457. - Gabriel Pryce

All right, this episode of How Long Gone is brought to you by Stateside with Kai and Carter, a new podcast from The Guardian. And they are using this podcast to slow down the news and wrestle with the questions that we all have about what's happening in the world. And they do it three times a week, Jason. Does that sound familiar to you? We don't really talk about, you know, a lot of international global news items and climates and cultures and sports and things like that. We do talk about fashion and wellness, but for everything else, Kai and Carter are a great place. All right, so who couldn't use more news? Listen wherever you get your podcast. or watch on YouTube. Chris Black, a morning podcast. I'm back in L.A. It feels good. I had a nice adventure yesterday, but I'm back to my normal self. Yeah, you had a nice adventure yesterday. I had a nice adventure. I crisscrossed the LA metro area dealing with some automobile issues of my own. Well, one of my own causing. You also crisscrossed. America. That's true, yeah. In an airplane. Yeah, I flew back from beautiful New York City to LA, and I had a lot of errands to run and kind of had to get the house together. Unfortunately, there was an issue with one of the automobiles. It seems that it had been left without any gasoline in it, and it was blocking... a garage that i needed access to for some other projects and i had to um and so i go out to crank the car uh and it doesn't crank obviously i'm not an expert on this kind of stuff but i did notice that the car the battery is working like i knew it wasn't a battery issue i know that much okay so i'm like damn but the gas be looking a little low you know how these old cars be and it's been parked at a certain angle you know what i mean she wouldn't crank

She wouldn't crank, and I had to kind of take a humbling walk of shame to the local 76 filling station. So you had to walk to a petrol station, buy a gas can, because I'm assuming you didn't already have one, unless Supreme made one. I don't know if you would ever own one. No. Unfortunately, my supreme gas can is in New York. Smart money, you had to buy one straight up and then fill it up. Did anyone spot you while you were filling up a gas can with a gallon full of, not ultra premium, but mid premium? It is a Porsche at the end of the day. I actually splurged for the two gallon. um because i was feeling a little we i was like if i'm gonna walk all the way over here i'm not damn what are you are you gonna go to vegas what's going on i was splashing out no pun intended um so i was able to purchase the gas can i did fill it up uh with gas and then i yeah i walked back like a character on breaking bad through the mean streets of west hollywood carrying a gas you had a black eye somehow yeah i was missing a tooth that was visible did at least i mean in a normal person in a situation where you're sort of at this moment of defeat you're weak you're vulnerable you would maybe Break on into a Kit Kat bar or something? You didn't even get a Go macro from the gas station, did you? No, I didn't. I walked back. Your restraint is something to be studied by NASA. Well, maybe not NASA. Those guys are busy right now. Yeah, I know, I know, I know. I had to read the instructions to make sure I applied the right pressure, you know, so that the gas would leave the can and enter the car. Sure. It was done. I cranked it. put the top down, drove right back to the same gas station, filled the car up, you know, a cool hundred. This is where I'm going to edit in the Caribbean enthusiasm music for you. I've been doing some music cues. Cool hundred dollars later, I'm back at the house. I'm able to reward myself with a nice tall glass of ladder pre-workout and then hit Easton for an exercise before I come back.

have to deal with some furniture deliveries. And then I take an Uber all the way to Glendale, a nice 45-minute ride during rush hour to get the key. But you could bang out emails during that trip, right? I did. I was able to bang out some emails during the trip and then pick up the other car from Jason's house because of some street parking issues. So I would like to say, though, proudly, no tickets. No tickets. So, you know, it's nothing. to finesse the city of Los Angeles. Needless to say, I'm happy to be back, and I was up at 5 a.m. today ready to rock. How are you feeling, Jason? I was feeling depressed yesterday, but I feel good now. I don't know. I've been in a little bit of a funk, and I'm just ready for it to stop being cold. First of all, it's pretty nice outside from what I can tell. I mean, it's pretty warm. I mean, you know. It's in the 30s in the morning, and it's been cold for a number of months now. It's been cold. It's been cold for a number of months now. Bro, you're talking like a fucking narc, bro. No, I'm on my, like, Shakespearean shit, bro. It has been cold for a number of months now. Yeah, Winter's Chill has visited thine arse for a number of months. No, but I was thinking back of, like, last time I was in New York was, like, right before Halloween. Which was you know, October November December January February, you know five six months and I remember sitting on the balcony of the hotel freezing my fucking balls off trying to smoke a joint or something you know what i mean and that was that was my i'm i'm ready for that i'm ready for my balls to stop being frozen off i like the i like that you go from shakespearean to teenagerian in a quick and just in just a few sentences uh you're able to do that no one no one does it like tj i i forgot to give you a kind of a recap of the the tom brown show because i i forgot we haven't talked about it so i was able to um rub elbows with some hot celebs. Also, real quick, for a Tom Brown fashion show, is there a step and repeat? And is the carpet

Brown instead of red. No, there's no. There's a VIP entrance where they come in and then they get photographed in a little bit of a set that is behind the scenes before they go take their seats. I can only imagine how playful that set is. Actually, yeah, it can get playful. This season it wasn't super playful, but last season it was quite playful. It just depends on Tom's attitude, but I did get to kind of... kind of see and greet some of my heroes, Jason, and one of those being a friend of the show, Whoopi Goldberg, was in the fucking Whoopi. Bro, it was a Whoopi. queen latifah back to back i didn't know what to do i was like these are two legends in the game right now did you ask her about that one time on the view where she farted no i did not i didn't ask her i didn't have time to ask her any questions it was a more of like hey whoopee what's good you know um i that that was the that was kind of the idea big fan well big fan but then there were some keep doing your thing there were a lot of friends of the show and former guests in the building as well but um it was uh i was able to um i was able to kind of have a word with uh pen bagdily pen badgley pen badgley but he didn't seem to you said his name badly but i've never said his name out loud because i'm just like the guy from gossip girl because you're a grown-ass man uh unfortunately he wasn't too interested in talking to me which is fine but he did look incredible like he's very very good looking and the suit fit him perfectly it was a night it was nice to see him uh really embody the brand wasn't there recently an interview with him where he mentioned that out of respect for his his life partner he doesn't film sex scenes anymore or something that's right yeah that's right that that is something that i i think there's probably um how do we say more to the story um to that i don't i don't know what that is it's like when the mother what the one motherfucker posts 11 pictures of his wife on instagram with a bunch of hearts out of nowhere

What did you do? But I was just like, I just, yeah, I mean, I've never watched You, but it's very popular. And Alex loves it. So I guess I've seen an episode or two, but I just don't, I'm just like, I don't get this really. But he is smolderingly hot. So I understand that being part of the main appeal. It's kind of a continuation of his character on Gossip Girl, just sinister, dark brooding guy where you're like, oh, this guy's like stalking me. but he is hot so i'm gonna go ahead and allow it yeah i'll allow him to stop he is rifling through my recycling bin at all hours of the evening but he has the most fuckable ass so i'm gonna let him cook but the highlight of the show this the set was really cool it's like this downed plane it was really cool but the highlight was tom instead of doing downed plane instead of doing and doing eyes open exactly instead of doing the usual kind of uh designer lap It was on Valentine's Day. He had a nice box of chocolates. He ran out, gave the box of chocolates to his partner, Andrew, who was in the front row, which was a very sweet moment. I kind of forgot how nice that kind of old school big heart chocolate box is. Also, speaking of Penn Badgley saying that, and there could be more to the story, maybe Tommy B was in the doghouse and he had to do something performative like that. You know what I'm saying? Well, yeah, he probably was like, babe, sorry. I'm the president of the CFDA now. They said this is my time slot. Look, I know it's Valentine's Day. I swear. Look, I'll make it up to you. Babe, I will make it up to you. Tom, you say this every year. Exactly. Tom, it was the 13th last year. Now it's the 14th. You do have a calendar, right? I just wanted to check. I think it's okay. Hopefully everything's fine. But, yeah, it was a nice moment. Lots of prayers. Yeah, even I saw that. That was a moment that went pretty viral. I agree, the old-fashioned sweetness of the large heart-shaped box of chocolates, I'm sure, whatever. Hopefully he removed the chocolates on the insides, infected with seed oils and palm kernel sugar, and it was replaced with third-wave cacao nibs.

