Christina Nguyen: Discovering Identity, Culture & Building Success

0:088 secondsthe people who don’t just listen, they feel it. patreon.com/tmhf podcast show. Link is always in the show notes.
0:2121 secondsWelcome, welcome, welcome to another episode of the Taste Music Show.
0:2929 seconds[music]0:2929 secondsI am your host Ed Porter.
0:3434 secondsThis is the place for full music and culture. And how do y’all connect?
0:4040 secondsOh dude, I’m going to watch it now. I think it’s dope.
0:4343 secondsWelcome, welcome, welcome, welcome to another episode of the Taste Music here Food Podcast Show. I am your host Ed Porter and this is the destination for
0:5151 secondsfood, music, and culture and how they all connect. My guest tonight is a very
0:5959 secondsvery humble, let me say that, very humble person who does not um
1:071 minute, 7 secondsdoes not give herself the credit she so greatly so greatly deserves. And so I’m going to take it upon myself to do it
1:161 minute, 16 secondsfor her. So, I am going to pay you your respects hopefully with this intro right here. So, here we go.
1:271 minute, 27 secondsFood has the power to transport us. One bite can take us across oceans, across generations, and sometimes back to parts
1:351 minute, 35 secondsof ourselves we didn’t realize were forgotten. Tonight’s guest understands that better than most. Her work exists at the intersection of memory, migration, culture, and creativity.
1:461 minute, 46 secondsThrough food, she has built spaces that invite people to experience the world through a different lens. One plate, one story, and one conversation at a time.
1:551 minute, 55 secondsWhat began as a humble food truck would eventually become a culinary movement that helped reshape Minnesota’s dining landscape and earn recognition from the highest levels of the food world.
2:062 minutes, 6 secondsBut beneath the accolades is a deeper story about identity, belonging, and what it means to honor where you come from while creating something entirely
2:142 minutes, 14 secondsher own. In this episode, we explore the flavors that shaped her childhood, the lessons inherited from family, the
2:232 minutes, 23 secondsrealities of entrepreneurship, the evolution of migrant food in America, and the vibrations that food creates long after the meal is over. Because at its core, food isn’t just what we eat.
2:342 minutes, 34 secondsIt’s what we consume. emotionally, spiritually, culturally, and creatively.
2:382 minutes, 38 secondsPlease welcome to the Taste Music Hear Food podcast show, James Beard Award-winning chef, restaurant tour, and cultural storyteller, Christina W.
2:482 minutes, 48 secondsOh my gosh, that was that was quite an intro. Thank you. Um, can I steal that from my website? It’s yours. Okay, perfect.
2:552 minutes, 55 secondsIt’s definitely I need you to write copy for me. That was really I got you. I got you. I got I was like, is that me? Oh my god, that is you. That is you. No, I I I
3:033 minutes, 3 secondsthink it’s important. This is one of the great gifts that I feel I am afforded.
3:083 minutes, 8 secondsHaving people on this platform that I I genuinely have a reverence for and being able for them to hear how they project
3:173 minutes, 17 secondson others. I think it’s important. Thank you.
3:193 minutes, 19 secondsYeah. Cuz we don’t I know you do not take the time to you to really soak it up, you know, and and celebrate the
3:263 minutes, 26 secondswins, whatever that is, cuz it’s always on to the next. I overstand it. Yeah. We we all live that life, right?
3:323 minutes, 32 secondsYeah. Yeah. Absolutely. Absolutely. Um which is the whole important thing about really you know just being so
3:413 minutes, 41 secondsthat is 100% for you. So let’s let’s jump in. So before the awards before the
3:473 minutes, 47 secondsrecognition uh before haha before hola who was Christina and when nobody was
3:563 minutes, 56 secondsclapping what fueled your soul and spirit? Oh, like before before before before
4:054 minutes, 5 secondsI guess like Okay, so I’ve just always been kind of a serial entrepreneur. Like it’s really nerdy, but even when I was a kid, like you know the games that like
4:134 minutes, 13 secondswe would play, my brother and I would like pretend that like I had Christina win Enterprises. Like so so nerdy. Um
4:214 minutes, 21 seconds[laughter]4:234 minutes, 23 secondskids, the nerds will run the world.
4:264 minutes, 26 seconds[laughter]4:274 minutes, 27 secondsJust right. And then did you have a lemonade stand? Did you do that?
4:324 minutes, 32 secondsYou know, I I did have like Okay, so lemonade stand. Yes. Also like sold little crafts that I made when I was
4:404 minutes, 40 secondslittle. I’m like, see my daughter, my my youngest, she’s she’s always hustling.
4:454 minutes, 45 secondsAlways doing something. And I I I love it the fact that she even thinks that way. So that’s that’s great to hear. She’s not a she’s not weird.
4:534 minutes, 53 secondsNo, she’s on her way to being Exactly. [clears throat] I I would say promote promote that. um nurture that inner hustle because you know that’s
5:015 minutes, 1 secondyeah so I mean my my mom always people are always like did you learn how to cook from your mom and I’m like I learned the basics from her but what I truly learned from her was the hustle
5:105 minutes, 10 secondsbecause she you know left like a comfy 3M job because she just wasn’t like fulfilled and started her own kind of
5:185 minutes, 18 secondsprinting company. So that was it too is that I guess like the thought of being an entrepreneur was like not that far
5:255 minutes, 25 secondsout of reach. So I’d spend like you know days after school like going to the print shop and like helping out. So like
5:315 minutes, 31 secondscoalating coalating papers and stapling stuff and laminating at a young age was like you know that was the after school
5:405 minutes, 40 secondsgame as well as doing homework obviously. But [laughter] but and that’s why representation matters.
5:485 minutes, 48 secondsThe fact that you saw in real time what it was like to chase your dream like in real time.
5:545 minutes, 54 secondsYeah. And like it wasn’t even like I mean and it was kind of like miserable sometimes for her, but for some reason it was like well I mean for all of us
6:026 minutes, 2 secondstoo because it would be like we’d be at the print shop until like 9:00 cuz it’s like what are you going to do? Like we got to get this thing done. Um but you
6:106 minutes, 10 secondsknow it’s but there’s a part of me that just yeah that’s ingrained in me now. And yeah that’s so cool. No, that’s really cool
6:176 minutes, 17 secondsbecause those things, those lessons and even that drive, you carry that with you in everything you do. Whether people see
6:256 minutes, 25 secondsit or not, it’s still still there. That girl with, you know, Christina Win Enterprises is [laughter] alive and well. It’s alive and well.
6:346 minutes, 34 secondsLike, I need to steal that LLC still. I never I never did that, but but yeah.
6:386 minutes, 38 secondsAnd then, you know, just like definitely a nerdy kid growing up. I did I went to like a mostly white school. Didn’t feel
6:466 minutes, 46 secondslike I fit in very much. So in high school I did like two years of that and I was like you know what I want to do postsecary because I just want to fast
6:556 minutes, 55 secondstrack get get moving.
6:586 minutes, 58 secondsI was not like you know having the ideal high school experience at all and I lived like you know more of my social life outside
7:077 minutes, 7 secondsof school with my like Vietnamese friends.
7:107 minutes, 10 secondsYeah. Um, so yeah. So I guess like you know starting at [laughter] starting at a young age of I don’t know,
7:197 minutes, 19 secondslet’s see, at 17, my mom and I started a bubble tea shop together because when we were traveling for one of my brother’s
7:267 minutes, 26 secondsum karate tournaments in uh Dallas, we tried bubble tea for the first time. And I think that’s where my first love of
7:337 minutes, 33 secondslike of like hey I want to bring something to Minneapolis which kind of then became like I don’t know a serial thing that I would do but we were like
7:417 minutes, 41 secondswe need bubble tea in Minnesota and we need it like before anybody else gets to it. So absolutely.
7:487 minutes, 48 secondsSo I tricked my mom into [laughter] um into helping um helping and teaching me and to open a bubble tea shop which was
7:577 minutes, 57 secondskind of I guess my first foray into like food and beverage. Obviously much more beverage than food but there’s a lot of lessons that you learn
8:058 minutes, 5 secondseven in that small scale like coffee shop life you know that you carry with you later on. Absolutely.
8:128 minutes, 12 secondsI that’s actually super fascinating. I I I I love the
8:198 minutes, 19 secondsnot so much, you know, just the the average origin story, but really the, you know, the building blocks of what
8:268 minutes, 26 secondsmakes a person tick. So, a lot of reasons why I do this. So, I, you know, I got into food to pay for studio time.
8:328 minutes, 32 secondsSo, I’ve always done music and I always did food and I was always told to do stick to one thing. Yeah. And we’re not monolithic people, right?
