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Diatribe With Dave

Musings From Inside The Restaurant World

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The past year has been a wonderful, blessed journey both in a culinary and personal sense. My Private Chef career has taken a most blissfully unexpected, successful turn and I couldn’t be happier with the results so far - although it is a lot of work and logistics (more one that another time). I dig just being generally groovy about things and think a positive mindset typically begets positive outcomes especially when it comes to food and people. For sure I learn as much from my guests as they ever learn from me, in fact the longer I do this the more I realize how little I really know. I embrace hearing about cuisine from the places my clients are from, especially when they are engaged and passionate about the things that make their cultural landscape important to them. Recently I was talking to a family from Boston and asked them what they thought the signature dish from there was. They shockingly countered with the same question for me, what did I think the classic California plate (or in this case bowl) looked like? A fascinating query indeed and one I had never pondered except in passing, which is shocking. For me it would have to be Posole. If you were to look at one preparation that encompassed the tapestry of West Coast cultures meeting and eating that would be it, from Indigenous Inhabitants to Spaniards to Mexicans to Californios and Americanos. Just a lot of history and nuts-and-bolts necessity in one place. So the question to my fellow Chefs, and people that care in general, is what are your opinions of the classic expression of everything California? #cheflife🔪 #californiafood #posole #calmex #culinaryopinion #foodforthought #thoughtsonfood #thingathatmatter #takeachef #privatechef #chef

NERD ALERT!!!! This is might be my favorite locomotive of all time, North Pacific Coast’s Number 12 “Sonoma” (it’s actually a tie with The Lake Tahoe Railway And Transportation Company’s number 1 “Glenbrook” and @icedcoffeeplease can attest to the fact I cried when I saw each them for the first time. But I do that). What I DIDN’T know was that the old route for the North Pacific went literally within 200 feet from where I’m staying here in Monte Rio via the kindness of @cabensen. It’s been a busy stretch recently doing the Private Chef thing so today I drove the whole route of railroad out to Tomales Bay - following the old roadbed where I could and finding bits and pieces. There is some art to sleuthing out the old features of a railroad that was abandoned 120 years ago. I especially dug seeing old remnants of the causeway through the marshes of the bay. Quite a day off!!! #trainnerd #supertrainnerd #cheflife🔪 #monterio #guernville #takeachef #privatechef #chef #californiahistory #thingsthatmatter #narrowgauge #fromthemauarchives #gratitude #itworksifyouworkit #clearingyourhead

One year ago today @fstlayn and myself were in Grass Valley to break ground on the tiny house with @nepptune88 and @allensworthmusic right behind us to do the heavy lifting on the framing. The whole thing was part of a plan to radically change the way I lived my life both personally and professionally. Although I’ve endured a ton of loss the deaths of @stevesoto and @kimshattuck were the final cues that this life is pretty Goddam short and the clock is definitely ticking as we move along. So off I went with the gracious accommodation of @schmugg and @gribbiesmalls on their land to become a full time Private Chef on agency placements statewide and work NorCal in a place that means a lot to me. It’s been a ton of logistics and mishaps, like taking a 10 foot clear fall onto bare plywood falling out of my loft during construction - it could have been really bad (note to self, watch those ladders). But what started out as a few drawings in the kitchen @vermilion_valley_resort with my dear friend Dave Woolley (RIP) has become a wonderful addition to this life. 2021 was the year to make a lot of moves and I couldn’t feel any happier with the results. Some of you know what my life was like 4 years ago today, it was pretty dark and messy. Onwards and upwards. Thanks and so much love to everyone that went above and beyond to assist with this. #gratitide indeed!

For decades I’ve been taking kitchen notes and making shopping lists on 8 1/2x11” sheets of paper folded in half. My brother Chris did the same. Just kinda easier to carry around and I like writing on thick stock anyway - I know that sounds silly :-) But until very recently I haven’t kept them. I now wish I had, it would be a mighty stack of notes over 30 years but what a tale it would have told……. #herestochris #brothers #fromthemauarchives #cheflife🔪 #kitchennotes #lists #foodtales #history #vermilionvalleyresort #highsierrapackstation #proofandcooper #districtlounge #twobrothersbbq #lindasdollhut #ocmusic

Back in ‘94 this place was called El Cocinero before it became Tokyo Cafe and now this random ramen shop. They were a homey, decent sit down Mexican joint, with marginal salsa and lousy chips, but a formidable Machaca plate. I used to have it once or twice a week. I remember sitting there one afternoon having a late lunch when I spotted the #nodoubt kids pushing a shopping cart full of instruments down the sidewalk. This was before I had really got to know any of them, was still figuring out the whats and wherefores of the OC and hadn’t met the world yet working at Linda’s Doll Hut. I didn’t see the photographer and it was kind of surreal to be honest. I still think of that afternoon, along with the innumerable other memories there, when I’m walking Rascal and ruminating on my time in Old Town. It’s been quite a ride. Thank you @cicc.girl70 for showing me the place for the very first time back when it was a sleepy oasis in the middle of Orange County. There have been ups and downs but it still feels like home to this transplant from the 909. #ocmusic #ocska #saveferris #lindasdollhut #oldtownorange #cityoforangehistory #cityoforange #itsbeenquitearide

HEY EVERYONE!!! @jubei_usagi and myself have a gig in NorCal this weekend and I am doing a legit run of Rev Marton’s Savory Bar-B-Que Savior Sauce from the @district_orange days here at Casa de Mau! It’s the real deal, 24 hour run made the right way but it’s “a tantear” (thank you @gustavo_arellano ) since the original, hand-written recipe is currently missing. I only really need a quart or so but dig the clients so I decided to make a full run - it tastes better. SO!!!! If you want some it will be ready tomorrow afternoon and I will keep it around as long as it holds. I have a couple stray containers, otherwise bring your own. You know where to find me!!! (Sorry @hellcathamby for hammering the O’Keefe and Merrit 😆) Get some BBQ sauce while you can, no charge btw. #bbqsauce #bbq #herestochris #brotherhood #thingsthatmatter #fromthemauarchives #districtloungeorange #recipes #tritip #texasbbq

My Podcast-Memphis Mondays

Chefs And Vanity Knives
Sids On Old Newport Part One
Giving Away Recipes-The Karma Of Sharing
Hotel Restaurants vs Conventional Ones - Two Different Beasts Indeed
Chef Ego-Does It Serve A Purpose?
Opening A Restaurant
Independant vs. Corporate Restaurant Settings
Thoughts On Shoes
POS system pitfalls and promises.
Thoughts On Foil

Recent Posts

An Aspirational Salsa
The Why – Part One
The Five Worst Reasons to Open a Restaurant
Getting The Edge On Your Local Watering Hole
Vegas’ Epic Peppermill

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