Harmlessly harvested. Yeah, harmlessly harvested is a nice way to put it. It's a nice way to put it. But yeah, it feels good to be back in L.A. The sun is shining. Construction is going on all around me. We're alive, baby. It's another day in paradise. And we have a big weekend of freeze activations and events. I mean, it's nonstop over here at How Long Gone Industries. Yeah, I'm DJing tonight, dusting off the... cans for a freeze DJ set. I don't know what it's for. I love DJing art galleries and art opening receptions because there's no pressure to maintain a dance floor. and it's just a bunch of people standing around who already hate me anyway, so they're never going to dance. You're the perfect guy for the job. I can play whatever. I don't have to drop bangers. Yeah, okay. So you're leaving the Doja Cat off the USBs. That's probably better for everybody. I mean, the new Supreme opened in the old tower record space. So I saw a lot of people celebrating. They're going to be able to find parking at Cantor's now, which is a nice way to look at it. I was more like, finally, I can get to Doll's Kill without any more of these headaches. So it's tough. It's a win for the city of L.A. in general, I think, right now, overall. But we do. I have a guest today, a friend of ours from across the pond, Gabe Price. He is the co-owner and chef of a restaurant called Rita's Dining in Soho that we ate at and had a great time. And he's been beasting in the business for a very, very long time. And I just ran into him in New York, actually. They were on a research trip. And when I saw him, he was like, bro, where can I get a good... Where can I get a good rolling suitcase? We bought all these fucking plates, and I got to get them back to the UK. So I was like, I think this is a good thing to kind of understand the real grind of owning a restaurant. I mean, it's tough. That hotel will give you thousands of dollars to go on a research trip where you just eat a bunch of free meals and buy plates. It is a grind, but somehow we make it happen.

Let's give Gabe a Zoom. I can't wait to have a nice, relaxing chat with a food con. This episode of How Long Gone is brought to you by Squarespace. Obviously, Jason, you and I spend a lot of time on the World Wide Web, sort of our peers, our listeners, our friends, our colleagues, maybe even your parents if they're freaky. And if you're doing anything in the world... writing, taking pictures. I do topless boxing. You need a website. Exactly, a website that works, that does what it's supposed to do, that allows you to be creative but also business-minded. Jason, there's one place to go for that, Squarespace. Yeah, Chris, I'm over here. I'm modifying calculators and putting Claude inside of them so you could cheat at school. And I just want a place where I could have everything all in one place. I can have the SEO tools. So those future graduates can find me and, you know, I'm able to accept, quote unquote, donations for my services that might be gray area. You know what I mean? And then email campaigns. Hey, I got a new, you know, 2.3 version upgrade. Boom, boom, boom. Get the analytics going. Raise some money. You know, show your investor all of your cool analytics of what's going on. They're going to want to get in early and we can use Blueprint AI to make your website look as professional. as your competition, if not more. So head to squarespace.com slash howlong for a free trial. When you're ready to launch, use offer code howlong to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or a domain. Oh, this is huge for me personally. This episode of How I'm Gone is brought to you by TaskRabbit. Oh, baby, let me tell you something. This is not a joke. I use TaskRabbit a lot because I can't do anything. You need some art hung? TaskRabbit. You need a fucking... Something put together? A cabinet? Got to reach that cheese grater on the top shelf? TaskRabbit. Anything you need, TaskRabbit can take care of it for you. And, I mean, it... How it works, TaskRabbit connects you with skilled taskers in your area. They can help you move. They can assemble furniture, repairs, yard work, mounting, and more. You can search for a tasker based on cost, skill set, availability, and past client reviews so you know exactly who's showing up and can have confidence that they know what they're doing because taskers have assembled over 3.4 million pieces of furniture, completed 700,000 home repairs.

handled 1.5 million moves, and the numbers are just going up, Jason. Yeah, throw a little money at the problem. It's not so expensive, and that job that you really don't want to do is something that another person out in the world is very good at doing and would gladly do it in exchange for a little bit of money. So when life happens, your to-do list grows. Get ahead of it now and get $15 off your first task at TaskRabbit.com or grab the TaskRabbit app. using promo code howlong. Taskers book up faster, especially for same-day tasks. So book trusted home help today. That is $15 off your first task using promo code howlong with the TaskRabbit app or at TaskRabbit.com. This episode of How Long Gone is brought to you by a new podcast from The Guardian stateside with Kai and Carter. This is covering a lot of our bases, Jason. It's trying to slow down. The news and wrestle with the questions we all have about what's happening in the world. And I know you particularly have quite a lot of questions. A lot of questions. But how often? Because we do this podcast three times a week and that's a sweet spot. How many times do they do? Three times a week. And I have a feeling just based on the platform and these talking points that they're maybe going to be covering different stuff than we do. That's just a guess. The Guardian is not some billionaire owned. platform. They're not afraid to say what they want to say, brother. Yeah, Rupert ain't sniffing around in what journalists Kai Wright and Carter Sherman are up to over there at Stateside. But yeah, listen wherever you get your podcast. You can watch it on YouTube. It's three times a week. And who couldn't use more news? Especially when it's not from here, let's say. Give it a listen. Give it a listen. I'm a food cunt. Is that correct terminology? I would ask you the same question, Gabe. Wait, hold on. Wait, what does that make, Chris? Because I know you don't like food.

Does that make you just a cunt? Yeah, I think he's an anorexic cunt. Okay, cool. I'm fine being a plain cunt. It doesn't really bother me. A plain cunt? Like a guy who flies a lot? No, no, not like Sully. Yeah, a plain cunt's kind of a ball of moon. It is, it is. You're like, oh yeah, I'm a bit of a plain cunt myself, as you can see by my first class upgrade. That's not business. It is first. It's first. Plain cunt to me means more of a private jet flyer, I think, if I had to position it. Yeah, otherwise you're a coach asshole. Yeah, you can't even be a cunt if you're in coach. You're just an asshole. You can't even make it. It's impossible to serve cunt in coach. Trust me, I've tried. Jason's been trying since he met me. I fly coach, but I get the $75 legroom seat. So I'm like, I'm a cunt in. Coach. That's not coach, though. That's premium economy. Give yourself a pat on the back, Gabe. It's like building my own little premium economy in the back. Yeah, but you're kind of a tall guy. You need the legroom, right? I am, indeed, indeed. How tall are you, for the record? It depends who I'm standing around. If it's regular-sized people, I'm 6'3". Small people. I just had the most horrific flight back from New York. Oh, you did. So I literally, I was joking in the intro. Did you say terrific or horrific? Horrific. Okay, let's get into it. Chris just got back from New York yesterday. I know. I ran into him twice in the street. And last thing I mentioned to you while going to pick up my suitcase was that I just picked up some edibles for the plane. Oh, yes. That's right. I forgot about that. Now, as a food cunt, what do you mean by edibles exactly? I mean a tiny little square of fruity pastel that completely ruined my world for like nine and a half hours. Do you know the... Do you know the milligram dosage that you took? Apparently, according to the guy in one of these newfangled weed stores that are popping up. Every second store is either a fucking gallery or a weed store in New York. Don't come for Zaza R.S. right now. On our home trip. Jason has a small investment in Zaza R.S. Jason's a weed cunt as well, right? Yeah, he is also a weed cunt. I am a weed cunt. That's right. I am not.

