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423 — Super Sniffer (with Chris Black)
194 Plays2 months ago
Chris Black is a tastemaker, writer, consultant, and host of How Long Gone podcast. Ty & Eric quiz him on his go-to Subway order, avoiding the post-sandwich hand stench, the allure of the footlong cookie, why Cactus Club is poppin' off, his hatred for Montreal, doing a smell check on the NYC apothecary district, rum-running canned cold brew, Jimmy Johns’ political leanings, gatekeeping bibimbap, the vibe shift from snowboarding to skiing, and Chris’s signature twist on the cortado.
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Transcript
Introduction & BetterHelp Sponsorship
00:00:00
Speaker
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00:00:14
Speaker
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00:00:27
Speaker
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Tipping Etiquette Debate
00:00:51
Speaker
What's going on, breadheads? Ty and Eric back in the booth for another episode of Think Fresh podcast. Coming to you live from Eric's compound. um i don't have a name for this place.
00:01:04
Speaker
um It's not like the, what does Bon Iver call his compound? Like the April base or something like that? Drake's got the embassy. Everyone's doing it. This is the submarine.
00:01:16
Speaker
Coming to you live from the submarine has a beautiful, beautiful ring to it. Nice one. All right, we'll use that. ah Yeah, so we are both here hanging out at your crib for this episode today. We're very excited for this episode today. If you read the episode title, you'll know why, but we'll get to that in a few minutes.
00:01:34
Speaker
Eric, even more important news to share with you. I just left your local coffee shop, procured a couple iced Americanos for ourselves, which I see you sipping on. Lovely.
00:01:46
Speaker
Oh yeah. Something wild happened to me in line at the cafe that i must share with you. oh no. Which barista had it out for you today? For once, this was a customer issue.
00:01:59
Speaker
There was a geezer in front of me, Kane and all. His name was Steve. And I know that because of the square reader. Oh no. So when it said, would you like a receipt, Steve?
00:02:11
Speaker
Yeah, it did. Yeah. So Steve ordered lunch at the cafe. And when the prompt to tip showed up, I watched him hit other and then type in one cent.
00:02:26
Speaker
Oh, wow. He tipped one cent.
00:02:30
Speaker
That's a special kind of evil because... Like not tipping your barista, I think is totally normal, but putting in the extra effort to just slap them in the face like that with a single cent with a penny.
00:02:41
Speaker
um I'm not sure, man, did the barista have any kind of reaction to this? Did the customer, did Steve turn around and kind wink at you or what happened after that? It was a very cool, cool room. Steve played it smug.
00:02:56
Speaker
The barista turned a blind eye. And everyone went about their way. Here I am, bottled up with this feeling inside, like what an incredible way to protest tipping, to just drop a penny.
00:03:11
Speaker
um So that made you proceed with a two cent tip or how did you kind of navigate the situation afterwards? So on my two iced Americanos, I tipped 25 times more than the previous patron.
00:03:25
Speaker
That's right. A quarter. That's not bad. That's not bad. um I firmly disagree with tipping whenever you are standing up to order.
00:03:36
Speaker
So that includes baristas, bars where I got to go and carry my drink and food back to my table, anything like that. Take out. None of these places get a tip from me, but that's a rant for another day.
00:03:49
Speaker
Right, right. But the the general principle here is that if your leg is fully stretched out or crimped determines whether you are dropping the tip. Exactly. If I'm sitting down on my fat ass waiting for someone to serve me, i believe that there is some kind of there should be some kind of reward mechanism for how good that service is.
00:04:08
Speaker
But if I'm ah if I'm doing the leg work, no pun intended, then then fuck it. I'm tipping myself. Under this logic, we should be tipping
Introduction of Chris Black
00:04:18
Speaker
our airline stewardesses.
00:04:20
Speaker
We probably should be, but we're not. No, that's a great point, actually. wouldn't mind tipping my Delta representative, you know, if they hook me up with a free upgrade or something, slide them a 20 on the way up there. I wouldn't mind that.
00:04:36
Speaker
Give me first a first pass of the in-flight meal before they sell out to the fettuccine. That'd be sick. Mm-hmm. Dude, my very, very first business class flight, they sold out of the food I wanted.
00:04:47
Speaker
And i was like, you would just enter a different mode when you're sitting in business. You're like, how could they? know what mean? like, are you fucking kidding me, bro? who Well, to deny you that is just bad business.
00:04:59
Speaker
I know. I know. i want my honey Dijon chicken leg.
00:05:04
Speaker
I want it with real cutlery. i got a salad the other day at a cafe and they said they were out of forks. what do you mean you're out of forks?
00:05:15
Speaker
They said, the best we can do is plastic. And they handed me a plastic fork. They're a restaurant. Who runs out of forks? ah Okay. I mean, if they had plastic on deck, that's not terrible. Like you, you were able to survive, but I thought you had to eat with like chopsticks or something. That'd be wild or a spoon. No, dude, but this was an like a sit in meal. I was expecting a proper utensil.
00:05:38
Speaker
It was served in a proper bowl and it's going to inevitably go in a proper dishwasher. No garbage can. Mm hmm. Yeah, that's a tricky, tricky situation, Ty. um I'm not sure, man, but um at least I didn't force you to use a spoon, you know, chopsticks. My hands. Yeah, your hands.
00:05:57
Speaker
It wasn't at an Indian restaurant, so you're good. You don't want blue cheese dressing on your fingertips. That's hard to get the smell out of. Almost worse than sweet onion. Yeah, dude.
00:06:07
Speaker
And um I got to say, like, that that post-sub hand smell, it's a problem that plagues us all. And I think our guest would actually have a very, very solid answer to what to do about this, because he's a bit of a scent head. So um maybe without further ado, we should bring on our guest, Ty. What do you think? yeah yeah let's get him on here. Buzz him in.
00:06:31
Speaker
All right, breadheads, today we are joined by a true global citizen, someone who has made a career out of having in a strong opinion on everything. He's a consultant for brands like J.Crew and Tom Brown, a writer for all of the good magazines, and he's the founder of Done to Death Projects. He's a tastemaker. He's the host of the infamous How Long Gone podcast, where he, what you even do there, and interview influential figures about...
00:06:58
Speaker
Culture? I don't know. What am I missing here, Chris? I would say we interview people that do great work about everything but their work is kind of what the goal is to to some extent, obviously. you know But I just think that the our approach has always been – um you know, is there anything else we could talk about besides the recording process or the writing process? It's like that stuff is, you're going to cover that somewhere else.
00:07:23
Speaker
um And that's, that's kind of, I don't know if we set out to that or if we fell into it, but either way, that's what we
Subway Menu & Global Presence
00:07:28
Speaker
do. yeah Someone's got to pop the hood and figure out what's making these Someone's got to pop the hood. Someone's got to the hood. You can save that for a Jimmy Fallon or something, but on how long gone we're talking about your you know workout routine, your subway order, things like that.
00:07:41
Speaker
Exactly, exactly. Things things like that. things like that Yeah. Lovely. So do you kind of know what the stick is about here? I'm assuming we're a Subway podcast. Yeah, yeah. or i didn't know these I didn't know how closely you stuck to the theme or if it was just a kind of a banner to rally beneath theme.
00:08:02
Speaker
It's about kind of like ah all matters of cultural interest and there's an infusion of this sandwich chain and everything we do. And the more we've spent kind of picking away at this one bite at a time, we found that there's a little bit of subway in everything.
00:08:18
Speaker
No, I don't disagree. It's a great ah it's a great American corporation. and And one that I've obviously patronized several, several times over my life. um But i you know I want to be honest with you up front. I'm more of a Jimmy Johns guy.