8:418 minutes, 41 secondsAnd so this platform is less about what you do, more more about the mindset you have in order it took you to get to where you
8:498 minutes, 49 secondswas at because that to me is the magic. That’s that’s just the interesting thing, right? The fact that you’re just a little hustler. That’s just [laughter] at the at the core of it
8:588 minutes, 58 secondsall. You just and and and you like building things.
9:029 minutes, 2 secondsYeah, absolutely. I like building things. I like I don’t know. I think that like that thing where people are like stick to one thing that you’re good
9:099 minutes, 9 secondsat and whatever. I think that creativity is very fluid. It needs to be exercised in all the different ways. And sometimes
9:179 minutes, 17 secondsto like unlock like a a mental block in one place where you’re like I can’t think of another dish to save my life,
9:269 minutes, 26 secondsmaybe you start, you know, doing was doing something else for a little bit to like, you know, get the creative juices flowing. Like arrange flowers. I like to
9:339 minutes, 33 secondsarrange flowers sometimes and then I spend somehow it just like you know working with my hands doing something totally different then I then I get a
9:419 minutes, 41 secondslittle time get a little creativity and think of something else. Listen that and now you have a platform.
9:489 minutes, 48 secondsHere’s the beauty of what you’re doing now. Like you can spill all that off into the restaurant. Just so you know every [laughter] all of it. Yeah.
9:539 minutes, 53 secondsOh I’m expecting the bubble tea on on a mission.
9:579 minutes, 57 secondsOh man part of my life is [laughter] over. It’s funny like I have not been able to drink like a boba for like 20
10:0410 minutes, 4 secondsyears or something like also sometimes when I’m just like yeah that’s done. It’s done. [laughter] It’s done.
10:1210 minutes, 12 secondsAbsolutely. Absolutely. Okay. So you’re you’re selftaught self taught [ __ ] You didn’t get So this is my let me give you my
10:2010 minutes, 20 secondsI did go into culinary school but this is how I I view uh arts in general. So, not just the
10:2710 minutes, 27 secondsculinary arts, any art. I know guys that never been on the same side of the street as a school. They just have it right. They just got it.
10:3510 minutes, 35 secondsI also know guys that graduated that from here to here, they can’t do it. Yeah.
10:3910 minutes, 39 secondsSo, it’s an art form. So, I equate cooking like singing.
10:4510 minutes, 45 secondsYou can go to school for musical theory all you want. Sure.
10:4710 minutes, 47 secondsEither you can sing like Mariah Carey or you can.
10:4910 minutes, 49 secondsYeah. [laughter] Right. Totally.
10:5210 minutes, 52 secondsSo, like like this we can all So, here’s the other thing about art. So you have to subscribe to being a forever student if you truly love what you’re doing
10:5910 minutes, 59 secondsanyway. So it’s continuing educationally always. The minute you think you got it all, you’re dead in the water.
11:0511 minutes, 5 secondsSo that whole I didn’t People didn’t go to school. Does that make them I don’t subscribe to that at all. Yeah. 100%.
11:1311 minutes, 13 secondsYou started a food truck. The food truck as most things that you touch took off.
11:2011 minutes, 20 seconds[laughter]11:2111 minutes, 21 secondsIt it it blew up.
11:2311 minutes, 23 secondsSo it went well. It it went extremely well.
11:2511 minutes, 25 secondsIt’s been 15 years like since almost today.
11:2811 minutes, 28 secondsYou helped kickstart the Minneapolis food truck scene. Like there was you was one of the first We were a part of it, but I don’t know.
11:3711 minutes, 37 secondsYou was one of the first big names that came out of that situation and like you just said it’s not fly by night 15 years ago.
11:4511 minutes, 45 secondsYeah. You’re still, you know, still kicking. Yeah.
11:4911 minutes, 49 secondsWas that like the bug? Did you Did you get bitten like okay now? All right, now it’s possible. Now what’s next?
11:5611 minutes, 56 secondsYeah. Yeah. Because I was like, okay, as a person who had not, you know, not been not worked in kitchens, like I’d worked
12:0412 minutes, 4 secondsfront of the house or, you know, but not worked in kitchens, had not gone to culinary school. I was like, well, okay, I love to cook, but you know, a low-risk
12:1212 minutes, 12 secondsway to do it would be a food truck. So, let’s just like let’s just, you know, how hard could it be to perfect?
12:1812 minutes, 18 seconds[laughter] How hard could it be to perfect like six dishes and then just do that on repeat? You know, it’s all about
12:2612 minutes, 26 secondssystems. It’s all about, you know, just perfecting those things, doing it, see how that goes. And then luckily, because the food truck went well, then I had a
12:3412 minutes, 34 secondslittle more confidence to, you know, for us to open a restaurant, put on more dishes, see how that went, etc., etc. So yeah,
12:4212 minutes, 42 secondsI know I did catch the bug. I love I love the chaos.
12:4612 minutes, 46 secondsSo once you’re That’s So you’re either Listen, we are we’re massochists first off. This you’re you’re you were [ __ ] born for this like little sicko.
12:5612 minutes, 56 secondsYeah. Yeah, for sure. [laughter] No, for sure. Listen, it’s about getting your ass kicked on a Friday night and going back for more. Like it’s it’s
13:0413 minutes, 4 secondscraving that fe. There’s something to be said for when climbing out of the weeds. Like it’s it’s [ __ ] when it’s happening.
13:1213 minutes, 12 secondsLet’s just keep it real. Yeah.
13:1413 minutes, 14 secondsBut yeah, that last ticket stab is I it’s euphoric. I don’t care what anybody says. Yes. But the stories that come from it.
13:2113 minutes, 21 secondsAbsolutely. [laughter] The It’s well worth it. I mean, not at the time. Yes. The moment.
13:2713 minutes, 27 secondsYeah. Yeah. And it’s it it you have to be a you have to be wired a certain way. Yeah.
13:3213 minutes, 32 secondsTo go through that and continuously like, “Yeah, yeah.” You know, totally. Some people like skydiving. We like, you know, possibly ruining a
13:4113 minutes, 41 secondsdinner for 50 people, but then not and then you pull through. [laughter] Yes.
13:4613 minutes, 46 secondsLike, it could all go so bad. I could ruin so many people’s nights right now.
13:5013 minutes, 50 seconds[laughter]13:5013 minutes, 50 secondsI think different kind of thrill.
13:5213 minutes, 52 secondsYeah, for sure. The thing, the one piece of it that that really changed my mindset on on it all was the fact that
14:0014 minutesum I was told once that one, it’s not brain surgery, it’s food.
14:0614 minutes, 6 secondsEverybody that’s coming to the restaurant is coming with the ideals of having a good time. So, you’re either going to help facilitate that or completely [ __ ] the bed.
14:1614 minutes, 16 secondsYeah. So, totally. No pressure. No [laughter] pressure. No pressure.
14:2014 minutes, 20 secondsNo pressure. No pressure. And a little honesty goes a long way. Listen here. You’re going to be waiting. Okay. And this you look around you.
14:2914 minutes, 29 secondsYeah.
14:2914 minutes, 29 secondsThis I see you brought a hundred of your closest friends with you. You’re all set at the same time. It’s going to be a little while and be okay with that.
14:3814 minutes, 38 secondsYeah. We’re going to we’re going to have fun. We’re going to hang out. You’re not going to notice. It’s going to be great. Yeah. Yeah. Drink up.
14:4314 minutes, 43 secondsJust a little Yeah, exactly. [laughter] He has a lot of cocktails.
14:4614 minutes, 46 secondsDrink up. Yeah. Drink drink up. That’s hilarious.
14:5014 minutes, 50 secondsUm, let’s talk about Vietnam and its influence on So, I’ve been Yeah,
14:5814 minutes, 58 secondsI’ve been I’ve been I’ve been to Daang a couple times. Amazing. Love, beautiful. So fun.
15:0315 minutes, 3 secondsBeautiful food is great. Um, one of my favorite cities now.
15:0715 minutes, 7 secondsIt’s a beautiful, beautiful, beautiful city. I actually toured the uh the fish sauce uh plant. Did you? Okay. Wait. Um, Redboat or Red.
15:1615 minutes, 16 secondsThat’s so cool.
15:1715 minutes, 17 secondsI to Redboat. Well, I mean, you didn’t have to get close to it. You can smell Oh, yeah. what’s going on from miles away.
15:2315 minutes, 23 secondsYou definitely, but it was such a that was such a a a cool experience. I also had a police escort for the day because I mistakenly emptied an ATM.
15:3415 minutes, 34 secondsSo, it was 16,50 dung to the dollar. Oh my gosh. [laughter] Oh my gosh. That’s so funny.
15:4015 minutes, 40 secondsYeah. Yeah. Yeah. Emptied an ATM machine.
