Riad Nasr & Lee Hanson

restaurant Frenchet and their bakery French At Bakery. Both Riad and Lee are veterans of Balthazar and have carved out a successful path for themselves. Welcome to my podcast, Read and Lee. I am very happy to be here, sitting. We are sitting in the most peculiar spot. It's a little newsstand recording studio on the first floor of one Rockefeller Plaza. And this is a well one East forty nine Street, I guess. But have you ever been here before? We passed it a few times. Yeah, so it's it's

very cute. It looks, it looks it's it has windows right onto a promenade that goes from forty nine S Street and Uh, and the restaurant is really at St. Yeah. And last night was my first time at lar Rock. When did you open exactly? First week of August? First week of August. I tried to come earlier, and I just you were closed one night that I was free, and then I wasn't able to get in. But boy, am I glad I ate there last night because now I have a lot to ask, even more questions than

I had before. Uh. You guys have been really, really busy. I first met you many years ago at Both of Ore when you were both the chefs working with Keith McNally in one of the most innovative restaurants of the time. Both are which still is going strong. I've been there a few times during and since COVID, but I miss you guys so much. And then of course you went on to Minetta Tavern. Did you leave both Ustart to go to Mindetta or did you just redesign? We did that.

We did that with Keith and um it was I think the last project that we worked together. That was it right? And and then you parted ways and took your great talents and opened Friendship. So describe friend Set to everyone, because I want to talk a lot about Laroq, but friend Set is also such a delightful place to go and and a first choice on many many people's itineraries come from out of out of town. So tell us what friendship and where you got that idea from.

When Lee and I, uh, look, we were always you know, uh cooks, cooks. You know, we wanted, uh, we wanted to forge our path. You know, we were looking for a sort of a small location where the two of us could basically just just sort of click. Well, you know, every young chef stream or that you have been cooking, how many dinners at Baltaz are thousands thousands every day? Right?

But the bakery, the fantastic food at it was fantastic. Okay, So then you go, so yeah, I mean we we we we left and to sort of pursue that dream. And we found this location that you know, we had um have many seats through at French that it's pretty big and stuff that's pretty big. That's not a little tiny place, and it was taking a very size of what we're sort of used to, you know, prior to that.

But we just wanted to do sort of a simple neighborhood French bistro, very very market driven, sort of inspired by you know, our travels in France and you know, our culinary upbringing so to speak, you know, incorporate some

ideas that we had. How long did you know each other before you joined forces at baltaz Are when we met back when we both worked for Danielle Blood at restaurant Danielle and that was that opens and I met there, So you were both there at that time, at the opening and at that fabulous place at the former home of the Cirque. No, this is in Missouri Hotel. This was seventy six streets, which then became your cafe Balloon. You know. I think that's when we first met you, Martha.

That is great, Okay, that was a long time. Yeah. And Danielle is my neighbor now. He lives right across the street from me in Bedford. Keep the noise down. A good neighbor. No, he's great, he's great. We share, we share. I share eggs with him. He shares rare things with me that gets shipped to his house. Rare things, yeah, rare things like pineapples out of season. But so so first with first at Danielle, So is that when you forged your idea of a partnership or yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

We were both Sux chefs there And what was your training before we had? Prior to that, well, I met Danielle. I I was cooking in France. I was working at Michelle bra and I've been wrong a little town called Yol And prior to that, I was you know, Park Bistro and Leal I was working and I was sort of like, where were you moderns? I was born in New York, but I grew up in Montreal. Okay, so you're you have a French background kind of yeah, I think so I'm sort of pseudo French. And what about you,

you're so American? Uh well, my first job out of school is with Danielle when he was a chef at Le Cirque, and school was ci a corner and student ark. And after I worked with Um Jean George at Van and Charlie Palmer for a number of years, and then I've always had a conversation with keeping in touch with Danielle and everything, you know, when he when he was ever going to open his own place, I wanted to be a part of that. And that came a few years later and he came by and it's like, okay, Lee,

let's go and h And that's where you met read remember. Yeah, So it's a long it's a long partnership. You two guys had any arguments, I don't know, quiet pouting, Maybe when we both kind of express are are we We've we express our frustrations in similar ways, like what just like to ourselves we might kind of be like, all right ly, I'll just slide this time, or Maria, don't walk away from this from now. But now we've never had any screaming matches. Um. Great. I think he keeps