00:08:32
Speaker
if i have to If I have to choose. And I don't i don't want i don't want to piss off the sponsors, you know the namesake sponsors or anything. But I just... I recently had a ah ah James John ah just a couple weeks ago, but I've been saying I i want to have Subway, but I i just haven't been around one.
00:08:50
Speaker
So it's it's, are there less locations now than there were or is it where I'm living and going? Is that, is it my fault? m It's possible that's your fault. um But I would say like- Wait, where do you guys live? Where do you guys live?
00:09:03
Speaker
We're in Vancouver, BC. Oh, you're okay. And Subway is an international chain. Yeah. Global energy enterprise. As far North America, as far as North America goes. Okay. Exactly. 44,000 locations worldwide, something like that.
00:09:17
Speaker
um Is it overzif franchised or no? Yes. Franchised. Franchised model. Over here, it feels like there's some. Are you guys going to open one or what? What the fuck? You guys got to open one. like This is such an obvious move. The beautiful the beautiful like dichotomy of this project is that where we don't consider o ourselves subway enjoyers. We are just observing and like scientists trying to figure out what's going on here. Well, you do realize it could be a good business from a strictly fiscal standpoint.
00:09:44
Speaker
Yeah. I mean, we just need the 200K in the checking account first to open up the franchise. but You got to get 200 for the franchise, but after that, it's gravy. Okay. okay I mean, I okay i understand now.
00:09:56
Speaker
Yeah, the the angel investors haven't blessed our account yet. We were hoping that a big listener at some point would just pop in the chat. Well, we've talked a lot about the the footlong cookie.
00:10:07
Speaker
Yeah, as of we. So what's your take here? I mean, it's an interesting... I've had people argue with me like no one buys it. I'm like, I don't think you realize how fat people are. Like that shit is selling.
00:10:18
Speaker
Like there's no question that people are going to buy the footlong cookie. What other footlong items they offer? It's a cookie... Isn't there something else that's not a sub? What is it? I hate that we know all this. We know all the answers to this. pretzel Pretzel kind of a nice bridge between sandwich and cookie. like that for them For those that can't decide, do you think they offer like a mustard or do you think it's just a straight up Raw dog pretzel. It's all the sauces. You you take your pick. and i mean If you want to dip that into some sweet onion, you can do that. Dip in mayo if you're a little freak. there Okay. All right. so there's a so There's a cookie. There's a sandwich. There's a pretzel. what Is that it or is there more?
00:10:58
Speaker
Oh, there's more, baby. We got a churro in the midst here. That's kind of the black sheep of the Subway family. Yeah. i'd also I don't know if I trust Subway for the churro, but I...
00:11:11
Speaker
I also, that being said, have, has anyone ever met a churro they don't like? You know what I mean? That's a pretty, that's a home run as far as taste goes, even if it's not the freshest or best version. Right. Fried dough, the churro, cinnamon. Yeah. It's all good. know what mean? Yeah. Whatever do there, it's good.
00:11:29
Speaker
It's a hero product. Yeah. But also it's a mood move. You know you get a churro when you're in the mood for it. You don't get a churro when you're not in the mood. I've never, I can't remember the last time I've had a churro.
00:11:41
Speaker
I feel like it was
Food Preferences & Scent Sensitivity
00:11:42
Speaker
at a it would be a restaurant where it would be like you know a deconstructed churro. And it's like, you know the there's several, like you said, sauce options, dipping dipping options. and The Michelin kind of yeah urge to reinvent the churro. So what else what else, is that it or is there more?
00:11:59
Speaker
Nachos. That's the new thing. Footlong nachos, baby. what's so for what how How do you make a nacho a footlong? It's like the boat that holds the nachos a footlong. It's the tray. Yeah. that ist from us I'm sorry. Circular setup.
00:12:14
Speaker
Squeeze it. It has to be a footlong product standalone for me personally. like for it to You know what I mean? like It needs to be The sandwich, a cookie, a pretzel, those all make sense because they're churro because they can be constructed that way.
00:12:28
Speaker
Nachos are just not conducive to the foot long measurement system. You need to like take an object and free transform it in Photoshop and then you've got a foot long object. Have you guys tried any of these?
00:12:41
Speaker
We've tried most of them. We don't have the nachos available to us, I don't think, yet. They haven't dropped in Canada yet. now I get it. Yeah, we usually get things a few weeks later. But, um yeah, the churro, I would hard pass on the churro.
00:12:53
Speaker
Same with the pretzel. Honestly, the hero product. The cookie's banging. The cookie's kind of banging, though. But ah could we said on this pod that ah the cookie is kind of built for like a girls like basketball team. Like you need like 12 people to kind of like all.
00:13:06
Speaker
Maybe you guys don't like cookies as much as I do. But yeah, a footlong cookie is pretty. it It feels pretty like birthday, you know. But if I go to i've got the office function, if I go to Subway, I'm only ordering a footlong.
00:13:19
Speaker
So, I mean, I like who gets a six inch. That's crazy. Hell no. yeah So we've got to talk a little more about that. What is the, what is the CB order? What are we working with at subway?
00:13:31
Speaker
I would just get the veggie, basically the veggie foot long with provolone. Um, I, they have some sort of, at this point they have some sort of avocado or avocado S spread. i assume, um, oil and vinegar, um,
00:13:45
Speaker
because I hate mayonnaise. I think it's disgusting. And that's that's really it. And then, of course, I would get a bag of chips and put the chips in the sandwich. Well, we hold up here, Chris. Isn't mayonnaise just oil and vinegar plus mayonnaise?
00:13:59
Speaker
egg. Like you're just one one ingredient shy. No, you're absolutely right. But it's, it's not about that. It's about the consistency and the visual of it. I just don't, it's just, it doesn't taste bad. I don't like, not like the way it tastes. There's just something I can't get past as far as the the texture and look goes.
00:14:16
Speaker
yeah Dude, I'm also aesthetically misaligned with mayo. It doesn't represent my core brand values. Yeah, it doesn't represent my – I mean, I just have never – there's just some things I guess I've also never really eaten that weren't part of my palate as a child for whatever reason, and I never i never took time to explore.
00:14:34
Speaker
I got to disagree with you both. I think the ketchup-mayo combination when dipping in nice little steak frites is like ah underrated situation. Ketchup-mayo, like you mix them up together.
00:14:45
Speaker
Oh, yeah. This is popular in Montreal, I think. But they mix up the ketchup mayo, throw a little fry in there. And it's got a perfect amount of, like, tang, but also cream. You know what I'm saying? I've never thought about that. That's an interesting... I've never seen that done. I mean, they do fucked up stuff in Montreal, so that doesn't surprise me. But ah especially the food realm, you know. Not not talking about ketamine.
00:15:10
Speaker
Okay. i'm I'm... Are you guys... Are you guys like food enthusiasts? Are you home chefs? ah Do you care about this at all? Or is it merely like a something that you're you have a passing interest in?
00:15:25
Speaker
I would say yeah you the level of care is it varies between the both of us. I'm more of a going out to eat guy. i don't really cook too much for myself. Usually my partner handles most of that stuff. She's really passionate in the kitchen.
00:15:38
Speaker
um but I won't speak for Ty too much, but you're you're a bit of a a wizard. i mean you're You're also a vegetarian. so Are sick with it are you sick with sick the kitchen? Oh, yeah, dude. i love to hop in the lab and chef it up, try something new. What I really like about cooking is the derivative hobby of plating that comes with it. You get to not just make a meal. You to dress that shit up. Yeah, yeah necessary evil. If you say so.