15:4215 minutes, 42 secondsYeah. trying to take a couple hundred US out and like dude I had all this you know I was [laughter] you know I was out
15:5115 minutes, 51 secondshere daddy war for for a couple days it was super cool then also did probably the the scariest thing I’ve ever done in
15:5815 minutes, 58 secondslife um I because I had all this money so I was at a drove driving by a gas
16:0616 minutes, 6 secondsstation met up with a guy who and his friend he had two uh uh motorcycles And I rented I didn’t rent them from a place. I paid a guy.
16:1616 minutes, 16 secondsFrom a guy.
16:1716 minutes, 17 secondsFrom a guy. Like, hey, that’s how you do it, right? Yeah.
16:2016 minutes, 20 secondsHey, dude. How much for the day? She was like, “What?” Like, “Yeah, yeah. I just want Yeah. I’ll meet you right back here.” This guy wasn’t even trying to rent a motorcycle. You were just like, you were
16:2816 minutes, 28 secondslike, “Hey, everybody has a price. Everybody’s got a price.” Oh, yeah. [laughter] I mean, I have dung to burn.
16:3616 minutes, 36 seconds[laughter]16:3616 minutes, 36 secondsYeah. You were like, I am VND rich right now and I [clears throat] want this. But I rented hilarious
16:4416 minutes, 44 secondsthese two motorcycles, four-stroke motorcycles. Yeah.
16:4816 minutes, 48 secondsAnd that’s when I realized that there’s no road rules in Vietnam. It’s an ongoing game of chicken.
16:5216 minutes, 52 secondsThere. Yeah. Whoever there are and there aren’t. There are unspoken rules for sure. You don’t look at anybody. Don’t
17:0017 minutesmake eye contact. That’s And then I realized cuz I’m an avid motorcycle rider that I was not on the same level as this
17:0917 minutes, 9 secondsfamily’s of five plus the dog on one motorcycle. Like that is next level. It’s Yeah. I got caught in a a roundabout.
17:1717 minutes, 17 secondsOkay.
17:1817 minutes, 18 secondsGood five minutes. [laughter] I couldn’t get out. Like it was like a a horrible game of motorized double dutchling.
17:2617 minutes, 26 secondsYeah. I could I don’t know. Yeah. I don’t want to die here. Nobody even know. Nobody even knows where I’m at.
17:3117 minutes, 31 secondsCuz I don’t know. This is pre Oh, man.
17:3517 minutes, 35 secondsPre uh uh GPS. I’m just And I don’t even know where I’m going. I’m just riding.
17:3917 minutes, 39 secondsYes. Oh, it’s it’s a whole other thing there. Especially in Ho Chi Min City. I would not ride a motorbike there. I’d be like, “Guess where your boy was?” That really Oh, yeah. Crazy. Yeah.
17:4917 minutes, 49 secondsCrazy.
17:5017 minutes, 50 secondsI’m a New Yorker, so I’m like this what it was. So, not the same, though.
17:5417 minutes, 54 secondsYou’re You’re brave. [laughter] It’s amazing. Yeah. You just what I found out? Well, I don’t I don’t ride a motorbike there or anywhere. I guess I
18:0118 minutes, 1 seconddon’t know why I just said that as if like in in Minnesota. Absolutely [laughter] not. Um but I I’ll I’ll be on one, but I’m like I need somebody who
18:0918 minutes, 9 secondsknows what’s going on because like there’s just like like walking in the traffic. You just have to be like I’m going to walk really slowly. You’re
18:1718 minutes, 17 secondsgoing to go around me. And I’d imagine the motorbike is kind of the same thing where you’re like don’t make any crazy movements. You just have to like slowly kind of go over.
18:2818 minutes, 28 secondsI don’t know. It’s But you made it. You’re alive. I did. And I have [laughter] a story.
18:3218 minutes, 32 secondsI have uh this that was a that was that was the dumbest thing I’ve ever done [laughter] because just simply because I didn’t know where I was going
18:4118 minutes, 41 secondsand how busy, right, it is like and it’s non-stop and like you don’t want to be the one that you know Yeah.
18:4918 minutes, 49 secondscauses anything then. Yeah. the beauty of it.
18:5318 minutes, 53 secondsYes, most people speak English there. So, like that’s that’s the that’s the that’s my saving grace. I’m like, yeah, I can always ask somebody. [laughter] So, and
19:0019 minutesI’m a I’m a I’ll talk to anybody. So, which is the thing I love the most is just talking and meeting people. So, I had a blast. It was literally
19:0919 minutes, 9 secondsI love to hear when people have a good time in Vietnam. It’s like just the most amazing place.
19:1519 minutes, 15 secondsYeah, it really is. It’s it’s it’s mystical. Yeah.
19:1819 minutes, 18 secondsI I toured a bunch of places and what a lot of people don’t know either is a lot of the marble, the Italian marble Yeah. comes Vietnam.
19:2519 minutes, 25 secondsYeah. Marble Mountain.
19:2719 minutes, 27 secondsYeah. Marble Mountain. Exactly. So that marble [laughter] that Italian marble just got it’s just Italian by way of uh barge because it’s it’s definitely Vietnamese in origin.
19:3719 minutes, 37 secondsYeah.
19:3719 minutes, 37 secondsAnd I I have I I have this um I have a chessboard. the most beautiful handcrafted
19:4619 minutes, 46 secondsevery piece. I sat there and watched the guy do it.
19:4919 minutes, 49 secondsLike I want I don’t want No, I don’t want I want the one that you’re touching because I I saw it happen. [laughter] Yeah. No, I had such an amazing time and
19:5719 minutes, 57 secondsand the people and the food and it was just a great great time. And so going into high Yeah.
20:0420 minutes, 4 secondsI’m transported a little bit. That’s the So that’s the magic.
20:0820 minutes, 8 secondsSo people [laughter] that don’t So So you do you’re doing that for people without them even knowing. So people that have never been Yeah. So it’s that feeling that they get.
20:1620 minutes, 16 secondsTotally. I love that. I love that. I mean that’s that’s kind of what we try to do and the feeling I’m trying to create where it’s like, you know, if you
20:2320 minutes, 23 secondswere in Daang, you probably went to Hoan, too. It’s like our building is painted, you know, Hoan yellow, like just that golden color that like so many
20:3220 minutes, 32 secondsof the buildings there are painted. And it’s not even that I like love that color, but it’s just very like there’s a certain like palette of colors that is
20:4120 minutes, 41 secondsvery like nostalgic like Vietnamese to me. So it’s like that it’s the you know navy blue and like kind of teal colored
20:4820 minutes, 48 secondsshutters. It’s everything. So yeah, but it’s um my love letter to the most magical place.
20:5520 minutes, 55 secondsThe the level of intentionality and so for those who get it get it, those who don’t, they’ll catch up, you know. So when they do like ah that’s why. So th
21:0421 minutes, 4 secondsthose are those little breadcrumbs that I think that are so cool and so important. Thank you.
21:0821 minutes, 8 secondsAll right, so we’re going to jump into a a segment uh called Cold Truths.
21:1421 minutes, 14 secondsOkay, this I’m going to ask you a question.
21:1721 minutes, 17 secondsOkay, that [laughter] is going to going to require your unadulterated truth.
21:2321 minutes, 23 secondsOkay, I’m so scared. All right, don’t don’t be scared. Don’t be scared.
21:2721 minutes, 27 seconds[laughter] And and before we do such, we’re going to taste some sorbet. Okay. This is the cold part. This is the cold part. Other than the truth.
21:3321 minutes, 33 secondsThis is Yes. This is half of the cold truth. Okay.
21:3721 minutes, 37 secondsAnd so this is yours. All right.
21:4121 minutes, 41 secondsAll right. So, every flavor tells a story. Every story holds a truth. This is cold truth. Presented by Just Fruit Sorbet Ailier. The new standard of
21:4821 minutes, 48 secondssorbet. Pure fruit. Thoughtfully crafted fruit at its most honest. Chef-driven small batch sorbets made with real fruit, organic ingredients, and flavor
21:5621 minutes, 56 secondsdesigned to hit like the perfect record at the perfect moment.
22:0022 minutesAll right. [laughter] So, let’s uh let’s taste up.
22:0422 minutes, 4 secondsAll right. Let’s see what you So, Thai coconut and pineapple. Love a good pin colada situation.
22:1622 minutes, 16 secondsM. That’s good. Yeah, I’m here for it.
22:1922 minutes, 19 secondsAll right, I’m going to try the two sides on their own. As you should.
22:2322 minutes, 23 secondsAs you should. The coconut is my favorite. That’s really good. What is the other part of it? Coconut one.
