in my life. They're, like, gigantic, and the soup is really, like, light and delicious, but I have not been able to stop thinking about it since I went there. They have, like, two flushing locations, and this is the first one in Manhattan. Amazing. All right, I'll have to check it out. Those are those food experiences, the ones that you got to share.

55:07They're the ones that people need to go on. They're the recommendations that I wish we were getting all the time. Yeah. I mean, I'll just start like texting you all of the wonton soups that I'm eating if this is what you want. But I feel like that's going to be the only thing I'm going to have until it's like spring at this point. Yeah, for sure. All of the soups. That's that's everything we're talking about hot pot earlier. That's dinner tomorrow. Yeah, you mentioned a little bit about evolving the comte tart, for example, in terms of what's going on top of it. Are there any other kind of winter shifts or additions to the menu that you're excited about at Bridges?

55:39A lot. It's been really fun with the team that we have now. There is a consistency that we can play with things a little bit more freely. There's been and got braised beef dish on with polenta that we had from corn from the summer. and I feel like everything is shifting more to warm and comforting things. I want to do a pot de feu for like a table of four where you get a big bowl of soup and braised meat and that kind of thing. I'm making aligo right now, which is the most rib-sticking, comforting kind of potato and cheese. It's pretty much the most decadent butter-filled mashed potato you could have, but then it gets like an alpine cheese, like a tom or a comte graded through it and it's like stretched.

56:28So it's like half cheese, half potato, but it's traditionally made in like the Alpine regions of France. Like an apres-ski kind of situation. Yeah, definitely. And that's with a steak that we have on at the moment. And it's nice to be able to play with that and do larger dishes that are fun to share in the wintertime. And it's much easier to then draw from history and cooking examples that we really admire that have been around for a long time. Yeah, I feel like there is such a nice blend of history and then kind of a contemporary feeling and an approach on the menu. Is that something that you're kind of drawn to?

57:05Yeah, everything has come from, like I traditionally cooked in more classic French restaurants. So there is a element of French technique and base cooking there. But the fun part is like we live in New York and there are so many good opportunities for sourcing and to use great ingredients and to eat different kinds of cuisines that it's hard not to be inspired and incorporate little bits of those. Like we get soy milk to make a custard from feng on, which is around the corner, and that was kind of inspired by Taiwanese custard, like soy milk custard you eat in the morning for breakfast that I ate when I was over there.

57:46And it's just hard to not be excited about cooking these things that you love eating. Yeah, and I think also to be able to be a part of the larger food businesses in Chinatown. Fongan is one of the oldest family-run soy milk tofu places in the city, right? So to be able to be a newer restaurant that isn't necessarily a Chinese restaurant, that's still kind of supporting their business and using those ingredients, that seems important to me too. Definitely. And there's like Aquabest, we get our seafood, it's fantastic. We, for the whole first year of getting crab when it was available, we were going around the corner to a seafood market and we'd pick the live crabs out and that kind of thing.

58:22It's just so fun to be able to be in Chinatown, and it was my favorite place to eat and eat before I had a restaurant there, but now even more so just continue to find great places to shop and to eat as well. Yeah, I think that's what makes it exciting to have a young group of restaurants in the area too is it feels like there's an incredible history and an opportunity to learn and to be a part of this great community there. Totally. I love that. This episode is brought to you by Hungry Root. If you listen to the show, you may know that I'm a major fan of Hungry Root. I've been a paid, yes, paid subscriber of Hungry Root since 2018 and have had the company's founder, Ben McKean, sit in the studio for a conversation.

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1:01:05That's right. You also shut the water up before the water goes over. That's right. Immopret N can strengthen the heat pressure, prevent the heat-redubbing, prevent the heat-redubbing and milder the flow. If there is a heat-redub, Immopret. Now buy it free in your store. More information on immopret.de. To risks and effects, read the package and ask your doctor to your doctor or your store. I want to play a rapid fire game with you to close today. So I'm going to make you play some favorites. It's going to be great. Okay, a favorite cookbook right now. Good Food from a Japanese Temple. This is just because I picked it up again.

1:01:43A friend of mine recommended it to me ages ago, and I picked it up again recently. And I think it's one of the – it's all vegetables. And it's from a monastery in Japan. And it's all vegetable cookery that I think is like nothing I have cooked. and that's really fun and there's different ways of there are 10 little hand-drawn diagrams of how to cut a daikon and there it's just so craft specific that you can it's really beautiful and i feel like there are cookbooks most cookbooks are based on a restaurant these days so like having a just a skill based cookbook and it's just a vegetable light vegetable cookery and and like different knife cuts of a thing is fun and exciting and like so different from every other cookbook out there.

1:02:31Okay, I have to check this one out. I also have to say I love like when British or Australian people say cookery. It's such a like perfect word that we Americans don't use. But I think I'm gonna have to start mentioning it in conversation after this one. It's better than we have many more. Right? Okay, your favorite season for for cooking or for cookery, I guess.