00:16:01
Speaker
I want to just make slop. I don't. Okay. are you so you're so are you Do you live with someone or you solo? Yeah. Oh yeah, dude. I got, I got a bae. We both got, we're booed up over here. I had my girl like brush my eyebrows before this call. Cause she's like, we're going to be on video today, bro. you Okay. do you have but You have a girlfriend that's going to brush your eyebrows. Does she, so you're doing the cooking for her and she's, does she help with the preparation? She's chopped vegetables or is she watching the bachelor in the other room?
00:16:30
Speaker
Yeah. This shit is not symbiotic. okay Every chef needs a mouth to feed in order to get straight that really, that really is true. What is your go-to dish then? if what What would you say is your strongest?
00:16:42
Speaker
Oh, dude, I'm so good at like a lentil bolognese or just like a really freaky salad. Okay, freaky salad meaning ah fruit involved or just heavy seeds involved?
00:16:55
Speaker
You just – I think the most – you know those TV shows where they like present a fridge filled with leftovers? Yeah, sure. You're meant to create from it. Yeah. That's where I thrive. That's it. I mean that's a good skill. i think and I don't know. i don't i know how to cook. I don't have an oven in my apartment. That's not And I – um and i I famously hate the smell of food and I don't want my house to smell like food.
Subway's Cultural Impact
00:17:24
Speaker
Like where I come home restaurant- smells?
00:17:26
Speaker
All food smells. I want the house to smell of, I have a very certain way i have my house smell, both in New York and l LA, we've dialed it with a certain, there's a certain scent from Santa Maria Novella in like a diffuser and then there's an incense and then there's Byredo can. There's a certain mix and some fresh flowers depending on the time of year.
00:17:47
Speaker
And once I get that equilibrium set, I don't want it disrupted by, know, hot wings or whatever, you know, it's just, it's just a personal. And when I go to a restaurant,
00:17:58
Speaker
And, you know, some restaurants have better ventilation than others. And you come home, you know, you go to the hot pot place and you come home and you smell like fucking hot pot. That bums me out. Yeah, brush that off.
00:18:09
Speaker
And actually, we were going to talk to you about this because we always struggle with the post hand smell at Subway. You get you eat a foot long and now you've got like that the allure of the sweet onion sauce hanging out. How are you managing that?
00:18:25
Speaker
I'm a big hand washer. I wash my hands, not like, not like how we Mandel like freak level, but just like, if I eat something with my hands, I have to wash my hands before I leave the restaurant.
00:18:38
Speaker
Like I can't, I don't like the way it feels. I like, I just can't, I feel it and it makes me feel dirty. Yeah. but i don't know I hate hand sanitizer. I think it's fake. and bad for you um it feels too chemical it feels too chemically and the smell is bad even like the aesop one or like the good ones are it's still it doesn't do it for me right yeah i want to ask you specifically about that like are you kind of risking whatever soap the subway sandwich artist is going to stock in the bathroom like are you going to use the pink soap do you bring your own kind of a pink rinse free hand wash
00:19:13
Speaker
i would say no i would before I would say the pink soap is part of the experience. I think it's certain places. like i think That pink soap is clinical. That shit's clinical. it's I like the the shade. like I think the color is nice. It makes it feel medicinal in the same way like a Pepto-Bismol is medicinal.
00:19:33
Speaker
It tastes bad because it works. No, 100%. That's what I mean. yeah so i'm ah I'm happy to use that. I mean i prefer... if If you're going to give me the pink soap, I want it to be the pink soap dispenser. I don't want you to try to trick me, which would never happen at a Subway, but that would happen at like a higher end restaurant.
00:19:50
Speaker
This happened to me in Milan last week. I was like, went to pump the Byredo suede and it came out pink. And I was like, that is not what this is supposed to look like. And it was ah it was funny because it was like ah it's like a cool restaurant. I'm like, you can't do this here. People know.
00:20:04
Speaker
People know. Mm-hmm. Yeah, dude. It's happening at all all class levels. Like all my broke friends have the ASOP bottle with the regular great value hand soap. it's it's really It's really funny what's happened with the the hand soap thing and how it's become such like an indicator or like a ah signal that people are telegraphing to let you know.
00:20:27
Speaker
And i'm I'm as bad as anyone else. Like, I i mean, we bought it Santa Maria Novella for the bathroom at the sushi place where we had our wedding. You know what i mean? It's like, i'm I'm a psycho, but I think that it's, I don't think it's because it costs money or it looks nice. I think it's because it smells good. I'd like to think that's why I'm i'm going above and beyond.
00:20:48
Speaker
um But I can't be ah can't be sure. It's also just that deep personal connection, right? Like a scent is so evocative, it connects you to places in time and you want to make sure that that is a memory of people.
00:20:59
Speaker
I completely agree. I mean, I, I, I'm very scent, uh, sensitive and, and, That is partly why I can't cook at home.
00:21:10
Speaker
um But that's also, I'm very, i have a super sniffer affliction, you know. So double clicking there for a sec, do you find like a gravitational pull towards the subway or is it more of like a but repulsion where he's like you smell it, you're like, I gotta go the other direction.
00:21:26
Speaker
No subway. I mean, famously subway smells better than it tastes. That's the whole game, you know, and I like how it tastes like I like a ah ah footlong veggie is like talking about it makes me want one, but I live in downtown Manhattan. I don't even know where I would
Coffee Culture & Brand Loyalty
00:21:42
Speaker
go. Like I know they exist obviously, but what, you know, funny enough when I first moved to New York, um, there was a subway on, uh,
00:21:51
Speaker
Lafayette, which is like kind of like prime time Soho. um And it was it was it it it was an next to. Yeah, it was crazy that it was there. And I would often have a sub at that stage of my life because it was, you know, like you said it was like six bucks and I could skate there. And, you know, it was a nice thing to do.
00:22:10
Speaker
But that location has since closed and been replaced by a high end restaurant. no Sorry to hear that. They're just saying wars on Lafayette. They're competing with like the La Lavo pop-up and diptyque all to try to draw your nose in. That's on, that's that we, the, the, the apothecary corridor is actually on Elizabeth street and it's excuse me literally La Lavo, Malin and Getz, Aesop across the street from each other.
00:22:36
Speaker
That's not, and that's not like an exaggeration and there's a diptyque kind of down the block. So yeah, there's a lot in the area.
00:22:44
Speaker
That's really interesting. Hanging out apothecary corner is a wild sentence. This is a real thing that people do. I mean, someone's got to get in there it's even more wild to do it. Yeah. I mean there's a circuit. Like you go from the, you know, diptyque over to the ALD store, stand in line for a coffee.
00:23:01
Speaker
You can get a matcha, the cha-cha matcha. Cha-cha matcha unfortunately closed. That location, the one you're talking about closed. that i think there're I think they've pushed into ah CPG. I think they're in like grocery stores now, which is obviously more profitable.
00:23:17
Speaker
That's interesting. Yeah, because matcha is having a bit of a wave right now, I would say. people are i know. It's crazy because it's for women. It tastes like dirt and it's like a man shouldn't order matcha. that's just that's just um That's just where I'm coming from on this. I can't. with you.
00:23:31
Speaker
But I think like a lot of men nowadays seem to be like embracing the more feminine things like skin care traditionally is like a more feminine. I'm fine with all of it except matcha for some reason. I'll draw the line somewhere.
00:23:44
Speaker
Do you drink? Do you guys drink matcha? I dabble when I'm with women. Yeah, when you're – exactly, yeah. Do you make coffee at home? I just – actually was just gifted a like a real, very nice espresso machine, and I'm picking it up on Sunday. So my life is about to change, I think.
00:24:01
Speaker
that's awesome yeah you don't need the oven you just need the you know three three top espresso machine yeah exactly i need the la marcoso with the with the three yeah that's what i need stay caffeinated we're all using the bean as a meal replacement most days anyways the bean is it man the bean is it i mean i don't even i just don't have anything else in my life if you don't drink alcohol um it's kind of the only drink to look forward to.