score though we think you do. I think he does right down. And there's a given take that you have to have with the relations and life changes have occurred. I mean, you're married, are you married ly? I don't even know sure. My kids were on your show one that's right, Oh my gosh. Yes, the the the bathroom, the bedtime we had sleepover, sleep over one sleepover episode, pajamas. Oh my goodness, how old are they know? Your kids? Wow? Ones in college? Junior in college that it's a junior

in high school. Any chefs in the family. Oh no, no, definitely, yes, I don't don't read. Yeah, no, My wife and I have been married twenty three years, so no kids. Lots of cats. My wife does trapping in to her release, so we foster. How many do you have right now? We have six? Yeah. Yeah, we have a good big space though. Yeah. And um, I know your sister, that's right. Yeah, she's the editor in chief of Harper's Bizarre. Yeah. We're

incredibly proud of incredible. She's an incredible editors. So proud of you. Oh my gosh, she talks about you along. She needs to get out of the world a little bit more. But she she loves your food as I do. Um. Well, back to the food friendship is um is the food is very delicious and kind of unique. Uh, those are your own, your own ideas of what what what's this

friendship mean to you? Sort of French e or I when we start with with I mean, it's it's rooted in in in traditional French French cuisine, but we like to throw a little twists and things. You know, I'm not twists or just have a little bit more of a attitude about what's your favorite dish on the menu at French at I think you would probably have to be the brillad, which is the soft scrambled eggs with saute scargo and you like, yeah, certainly. Yeah. I had

them last night. They were delicious and we love the way you serve them in the little individual, little individual cups, so pretty with a little toast on top. Really really tasty. Yeah. Where do you get the snails from? The snails? They're they're Burgundy snails. It's a preserved snail that that we cook in a corbillon and they're braised out with a little bit of pinch, had tons of aramats and then stuffed in those little pots. And tarragon is everywhere on

the menu at at l Rock. Yeah, you love tarragon. Yeah, in the league and also in the in the crab, I had the best appetizer last night that I've had in a long time. It is a dungeoness crab shell, perfectly cleaned, filled with the most delicious crab salad um. So that has a lot of tarragon and what else does it happen? And I'm trying to get a recipe out of this. I want to make that at home.

Because I get dungeon iss crab ship to be from from Seattle Top, parsley and lemon and sieved egg and capers a. That's a super little all four of those up nice and even like the idea to kind of mix it all together, add a little the uh mayonnaise that comes with it beautifully. It's called a dressed crab on the menu. Funny last night we had a we had a customer come in and said, I would like my crab undressed please? Oh no mayo. That means no

mayo crab. Well, it's a delicious appetizer. Wow, I could I want that for lunch today? Unfortunately Laroc is not open for lunch yet. That's coming soon though. That's good. October will be in. October will be. And what's your favorite dish on the menu at French Chet French Set. Yeah, hard to say. I guess one of my favorite little pairings that we do is the oysters in the chippe LATAs. So we serve oyses on the half shell and a

little of the sausages on the side. So it's a very kind of unique combination from Brittany that you don't see very often. But it's the richness of the sausage and that kind of clean Briani oyster is the sausage or it is? You see. That's another wonderful feature of of these Guys restaurants. It's everything is really homemade and touched and and loved, and it tastes so good. Every

single thing my favorite thing. Last night at LaRock we had a lot of appetizers, so I'm going to read what four of us ordered on the off the menu. Yesterday we had um, Let's see, we had the column mari and shochito peppers. That was delicious. So the calamari were wrapped with schito peppers and put on little tiny skewers. That was wonderful. We had the sardine escabeesh, that was fantastic. So those are fresh sardines that you pickle. You pickle

them yourself. And then we had the pette maison which was also excellent. What is that made out of? That was a pork and rabbit, Yeah, rabbit with large squares of little little cubes there yea, And yeah that was served with a little apricot mustata that was very little, right, Didjli? That was a jellow shot basically that was really good. Then we also had annualati with corn and chantarelle central are just coming into season, I guess, yeah, and they

are they were. That was delicious. And then it also had some red pepper, I think like soft read pepper, and oh it was so good. Then we also had the um let me see, I thought we had yet did you ever yet have that? Yeah? So we have

that bread. We have sort of that section underneath the bag att, So we offer the bag at and then we have like several sorts of smallish a little little bread and all the butter that whole section and that you're looking at all things that go with bread, and yeah, the riette dear, and my favorite of all was the chicken liver most with that wonderful topping of a little

port on the top port. That's pork jelly for those of you who don't know what it was really also very nicely not too big a serving, just enough because it's very rich. But you know how to you know how to serve chicken livers. Yeah, you know, we were we were brought up on chicken livers, and this is the best chicken livers I've ever had. Might be able to share that recipe and then we went on two leaks vinaigrette. That are the leaks were so interesting because