And I thought I was recommended a small dose that would help me manage an overnight flight quite calmly. And I rolled in the seat for six and a half hours, losing my mind, tripping balls. I thought I was going to vomit, piss, and shit. It was the worst. Okay, so this was maybe, you know, five or ten milligrams of an edible. It was ten. He said it was ten. Is that a lot? Well, for an amateur person who's not used to taking it, especially somebody from, from britannia where marijuana is notoriously illegal and shit it is going to hit you a little bit kind of like a like a freight train through ohio whereas yeah i could i will eat a 10 milligram edible during this podcast and it won't even only in the last seven to eight minutes will i start kind of talking gibberish yeah i mean you have experience with drugs and alcohol before you're no you know you're not a pussy indeed the reason why i don't smoke weed anymore is because in my teens i was stoned almost constantly and then i had a i guess you call it an overdose when i was about 18 and i stopped not on weed obviously but um Important to make the distinction, it's possible. It sounds like you overdosed it on flight 398. Yeah, 100%. But then after that, other things happen in life, but I just never started smoking weed again. And now I think it is the thing I have the least tolerance for. It just messes me up so bad. It is not like riding a bicycle. It's not. While we do have terrible weed in England, a lot of people do smoke it. It is around. A lot of people do smoke it. It is around, but I've been told by American touring musicians and things like that, it is around, but the juice isn't worth the squeeze. You have to sort of get it in illicit ways, and once you do get it, you've got to smoke the whole bag to even feel something. Maybe that's why I gave up. Maybe it was a kind of economy of scale type situation.

But yeah, everything on that level in America this last five days that I was there was pretty mind-blowing. Even the plateware. Yeah, well, it's quite a specifically niche thing for me and Missy. But yeah, we discovered this store. that apparently is world famous that sells like heritage american plateware jason are you familiar are you do not do you don't want me to say the name do you want me to say the name gabe or can i say the name i don't want to blow up your spot but it's pretty it's world famous we have a lot of plate cunts who listen we found out about it on the news yeah true it's called it's called fish's eddie and it's um oh yeah classic like my plates are from there and i don't even know anything about play it's just like the place you go in new york because it's like there i didn't know it was that i didn't know they didn't ship which seems insane to me so because you i don't know if i trust you to package up a bunch of breakable plates for the airplane when you're high so that's the other thing because of that i packed them all in my hand luggage which was like i don't know fucking 50 kilos and i was trying to get it out of the thing above my head while requesting a fucking wheelchair to get me to the um passport control It was like a movie, man. It was so bad. Chris, this spot, just to clarify, it's like by Union Square, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, exactly, Jason. I think Carolyn and I, the first time we ever went to New York together, we stumbled into there and probably on an edible, browsed and looked at cute plates with lobsters on them for an hour. It was great. Yeah, that's exactly the vibe. I'm sure it's where every new restaurant in New York gets all of their scalloped plates. which every restaurant in New York serves everything on there. Damn, shots fired. Okay, all right, so now... Oh, well, I didn't think we were going to get into it that soon, but Gabe, the gloves are off. Let's get into it. To be fair, I did just 20 of those 30 kilos of plates are scallops, but yeah. I had a nice little run through hotspots while we were in town. Well, hold on. I'm more interested in how many of the plates... Did all the plates make it back to London in one piece? I had to go straight to the kitchen, so I haven't unpacked yet, but I believe...

98% of plates have made it unscathed. That's great. Hallelujah. I'm impressed and thank God because I was worried because what are you going to do? You can't buy plates. I'm going to start shipping for Fisher's Eddie. I'm going to be their guy. I do. I work in importing and exporting mostly. Mostly plates. You and Missy, your partner in life and in business. Yes. Who was also tripping balls, by the way. Okay, so you guys... At least you had a buddy. Well, I mean, that kind of makes it worse because then you have to look after yourself and after her. We couldn't communicate. I didn't know she was going through the same thing. Okay, while you guys were sitting next to each other? Yes, yes. Okay, was there ever a time where you wanted to ask her a question? And then you hit the little button above your seat to get her attention to ask the question? No, but I did randomly eat her bread roll without asking. That's fine. Yeah, I thought she was insane. She's doing Whole30 right now anyway. Okay, well, I did want to play a little interesting food game because, as you know, I am an American cunt who was in London just a month ago or so. Also went to all the little cutie hotspot restaurants, yours being one of them. Yeah. And I did notice some trends and things like that where I'm sure you'd notice some through lines and trends in American restaurants. So I'd like to maybe compare and contrast our notes and see what we have learned and what we can teach our viewership and our listenership. 100%. That sounds like a good idea. All right, so you guys have too many beetroot dishes? Beetroot is okay at best. I'm not the biggest fan of beetroot, so I notice it but don't often order it. So I'm inclined to agree with you on that. Okay, we're off to a charming little start. I think every restaurant also seemed to have a lot of the similar kind of little dishes.

done in their own special way, which is a thing that happens in America all the time as well. I think every place I went to in New York is doing currently a bowl of some kind of white bean in a broth with salsa verde for $22. For $22? Yeah, $22. So white beans in a broth, salsa verde, hit it for the $22. Yeah, for like a dollar a bean. Okay. I like that. I like a dollar a bean breakdown. A buck a bean? That sounds buck a bean. That sounds pretty good to me. That sounds pretty tasty, though. I don't know if I've ever had that. It does sound tasty. It sounds good, but he's speaking from a chef food cost perspective where you're like, I know this dish costs 75 cents in food costs, so these motherfuckers are raping me. Every server automatically said, have you tried the beans? Have you got the beans? Did you see the beans on the menu? It's like, yeah, I saw the beans on the menu. I know you've got to push the beans. It's a seasonal dish. I noticed a lot of places in Britannia had a dish where it was a plate. It was another plate that was around 22 to 28 maybe. It'll have some like stracciatella kind of cheese. Yeah. And then a lovely placement of things on top of it. Maybe some oils that have been... infused with herbs or some roast pumpkin like maybe there's some yeah there's a roasted vegetable we had that and it was good it was good it is good it is good there's that one and then also the deviled egg where we do it our way kind of thing yeah well then i i would like to claim some ownership on the impact of deviled eggs in in the uk oh okay big dick okay big dick let's go i mean we've been out since 2000 and what when did we start 2000 2012, and suddenly there's a deviled egg or an oaf mayonnaise on many a menu. Back when the Queen was still in charge. Right. I was just signed off by the Queen. 2012, year of the Olympics. She ran past with the torch, gave them a nod. I didn't know that. That's so cool. You should talk about that more. You should talk about that more. I don't want to show off. I don't want to show off. I mean, there's a good chance that deviled eggs were invented in London or in England.