00:24:29
Speaker
no so I stick to water. i stick to water and coffee if I can. I'm curious, Chris, if the water program has changed at all over the years because we're seeing ah Saratoga water pop up quite a bit. Oh, sure.
00:24:43
Speaker
um yeah you know Mountain Valley, of course. I'm personally a sample of Green O'Head. But curious if that's changed at all. We bought a Berkey. Are you familiar with the Berkey, the water filter? Yeah, it's a big boy, right? Mm-hmm.
00:24:54
Speaker
Yeah, they have a bunch different sizes, but it just looks nice and it works. i I put my foot down at the beginning of the year because I drink so much water and i was like, I'm buying this. I can't keep getting, you know, 40 Fiji waters delivered to my apartment. Like, it's not. It's stupid. It's like stupid. I also, I don't believe, like, I don't drink tap water in New York, but I also...
00:25:16
Speaker
ordering bottled water at restaurants is psycho. They're just, they're, they're reaching into your pockets and stealing money. Like, I don't need like buying, i mean, sparkling is different obviously. Um, but sparkling actually, no, I'm a, ah I'm a Lacroix plane or i just was in, um, Marfa and I, I'd had a water called Rambler before.
00:25:37
Speaker
It's like a Texas sparkling water. It's like based in Austin and it is, Arguably the best I've ever had in cans, but it's, it's, uh, I think you can get it in New York now, but it's, it's still fairly new.
00:25:49
Speaker
Um, but if I have to go to store, it's going to be Fiji or Avion. I'm kind of traditional. Yeah. Those
Fast Food Chains & Cultural Significance
00:25:55
Speaker
have been heavy hitters for a long time. They've proven themselves in the market. The mountain Valley is smaller inside. Like the biggest mountain Valley is not as big as the biggest, you Fiji or Avion.
00:26:05
Speaker
Mm-hmm. Yeah, some of these water brands are ignoring their value proposition. Like at the the core, you got to get hydrated here. And I'm not going to do that with 200 milliliters. The most is, they yeah, always give me the most for my money. That's the that's the footlong promise, if you will. That's true. Yeah, I mean, we're not talking about $5 footlongs anymore, unfortunately.
00:26:24
Speaker
um How much are they? over here in uh not canadian because you guys dear your shit is so weak i can't even process but i was gonna say neither can we what do you guess it's uh what do you guess 15 bucks basically at this at the highest i would say um but yeah it's like what 11 us 12 yeah yeah 11 i mean i guess that i guess that it's been replaced by the kind of consultant bowl, like the sweet green kava thing. But those are, I mean, those are $20 at least, you know, you ever so you're still spending, uh, would you ever stoop low enough to try the consultant bullet subway?
00:27:00
Speaker
Cause we, they have the rice bowl and they have the salad bowls there as well. i'm curious if you ever dabbled. Honestly, man, i can't, I think a place like subway that's been in your life for so long,
00:27:11
Speaker
it's tough to deviate from the order that you first placed. You know what I'm saying? Like, I don't think it's like, it's not a place I would try something new. Let's say, you know, no, I fully agree with that.
00:27:23
Speaker
It's a risk. You don't want to try the, i don't know, the tikka masala chicken and it might ruin the whole place for you. Honestly. that's I mean, that's kind of what I'm getting at. The the risk is too high.
00:27:34
Speaker
You definitely don't want to bring the tiki masala smell home for sure. That's that's truly – That's the real risk. That's a diabolical smell in every way, in every way. But Chris, you you are you are a consultant to some degree, and but you don't eat the consultant bull. Let's talk about that. I do eat the – I go to Sweetgreen every day.
00:27:52
Speaker
Like I go to – there's a Sweetgreen right down the street from me on Kinmare in Soho. I go everywhere. at least four times a week. If I'm not having like a proper lunch with someone like, you know, and if it's up to me and I have a limited amount of time, oh I don't think there's, it's fun to make fun of it, but it's also like the best option still. If you have 30 minutes and you want to eat something, that's not going to make you feel like shit.
00:28:16
Speaker
Right. The best house on the worst street type of beat. What do you guys have? Cause you guys have a, you have a, you must have some knockoffs. Yeah, we do. We get like the Timu version of sweet green up here. think it's called Freshie. Honestly, I figured out a good Freshie order because I've spent so much time in Toronto and there's a Freshie um right in the in them oh yeah the mall. Yeah, they're super Freshie-pilled over there in Ontario.
00:28:43
Speaker
But there's there's one, and I figured out the wrap that I'm able to to eat, and I do like it. um But Freshie is bad. like a you know As a general rule, it's bad. But when I'm in Toronto for a week and it's across the street from the hotel, it's it's pretty go-to.
00:29:00
Speaker
Yeah. This is the challenges most like casual fast food chains are I think all struggling right now because they, no one has really broken through as like the de facto, this place rocks.
00:29:13
Speaker
Everyone wants to go there. Like Chipotle was for its during his golden years, but. I would say that it's, it's just splintered a bit, but it still exists. Like I think in certain market in, in California it's in and out ah or Raising Cane's the the chicken place.
00:29:29
Speaker
or Chick-fil-A in the South, or you know and those are kind of the, and and in New York, they're really, it's different. There's not like, there's a Chick-fil-A here, there's like a Five Guys, you know if you want that, but like, I would say that the fast food has been like romanticized and is something that like upper middle class people give themselves as a treat now.
00:29:49
Speaker
And that's what like In-N-Out, Raising Cane's, Chick-fil-A are all like acceptable and considered like, whoa, We lost to Mike. Is he bad? Considered like, yeah, they're it's weird though. those Those particular places are considered like cool and like a a viable option.
00:30:06
Speaker
Where Chipotle is considered disgusting. Yeah, 100%. It's fallen off big time. I've only had it once in my life. And i i was i instantly regretted it.
00:30:18
Speaker
It never went bad. You were in and out. ah Yeah, literally in and out. Yeah, there might be a difference between American Chipotle and Canadian because um if you get some food delivered via like DoorDash or whatever, it's usually like the cheapest thing that is somewhat acceptable from a health standpoint.
00:30:36
Speaker
Like you can get a ton of chicken and like load up on protein. You know, I mean, the rice is like fine, whatever. um But it comes to like $20 for dinner. You know, it's not a bad thing if you're a single, lonely guy. vancouver Vancouver's got such great food though. I hope you guys are leaving the house. you know i've had some I've had some great meals in Vancouver.
00:30:53
Speaker
yeah I can't remember. There's a place called Bao Bay. Is that still there? Oh yeah, dude. a great question Nothing but hits there. and Didn't they open another? isn't they Don't they have like a sister restaurant that's like a little like like nicer restaurant?
00:31:06
Speaker
Yeah, so they they work with Kisitanto. I think that's their sister restaurant, which Eric and I are big Kisitanto heads. We spent many a night there. Is Acorn still there? No, R-I-P-E, Acorn. It shut down.
00:31:19
Speaker
Great restaurant. As a person who's been, you know, vegan, vegetarian for most of my life, like places like that are pretty special because it's there's like ah there was a point where sort of like the high-end, quote-unquote, like vegetarian restaurant didn't really exist.
00:31:34
Speaker
um and And now it's obviously a little more common, especially in major cities. But acorn was ah a classic. Yeah, it's really great to see like these like highbrow chefs coming back to just the core tangents of cooking. Like what can we do with a ah carrot? all Everything else has been done. Let's revisit the tomato and just try again. Once Eleven Madison Park went vegan, you know, it's like, right, shit. I mean, I guess there is...