you wrapped them in what are they wrapped in? Leaks? And the most of the leaks, that's the dark leaves poached and there are they poached in there and then and then roasted. Now the roasted hole first, yeah, really hot, so they get kind of caramelized in their skin a little bit, and we strip away the outer layers and put that inner very tender leak now in some new green leaks that are still raw, and then we grilled that. It's grilled. Yeah, so they were quite burned on the

outside and so delicious on the inside. That's a different way because post leagues oftentimes get a little wet. These were These were not wet. These were all leaks. And that's fun. That's the sort of a bit of a surprise there. You're taking a humble ingredient and then treating it with a bit of reverence, not unlike a baked potato that you might smash tableside. And that's our most popular dish at the Bedford. That's great, we should do a mash up with it and leak, but it's a

good it's a good it's a good potato. I mean we're using we're using Yukon gold large gold potatoes, and they're so tender inside, buttery buttery on their own. Um, So you're following that I opened a restaurant. I am now the proud competitor of all my friends who I have visited year after year after year, and I can't believe that I actually have a restaurant. Now we'll have to get a show and have you on. Wouldn't that be great? Nobody has asked me to talk about my

restaurant on a podcast yet. But but it's it's fun, it's I'm under I was a nervous wreck about opening the restaurant, So you guys must have been you must have been nervous. How long did it take to actually build the rock this beautiful space? A year and a half, I mean a year and a half of actual construction, and there's probably a year of development prior to that.

I mean, you know, COVID sort of put a real it just slowed the entire process down and actually kept our meetings of on a remote um, you know, remotely versus being sort of on premise and and and and basically prototyping things. So we spent a lot of time fixing things that you know, maybe didn't quite line up because you're not in the space as often. Um, but just Inspire bought Rockefeller Center a few years ago for what looks like in retrospect a terribly small price one

point six billion for all of Rockefeller Center. Can you imagine that's not a bad business move. That was a smart move. And then somebody had your space before a rule it was it was brocery rule mine, Yeah, which was very beautiful but very dark. It was dark and would he have was sort of different? Yeah, I mean you get to read the floors or floors there you've

got you got the Torozzo guys to come in. A lot of people surprised when we say the floors and you're like, yeah, because Rocketfillar Center is known for its Toronto. You know, all all the spaces here have the most beautiful Toronto. One of the reasons for using is try and tie into some of the beauty that's just naturally exists everywhere. And the color palette, the design choices were all taken from from roaming you know, the center and picking up on those details. And the half shades up

the windows are so beautiful. You have to come and see this place, in this space because it really is unique to New York and uh and so clean. And I have to warn you the only thing that bothers tender ears is the noise, because it's hard escape the whole place Toronto floors, plaster walls and high ceilings and naked and naked tables which you protect nicely with pasters. Everything is a poster or paper under it, but knows

nothing to soften them. The excited sound of the patrons were working on that and there how there'll be some acoustic help coming. There has to be. I mean it's noisy for the help too. That at French yet as well. But people really are noisy, aren't they builds and as they drink it sounds like everybody's screaming, but they're not. You know, they're talking out the high as revelry exactly. That's a nice way to be excited when you're in

a big room. So what are the big surprises about opening this place with a big commitment of time and effort. What were your big surprises moving uptown? This is your first Uptown restaurant. Midtown, uptown in the most famous place in New York, you know, Rockefeller Center. What were your surprises all that we would like it up here? Do you? And do you know ice skating? Yeah, well we haven't been ice skating yet. Don't break a leg and don't break an arm, and you can break up with it's

a beautiful roller right now. Okay, you can break a leg, but you can't break an arm, you know. I I don't know. And not to be too like Smalty is serious about it. It's funny coming out of out of pandemic um and and and reintroducing yourself to the city in a way and re embracing the city. We couldn't really think of a better place to do it than than than Rockefeller Center. It is an epicenter and you haven't lived to the through the tree lighting yet. Yeah,

we're a little anxious about that. It will be pretty big and better be open for lunch, Yeah, we should be. Are you ever going to open for breakfast too? For they? Oh? I hope so, yeah, that would be Those are actually really fun meal periods for us to explore. I want to bring my grandchildren for breakfast and ice skated. Yeah, that's a nice time. Applause is so airy and beautiful. Uh. And the light in the room during the day is pretty is pretty great. So now they're able to see

about a hundred people, So make your reservations early. Everybody listening. But you'll be open outside too. Is that going to be a heated space outside for winter time or only only summer time? Mostly seasonal? But we've talked about, you know, and closing it. But again, you know, I think the we like the idea of seasonality being sort of expressed, and in winter maybe indoors is where you should be, right and in springing and summer really enjoy the spring

of the summer outdoors a little bit more. So I think we're good with you know, maybe just some space heaters and the some umbrellas, and I mean for the tree lighting and that kind of really festive time of year. We're not gonna rule out the possibility of someplace to keep warm and have a snack out on the terrace while you're looking at the tree. It would be so fun. So how did you come to name the restaurant Little Rock?