before and then came to America. I kind of think of them as like a Southern thing, though. I kind of think of them as like a Southern party. I do, too. But, you know, the Southerners came from Europe at some point. That is true. And people have been dancing in the egg space for centuries now. But I think in America, the trend that we're on right now has been, which I think is starting to die out, which is taking these classic dishes and then serving them. kind of unabashedly normal and plain as a response or a pendulum swing away from everyone having to do their own funky little version. So now it's just like, here's French fries. Here is a shrimp cocktail. The cocktail sauce is regular. I didn't add yuzu. There's no any weird shit in it. And I think that London is sort of... coming around in that same boat. I could be wrong. What do you think? No, I kind of agree. I think that's always something that I have used a little bit. I think I quite like to kind of anchor myself in both things. I love the classics, but I love... showing off or doing my own thing um yeah so i i think we straddle both on our menu i always try to have something that's pretty classic you know i do think that that's dying out in in what i felt a lot in new york is there's a lot of european food a lot of european feeling places places in an area where you know because i i grew up going to new york and la a lot as a kid and then i lived i was in new york for six years had a like profound impact on what i thought about food and just the joys and things that were seemingly simple and everyday in America that we just didn't have here. You know, it's like why I kind of originally was obsessed with the diner and then that progressed to kind of classic American restaurants and steakhouses and all that kind of stuff. A simple tuna melt. Yeah. Or just like anything, a side salad, the side salad, the tuna melt, the patty melt, the, you know, eggs, how you like them kind of thing. So I have to, New York seems to be getting more influenced by other places.

It's always had great Italian food and Italian-American food, and there's always been loads of Chinese food and Japanese food. But this European thing, I kind of started to realize that a lot of the new places that are opening up are really similar to things that are happening in London, which is having another kind of European renaissance, as we have done the dumbest. dumbest thing in the world. Now that we're not allowed to go there because they don't like us anymore. Look, hindsight is 20-20 as it pertains to Brexit. You guys had no idea. Yeah, no idea. Absolutely no idea. They just pulled the rub from under us. Yeah, simple mistake. They felt like European restaurants with American people in them and American chefs. It was kind of... There was a bit of a meeting of minds in what's happening in London now and what's happening in New York. It's interesting to see. One thing I noticed the last time I was in New York, which was really funny to your point about New York becoming more European, is so many of the cool, hip restaurants around town with the outdoor seating decided, what if we just rotate all the tables and chairs to face outside, aperitivo style or Parisian style or whatever. And everyone was like, holy shit. All it took was just moving, rotating a chair 90 degrees. And everyone was like, woo, let's have a Negroni. Do not come for a lady like that, bro. Dime Square hasn't been the same. I'm coming for many different restaurants like that. I did hear some very meant to be there New York guy say to someone in a very strong accent, hey, yo. cafe culture is fucking taking over and it was like something that i didn't think hey not for nothing tone but it appears that cafe culture is taking over um so i yeah i mean it's definitely Dime Square is going to be Little Paris very, very soon. I mean, they already kind of, I mean, when it's nice out, they like fully block off the street. I mean, it's just like the full street. Yeah, it sounds crazy. So all the non-binary people can practice their heel flips. Yeah, you can skateboard, you can get a coffee, you can meet friends. Question for both of you, mainly Chris, because you are an American, because of this European Renaissance happening where we're kind of...

diverting back to that style of cafe culture, do you think there's a scenario where smoking will be unbanned in New York and in certain places? No. Where can you not smoke? Where can you not smoke currently? Inside. Inside. Yeah, just inside. I mean, there's always, yeah, that's kind of everywhere. That's just a human thing, right? That's just like what we should be doing for being alive. Yeah, I mean, unless you're in other parts of the world. I think nightclubs should allow smoking indoors. I think like a nightclub, I mean, I guess the fines are just probably not worth it. I mean, I don't know how all that stuff works. They send in like a secret shopper, but it's just probably not worth it to get the fine, is my guess. Maybe not legalize it, but just sort of... Look the other way. I've smoked for 20 years, and if someone lights up a cigarette next to me indoors or in close proximity, I look at them like they're just spat in my face. I think it's absolutely disgusting. So I hope it doesn't come back. Why? I think it's cool and sexy, to be honest. You're a health nut. Yeah, but I still recognize... How can you think it's cool and sexy? Because I can recognize cool and sexy, okay? That's the kind of something I'm good at, if I'm being honest. I mean, it's the only reason why I still do it. I don't enjoy it. What is the... Now, do you have a cheeky one in your home by an open window in the loft? No, because my landlord lives next door and they're quite... They're quite... I realize I'm in a public forum. They're quite specific people. They're listening. They're listening right now. They definitely listen to me. I don't think it's bad to say that your landlord doesn't like smoking in your house. I think that's normal. I'll leave it. I won't say that for now. All right. All right. But no, I mean, it depends. Depends. No, I don't know. I think it's because I loathe the fact that I can't quit. And the only thing that ever got me close to quitting was sucking on one of those fucking USB sticks. And that was harder to get off than cigarettes. So I had to go back on cigarettes to get off the fruity little teat. I mean, Jason, you had a similar experience, didn't you? Yeah, I was vaping it up. And actually, I noticed when I was in London, a lot more people vape over there than America. Everyone. And like kids that never smoked. Kids are getting into that first, which is just...

I can't see it being around for very long. They have all these fun, bright colors and flavors. I get it. Yeah, they're made for kids. It's like when they had, like, what was the one that got banned? Four Loko? Yeah, yeah, yeah. When it's like a fruit juice. I'm actually a Sparks era juicer, but the Four Loko was pretty. pretty intense time in downtown. I've never had a Sparks or a Four Loko. It's one of the proudest things. One of the things I'm most proud of. That's how I know you're a pussy, Chris. 2009, man. It was like a river of alcoholic ginseng piss flowing through downtown. Ginseng piss? It was fucking rough. Were you in America during this time? Yeah, so I moved back to the UK. 12 years ago, 11 years ago. Okay. Gabe and I know each other. Gabe and I know each other from New York, Jason. You went to NYU, didn't you? I went to SVA. SVA. Oh, you went to SVA. Okay. I can't. I get them all mixed up with the imports, you know? Yeah. I hung out with a bunch of NYU kids. That's probably why you were associated. Well, I sound like I went to NYU, but I actually went to SVA, which is easier to get into. But yeah, I went to film school. And then I was in New York for like six years. Wait, were you trying to be an auteur? That was the majority of my life, yes. And then I accidentally started a pop-up that turned into a restaurant. And I've been a chef for a decade. Oh, so you were just a cook, a hobbyist, let's say. And then it popped off. Let's say. Let's say. a hobbyist. I was interested in it a bit more than that. When you explained that that was your first interest and then you did a pop-up that turned into a restaurant and now you're a chef for the last 10 years, there was a little pain in your voice when you recalled those instances. Yeah, just a little bit. But there's still time, right? Or no? Have you given up on filmmaking? I'm actually working on a...