00:31:57
Speaker
I always say that this is, I mean, this is, if you go to an Italian restaurant, if you go to get pizza, like the margarita is the judge, like scrambled eggs to the judge. It's a litmus test. Exactly. And I think that like to a chef, if you've been forced to innovate for fucking 20 years, you're like, I don't, I don't want to do that anymore.
00:32:14
Speaker
And also I think there's, i think there's been a change a little bit and people want. Food that tastes good, obviously, and it's like easy to understand, especially in in the US. like The burger, fries, martini, you know Caesar salad thing is like the most popular kind of restaurant now.
00:32:30
Speaker
um and I think that's like a weird comfort thing for a lot of people because it it doesn't it's not challenging, and the restaurant usually is fun, and the music's good, and the lighting is right, you know that whole thing.
00:32:41
Speaker
Yeah, it's like a recession indicator right there if those rooms are filled. For sure. Even though these restaurants are expensive. like they're not That's the thing. it's like It's not like it's McDonald's prices. Right. It's creature comfort. We're appealing to an unmet childhood trauma. 100%. A fear of the future.
00:32:57
Speaker
What's interesting is over here in Canada, the restaurants with the most clout seem to be the Italian ones. Like we've had like a recent wave of like American style pasta, like Italian American, lots of sauce, big portions. um Like we've had like Savio Volpe over Pepino's, both like really, really great Italian spots. That's kind of where the scene is a little bit um in terms of like Kind of yeah upper dining, but not like Michelin star somewhere in the middle. sure yeah But I will add though, like Canada is exceptionally good at the casual fine dining scene. Like Cactus Club is out of here in Vancouver. We got, I don't know if you've been to any of the urban flagship Earl's locations. I haven't been to Earl's or Cactus Club. And it's funny because I almost went over the holidays in Toronto. Cause I think there's an Earl's that's like in Yorkville.
00:33:50
Speaker
It's like a nice one. but my mind So my wife is Canadian. So she's like, you've never been to it? And I'm like, no, I thought I had, but I realized I hadn't. But it's somewhere we have something called, oh my God, Houston's or Hillstone, um which is sort of like a, it's a very, very dialed in, like, nice chain.
00:34:13
Speaker
and And that is what Earl's and Cactus Club, but don't hot chicks work at Cactus Club? Isn't that like a thing? Like the waitresses? It's general rule. That's cool. That's cool.
Consumer Behavior & Branding Strategies
00:34:22
Speaker
yeah I like that. So, but what do you, what do you get there? Like a steak and salad or like a burger and like, or what's the, is there more experimental menu items?
00:34:30
Speaker
I mean, precisely that. Like you can get the ravioli if you want, but it's really the chicken strips and fries crowd that. but it love it But it's good. oh yeah, it's it's incredible. And um like the simple stuff, like the chicken sandwich is like probably one of the best in the city. how but fun like I'm I haven't been there. But is it is it like busy, like hard to get a table?
00:34:50
Speaker
Oh, yeah. Some locations are, you know, better than others. Like we have one Coal Harbor, which is like the high end like spot where you want to take your clients to. Then we have some other random spots where it's easier to get a table. but But you want to go to the blue chip locations, though, for sure. Oh, yeah. Always. The atmosphere is everything. But is earl's is Earl's more of like a pub vibe Yeah. Yeah.
00:35:11
Speaker
I think that's ah a good, ah for someone who's never been to both, that's a very good assertion. is it good? is it it Obviously the food isn't as good, but the it it offers something different. Yeah, dude, if Earl's was as good as cactus, then Drake would be rapping about Earl's.
00:35:25
Speaker
That's all. Has Drake mentioned cactus? All the time. Oh, really? pill Yeah, it's one of his favorite things, bro. Like when he was here last, he was posting on a story like I need the Bellini to my hotel right now.
00:35:36
Speaker
type she Yeah, that's really in the penthouse. He's like zooming on Instagram live down to the cactus club, like send the leanies up. but lie back But I mean, that's the thing, man. That's, it's like the, that, that sort of shit sticks with you.
00:35:50
Speaker
You know, like if that was the nicest place that you ever went when you were a certain age, that's still going to be a place that you want to go to no matter how much money you have. Yeah. The first time you got money, like, where'd you go? Would you buy? It's like those things that you hold close to your heart. A hundred percent. Oh yeah, for sure. There's, oh yeah. I can think of, can think of a handful myself, you know, I can have a handful of myself.
00:36:08
Speaker
Tell us what's a, what's CB. Yeah. Why don't you share? I mean, I would buy that you were like, this is my first purchase. I would probably say, huh, like probably something, of probably like Louis Vuitton or, or even like Paul Smith or something like weird. so like when I had to like wear a suit for the first time and I had money, i was like, Oh, I like Paul Smith, you know? And like, that's not a brand I wear all the time, but I have like a deep affinity and respect for it.
00:36:38
Speaker
And like what they do, because it was like, you know, when I was 24, that was like the coolest thing I could buy. you know But LV is the same way. But I used to do dumb shit. Like when I first got money and it was obviously on a very low level, you know, you'd go somewhere. I'd go like Meme and Marcus and they would look at me like I couldn't buy it, whatever that was. So I would buy it just to prove prove to some sales guy that I could. And obviously the sales guy doesn't give a fuck about what I'm doing.
00:37:07
Speaker
um But it was an ego thing when you're younger that I've i've luckily grown out of. Yeah, dude, 100%. And you know what? They don't tell you. You can just return it next week and you can still check that box. Make sure the same guy isn't there and you're good to go.
00:37:21
Speaker
Yeah, exactly. Before it posts to the Amex account. Yeah, exactly. Well, you can do the thing that people, used hear stories about people going to strip clubs and taking out cash advances on their American Express and then cant and then saying it was stolen the next day.
00:37:35
Speaker
So they didn't know that they would they wouldn't have to pay the money back. And I believe this worked for a time. Like I think this is a real, this is like a viable option to avoid debt. Oh, the dude who figured that out is probably, ah he's going places.
00:37:49
Speaker
He's still, yeah, he's at the top somewhere. Yeah, he's in a boardroom right now. ah Exactly, exactly, exactly.
00:37:57
Speaker
Yeah, du it's kind of like the ah Chase Bank, like ATM scam. It's like every like five years is going to be a new way to hack the system. You know, we had cryptocurrencies. What's the next thing?
00:38:09
Speaker
ahil corn I feel like one of you guys got into crypto. Which one? Why don't you guess? Yeah, I was going to say you. i was going to say you. Yeah. But how much did you lose or how much did you make?
00:38:22
Speaker
You know, there it thiss a volatile space. It goes up and down. Don't bullshit a bullshitter. I want to know. right, right now, right now, open your wallet. Are you up or down?
00:38:34
Speaker
Right now, if I open my wallet. Let's get the Coinbase popping. The Coinbase is booting up and... We're in the green, baby. that's okay that's all That's all that matters. I don't need like, i'm not going to put you on the spot for numerical figures. This is your podcast, but it is it is nice.
00:38:51
Speaker
It is nice to know that you're in the green. We've been really struggling with Subway's brand ah online these days because they've fallen into the Duolingo meme everything trap to try to like farm engagement.
00:39:05
Speaker
Nope. I don't think any brands above that at this point, unfortunately. No, I agree. Just wait till like Goyard does a ah meme account. I saw, well, I saw the Wendy's commented on the space thing, you know, and you like, like Katy Perry, can you just stay there?
00:39:21
Speaker
Yeah. No. like Yeah, no, 100%. Actually, fairly funny, but like that stuff is just so cooked now that it's like it can't be funny. I kind of now but its it's go to get i mean I get it, though, to an extent, because if you're a Subway, like what are you going to do?