22:2822 minutes, 28 secondsPineapple. Honey. Honey, honey glow pineapple to be exact. That pineapple is insane. Oh my god. Okay.
22:3522 minutes, 35 secondsAll right. Here’s your question. I got you. Why I got you focused on something [laughter] else. All right.
22:4022 minutes, 40 secondsIf food is one of the last things that still brings strangers together to a same table. Mhm.
22:4722 minutes, 47 secondsWhy does it feel like we’ve never been more divided? Oh. Oh my gosh. Well, I don’t know.
22:5522 minutes, 55 secondsMaybe we need to share more tables with more people.
22:5922 minutes, 59 secondsI don’t know. I do think that if I think that right now like there’s there’s so much division, but it’s also people who
23:0723 minutes, 7 secondsare nowhere near each other just hating people that they have never met. And if they could all just get together for
23:1423 minutes, 14 secondslike for a meal, for a beer, like I think we’d chop it up and it would be great, you know? Like we have so much
23:2123 minutes, 21 secondsmore in common than we don’t. And I just yeah it’s I I think we we need to we
23:2823 minutes, 28 secondsneed to have more tables with people from different areas. Diversify diversify the table.
23:3423 minutes, 34 secondsI mean totally if you put a I believe first off the most biased person on the planet is at
23:4123 minutes, 41 secondsleast two times three mostly but two times that they’re not thinking about division and that’s when it comes to matters of the stomach.
23:4823 minutes, 48 secondsYeah. So people are eating food from cultures and people they deem to be inferior to themselves on a multiple times a day without even thinking about it.
23:5523 minutes, 55 secondsYeah.
23:5623 minutes, 56 secondsWhat if they put a face and a name to the origins of that dish? You biases cannot exist. Yeah.
24:0324 minutes, 3 secondsThe fact is we have to diversify those tables like we talked about.
24:0624 minutes, 6 secondsAgreed. Agreed. And if you meet the people who where the food comes from and you know you you see somebody cooking it
24:1424 minutes, 14 secondswith all that love, how are you going to say that that person is less than, you know, when they’re just giving it giving it their all and you know putting their souls into it?
24:2424 minutes, 24 secondsAbsolutely. Yeah. I I think it’s also a uh a swift kick in the pants when you’re having all
24:3324 minutes, 33 secondsthese people, you know, pro Ice and everything and then they’re jumping up and down on uh Yeah, I say Cinco de Mayo. I think you should be uh
24:4124 minutes, 41 secondsI think you should be banished for single deo. [laughter] I I think that I think that you should not be allowed to eat tacos, salsa, anything.
24:4924 minutes, 49 secondsNone of it. Number one condiment.
24:5124 minutes, 51 secondsHonestly, not even Taco Bell. You can’t even have Taco Bell anymore. If you can’t even have the bassad version, you cannot even have the bass version have
24:5824 minutes, 58 secondsthe shitty version of of that food because it’s like it’s all inspired from from that. And yeah, sorry. You don’t
25:0625 minutes, 6 secondsyou might not even get to eat at restaurants to be honest. If you you need to be cooking like your own food for the rest of your life. If you are
25:1325 minutes, 13 secondspro ice, you should just cook for yourself. You should eat at home. Sorry.
25:1725 minutes, 17 secondsYou’re right. This ice cream is just really really letting the cold truth.
25:2225 minutes, 22 secondsWhat’s in here? [laughter] So organic. So organic.
25:2625 minutes, 26 secondsOkay, that was cold truth presented by just fruit. [laughter] Presented by just fruit sorbet atilier
25:3425 minutes, 34 secondswhere the flavors are cold but the conversations are honest. For more info head to www.justfruitsorbet.com.
25:4125 minutes, 41 secondsWhat a great segue. [laughter] All right. Um food and music both
25:4825 minutes, 48 secondstransport people. Um, and you you do a great job with with the vibes.
25:5425 minutes, 54 secondsYou just you definitely do. What What dish on your menu feels the most like a song from your childhood?
26:0426 minutes, 4 secondsOh. Oh, wait. What? Oh, okay. What dish from the menu sounds like a song from my childhood?
26:1226 minutes, 12 secondsFeels the most like a song from your childhood? Because what I’ve always learn what I learned about you is there’s there’s through lines in
26:2026 minutes, 20 secondseverything you do. So there’s definitely something nostalgic about something on that menu that draws you back to that to Christina Win Enterprises. [laughter]26:3026 minutes, 30 secondsOkay, here this is some really this is a little off the cuff. It’s a little wild, but okay. I think that all right as a kid loved Paul Abdul.
26:4026 minutes, 40 secondsOpposites attract. I think that that like [laughter] great video, great video. Um, you should definitely
26:4826 minutes, 48 secondslook it up if you don’t know who Paul Abdul [laughter] is and that like cartoon like Yes. Anyways, um but
26:5526 minutes, 55 secondsopposites attract is kind of like what Southeast Asian cuisine is about where it’s like, you know, you have like on each dish there’s this balance of like,
27:0427 minutes, 4 secondsyou know, of cold, hot, crispy, soft, um sour, sweet, all the things, spicy,
27:1227 minutes, 12 secondsfatty, da da da. So, how’s that for an answer? You I was I thought I was stumped. I was just about to leave. I was like, “Oh, no.”
27:2027 minutes, 20 secondsThat was great. Except you didn’t give me the dish. Oh, the dish.
27:2327 minutes, 23 secondsYeah. Yeah. Yeah, I’m not letting you off the hook. I like every dish. I know, but what’s the one? Give me one. Give me one dish.
27:2727 minutes, 27 secondsAll right. Um. Ooh. Ooh. Ooh. Ooh. Let’s see. All right. What’s a good one?
27:3327 minutes, 33 secondsAnd you already led into my next question, too, by the way. You didn’t know it. [ __ ] All right.
27:3627 minutes, 36 secondsYou’re that stellar of a guess. You’re that of a guess. I can’t remember anything right now. Okay. No, I’m just kidding. Um, I can.
27:4227 minutes, 42 secondsAnd it’s uh Okay. Um, I’m going to throw [laughter] out bunail is there because it’s like there’s
27:5127 minutes, 51 secondsthere’s crispy outsides. There’s soft insides. There’s tangy tangy sauce.
27:5727 minutes, 57 secondsThere’s fried and there’s fresh because you got the lettuce wrap. And Vietnamese people are like, “It’s not a fried like I mean it’s not a crispy dish. It’s not
28:0528 minutes, 5 secondsfried but it’s pan fried.” You know, it’s like that’s not fatty and oily.
28:0828 minutes, 8 secondsYou’re wrapping it in lettuce. Are you kidding me? That’s a salad. That’s a salad.
28:1228 minutes, 12 secondsIt’s definitely healthy. It’s definitely healthy.
28:1428 minutes, 14 secondsSo yeah. So that’s my All right. So [snorts] when building a menu, are you thinking in rhythm? Cuz again, you know, you already stated some of
28:2328 minutes, 23 secondsthis already. Sour, sweet, salty, spicy, crunchy. That’s almost like the percussion of the food world
28:3028 minutes, 30 secondsin melody. So is that are those those nuances very intentional?
28:3928 minutes, 39 secondsYes. I I I hope so. I think so. And yeah, I mean Yeah. I think like in rhythm as in like Yes. I think that it’s
28:4828 minutes, 48 secondsall kind of like this little it’s like this little orchestra that’s playing and it’s like what do we need here? Okay, we need a little baseline. We need a little
28:5628 minutes, 56 secondswe need some horns. We need whatever a little it’s it’s all in con. So the I I I feel like the perfect bite of anything you
29:0529 minutes, 5 secondsshould have textural components. You should definitely have acid. You need a little bit of sweet. The best things that we’ve ever eaten in life are a
29:1429 minutes, 14 secondslittle bit sweet, a little bit country, a tiny bit of acidity, and then there’s always one that, you
29:2229 minutes, 22 secondsknow, is the main star, right? So either spicy or or what have you. But those those every
29:3029 minutes, 30 secondsplayer plays a role, an important role because when if one is missing, if you don’t have that little bit of fish sauce in most things, the dish falls flat.
29:3829 minutes, 38 secondsTotally. So they’re the components are purposeful. Like nothing’s there just because. Yeah.
29:4529 minutes, 45 secondsYeah. There’s I know sometimes we joke about like they’re like chef too many touches, too many touches. And I’m like I know but that’s kind of like what Southeast Asian food is. And obviously
29:5429 minutes, 54 secondswhen you’re like doing like an event and you’re like putting, you know, seven touches on each tiny bite and they’re like they’re like, “Oh my god, you’re
30:0130 minutes, 1 secondkilling us.” But also I’m like, “But which one would you take away?” And they’re like, “None of it.” Because it all needs to be there. And that’s kind of what it is.