i'm i'm slowly working on a project with a friend of mine who is a film producer but we're it's looking like a we're writing something very very slowly okay it's something i'd like to get back into but but when i moved back from i mean what was this 12 12 years ago i moved back after graduating i'd made a a a short with some people and was screened in new york came back to london screened it here and all i was offered was to sign with an agency to make commercials and music videos which i thought is something that people were like, no, I wouldn't do that. No way, I'm a filmmaker. And now all my friends that did that own houses. And I'm in a flat, I can't fucking smoke it. That might be slightly where the pain in my voice arises. And also, just to add the icing on the cake. You also have to make those people dinner when they come to your restaurant. Absolutely, yeah. Of course, the joy one finds in commanding the pan and the flame when feeling like a tattooed, bearded man that can cook a steak is totally good. I mean, honestly, it's hot. It's hot. I've got to say. Commanding the pan. I can't command a pan to save my life. So I've never directed a Diplo music video. But you only like salads. Yeah, but I can't make a salad either. I've never... I've never directed a Diplo video. I can't make anything. Yeah, his vinaigrette are... notoriously unbalanced yeah exactly that's kind of where i fall short i'm able to source incredible produce obviously from our he's great at sourcing produce i will give him that but i just when it when it comes to the dressing that i just cannot get the balance it's i'm like a gymnast and i'm falling off the balance beam i just cannot get it it's fucked up man yeah he's he's he's more instead of salt fat acid heat he's just kind of like acid You know what I mean? Yeah, I skipped. He forgot the three other chapters. Now, what other things did you see in beautiful Manhattan that really – because I saw you and you were going to Veselka, so I don't know what kind of research that is. Veselka is not really – that's more of like a pilgrimage. When I used to live there.

My brother, who still lives in New York, he just moved back. But when we were in college and all of our friends would invite us for Thanksgiving dinner at their families, we would say no without really talking to each other because we would always end up at Vizelka. It's just like a special place. Yeah, it's your cheers. It's our cheers, but it's also in my head just a kind of mind-blowing. operation you know it's open 24 hours a day they have like eight rushes a day and the food is always exactly the same it's quite an impressive thing to to do it's not yeah it's a machine that's in that's pleasant to watch operate as yeah i mean as a restaurateur it's like kind of like balthazar kind of you know yeah absolutely it's the balthazar of diners a symphony What other pilgrimages did you make then? It's a combination of hitting new hot spots, but it's also trying to go to some of the places that warm your heart. Did you enjoy any Omakase-style sushi experiences? No, I don't eat much sushi. I'd like to eat more. I don't know if New York's the place I'd go for it. No, no, tell me if I'm wrong. Wrong! in my head when I think of New York. No, I understand that. I understand it. All those places, I mean, I eat a lot of noodles in the East Village. That's kind of what I think of, you know, like a ramen or a sobya or something. But like, there are a lot of small... I don't really eat sushi in New York either, Jason, now that I'm thinking about it. It's kind of an LA thing. I mean, it's definitely a Japan thing. It's definitely a Japan thing. I think it's one of those things where... It's kind of a Japan thing. Like, consistently, I think you can get the best sushi in LA. Yeah. But... The best, best of the best happens in New York and obviously in Japan. But I think New York, like the day-to-day sushi is not as good. But in terms of like the high level, like $800 a plate type of shit, I think New York still has LA beat. And they kind of always will just because of the money thing. It just boils down. Places I don't even know. Places you've never heard of and I've never heard of.

just Wall Street guys go there because they want to fucking jack off and do coke and eat blowfish, you know? Yeah. It does sound good, doesn't it? Wait a second. I think we all want to do that. What do you mean? You can hit up some of your commercial directors and see if they can set up a res. Take me out. Hit up Austin Peters and see if he'll take you somewhere on the company card. You know what I mean? I will hit up Austin next time I'm in. Well, actually, I want to try that strip mall sushi place in L.A. where all the celebs go. That looks good. No boo? Sushi Park? Sushi Park. Yeah. Sushi Park is trash. Some people really seem to like it. People who have... I'll take your rec. Their palates are easily pleased. You know, Sushi Park's for that. Are you saying Jay-Z's palate is easily pleased? 1,000%. Of course. Yeah, I don't... I mean, Jay-Z will eat anything. We know how Jay... You know, Sean... He's a talented businessman and rapper. Amazing rapper, of course, but... like chris said he will put anything in his mouth what is the what other places now when you go back to new york where else do you feel like you have to go you know well now i've never been before but because it i mean i'm definitely a huge fan of eric repair and kind of how he is as a chef and as a person from what i know so we went to le bernadan for lunch it just got four stars in new york after their four star their four star review was amazing wasn't it amazing after 35 years like It's crazy. Like such a thing to pull off. And like the room is beautiful. I know. I was reading that. I was like, this is so beautiful. I just, my only question was how much money did he have to pay to finally get that four star? But it really inspired me to want to go to Les Bernardins more than any restaurant ever. I'm like, damn, they finally did it. Let's see what it is. So how was it? It's a very beautiful room. And the service was great. And the food's fantastic. And then it was great. And then after. the rest go everywhere we went on the rest of the trip it also had this kind of uh you know it's not cheap it's 120 bucks for a for like a set lunch like a prefix that's not bad which is not bad but then in comparison how many courses are we talking though like four four plates three courses and a little amuse a little langustino you're not you're not hitting i'm spending 120 i mean 120 on lunch is i mean that's

Right? So not crazy. Yeah. But then if you compare it to everywhere where you can get like a little bowl of pasta to share with your friend and some of them beans I've been talking about for $400, you're like, oh, Le Bernardin is cheap. Yeah, Le Bernardin is a good deal. Yeah, exactly. And the servers aren't obnoxious. You know, they're pros. Oh, they're so nice. The whole thing was really, really nice in the room. I've never been in that room before. It's beautiful. But that definitely. And then I went out to Astoria. My brother and his wife live in Sunnyside. They took us to this Egyptian seafood place where you pick the fish and they grill it or fry it or do it in a spicy place. It was incredible. Damn, that's cool. And obviously cost like a tenth of it. It's called. Cost a tenner for lunch. Abukir Seafood. Damn, okay. That sounds cool. Now, is your... Is your brother into food as well, or is he just like, I know a place, and then he takes you there? He's into food. He's obsessed with pancakes. But other than that, this is a full-grown, very, very, very intelligent man. Is he just an Egyptophile? No. I believe this is the only Egyptian thing in his life. But he definitely loves food. So every birthday. Would you make him a perfect pancake? I don't know. He's obsessed with cooking pancakes. I don't know if he wants them made for him. Oh. He's just this perfect... What is his... Like, just a regular classic pancake? Or is he adding some... I think the peak is that American-style breakfast parfait pancake. But he's not going the, you know, the, like... souffle mousse giant japanese ones right he wants a straight away buttermilk pancake yeah butter with with syrup and butter on it yeah searching for the ideal bob's your uncle okay and and this is something that he can away to exercise his obsessive compulsive disorder i would i would say maybe because he is a uh profoundly intelligent uh yeah man and and uh he just has this one