1:02:55Spring, for sure. Favorite job turning artichokes very therapeutic. But it's Like spring is fun. You get to do all of the long form tasks like shelling peas or beans. And I think it's the most fun because you've just been braising things for months on end. There's some excitement about starting to cook with vegetables that aren't grown underground. Yeah, I feel you. But I also find spring to be the most stressful season for me as a home cook or a diner because there are so many things that I want to have. But the season can be quite fleeting. So if you don't find it, like in a couple of weeks, it's already on to the next thing.

1:03:33All right. Key is also there are some spring vegetables around going into fall after summer. This is where you get your second little bit of spring. Sometimes they plant them as cover crops and you get to have like there are fall fathers I got from Norwich Meadows Farm this past year. And there were peas that came around. There were little artichokes that were there for a second when it starts to get cold again. and you have that kind of spring weather from summer into fall, you can have another little opportunity to cook spring vegetables. Sam, I'm losing my mind right now. I've never heard of that before.

1:04:06And the idea that I've missed out on artichokes this fall is something I'm going to have to wrestle with for a long time. Something you miss eating in Australia? Laksa. There's amazing laksa. Like I know you can get fantastic laksa here as well, but I think just growing up and having a few favorite places that I would go in Melbourne and there's incredible Malaysian food there, that having like eating laksa in Australia is something that I'm going to do immediately when I go there. I'm going there in March to cook for the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival, which is the first time I'll be cooking back home.

1:04:37Wow. Which is, yeah, going to be really fun. We've got the whole team coming or five or six of us to go over there and spend time. There'll be two serious dinners, one really fun one. That's so fun. And I'm excited for you guys to get to eat the laksa there because I have heard from all of my Australians that that is like the best thing in Australia. That's the one to get. Okay. A restaurant that's not in New York that you wish would open a location here? Baudes Amis from Paris. And it's not even the food. It's just the most fun. And I think everyone tries to open a bar with food and it ends up inevitably being a restaurant in New York.

1:05:17And I think that just having a place that is a bar that is fun and you can go there at any time. Lunch, dinner, that I think every time I go to Paris and I'm there, I wonder why there's not the same thing in New York and there has to be a reason. But that's the one I would transport here. I guess, okay, I have to do a follow-up. What makes them a good bar with food as opposed to a restaurant? I think that there's as much focus on the booze as there is the food and everyone's there to catch up and people watch. And it's just, it's all day long there are people outside drinking bottles of wine and I think that it makes it feel so informal that you aren't going to make a reservation.

1:06:04You're not going to sit down for a table of five and spend an hour and a half and then be told you need to get out. Like it's just, there is an ease and an elegance there that I think is more available in Paris but also that I wish was more available here. Yeah, I like that. I think maybe some of the factors that are making it more available in Paris is the drinking in the street, which we do here, but we're not supposed to, and the cheaper wine prices, which we don't have here. Not at all. But I think last summer, there were a lot of good drinking in the street in New York. There was a few little street parties that people would cook and put out tables and have a good time.

1:06:37We'll see. We don't have anything outside of Bridges, but maybe we've got a vacant lot two doors down, so maybe we'll try and do something this summer. Oh, that would be really fun. Okay, a favorite spot to eat in Chinatown? There's the classics. Well, I did mention Pink's, but also New York Noodle Town is fantastic. Mele Wah is great. The bakery is fantastic. That's my favorite bakery in Chinatown. What do you get there? Pork buns are delicious. The classic things there are so, so well done. Yeah. Have you had the pineapple pork bun? The pineapple one, yeah. The pineapple is really good. That's the one where you don't think it's going to work, and it's outstanding.

1:07:12dig it's really really fun i brought some into the studio recently because i am always eating them when i'm around there and it is just such a good savory sweet thing your favorite occasion restaurant in new york this is not for the food but it's just because it's fun i love rolls i'm going and having a martini at the bar rolls and there are there are times that i've celebrated or the past year has been manis at work so having a place that's not too far away to go and sit at the bar and have a martini and a snack and feel like they can be an occasion that's celebrated and it's not a three-hour sit-down dinner, that's where I go.

1:07:48Yeah, and they just celebrated 50 years of Raul's. No, but some incredible photos. Yeah, exactly right. If we can make it to half that, we'll be thrilled. Your favorite bar in New York? I think this is... I don't know if I have a favorite bar. I think that there are so many bars that I... There are bars that I like in restaurants. My favorite local bar is Captain Dan's Good Time Tavern, which is around the corner from my apartment. And that's just because it's sustained me through this past year with being able to go and have a late after-work drink and blow some steam after a long, long service.

1:08:22Yeah, and the name alone, I think, kind of fits the bill. Exactly right. Your favorite bakery in New York? This is kind of cheating because it's not exactly here, but I think Bread and Salt is the best bakery that I like to go to. That's fantastic. Also, Elbow is great. Mm-hmm. Okay, finally, a fictional food scene, like from a book or a movie or something made up that you wish you could eat in real life. I don't know about eat in real life. My favorite food movie is Tempope. But I think the one scene that I would love to be able to walk through and be a part of is maybe not a food movie, but the cook, the thief, his wife and her lover, is the big banquet and the food and the way that's shot that I would love to be able to sit in that room and eat a meal.

1:09:04Well, I love that answer. And this has been such a fun conversation, Sam. Thank you for coming on the show. Thank you. Thanks for having me.

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