00:39:39
Speaker
like what What else can you do besides make memes and like be funny? like You can't post pictures of sandwiches. like No one gives a shit. and Also, we know what that looks like. you know There's no surprise there.
00:39:50
Speaker
It's also cool to take like a different angle on it. like Wendy's has embraced like the villain character. it's like we We kind of knew Wendy was kind of red-pilled. It's not like a new thing. It's not just the hair. It's an attitude. Exactly. It's the lifestyle. so Dave Thomas does sound...
00:40:10
Speaker
Right leaning just based on name, just based on name. I'm just I'm making snap judgments, but he does feel I'm not saying he would vote for Trump, but I'm saying he might have a little thin red line going through his his heart.
00:40:23
Speaker
You know, yeah he did invent the Baconator. So take what you will from that. Right. I mean, that's that's the honestly, the Baconator might be the most Republican sandwich ever created. Yeah, I was going to a liberal would never make that. I don't think they can even fathom it. What is a liberal sandwich, I wonder? I guess it would be like a classic California veggie with like sprouts.
00:40:43
Speaker
who Swap that bun for some lettuce. Yeah, it's like Bernie shit, 100%. What would Bernie eat in Vermont? Totally. I mean, at Subway, it's got to be like, I mean, we we we have a veggie patty here in Canada. i don't know if that actually exists in the US. No, we have that too. That's disgusting.
00:41:00
Speaker
I just want actual vegetables. Like I find the patty to be too... on It's just too unclear.
00:41:09
Speaker
Much like the tuna. Yeah, like, I mean, I'm sure I could look into it and find out exactly what's into It it wouldn't
Home Sandwich Making vs. Subway
00:41:15
Speaker
be that difficult. But when you vi visually look at it, it's you cannot parse what is involved.
00:41:20
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. we We have looked up the ingredient list. There's surprising amount of words we understood, but it still feels like there's something here. They're not they're not revealing all their cards.
00:41:31
Speaker
They can't. and i mean i'm a big I'm a big veggie burger connoisseur, and the homemade veggie burger is something that feels similar. It's just like a bunch of mashed up vegetables, basically, but depending on how you do it, it binds correctly or it tastes better. so I think that that is that is maybe where my head goes, and the patty can never compare.
00:41:50
Speaker
Yeah, it's way too compounded. that When they're laying those bricks down, you know that that is it is too shelf-stable, to be real. Yeah, when things are too – well, also when they you know they have to take it – when it's like separated by the white paper, you know what I mean? Like it's portioned out, but I don't like that.
00:42:05
Speaker
I don't like seeing that. Yeah, a little bit too transactional. It's like where's the leg love of the cook? I know what's happening. Like I know that this is how it is, but i don't need to see it. yeah I do like when I feel like I'm getting a like a little special something something because it wasn't pre-portioned. They sprinkled a little extra shredders or yeah couple more cukes.
00:42:26
Speaker
You let the sandwich artists create. You don't box them in is what you're saying, which I agree with. They are artists after all. We might be the creative director at the end of the day. But have you guys had Jimmy John's?
00:42:41
Speaker
I haven't. I don't even know where to get that. I don't have too. We don't have it up here, so we'd have to make a field trip. I didn't think. I figured it. it's it's Speaking of red pill, like that is actually a Republican sandwich shop for sure.
00:42:53
Speaker
oh like But it's delicious. And I don't want to i don't want obviously you know go too hard for Jimmy John's. just wondered if you guys that had it. And did you guys ever have Blimpy? Blimpy was the main subway competitor when I was growing up.
00:43:11
Speaker
Interesting. I've never ever heard of that actually. it may have It may have been Southern, but it was a big chain. It wasn't like a small, you know, it was like a mom and pop thing. But if you were going to have a, do you make sandwiches at home?
00:43:23
Speaker
but we We try our best. Yeah. What would be go-to? I've tried to replicate it, but it's not the same, obviously. Oh, you can't. That bread is too chemically enhanced to be able to, in a consumer-level kitchen that can't be created, think. No, no. But you could treat it like, wonder, if you're close with your sandwich artist, you could treat it like pizza. You know how the good pizza places will sell you their dough?
00:43:48
Speaker
Maybe maybe ah a sandwich artist would bless you with you know three or four 12 inches of bread, and you could go home and then add your own high-end ingredients. Mm-hmm. A little backroom transaction there. ill I'll throw a few bucks on the Square Reader tip if you send me with an extra loaf.
00:44:04
Speaker
I know you Canadians aren't. you Put a couple of loonies in the tip jar, okay? let's let's keep it Let's keep it cash, okay? Cash only off the books. yeah It's not a bad idea if you wanted to just kind of muck around in the kitchen and figure out what what combinations work best. You you need that palette to start with, that canvas. That's the defining taste.
00:44:25
Speaker
you know like Everything else is is is toppings, really. Ornamentation. Ornamentation. That's a nice way to put it. Yeah, I might even take a full step back and say i would have the bread dipped in some olive oil and vinegar.
00:44:39
Speaker
i think that was nice. Like at a restaurant. Yeah, 100%. Yeah, herbs and cheese. That'd be incredible. one hundred percent 100%. If that bread's coming home with me, it is not becoming a sandwich. It is getting dumped in some olive oil immediately. You're going to treat it like a roti. You're just let's yeah pulling it apart.
00:44:55
Speaker
Oh, this tastes so great with my curry. I just love Subway.
00:45:02
Speaker
Oh man. I feel like but Olive Garden was the only guys that were really doing that well. And even they fell off. I've never been to Olive Garden or Cheesecake Factory, but Cheesecake Factory is famous for their, they have like a brown bread they put on the table that like you can buy it at the grocery store now. It's like been fully CPG, but apparently it's like amazing, but I've never had it.
00:45:22
Speaker
Hmm. I have. I agree. It's absolutely incredible. Yeah. I went to the Cheesecake Factory in Hawaii, which was kind of an interesting twist. And I didn't know this, but they do the Cheesecake To Go.
00:45:35
Speaker
Like, you can just pull up and get a slice of, like, red velvet and bring it back to your hotel room, which was, like, super crazy unlock yeah
Travel Stories & Routine Maintenance
00:45:42
Speaker
for me. Yeah, that feels very Hawaiian. You know, like, that feels very, like, Hawaii tourist.
00:45:47
Speaker
ah Like, that's smart to offer, you know? Mm-hmm. Yeah, because I'm eating dinner at Duke's down the street. But when I'm, you know, walking drunkenly back to my hotel, I'm picking some P-Lime, you know what I mean? That's the thing with Hawaii. You're always walking somewhere with nowhere to go. So you're on the move with no destination. I've never been there. I've never been there. It's too far from the East Coast. it's it's too it like It's a 12-hour. You know, I could be deep into Europe and for that.
00:46:14
Speaker
You could go anywhere in the globe. Are you guys big? Are you guys big? do you guys go to the mountain? yeah The hill? Yeah. You hit you the ski hill? Are you guys all nasty on the snowboard?
00:46:27
Speaker
Oh, dude, yeah. I i am. i don't Eric is a little more timid when he puts the skis underneath him, but you know we got Whistler nearby. we We're no stranger i've never been to it with double black diamonds.
00:46:38
Speaker
I'm bummed. i've never been I don't know how to ski, but I feel like I should have been to Whistler just at some point. you know you You just want to soak up the vibe in Whistler because it's just 24-7 party at the Lyft.
00:46:49
Speaker
Have you you've been to Aspen? No, I've never been Aspen. I imagine it's the same. Aspen's unbelievable. It's like my favorite. I went for the first time in the summer and it's almost better because it it feels like you're like in Switzerland. It's like the air is so clean. It's so lush. It's amazing. i highly recommend it.