30:0830 minutes, 8 secondsIt’s necessary. It’s necessary. Just do no unnecessary ingredients. So that that that statement is how I govern everything I do. Like
30:1830 minutes, 18 secondswhen I made my album Day Zero Whiteboard, no unnecessary ingredients. Yeah.
30:2230 minutes, 22 secondsAnd so and the tagline to the album [laughter] was um all modifications are
30:2930 minutes, 29 secondspolitely declined. [laughter] I like that. Politely. Politely.
30:3430 minutes, 34 secondsPolitely declined as get the [ __ ] out of here.
30:3630 minutes, 36 secondsYeah. [laughter] Funny they’re polite about it. You’re like, “I’m so sorry that unfortunately the chef would not do it that way.” Yeah. No. No. Refuses, actually.
30:4430 minutes, 44 seconds[laughter] Yeah. Refuses. You can leave.
30:4630 minutes, 46 secondsA no. The chef will not remove the fish sauce from this dish. I’m sorry. We cannot. It’s already done. Yeah. Yeah. Sorry.
30:5330 minutes, 53 seconds[laughter]30:5530 minutes, 55 secondsThat’s awesome. How do you honor tradition without being imprisoned by it? Yeah. Um [sighs and gasps] Oh gosh.
31:0331 minutes, 3 secondsWell, that’s a good question. I think that like, you know, it’s Yeah, it’s so hard because everybody’s like like trying to
31:1331 minutes, 13 secondsbe like, “Oh, Christina thinks that she’s like the voice of Vietnamese food.” And I’m like, I absolutely am not. That’s why like I have a Southeast Asian restaurant in general, and I think
31:2231 minutes, 22 secondsthat everybody should know that like I am the last person who should be the authority on Vietnamese food. I just like I like to riff. I like to, you
31:3031 minutes, 30 secondsknow, do my own things. Obviously, I want it to be true to, you know, somewhat true to the dish and like um I
31:3931 minutes, 39 secondsdon’t know, [clears throat] referencing it in a good way, but I’m also going to do like add some things that I that I want to just to make it my own. And as you should.
31:4831 minutes, 48 secondsYeah. And I’m not going to, you know, I mean, my dish is not going to be your grandma’s dish. It’s not going to be your mom’s dish because I don’t know them. And I’m sure they make great
31:5631 minutes, 56 secondsversions of it, but it’s like I can only do like, you know, what’s what I know, which is an Americanborn like Vietnamese
32:0532 minutes, 5 secondsFrench person who, you know, visited Vietnam for the first time when she was like 20. So it’s like, but that’s that’s so first off, that is quintessential American one.
32:1632 minutes, 16 secondsTwo, that ingenuity is how we were just talking about Taco Bell. Call it what you may, that’s an American invention.
32:2432 minutes, 24 secondsThe fortune cookie was born in San Francisco. [laughter] Okay, let’s just let’s keep it a buck. There’s like if you ever if you ever been to China, [laughter] it’s not what you think it is.
32:3332 minutes, 33 secondsDon’t ask for the fortune cookie.
32:3432 minutes, 34 secondsYeah. Don’t ask for beef and broccoli and your general south chicken does not exist. [laughter] Okay. So, these are all American inventions.
32:4332 minutes, 43 secondsMhm.
32:4432 minutes, 44 secondsSomebody was inspired by something and did something different. So, anybody trying to stifle creativity,
32:5132 minutes, 51 secondsyou know, stone them too. So, like Yeah. do your thing. That is what that’s why it’s so unique. Totally.
32:5832 minutes, 58 secondsAnd I’m just trying to be the best version of me. So like like you’re not going to outdo me doing me. That’s one. Do you?
33:0433 minutes, 4 secondsYes. [laughter] Yes. And also it’s like you just can’t get like the same things, you know, as you can in Vietnam. So it’s
33:1133 minutes, 11 secondslike why? We’re adapting. We’re already having to adapt some things. So it’s like why not just, you know, just
33:1833 minutes, 18 secondstotally [ __ ] it up and make it, you know, make it your own. Make it make it work.
33:2333 minutes, 23 secondsI saw I saw a restaurant in um in Hong Kong doing um like like soul food.
33:3333 minutes, 33 secondsMhm. Oh, I want to hear more.
33:3533 minutes, 35 secondsIt’s a guy So it’s a it’s a guy that’s out there from from here. Yeah.
33:3933 minutes, 39 secondsAnd um from the States Uhhuh.
33:4233 minutes, 42 secondsthat’s out there and he’s shipping like to them it’s all exotic.
33:4533 minutes, 45 secondsOh yeah. So he’s they’re like promoting about their the spice that they use is slap your mama which is you can get on any grocery store show. So like yeah we
33:5333 minutes, 53 secondshave the so to hear him talk about it so highly like that shit’s funny.
33:5633 minutes, 56 secondsThat’s hilarious. That’s amazing. And now everybody in Hong Kong is trying to get Yeah. to get their hands on your [laughter] mama and it’s probably like $70 a container out there.
34:0434 minutes, 4 secondsRight. Right.
34:0534 minutes, 5 secondsYou need a plug? I got a guy. [laughter] Yeah. Yeah. That’s amazing.
34:0934 minutes, 9 secondsBut the the fact that the it’s everything something somewhere is imported from somewhere else. Yeah.
34:1534 minutes, 15 secondsSo the things that we deem to be [ __ ] Yeah.
34:1934 minutes, 19 secondsor whatever the case may be, that is the case unless that place has a better version of that thing.
34:2534 minutes, 25 secondsSo like like nobody in [ __ ] Belgium is shipping in Hershey chocolate. Let’s just keep it real. That’s not [laughter] happening. Right.
34:3334 minutes, 33 secondsThere there’s some sick like I don’t know. I like a little plastic in my chocolate.
34:3734 minutes, 37 secondsA little plastic. That little hint of burntness. Yes. Exactly.
34:4134 minutes, 41 secondsOh, love it. [laughter] What do what do you think your youngest self needed to see in a restaurant like Highi High?
34:5234 minutes, 52 secondsUm gosh, I don’t know. I think that my youngest self needed
34:5934 minutes, 59 secondsI think like you know the reason for Hih high was just like you know there’s so many amazing like mom and pop like Vietnamese shops that you know are are
35:0735 minutes, 7 secondsmade from people who you know were the first generation that came here after the war and you know they’re they’re here making food like for their
35:1535 minutes, 15 secondscommunity and so a lot of the time it’s just like you know these these mom and pop shops they’re not serving drinks they’re not serving you know and they’re
35:2335 minutes, 23 secondskeeping it bare bones and That’s awesome. And there’s totally, you know, I love that. I respect that. But I like for me, I wanted to see something that,
35:3235 minutes, 32 secondsyou know, would that you would take a date to and you can get a drink and it’s viby and it’s got, you know, I mean, you know, high is not it’s not over the top.
35:4235 minutes, 42 secondsIt’s not fancy. It is very much like convivial in the way that like, you know, we we like to pat people in because we want it to feel like Vietnam
35:5035 minutes, 50 secondswhere it’s like you’re you’re shouldertoshoulder sometimes. And I know that that is the least motan thing, but it’s it’s also like that’s how we that’s how we do it.
36:0036 minutesIt’s a real thing. It’s a real thing.
36:0136 minutes, 1 secondAnd plus this the spot is not hidden unless it’s packed. Yeah.
36:0536 minutes, 5 secondsYeah. If if you’re not It feels different. Like it’s like going to the party and being the first one there. Yeah. Totally.
36:1036 minutes, 10 secondsThis is not [laughter] This is not that cool. Right. Absolutely.
36:1436 minutes, 14 secondsThis is not like you kind of It’s a little bit of FOMO sets in if you’re outside and looking inside like whoa.
36:2136 minutes, 21 secondsIt’s a little I gotta be I need to be in this place. So, there’s something to be said about there’s a place I don’t even know if it’s still open, but it’s in Chicago.
36:2836 minutes, 28 secondsIt’s called Matchbox. It’s just a little bar, but the the there named Matchbox because it’s actually it actually kind of
36:3536 minutes, 35 secondscurvatures in. But it’s a small like narrow like rowish type of bar. Nice.
36:4136 minutes, 41 secondsBut it gets packed fast because of the shape.
36:4436 minutes, 44 secondsBut that’s the vibe and that’s the whole entire thing. And when it’s I’ve been also when it’s not I’m like this place sucks. Absolutely. [laughter]36:5236 minutes, 52 secondsNo, for sure. It’s like sometimes if you you know if you go to high high like early like right at open and it’s 4:00 you’re like oh the vibe’s different
37:0037 minuteswhere the people and then slowly it but listen I’ll take advantage of that too like let [laughter] me yeah it’s like it’s like get in don’t you know whatever.