This one channel. I love that. I love that. Yeah, I like that too. I think that level of obsession is interesting and fun and healthy. If he's listening right now, welcome home, comrade. I feel like maybe that could be the way I get into cooking. It's like I pick one thing. One thing and focus. Yeah, that may be my only way in the door. I don't see another... Something to replace that salad restaurant that you mentioned in every one of your podcasts that I'm sure you're getting backhanders from. Don't talk about Sweetgreen. We're not getting backhanders. Gabe, we're very... First of all, you're just jealous that you guys don't have salads. You don't have fast casual salads. And second of all, we're up front about our relationship with Sweetgreen and its illustrious and intelligent founders. And they do sometimes put cashew bucks in our account so that our salads are free. And actually... And actually, Gabe, it's funny you bring that up. I'm actually low on cashew bucks right now. So, guys, if you're listening, is this thing on? And, Gabe, once you create your Sweetgreen account, just ping me on Slack, and I'll make sure they pump you up as well for that mention. Yeah, Gabe, because that's the thing. Oh, wait. I had to think about your other sponsors as well because I'm trying to get someone to hook me up with an electric car, and you're the Nissan guys, right? Oh, wow. That's great. Well, the Nissan Leaf has traveled over 80 years. billion miles from 2010. So I think that could be a great solution for you. It's something to think about, especially if you live in a major metropolitan area, zipping around in a Nissan Leaf to pick up your produce or maybe even to hit sweet green for a shroomami. That's no problem. How many cashews can you fit in the trunk of a Nissan Leaf? Someone needs to find out. So if you can give me one of those cars, I will do the research. And the all-new 2023 Nissan Leaf, it looks smart, parked right next to one of your Aston Martins in Mayfair. It is just a head-turner, a showstopper. I think we could do maybe a contest where we fill a Nissan Leaf with cashews and people guess how many are in there, and then the winner does receive the car. That sounds a little vice-y. Yeah, it does. It's not a gross jar. From a reformed Sparks,

Drinker. You would know if something was vicey, wouldn't you? You would know. I may have crossed paths with that publication before. I used to live with the editor. Who hasn't? Yeah, true. I think everyone's lived with the vice editor at some point. Which editor did you live with? What was Gavin McGinnis like? Oh, fuck's sake. Do not. There are places you cannot go. Fuck that guy. It's weird. I didn't see it at the time, but now, thinking back, there were some clues. There were some clues. Speaking of Valentine's Day and restaurants, did you guys... opt to create a special valentine's day menu or is that why you left town so you could avoid valentine's day i think it is um well known as the the worst night to work in a restaurant worst night to visit a restaurant to work in a restaurant definitely worst night for everyone why is it both why because you're doing a prefix and people still complain and shit or is it just like the worst kind of clientele just because every table is a two oh the only the only reason why um would promote any of the newfangled polygamy style, you know, Southern California relationship situations is so that they can get more than two people on a table at Valentine's Day because it's fucking hell. Okay. It's just, yeah, it's just like stop, start, stop, start, stop, start. Oh, because two tops aren't throwing off as much cash, but also it's just moving too quickly. Is that what you're saying? It's not even the cash. It's just the monotony. You're just doing two people at a time. So it gets a little boring. It's fun to mix up. It just gets a bit boring. You know what? I've never thought about that. I've never thought that in my life. Yeah. You also get, and I don't like to talk ill about anyone that wants to go to a restaurant at any point. I think anyone that comes to your door is a gift, but there is a potential for people that don't go to restaurants much would go out on Valentine's night and, you know, as like their night out.

And in there is potential for kind of not really knowing how to do things. They might not know how to act. as well as somebody who is a restaurant local. This has not happened to us. Of course, you're not speaking from experience as a restaurant owner whatsoever. No, absolutely not. But you guys did not decide to do a special Valentine's Day menu. You didn't do... No, no. We might put an extra share on the board or something, but a Valentine's menu is not... I mean, I just don't really get it. I think the beetroot would be really nice, actually, on Valentine's Day, if you think about it. Yeah, it's sort of a celebration of beetroot as it dies and stains. various menu items. Also, I listened to your chat with Ignacio Matos the other day. Along the lines of what do you really want for a Valentine's set menu? Not a lot of food, right? If you want the night to end up where you want it to end up. I forgot Ignacio was talking about morning sex. I don't eat. It's fuel for fuck. I think that maybe this is when omakase comes into play. It costs a little more, but you're keeping it very light. I'd rather spend $800 on omakase than spend $150 and then feel like shit. Amen. Yeah, is that something that you are able to consider or think about? My favorite part about the omakase is the pacing of it and the sequence of dishes to where... You end up eating a lot of food, but it's served at the perfect amount of time in the perfect order to where you're sort of like whipped into a frenzy. Yeah. And you're like, you know, you're controlling the diner in the palm of your hand. I personally love that. I mean, it's not it's not the style of what we could do. You know, we're very pro like a traditional restaurant setup where you have entrees and. appetizer entree or starter's mains and dessert. The chef asked that you put in the whole order, etc. Something like that, yeah. It's a little bit of a kind of response to the proliferation of small plate sharing, which kind of drives me a little bit nuts. But not because I don't like...

eating lots of things i think omakase is like even more than a fine dining set menu omakase is the best way to do that it's kind of the point but you're not sharing you know you're not having like one little bit of a you know the end of a fucking bean or whatever and there is a world for that i just think that's the other thing i kind of noticed a bit recently is that all the restaurants that are doing this that they kind of want to be bistros but they have a wine bar menu but they want you to order as much food as you would in a restaurant but really you're getting wine and some little things that you are all kind of huddled around. Yeah, and if you don't order the whole steak or the whole salt-cooked fish, then they kind of look at you sideways like you're wasting their time. The way that I look at it, to a point, anyone that comes in your restaurant, you should kind of be stoked. If they're going to give you money for the thing that the only reason you're really in it for is to make money, you should probably be. Yeah. I'm happy about it. But there are ways to do that. You listening, Chris? Shut up. Shut the hell up, bro. No one is a gift. I'm a gift. I'm a gift. I'm down here making all this food for you. You're lucky I'm not charging your ass more. No one's a gift. I'm a gift. You guys had a good time at ours, right? And Chris, you ate food. I loved it. No, I loved it. No, Rita's is delicious. The vibe is good. The server was cool. And you met Michael. And we met Michael. Yeah, exactly. Michael was a gift to Jason. They had really like a heart-to-heart, I feel like. So when we were eating at Rita's in London, Jason, I was downstairs talking to Gabe in the kitchen, and then I come outside to Jason. Chris was on the pass, touching plates, checking Expo. I was just making sure everything was kind of working properly down there. I come outside, and Jason has befriended one of the servers at Rita's, and they're just kind of pouring their hearts out to each other. Magic Mike. XL. Yeah, Magic Mike in this way that was – I was just happy to witness the tail end of it, personally. I was so happy to hear about it. I didn't know. It was just really on the night, but it was very sweet to hear you guys talk about him on the show. Yeah. I mean, he had some great material.