00:47:06
Speaker
It's very expensive and hard to get to, which usually means it's going to be good. Wow, that sounds nice. um I think you really like Whistler though because you seem to like the Canadian kind of vibe and Whistler is like... I love what you guys do. And you know, speaking, this is something I haven't talked about in a while but I was in Montreal during COVID because that's where my wife lived and I got stuck there.
00:47:27
Speaker
I hate Montreal. Yeah. But I discovered that President's Choice makes a canned cold brew that is banging. do i bought i was buying I would buy them all because I'd just buy you know fucking 20 of them because I would have one or two a day.
00:47:44
Speaker
And it's such a great product. And I haven't been able, obviously i can't get it anywhere in America. it upsets me because it's it's the best over-the-counter brand. You know, and call it canned cold brew I've ever had. And it's ah because the president's choice is famous for their cookies. like The chocolate chip cookie is delicious.
00:48:03
Speaker
But the cold brew is slept on. I'm surprised there isn't like a drop shipping program to bring that. i get I could get someone to import it for me for sure. I could have a friend handle it, but I don't have a lot of storage, you know, and you have to get in bulk. If you're going to do that, it'd be worth the 50% tariff for you personally. I think that's nothing to us.
00:48:24
Speaker
I'm buying it somewhere. Yeah. Yeah. We, um, the inverse, I think like people were, had these like backroom programs set up to ship crumble cookies up to Canada during their heyday.
00:48:35
Speaker
100%. The crumble cookie heyday is still happening, my friend. i don't think that's going... ah yeah. we We established you're a big cookie head. Sorry. No, but here we have... Oh, my God. blanking on the name.
00:48:48
Speaker
Levan. L-E-V-A-I-N, which is kind of like... I don't like them very much because they're literally like scones. like They're thick as fuck. They're not twisted. They're not like stoner shit like crumble where it's like Oreo inside of a you know It's just...
00:49:03
Speaker
a fat ass cookie deep fried it's too much it's just too much like i don't need that like a regular chocolate chip with some sea salt is fine with me i mean that's like the thick boy footlong cookie right like like we all talk about the length but we're not talking about the 3d element like it's an inch tall as well yeah yeah of course no we're not talking about the girth enough i agree it's an issue for sure yeah slept on girth over there at subway could you name your top three cookies that are alive shit Not to put you on the spot.
00:49:35
Speaker
I mean, there's there's something there's something called the cowboy cookie um and at a place. at like a There's a kind of like a bakery. It's called Olives. There's there's one Soho, but there's also one in the building where the J. Crew office is. and it's like ah that's Or there's a milk bar cookie, which is embarrassing to say, but it has like potato chips, pretzels, chocolate chips.
00:49:58
Speaker
It's delicious. That one slaps. It's delicious. um The Smile, which is like was like a kind of, it was a very popular restaurant um in Soho, but they have a to-go still.
00:50:12
Speaker
And they they were like the first place I had, like the chocolate chip cookie with sea salt and that was it. It was so banging. Still ranks super high. If I have to go packaged, I like thin and crispy from Tate's. I don't know if you guys have Tate's, but the the green bag, it's from the Hamptons, but they it's huge. It's everywhere. They have crazy, you know, they have, I bet, 15 to 20 different you know flavors at this point.
00:50:34
Speaker
What's their redeeming quality though? Is it just the thinness and the crispiness is out of this world? is it Yeah, the mouthfeel is good. Yeah, the mouthfeel is very good. But I mean, I haven't met a cookie i don't. Like we were just... We got stuck in Atlanta on a layover and um we stayed at the Ritz and the Ritz has this like VIP club. I don't know what the fuck it was, but there was like some weird club we had access to that felt like you were in like a Delta lounge basically.
00:50:58
Speaker
well The cookies were unbelievable. amazing you know Amazing peanut butter cookie. Absolutely I think that's a hotel cookies always go hard. They know that that is after a long day. That's all you need. They're going to hook you. I mean, it's a funny, I haven't met a cookie I don't like is the reality. They're all pretty good.
00:51:17
Speaker
um But there are, of course, some that shine a little brighter. yeah You're so right about the hotel cookie. Like my, uh, I stayed at the sunset tower last year yeah and they just greeted us with cookies. Like, yeah, yeah for sure. Like just leave it
Skiing vs. Snowboarding
00:51:31
Speaker
on the bed.
00:51:31
Speaker
And it's just like such a nice touch. The sunset tower cookies are particularly good. Cause you can get those at the restaurant too. And I know exactly what we're talking about. Those, those cookies are a plus. i It's funny. Actually, um, listened to your pod when you talked about having Thanksgiving dinner there.
00:51:46
Speaker
And I was there, I think the year prior. And like, that's when we stayed. And I was like, man, this Thanksgiving seems just absolutely insane. But we ah ended up going to like a Korean restaurant. And then I realized like every Korean spot was open on Thanksgiving. Nothing else was open just because the Korean spots.
00:52:03
Speaker
And it was packed, bro. pat Like everyone was just partying in the Korean spot. And was so sick. Korean food is just too meat forward for me. I've never been able to enjoy it Like occasionally I do, you know, but I've gone to all those like,
00:52:17
Speaker
parks and all the fun barbecue places in LA. Cause it's like a thing to do. Yeah. Korea. time Sunset sunset tower for Thanksgiving is something that I hope to repeat or just a hotel, even in New York. I'm sure if you go uptown, it's the same thing.
00:52:29
Speaker
It's, you know, laughably overpriced, but it's just so nice to just, it's a nice environment. It's like a nice, like, and I ran into a bunch of friends I knew. So it was like fun, you know? um But I highly recommend going to a hotel for ah a holiday meal.
00:52:44
Speaker
I highly recommend it. I would say that's my like first kind of like just got money. Let's go do something fun. Hanging out with like rich folk and being like the younger dude who's like, I'm proud of it all.
00:52:56
Speaker
It's very funny. How old are you guys? I'm 30. ah Just turned 30. Okay. 32? You a year or two on you. Yeah. Yeah. and Okay. So you guys are so okay. So I've got a decade. Yeah. I'm 42.
00:53:08
Speaker
Seen some shit. Self-inflicted seen some shit. Absolutely. yeah Absolutely. 100% that. Can't argue with you there. Can't argue with you there. and ah You've had a few bim and bops in your day.
00:53:20
Speaker
I have, and I, I, that is my favorite Korean dish. I mean, if that's done right and the bowl is hot enough, oh baby that is when you chip the rice off, you know and it's just, it's kind crisp.
00:53:31
Speaker
Yeah. That's nice. Don't tell the other consultants about that bowl. Don't tell Deloitte about the Bibimbap. I won't tell McKenzie about that bowl. Yeah, dude, the stone bowl is gatekeep that one for us.
00:53:43
Speaker
Yeah, you got to gatekeep that. I mean, the way that the turnover at Sweeker, they could never use a stone bowl. <unk>s they're They're running through it. There's no way, you know, you got to go to the Korean place for that. too you That bowl is composting before it even leaves the register.
00:53:54
Speaker
Exactly, exactly, exactly. Oh, man. um Speaking of Whistler, just want to revisit it for a sec. But we had a similar experience at um the Fairmont. They had like a gold lounge.
00:54:06
Speaker
And yeah if you go, you got to stay there, bro, because the food is free. You just pull up. It's basically a Delta lounge, but everything's actually good. You know what mean? Yeah, sure. The alcohol is like on our system, but everything else is banging.
00:54:19
Speaker
Alcohol honor system. I love that. Contradictory, right? ah Yeah, that's no that's what I mean. no I just, I don't, I'm afraid. mean, afraid might be extreme. i'm i'm I'm nervous about, I've skied before in my life, you know, but if you grew in the South, you're skiing in like North Carolina, which is like fake, obviously compared to Whistler or Aspen or Jackson Hole or whatever. ah So I'm a little, I just, because working out is like a big part of my life, I'm so scared to like tear an ACL, learning how to ski for fun and then, you know, not be able to exercise for a year or whatever, you know?