37:0837 minutes, 8 secondsAbsolutely. Absolutely. Let’s let’s I’m going to jump in and talk about some of your accolades because I think it’s
37:1537 minutes, 15 secondsimportant for um for people to one take some stock in what they’ve they’ve accomplished and
37:2237 minutes, 22 secondsand for others to hear um less about what the things have been accomplished but the road and path it takes one to
37:3037 minutes, 30 secondsarrive somewhere and sometimes your your ending destination is not where you initially set sail to to to go to. But
37:3937 minutes, 39 secondshowever, there is a ton of other things in the middle. The work that gets you to a certain place. All right. So again,
37:4737 minutes, 47 seconds2024 James Beard award winner, best chef Midwest. [snorts] That’s huge. Okay. It’s wild.
37:5437 minutes, 54 secondsIt is very [laughter] wild. Very wild.
37:5737 minutes, 57 secondsFive times James Beard nominee. So five times you were nominated and recognized.
38:0438 minutes, 4 secondsThat’s also a huge feat. You’ve been featured everywhere. Food and wine, uh, CBS News, Travel and Leisure, Bone
38:1238 minutes, 12 secondsAppetite, New York Times, TMHF. I mean, [laughter] yeah, it is what it is. You know, here’s my
38:2038 minutes, 20 secondsquestion. Does winning bring peace, pressure, peace, pressure, or both?
38:3038 minutes, 30 secondsOr something completely different?
38:3238 minutes, 32 secondsOh gosh. I mean, I don’t I suppose there’s a small part of peace there where you’re just like, man, that’s pretty cool. I don’t know. I definitely
38:4138 minutes, 41 secondsnever set out to do that. Honestly, I didn’t even think that Highh High was the kind of restaurant that like got James Beard Awards at all. I mean, I’m
38:5038 minutes, 50 secondsglad that they’re like recognizing immigrant food and places that are not as like, you know, fancy. Obviously, a
38:5738 minutes, 57 secondslot of people hate that, too. So there’s so that’s pressure as well, you know, where some people are like, um, this is not what I expected out of a James Beard
39:0639 minutes, 6 secondsAward restaurant. And I’m like, me neither. I don’t know. I [laughter] don’t know what to say. Like, you know, I didn’t like I didn’t campaign for it. I didn’t like I don’t have a PR team.
39:1439 minutes, 14 secondsLike I I’m just as surprised as anybody else to be honest. So I mean, but yeah, the pressure the pressure is is always
39:2339 minutes, 23 secondsreal. Um, you know, it’s Yeah, it and obviously that’s like that’s how we like it. But No, for sure. No, for sure. But, you
39:3139 minutes, 31 secondsknow, I think that more than anything, it’s just like there’s still always, you know, there’s always going to be pressure to just like to make the best
39:3839 minutes, 38 secondsbest dish every single time, however hundreds of times a night, and just like, you know, be able to to have the
39:4639 minutes, 46 secondsteam like, you know, believe in the food, believe in the vision, love it, and, you know, want to want to do that and want to make it great every plate.
39:5439 minutes, 54 secondsyou’ve created and cultivated the hardest thing to do in the industry
40:0140 minutes, 1 secondand that’s culture. So you have you have a way that you guys operate as a unit
40:0940 minutes, 9 secondsthat you can’t buy and that doesn’t it doesn’t only exist when you’re in the building. It’s when you’re not there and
40:1740 minutes, 17 secondsso that’s how you know it’s culture. So those that is the hardest thing in the
40:2340 minutes, 23 secondsworld to do. And I’m not saying it’s not hard work, but you make it look easy.
40:2940 minutes, 29 secondsAnd that that is first off, people talking about immigrant. All food is is from somewhere else. Every bit of
40:3840 minutes, 38 secondseverything we’ve ever eaten Yeah. as Americans. Yeah. Is from somewhere the [ __ ] else. Okay.
40:4440 minutes, 44 secondsThe only thing we can take credit for and and even this is loose because it derives from somewhere.
40:5240 minutes, 52 secondsNo, I can’t even say that. Everything everything that I can think of is there’s a piece of it from somewhere else.
40:5740 minutes, 57 secondsBut that’s what makes that’s the melting pot is what makes this a great place.
41:0241 minutes, 2 secondsYeah. the fact that you can get I always talk about this as far as specifically for the Twin Cities in Minneapolis
41:0941 minutes, 9 secondsbecause I always like to ask you I was like what do you think you know the city’s known for food and either people say juicy loosey hot dish or they don’t have any answer.
41:1941 minutes, 19 secondsYeah.
41:2141 minutes, 21 secondsThis is a city of creatives and creatives are horrible self-promoters. Right.
41:2641 minutes, 26 secondsYeah. [laughter] Yeah. Yeah. And I I liken the cities to a really good pot of gumbo where there’s no one ingredient stands above the other.
41:3641 minutes, 36 secondsYeah, I love that. That’s that’s beautiful because you can get the best of just about any food here. You just have to know. Yeah, you have to be in the know.
41:4441 minutes, 44 secondsYou got to be in the know because again, don’t sleep on it. Don’t sleep on that good food.
41:4941 minutes, 49 secondsTerrible self-promoters like like like and that’s the only caveat. So like I always try to tell people get out and
41:5641 minutes, 56 secondsexplore and from when so I I came here I initially got here in 98 I opened up Aquavit. I was one of the open people in open know that. Cool. Cool.
42:0442 minutes, 4 secondsSo I came here didn’t know I’m I’m a New York boy. I came like like they asked me four times like Indianapolis. No no no Minneapolis.
42:1142 minutes, 11 secondsYeah. Oh right. Right. I know Prince.
42:1442 minutes, 14 secondsI like Minianapolis. People like to like Minneapolis somewhere. [laughter] Indianapolis. I’m like okay.
42:2242 minutes, 22 secondsI truly didn’t know. I’m like, I’m not going from the Big Apple to the mini apple. Who who’s doing that?
42:2742 minutes, 27 secondsBut um and back then, so the the two main the two I guess and on that of that caliber, Manny’s and Goodfellows. Good
42:3642 minutes, 36 secondsFellows is no longer. Manny’s is still around. Way ahead of its time. Nobody somebody didn’t do the research.
42:4242 minutes, 42 secondsThe our industry night, we had an industry night and we flew in all of this seafood from from back in New York. Yeah.
42:4942 minutes, 49 secondsNobody did the research on that. 99.9% of all of that [ __ ] went in the trash because at that point in time this was a steak and potatoes buffet town and
42:5742 minutes, 57 secondsnobody was touching the oysters or the peony shrimp and the and and the crayfish and all this. Nobody was touching any of that stuff.
43:0643 minutes, 6 secondsSo again ahead of his time.
43:0843 minutes, 8 secondsMidwesterners are still a little a little squeamish about seafood sometimes. I’m like really? Well it’s landlock.
43:1443 minutes, 14 secondsI know it makes sense. It makes sense but it’s like there’s walleye and stuff.
43:1843 minutes, 18 secondsI don’t know. Anyways, [laughter] 90% of the walleye is not from Minnesota.
43:2243 minutes, 22 secondsThat’s what I hear. [laughter] That’s crazy. It’s not even local.
43:2743 minutes, 27 secondsI need to keep them as friends. I mean, come on. [laughter] Let’s stop pissing off Canada. They’re They’re pretty nice.
43:3443 minutes, 34 secondsLet’s talk about some intentionality because they’ve mentioned this before, but we’re going to talk about a little more. I’m going to give somebody a nugget that they might have not known.
43:4243 minutes, 42 secondsSo, 2121 University Avenue Northeast.
43:4643 minutes, 46 secondsOh, yeah. That is a famous famous location and if you know you know but now I’m going to tell you if you didn’t know.
43:5343 minutes, 53 secondsSo that’s it was how 20 22nd Avenue Station was housed there. That’s right.
43:5943 minutes, 59 secondsThat building has some history uh some lore if you will. [laughter] Uh former home of Juice Deuce.
44:0644 minutes, 6 secondsIt sure y uh which was and so again the level of intentionality. Hi high means what?
44:1344 minutes, 13 secondsMeans two in Vietnamese. [laughter] Nice. So that little nod.
44:1844 minutes, 18 secondsExactly. Little nod. And so that uh you know little former little strip club, you know. Put it light.
44:2644 minutes, 26 secondsTotally. It was like it was like a dive bar that had like Oh, there’s there’s a little stripper stage over there. [laughter] You like you like went Yeah.