My parents are in Arizona right now. You know, once you start with that, like once you start my parents in Arizona at a retreat, you know, there's a lot to dig into. Yeah, I remember. I mean, that's I remember talking about him on the pod and we were my point was like in London or England or whatever, like in general, you have those conversations with kind of intelligent, interesting, kind people so much more than you do in America nowadays. It wasn't even that strange to spark up a conversation with a stranger in front of a restaurant while you have a cigarette. But in America, that's like once every 10 years. But in London, it's every night. I agree. For whatever reason, I'm not sure, but that's kind of that one special bit about it where people are still treating each other like humans. I don't know what it is because I loved living in the States and I've got great friends there and I get on with them very well. And I've never been in a situation where I felt like... shut out or people were like being closed with me but i did how it did take me a good five years to remember to say please when i moved back to the uk really like there's just a kind of there's just like a linguistics there especially in new york i think um it's just it's not the people being rude in america it's just not in the kind of vernacular yeah and here like my my my uh like missy or or anyone i'm with would be like you know, you were just rude to that waiter. And I was like, why? It's like, you know, I just don't, it's just not in a, I just had to kind of learn to be polite again. Right. You, you, you didn't mean to. No, no, no. Yeah. I'm sure you make up for it with a tip. You know what I mean? That's kind of how I, I think it's a classic throw money at the problem situation. You know, if you want to go through life being an asshole, you just got to have cash on you. Yeah. That's going to cost you very American.

uh that's right baby that's how i mean i'm not i'm not i'm well it's funny but it's funny you say that it's funny you say that though because i think of i mean i guess because i'm from the south like i really i had the opposite when i was in new york i would say thank you and please and yes ma'am and yes sir and people would look at me like i had called them a name yeah people were mad that i was doing that or like it was aging them or something so i had to dial it back a little bit what the fuck do you mean pardon me yeah exactly i have to i have to acknowledge also So I'm not saying this blanket about America and the South definitely has. But again, it's in that linguistics. It's in like the way that you operate there that please and thank you. And, you know, that Southern hospitality is a real thing, you know, and just that kind of politeness is ingrained. I do declare. Absolutely. That's next. I've got it. I'm trying to organize a trip to New Orleans. Why won't you go somewhere nice? Somebody saw the movie Chef recently is what it sounds like. You could go to a southern city that's actually good. I mean, you know, there's other places. You do want to go to New Orleans to party. You don't act like you want to go there to eat gumbo, lying ass. I'm kind of all right for gumbo. Have you tried the beignets? They're like donuts, but worse. Yeah, your ass is going there to smoke cigs and have some beignets, and you're calling it a quote-unquote research trip. We're on to you, Gabe. Not every trip I go on is a research trip. Sometimes I just want to get drunk. Okay. But where would you recommend? Where would you recommend, Sal? I mean, I need to go to Atlanta. I jokingly hate New Orleans. I've been there once, and it's Berlin and New Orleans, the two places that I talk shit about because I didn't like them. I hate Berlin. New Orleans, I will revisit for sure just because I think it is pretty special as far as like this space it occupies in America that it like feels kind of like if Florida was in Europe, which is a very strange like combo. Yeah, that sounds amazing to me. Something that nobody ever asked for, but it does sound amazing. I mean, I would say, I mean, Atlanta is great, but Atlanta is just kind of like a big city. I don't think it's like you would have fun there and there's like great places to go, but it's not.

I think Charleston is probably the most special, I think, in the South as far as it has a look and the food is good. It's just different. Yeah, my dad was there for a while. He loved Charleston. That's definitely on my list. It's like if New Orleans was racist. Yeah, exactly. But you should also, Memphis is apparently, I've never been to Memphis actually, but I hear a lot about it from people in my life. You need to get a Southern Elizabeth line. uh bill that's that's what you need okay i'll work could you explain what that means to our listeners who might not know oh uh because our queen was gonna die they built a better subway that only goes in one line from all the way east to all the way west okay and it's the best thing she did uh while she was alive don't say that it's like you can you can get her crowning achievement you can get from soho to i mean let me say like the distance of like upstate in 15 minutes yeah no i mean it's fucking crazy no i agree i mean the best part about the best part about london one of my favorite i mean the reason i think i i took to it so much is because of the tube and how well it works like it actually goes everywhere it's clean But you could, you know, you could, I took Jason, we took, we took Jason on a road trip to the South and we did it and like, we went to everywhere you need to go in like five or six days. It wasn't that bad, right? I mean, Jason, remember we didn't, we didn't even have drives that were over like four hours, I don't think. No, it wasn't that bad. But when you put it in European terms, five, six days, you're like, yeah, we went to Italy, we went to Germany, we went to Spain, you know, all these places. And in America, you're like, yeah, I went to both North and South Carolina and they had great gas stations. I would like to say both North and South Carolina do have amazing. cultural differences, much like Spain and Germany. So I don't really see the issue. I think that's fair. That is not fair. If you're looking to sample chicken that is made at a gas station, where the owner lets you know with signage that he does have a gun on him, then both the Carolinas have different flavors of that. Does it taste different if the guy's got a gun? Oh, it definitely tastes better. Can you taste that it was made by gun-having hands?

Well, there's like in North Carolina, it's like or South Carolina is beware of dog. And then North Carolina, fuck the dog, beware of owner. Yeah. Both of those styles of chicken cookery. are wildly different. It's kind of like Szechuan versus Hong Kong, you know what I mean? One's going to be a little bit more spicy. Yeah, exactly. With attitude and flavor. One's going to involve a lot more paperwork with the police. But you've been to L.A. a lot, haven't you, Gabe? Yeah, I spent a lot of time there as a kid, like very young. And then I've been back a few times in the last couple of years. But yeah, my dad was there on and off like most of my... most of my youth was he oh was your dad in the was your dad in the biz yeah yeah yeah he's uh he's an actor oh he's an actor so you got to okay so you got to go you got to kind of visit and do that whole thing where you get to go have a little fun yeah but he so that that was my that was my america when i was a kid because he broadway and movies so it was like new york la all the time so this was before horses opened okay Yeah, yeah. I try not to think of a time before horses, you know what I mean? I'm sure your dad doesn't either. I'm sure he's dealing with it his own way. Yeah, he's kind of fine. We're still mourning with that. But that's funny because I think that nowadays all my friends that are actors and do things, you know, they have to like, yeah, I'm living in Mississippi for six months alone. You know, it's not quite – like it used to be kind of like you go to New York, L.A., maybe Vancouver. Now it's literally like, bro, I'm in Belarus for eight months on this Apple thing. I'm accidentally – Shooting people in the face in Albuquerque. Yeah, it's just not... They're going ahead with that movie, right? Yeah, they're going ahead with it. They're going to finish the fucking movie, Gabe. They're going to finish the fucking movie. And you know what? You know how it is on the production side. We put a lot of... We've done a lot. We've spent a lot of money on this. There's a lot of moving pieces that are hard to...