00:54:57
Speaker
So it's a little bit of a mental thing, but I think I'd be fine. You can skate, right? though You can skateboard. I'm assuming you have that kind of vibe. I can skateboard, yeah. Not like I can't do anything on it, but I could like ride down a hill fast and not crash.
00:55:10
Speaker
Yeah, sure. that's It's a completely transferable skill. You just need like a little bit of cocky confidence and the ability to kind of wiggle your hips to turn. I can wiggle. i But snowboarding, i did try and hated it.
00:55:21
Speaker
And also snowboarding is like lame, right? Skiing
Coffee Shop Culture
00:55:24
Speaker
is cool. That's what I've been told. Ever since Virgil died, snowboarding has been lame.
00:55:31
Speaker
Shut the fuck up. so Skiing is so bad. You don't see anyone at St. Moritz on Instagram, like working the boards these days. I feel like people that snowboard are people that either skate obviously, or if they learned, like I'm friends with this professional snowboarder, this guy Jed who lives in Toronto and and I see his clips and it's just so cool. Like he's, cause he's like grinding rails on a snowboard. You know, it's like very cool what he's able to do. And I'm like, I think that that,
00:56:00
Speaker
that style is just like you're professional and everybody else is like, I'm going to ski. The top 1% is always aspirational, but like I look like an idiot because I'm wearing like a bunch of the street wear dead. I'm wearing baggy clothes on my snowboard. Like it just, it feels like the selene goggles and the bag pants, the whole Montclair fit. No. Yeah. You need full, I could see you foot.
00:56:24
Speaker
You kind of look a little bit like a, kind of like a you could, if you put the right vest your finance, you're you're rich Dude, we're all one vest away from just walking Wall Street. but you have a nice head of hair that feels I've got two monitors. You know what I mean? He's got a certain succession monitor. Yeah, that's what I mean. I look too dumb.
00:56:53
Speaker
You could dress me up however you want. No one would believe that I was good at finance. you know what I mean? Right. People are asking you, what do you do when you're in Delta 360? But with Taya, they're like, oh, he should be here.
00:57:04
Speaker
They love asking. yeah like Why do you travel so much? Do you work here? I don't fucking know. Like, what do you, i don't know, dude, because I like it, I guess. i don't Because the opportunity arises and I say yes. Yeah, I do. Yeah. No, that's very real. That's very real.
00:57:17
Speaker
Speaking of travel, um what are some of your like creature comforts when you're abroad? Say you're in Dubai. Are you hitting up some American fast food when you're out there? are you trying to tag into the culture?
00:57:28
Speaker
The viral Dubai chocolate? It's funny. No. It's more about a routine than it is like the actual stuff. like I'm still going to wake up. I'm going to have a coffee. I'm going look at my email. I'm going to go to the gym.
00:57:41
Speaker
you know Those are the things that make me feel good. It's tough. Especially, I mean, honestly, most places you go, the coffee is bad. You know, London. Dubai immigration hates the President's Choice cold brews. They hate that. I tried to bring in a whole roller full and they weren't having it. But dubai was tough Dubai is tough. But like, you know, like like Copenhagen and Stockholm, like those places are pretty easy to acclimate. You know, it's like Seoul is more difficult. Singapore is more difficult. But like most places i kind of find my...
00:58:13
Speaker
zone. I have it pretty dialed at this point. you know I have it pretty dialed and I know how to kind of get over the hump. like The coffee in in France and Italy is bad.
00:58:24
Speaker
like It's just bad. It's burnt. it's just not I want fourth wave like like non-binary blue hair prepared. Like I want the good shit, you know? And I, we went into, it we were, Jason and I were going, were going to interview Justin in Eau Claire.
00:58:39
Speaker
We flew to Minneapolis and we were like, all right, we got to like eat and get a coffee and then we'll yeah do the hour a half drive and went sweet green. And then I was like, I need a real coffee. And Jason's like, all right. And he's looking up in the passenger seat.
00:58:51
Speaker
We pull in. I'm not exaggerating. The barista was trans with blue hair and it was one of the best coffees I've ever had. And I don't know what it is. Bullseye. Yeah, it's just exactly what I want. And I think that like America, Australia, Denmark have really figured it out as far as coffee goes.
00:59:09
Speaker
Definitely. and but But other places, the history is there, but the product isn't very good. do i cannot When I walk into a pinching and zooming on the barista in Google photos. No, really it was really funny. He walked down I was like, damn, this is exactly what I wanted. like yeah i I tipped more because it went to like trans youth. I'm like, this is sick. Please. like This is exactly what I want.
00:59:30
Speaker
Yeah, more of this. 100%. When I walk into a coffee shop, I want all the baristas to line up in a row like I'm in a red light district. And I just pick the one. I'm like, yeah when I won't accept them. that's like I mean, I'm really close. I'm like friends with the baristas at Cafe Du Graal, which is my like local here.
00:59:46
Speaker
um And I love these guys. They're good at their job. They have great interests. They're cool. it's like ah It seems like a fun job if you're good at it. It seems like a fun job if you're good at And the palate kind of adjusts over time when you're regular. Like I get a Cortado from my regular barista every day. And then when I go somewhere else and it doesn't taste like that, I can't climatize anymore.
Conclusion & Upcoming Projects
01:00:06
Speaker
It's too rigid.
01:00:07
Speaker
I've had some bad. I order. I'm trying to get them put on a menu and name it after me because it's a twisted little drink in the afternoons. But it's a it's a quad iced Cortado.
01:00:18
Speaker
And it's. So it's it's like it's kind of just like a latte with less milk, you know? They said it couldn't be done. It's a real blast off kind of thing. But I'm trying to get them to add it to the menu um because I feel like I've earned it. But i I was just there before I came to talk to you guys. And and when I go to the register, i always say my drink and it not to flex just because if I'm with someone, I don't want them to know what it is because I feel judged often, you know, right that that it's too much.
01:00:48
Speaker
We have a similar issue. The veil of exclusivity. Yeah, exactly. A small veil. um I have a call at 4.30, guys. so No worries. no worries we just We can wrap this up here, Chris. but Thank you so much for hanging out with us.
01:01:02
Speaker
Oh, my pleasure. Thank you. Yeah, this is a great, man. um I know you ah you dropped a book like 10 years ago that I purchased. um Oh, great. 10 years ago. And it was was really nice.
01:01:13
Speaker
It was good. um My first foray into tastemaking. ah Sure. but no things that That book is shockingly. I looked at it recently and I'm like, most of this stuff holds up. And I had no foresight. for You know what I mean? i just got lucky.
01:01:26
Speaker
But I'm glad to hear that. I'm glad to hear that So for listeners, it's called, I know you think you know it all. You probably find it on on Amazon still. Um, but and are you working on another book? I think I saw something get it for a dollar. you can get it for a dollar. Yeah. I'm, I'm, I'm, um, yeah, I've got a, yeah, a book of essays, uh, for Simon and Schuster, uh, 2026, hopefully. Um, so yeah, I'm working on, I'm working on that now.
01:01:49
Speaker
Um, which is daunting to say the least, but it'll come out. Nice. Well, stay tuned for that. yeah stay tune Um, Yeah, thank you guys for having me. Honestly, was pleasure. And I'll send you the file when finish the appreciate that. We would love that. Send our regards to Jason when you speak with I will, of course.
01:02:05
Speaker
I'll see you guys later. Thanks again for having me. Thank you. See you later. Thanks, Chris. Thanks for having