44:3444 minutes, 34 secondsIt was it really wasn’t like I mean when we when we ended up like get buying the building taking it apart we were like this is like two pool tables that are a
44:4344 minutes, 43 secondsstage and there’s like you know there’s like a plywood on top of it like this is not a stage. It was very makeshift. It was but it was functional.
44:5244 minutes, 52 secondsIt was it was and I had some fun times there back when it was its former self cuz [laughter] it’s just such a quirky place that could like no longer exist, you know, with zoning and everything.
45:0345 minutes, 3 secondsSo, I have a special place in my heart for that. So, then when I heard that that building was like was up, we were like, I don’t know. Let’s go take a look
45:1145 minutes, 11 secondsat it and see see what’s up. And honestly, we were like going to put a different another Ola Arapa in there.
45:1745 minutes, 17 secondsBut like for some reason, I didn’t call for it.
45:1945 minutes, 19 secondsYeah. I was like, I don’t know. This might be that weird Southeast Asian concept that I’ve been juggling in the back of my mind. And that was So, that leads into my next
45:2745 minutes, 27 secondsquestion. So when when when Burke and yourself partner saw that and it’s dark. It’s I mean that it’s dreary.
45:3745 minutes, 37 secondsWindow building.
45:3845 minutes, 38 secondsYeah. It’s [laughter] the like most people would have passed on that a billion times. Oh yeah. 100%.
45:4445 minutes, 44 secondsBecause they couldn’t see the possibilities in it. Yeah.
45:4645 minutes, 46 secondsAnd and that is the magic in it. The fact that you saw like okay this could be this is going to be the vision. Oh yeah. Yeah. I know it.
45:5545 minutes, 55 secondsAnd I’m gonna give a nod to the what used to be. That’s That to me is the coolest thing. Like, okay, Nico anyway.
46:0146 minutes, 1 secondYeah, cuz you know, it’s like Yeah, it was kind of an iconic spot back in the day and it was so many different iterations
46:0846 minutes, 8 secondsof like bars even before the 22nd Avenue Station. It was like, you know, had just been like a bar for 70 years or
46:1746 minutes, 17 secondssomething before that even. I don’t don’t quote me on that, but it it had been for a really long time. [laughter] Like when we when we broke open the
46:2446 minutes, 24 secondswalls to like you know put some windows in there. There were like old like air raid flyers in there. There was like Polish band like um posters. No gold.
46:3446 minutes, 34 seconds[laughter] No gold. A lot of expired condoms. I don’t know. Like Yeah. You don’t want to know some of the stuff we found there.
46:4246 minutes, 42 secondsI’m sure. Hey, listen. Uh yeah.
46:4446 minutes, 44 seconds[laughter]46:4446 minutes, 44 secondsSo there was no champagne room, but there was like stuff was going on.
46:4846 minutes, 48 secondsOh yeah. I mean there were things there was a basement and everything. So, I don’t know, a lot of a lot of different corners of that building that I would
46:5546 minutes, 55 secondsrather not, you know, think about what might have happened in there. [laughter] It’s a whole new uh whole new world.
47:0247 minutes, 2 secondsYeah. Yeah. Exactly.
47:0547 minutes, 5 secondsOkay. If if Ola was the beginning and high was the homecoming, what chapter are you currently in right now?
47:1447 minutes, 14 secondsOh, [snorts] that’s a really good question. Um, God, I mean, you know, people are always like, “When’s the next restaurant coming? ones, whatever. And
47:2247 minutes, 22 secondsyou know, we definitely have like tried to look for some different spaces and had some different things fall through.
47:2947 minutes, 29 secondsAnd I don’t know, I’m just taking it as a sign. Like honestly, the two restaurants keep us so busy, but we’re not like we’re not like closing the door
47:3847 minutes, 38 secondsto to any of that, but we’re also like in a place where we’re like, I don’t want to like, you know, I’m cautious. I
47:4547 minutes, 45 secondsdon’t like to just like jump into things and like, you know, force something to happen. I mean, yeah, I feel like we dodged a couple
47:5347 minutes, 53 secondsbullets um that way where it’s just like okay, like sometimes you let the excitement sometimes you let the excitement like take you away and you’re
48:0248 minutes, 2 secondslike, “Oh my gosh.” Especially like a person like me, I am like impulsive and like, you know, impulsive, excited, creative where I’m just like, “We could
48:0948 minutes, 9 secondsdo this. We could do this thing.” And then it’s like then I need to also like take a step back and be like am I just trying to like [ __ ] set my life on fire right now in a in a crazy way.
48:1948 minutes, 19 secondsYou are a massochist.
48:2048 minutes, 20 secondsSo So I I also like I think have some amount of you know self-preservation these [laughter] days too which is good
48:2748 minutes, 27 secondsbecause I’m like I’m like like not ready to blow up my life on like a chance just you know we all know like things in restaurants are just like a lot harder
48:3548 minutes, 35 secondsthan they have been in the past. So I think that like maybe if it was 2019 then things would be a little different but we just know that that’s not a good year.
48:4548 minutes, 45 secondsYeah.
48:4548 minutes, 45 seconds2019 was not a good year. That’s right before co [laughter] Yeah. I know. Exactly.
48:5148 minutes, 51 secondsBut you know but that was before co happened and nobody nobody knew nobody was going to happen that any of that was going to happen. We were like living you know living the dream until Yeah.
49:0149 minutes, 1 secondYeah. I mean absolutely it’s craziness. Six feet. [laughter] Give me give me give me six feet. Um,
49:0849 minutes, 8 secondswhat do you hope people take away from uh when they consume food at your restaurants outside of good food? What do you hope they consume?
49:1749 minutes, 17 secondsYeah. I mean, I outside of good food, I mean, I hope that people just kind of like I don’t know. Obviously, it’s it’s
49:2449 minutes, 24 secondsall about like vibes, too. It’s like, you know, I want them to feel just like transported somewhere else. Um, you
49:3149 minutes, 31 secondsknow, it’s I love Minnesota. born and raised here, but there’s times where you’re like, man, I I wish that, you know, things felt like I was a little somewhere else.
49:4149 minutes, 41 secondsA little bit of culture.
49:4249 minutes, 42 secondsYeah, exactly. [laughter] So, I don’t know. just trying to bring some of that that lush lush paradise that is Southeast Asia whether you know
49:5049 minutes, 50 secondswhether it’s just through the like the space um the music the everything you know just being a little too close to
49:5849 minutes, 58 secondsone another having it be a little too loud a little too dark you know
50:0350 minutes, 3 seconds[laughter]50:0350 minutes, 3 secondsthat kind of thing yeah I I just I feel like you know we all need to like get out of our comfort zone a little bit
50:1050 minutes, 10 secondswhere it’s like you know you don’t have to go to like You know, it you don’t want it to feel like a suburb restaurant where everybody’s just like, “Okay, I’m
50:1850 minutes, 18 seconds6 feet away from this table and that that makes me feel comfortable. My chair is huge and my table is like, you know,
50:2650 minutes, 26 secondsis way bigger than it needs to be.” Like, it’s Yeah. I I feel like, you know, the level of I don’t want to call it discomfort. This sounds terrible. I’m
50:3450 minutes, 34 secondsnot selling my restaurant at all, but it’s just like She [laughter] said, “Yeah, make them uncomfortable. Pack them in. Make them uncomfortable.” A little dark, a little loud. Yeah.
50:4250 minutes, 42 seconds[laughter]50:4350 minutes, 43 secondsBut I feel like that’s kind of, you know, the experience that you’re going to have when you’re like in other countries. And I want a little bit of that. It’s a little something that’s
50:5150 minutes, 51 secondslike, you know, things are really homemade there. We didn’t like have a lot of money just like people don’t in other countries to like, you know, have
50:5850 minutes, 58 secondsan interior designer or pay like, you know, a lot of professionals to do things. So, it is very handmade cuz we
51:0551 minutes, 5 secondsbuilt a lot of it. And I feel like it shows and it feels that way where you’re like a little not perfect. So, here’s here’s the other thing about that. We
51:1451 minutes, 14 secondsall have, you know, when you go to a a really close friend’s house. Mhm.
51:1851 minutes, 18 secondsIt’s less about the aesthetics and more about what you feel. Yeah. Yeah. Same thing. Exactly.
51:2351 minutes, 23 secondsSo, it’s like it’s it’s it’s you’re you’re chasing a feeling versus I’m looking to see if the drapes. Now, that’s not saying that stuff can’t be
51:3151 minutes, 31 secondsout of place, but uh it is what it is.
51:3451 minutes, 34 secondsTotally. Totally. I feel like when things are a little cozy, a little like less than perfect, you know, I I feel like I’m more comfortable.
51:4351 minutes, 43 secondsIt sounds real to me. It sounds like it’s a real thing and not and not not theater. Yes.