Stop from being in motion. The husband of the woman that was killed is now an EP on the movie. No, no, no. Yeah. Really? Yeah. That's fucked. You want to talk about a vanity credit? They're making a documentary alongside about the shooting, and he's an EP on that as well. I mean, look, I guess if she's dead, what are you going to do? I mean, you can't bring her back. You might as well make some money off it. I mean, I don't agree with it. It's so messed up. I think there may be some, you know, there's been some argument that the only way they will get, like, restitution or whatever is that that's how they can get you know a payout to the family or whatever but fucking hell i mean the thing is so like like that movie is gonna be a box office smash i don't i doubt it will even get a theatrical release no i mean who's going no see i actually no i think there's gonna be that kind of sick like like voyeuristic you know like i want to see what what if it was all worth it yeah but you're gonna have to cross the picket lines you're gonna you might jason let me tell you something about movies when it comes out on tubi i'll watch it but i'm not gonna spend 24.99 when you the first time you watch the crow did someone tap you on the scene where he jumps on the table like this is the bit this is the bit right so like it's that's a good point no definitely not definitely i'm a bit of yeah actually while we have um A letterboxd cunt on the pod game. Let's talk Eyes Wide Shut. It was a documentary, right? 100%. Let's talk about the edited scenes. What do you think they left out? Without it, it was more of a home movie than a documentary. A lot of powerful people were involved in cutting that down. I heard rumors it was a child sacrifice. Oh. I think that's the polite way of putting it, yeah. That's the polite child sacrifice. That's the polite way of putting it. I would hate to hear the impure way. Now, do you keep up with all the new stuff? Like, are you watching what gets nominated for Oscar? Do you try to keep up? I tried to. I tried to. How many times have you seen Tar?

I've not seen Tar yet. That's definitely on the list. This podcast is over, Gabe. I've heard good things. You know who saw Tar the other day? I loved it. Michael. Oh, really? Michael already has watched Tar multiple times. This was a rewatch. Yeah. We discussed that. Oh, okay. He already said the... I think Carolyn asked him, what's your favorite movie? And he said, Tar. It may be the only movie he's watched that's not a Holocaust documentary. He likes to keep it light. I remember him saying that the main reason why he watches film and television is to induce crying, which I think is a thing that a lot of young folks are doing nowadays. You've got to get it out. Yeah, you've got to get it out. That's what I watch airplane movies for, to have a bit of a cry. It's much easier to cry at 40,000 feet near. Not when you're tripping fucking balls, it's not. Different kind of tears. My question to you is, do you think people knew? Do you think other passengers, maybe the stewardess who kept bringing you water, do you think they were aware of what was happening? The person behind me, definitely, because I kept putting my hands, trying to put them on my head, and they were kind of going on the chair behind me. You were putting your hands on your head like you just ran a marathon, you were trying to catch your breath type of thing? So this is a real kind of fear and loathing at LAX kind of situation here. 100%. So were you still fucked up when you landed? Did you get one ounce of sleep or no? Maybe like a minute here, a minute there. No, we had to get someone with the wheelchair and the trolley with the beep beep beep. Oh, that's real. You really didn't do that. To the guy that could... you know say have you taken any drugs uh they had to put me put us in that to get to i did not know wait you you really did oh my god yeah yeah real trip like absolutely lost my shit so did so did you have to admit to these people that you were on drugs or were you just like i don't feel so good no i just said we just we just uh i took some sleeping pills had a bit much to drink my real fear was that they were gonna say okay you come with us and then while tripping balls them open a bag

And be like, why do you have 50 kilos of plates only? That's the... That doesn't look great. That doesn't look great. Yeah, they're going to break the plates and melt it down because clearly you're smuggling fentanyl. or something like that. You don't want to be the guy that does the thing that the customs officer has never seen before. They've seen people full of heroin and all the fucking shit, but then it's like, you can't stand and you only have 50 kilos of plates. That's true. That does look alarming, I would say. I've seen it all, young man, and I haven't seen this, so we're going to move into this different area of the airport now. I love the thought of customs agents melting down broken plates while you watch. money get flushed out of the toilet. That's funny. We talked about this a little bit when I was in London, but any guy I know, any person I know that's ever opened a restaurant, they can't open just one. I'm assuming that you are eyeing something else? Do you have some ideas? We would like to open a bar. There are very few bars in London. Very few good ones. Almost none in central London. And a bar is like a restaurant that actually makes money, right? Yes. They have no chefs and no food. It's such a good business model. You thought the markup on beans was good. Wait until you see vodka. So we got one eye on the bar. I mean, we put in an offer on a bar recently, and we didn't get the space. And it's a beautiful space, and it would have been great. But there was a little bit of relief in kind of not getting it. There's definitely a drive to do more. I think right now, we're currently expanding, Rita, so we're building another dining room in the back next to the garden and building a cupboard for the garden. As you should. And I think that we, rather than capitalizing on multiple things right now, we want to capitalize on getting the most out of this beautiful, amazing space that we have.

The location of, I don't know if the context kind of translates outside of London, but to be on that street is pretty special. So we're kind of pushing for that at the moment. And I think further down the line for sure. But one of the other things that we don't have any, up to this point, we don't have any backers. We don't have any investors. Lots of people that have lots of restaurants. are good at regularly going to groups of people and asking for money to open more restaurants, which is fantastic, and spend other people's money. That's a fucking great, great, great thing to do. Sure, sure. But we've been doing this for 10 years, and 10 years got us here as Rita's, and we're pretty stoked on that. And at the moment, we don't owe lots of people money, and we don't have to pay money out. So we can kind of balance a bit of... uh life balance we've got an amazing team love everyone there love the space and uh i think further down the line sure there are other things that we want to do i want to do a giant restaurant i think we i think the next thing that we if it was to be a restaurant we would try and eye up like a a big big brasserie type space cheesecake factory Cheesecake Factory, for sure. Yeah, they don't have that here. We can definitely do that. That one big Nando's by the river? You're going Mother Wolf mode. I like this. Just don't play De La Soul and I'll come eat there. Too soon, Chris. This is not the week to be said. Oh, I'm sorry. I forgot. I'm sorry. I forgot. I'm sorry. I forgot. Okay, sorry. No 50 Cent, even though I like 50 Cent. I know what you mean. But yeah, no, I think that... It's taken a long time to get to a point where you don't have to be there every day. So right now I don't want to open another place where I have to be there every day. Of course. I really like what we're doing. I think we can do more and better. where we are still you know improve and that's that's kind of focus for now i don't want to get greedy amen i mean you're the first person i've ever heard say that but it sounds kind of like a smart approach you know that's just the edible talking still it's just it's just that i mean don't get me wrong it's the right i'm not taking any chances my man my man's got it figured out all right gabe thank you if you guys are in london or you're visiting london make sure you go visit rita's in soho it's delicious i'm never banging little espresso mod amy oh yeah gabe gabe will come

out of the kitchen and greet you. If somebody needs to bring the plates to the table and no one else is available, he will. He is able to do that. If you say that you're a listener of How Long Gone, he does have to come out. I do do that. I do do table visits. I heard the chef on How Long Gone and I was told that he would come out and say hi to us. I just want to let you know we're here. I don't want to blow you guys up too much, but two days after you came to us and you spoke about us on the podcast, someone I know messaged me. It was like, my friend listens to this podcast and needs to come to your restaurant. So thank you for that one booking you got us. That felt a little backhanded. It didn't need the one in there. We deserve that. I don't want to blow you up too much, but we deserve that. That's just the person who was comfortable enough to mention that. Just think of all the other thousands of reservations made in the last month of people who... came to your restaurant from our show yeah that's some people don't like to identify themselves they don't like the attention it kind of happens a lot um gabe thanks for joining us it was a pleasure and um we'll see you soon bro absolute pleasure hope you guys come over again soon yeah we'll we'll be back in london i think in the summertime so we will we will bop in and see what other beetroot explorations There are to be had. Be true pie in the new god. That's perfect. You'll love it. Sounds glorious. You'll love it. Thanks, Gabe. Later, bro. Thanks, guys. Toodaloo. Toodaloo. Bye.