51:4851 minutes, 48 secondsThis is this is a real life place. Real [ __ ] happens. And um there also are expired condoms in the
51:5551 minutes, 55 secondswalls. But outside of that, [laughter] outside of that, it’s it’s a it’s a time. It’s a it’s a real time. Yeah. And flavored. And they’re flavored.
52:0152 minutes, 1 secondYeah. [laughter] Absolutely. Pandan. Anyway, um hey, uh we’re gonna get into before I let you go, we’re gonna get into a little segment called the lightning round.
52:1152 minutes, 11 secondsOkay, so this is going to be I’m going to ask you some questions. Supposed to be fastpaced.
52:1852 minutes, 18 secondsOkay, so I’ll do my best. You how caffeinated am I? [laughter] All right, I’ll try. You need more little more sugar.
52:2752 minutes, 27 secondsAll right, here we go. One ingredient that deserves more respect. Lime leaf. facts.
52:3552 minutes, 35 secondsI agree. I agree.
52:3752 minutes, 37 secondsThat’s a good one. See, you’re starting off great. I know you’re Look at Look at Look at you go. All right. [laughter] Best bite you’ve ever had while traveling.
52:4652 minutes, 46 secondsOh, this is impossible. Don’t give me that. Oh my god. Pick one single. I can do it.
52:5152 minutes, 51 secondsOh [ __ ] Um just because it’s recent in my mind. Uh snails. Snails in Vietnam. Green sauce.
52:5952 minutes, 59 secondsSnails. A little spicy. Yeah. Yeah. Okay, that’s delicious. Little little sauteed snails.
53:0753 minutes, 7 secondsA song that matches highs energy. Oh god. What?
53:1553 minutes, 15 secondsWe We like to party by Beyonce. I [laughter] don’t know. Okay. I don’t know. That’s just my Okay. All right. That’s fine. We got to
53:2253 minutes, 22 secondsremember the the the history of the building. Okay. [laughter] Okay. Fine. Dands that make her dance.
53:2953 minutes, 29 secondsHeard J. That too. I That does play. That does play. That does play, Juicy J. It is uh comfort food after a long service.
53:3953 minutes, 39 secondsOh god. Comfort food after a long service. Say what you had last night with dinner.
53:4753 minutes, 47 secondsGo ahead. No, you say what you had for last.
53:5053 minutes, 50 secondsIt wasn’t good, though. It’s okay. But you still had it.
53:5253 minutes, 52 secondsAll right. I had um I had Papa John’s and [clears throat] And [laughter] because of the garlic sauce. It’s because of the garlic sauce and because of the pepper.
54:0054 minutesNo disclaimer. You had You had it.
54:0154 minutes, 1 secondI had it. I regretted it. The sauce is trash. The sauce is trash. It is pure sugar. I didn’t know how bad it [laughter] was. I hadn’t had it for like a while. So nostalgic.
54:1254 minutes, 12 secondsAnd you know what? Here’s the here’s the crazy part. You’re going to do it again.
54:1554 minutes, 15 secondsI’m going to do it again because you know what? I’m going to get to talking about that garlic sauce with somebody. I think I just need to buy the garlic sauce and have peppers.
54:2454 minutes, 24 secondsIt’s not good. It’s not good in bigger sizes. And you put that in volume. It’s not going to taste the same.
54:2954 minutes, 29 secondsIt’s Yeah. Like it’s like if they made a gallon size Capri size just one just one at a time.
54:3354 minutes, 33 secondsJust one just one tiny. But I just need like a stack of this cuz I’m pretty sure they never expire either. I’m pretty sure that’s like No, they explode but they don’t expire.
54:4054 minutes, 40 secondsOh, okay. Well, I’m just saying. [laughter] All right. Sounds coming from a man who knows.
54:4454 minutes, 44 secondsYeah, I got a drawer full of [ __ ] that just goes bang bang. You know, whatever. [laughter] Um, Arapa or Bono?
54:5354 minutes, 53 secondsYou got to do it. You can’t make shoes.
54:5654 minutes, 56 secondsOh [ __ ] I mean, I’m going to say bun sale, but I love arrays, too.
55:0255 minutes, 2 secondsOkay. Have you ever Have you ever Have you ever thought of mixing the two in in what way? Like
55:0955 minutes, 9 secondsput put the put the arapa fillings inside the bun or do No, that way around. Okay. Or put the bun fillings in. You could do that, too.
55:2055 minutes, 20 secondsThere could be a lot. There could be a lot of mashup. I’m just saying.
55:2355 minutes, 23 secondsI know. We do need to do a little mashup thing someday. We’ve talked about it. That has to happen. Yeah. Yeah.
55:2955 minutes, 29 secondsGive me I I just need to call. I just want to come in. Yeah. [laughter] I just want to come. I’ll let you know when it happen. Yeah. For sure. For sure. Okay.
55:3455 minutes, 34 secondsOne truth every young chef needs to hear.
55:3955 minutes, 39 secondsOh. Um [ __ ] to I think like you should still stretch and work out even if you’re
55:4755 minutes, 47 secondstired because you will your future self will thank you later because [ __ ] gets crazy in restaurant life and we don’t
55:5655 minutes, 56 secondstake care of ourselves and you just like go go and then when you like don’t when you’re not working you just want to like
56:0356 minutes, 3 secondsrest and not do anything but also like I feel like I was throwing my back out like all the time because I wasn’t like working out for a few years and then
56:1156 minutes, 11 secondsonce I finally started to like work out again, then I didn’t have those problems as much.
56:1656 minutes, 16 secondsListen, I uh first off that being on your feet Yeah.
56:2256 minutes, 22 secondsfor as long as you It’s not and then hunching down on Well, you don’t got to hunch down probably [laughter] my my back still hurts. Yeah.
56:3256 minutes, 32 secondsIt’s it’s But it’s it’s takes a toll on your body. Go get those massages. Yeah.
56:3756 minutes, 37 secondsYeah. Yeah. Yeah. Some cold plunging. Do do as much take care of the vessel. You only get one, right? And stretch for like even five
56:4556 minutes, 45 secondsminutes a day. Stretch for 5 minutes a day. Do some I don’t know.
56:4956 minutes, 49 secondsThat’s that’s actually some secret sauce. Stretching is as someone who is I I haven’t touched my toes since I was like in sixth grade. So [laughter] I mean like I Yeah. Be I’m
56:5756 minutes, 57 secondsjust not limber like No, you don’t have to touch your toes.
57:0057 minutesJust get as far as you can. Just do something, you know? Yeah. Get as far as you can. Yeah. Okay. Heard [laughter] heard. Heard.
57:0757 minutes, 7 secondsOkay. Tell everyone that’s listening and watching where they can follow, get in touch with you, see everything that’s going on at Christina Enterprises.
57:1857 minutes, 18 secondsWhat’s [laughter] Well, I’m uh if you want to follow me on Instagram, Christina Win MS um does not
57:2857 minutes, 28 secondspost nearly as much as she should. She’s trying to get better at it, you know. She busy.
57:3257 minutes, 32 secondsShe’s busy. And and also because I did like the social media for all of our restaurants for so many years up until now, I feel like I just like I I don’t
57:4257 minutes, 42 secondsknow. I can’t like I just can’t. I’m trying. I’m trying so hard. And then obviously there’s um Hi High MLS, H AI,
57:4957 minutes, 49 secondsH AI, MLS, and Ola Rapa. Um those are those are Instagrams. I think we Facebook as well. I think it just goes
57:5757 minutes, 57 secondsstraight to there even though I don’t like I don’t know. I don’t do Do people do Facebook stuff? Yeah. Yeah, listen, whatever happened on Michael J. Fox’s
58:0558 minutes, 5 secondsinternet is his business. [laughter] Whatever. Don’t worry about that.
58:0858 minutes, 8 secondsSo, uh, but yeah, also come meet at our restaurants in Northeast, um, where the old Deuce Deuce was for Highi and Ola
58:1658 minutes, 16 secondsRaipa, um, which is on 35th and Nicollet.
58:1958 minutes, 19 secondsAbsolutely. Absolutely. Yes, definitely go check out the restaurants. Um, and we’ll be looking for that mashup sooner than later,
58:2758 minutes, 27 secondsright? [laughter] The two, I’m there for it. I just want to be on the on the test sessions.
58:3258 minutes, 32 secondsappreciate. [laughter] If you like and appreciate or find value in anything, all this content that like
58:3858 minutes, 38 secondsthis, please like, follow, comment, uh, tag [music] this lady in it. Uh, she’d appreciate
58:4558 minutes, 45 secondsthat for sure. Again, this has been the Taste Music Hear Food podcast show. I’m your host, Ed Porter. Till next time, peace.