I mean, it's it's natural, but but how many names did you have before you came up with the rock. The naming part of a restaurant is the worst by far um. It's because when you that's going to be the name for the life of the restaurants, so you do you just bang your head over it and it's on you. Some of the some of our worst actually meetings have been about the names and what were what were other possibilities we've exercise them from. But it's funny.

We were both kind of this project. We didn't really have that many names for right, we we didn't really have a naming session. We had a couple like, hey, what do you think it is? What do you think of that French? It was, Yeah, that was a long one. That was It was more so, do you have investors in the restaurant? Yeah? So they're pretty they're pretty um fabulous because there they are really redoing this entire location, a lot of great talent, thoughtfully invigorating the and with

a lot of fun. I mean, look at us, we're in an old news stand here. They're amazing repurposing of the space. Right Yeah, and uh uh so where do you source your ingredients? I saw I saw coming down Fifth Avenue from seventy Street there was a fish truck, there were there were vegetable trucks coming down Fifth Venue. Is that you you buy from wherever that you've learned I guess through the other restaurants, your sources. You have

a pretty extensive prevayor list the chefs. The chefs shop at the Farmer's market as well, so there's three days, four days a week they're picking up fresh and seasonal from from some of our partners at the at the Farmer's market. Um. And then yeah, you have some some larger scale purveyors for for potatoes for example, or at least the you know the frying potatoes. Umbly, what do you use for the frying potatoes? Yeah, they're Idaho. They're g p O d gepod. There's a shortage right now.

Then well, yeah, yeah there is. They were very good last night the Kevin Sharky loves your Fried Potatoes. Boy. We discussed the potatoes for about fifteen minutes. Yeah, and they were They're very very good because they they're soft in the middle and crispy on the outside, and they're not hard and they're not too soft, and they they stayed crispy the whole meal really much. We just got right past that season of potatoes where they go where they're out of the potatoes from last year, and your

young potatoes are still very kind of sugar. Yeah, and so we're just getting into that sweet spotted potatoes. They were, they were very very good. But remember you came on my show and showed me how to make um the onion rings from Balthazar's right, And guess when I made them the other day. And I think I improved on your recipe at the last second. I looking at the flower and you use all purpose flower. I went to won Dra try it. They are the best onion rings

anybody in the whole room. And had had try to try the Wondering. I had never used it before for Ra and it held on nicely. They're glorious color and that the rest of the recipe is pretty much the same with beer in the batter and stuff. But it was really good. You use wonder and anything nice. Now we have it on the shelf and we dust and occasionally, depending on what we're cooking, well dust you could do or crab or skate wing. Yeah, yeah, it's really it was.

It was just incredibly delicious. So I just wanted to share that nice happens. Since so, um so, who designed the restaurant? I mean, I'm sure you had a lot of input, but did you have an architect or a designer. We had a firm called Workstead that we are They from Brooklyn, Yes, I guess technically from Brooklyn. Um it's beautiful. Yeah, they didn't know. They did a great job. It was it, but it is it definitely a collaboration. We worked closely with them for over a year on every detail and

all the lighting fixtures are great. We chose them is because they design their owlining well. Oh they doe chanelers. They were beautiful sign those and it was beautiful and the light is ambient but but not intrusive, and you can still read the menu and it was it was really really beautiful. And who is your matre d that'd be Kevin King. He was great. He came by several times to check on us, and we had the best waiter. Yeah, Craig, Craig, you come in about the vodka? Dot know Kevin Kevin

and Kevin Sharkey mentioned it. Yeah, I said you didn't like our vodka selection? Is that correct? Well? I drink very little except I drink wine, and you have lovely wines, but you didn't have a European or a Polish or Russian vodka. This was great goose, great, but I can't drink great like I like potatoes, potato, like gluten free vodkas. Yeah, it just it just agrees with me. Great. Yeah, that's like I could see that. So you have to please get That's why you can come back and happen. What

do you do? What do you like that? I like Pilvidere. I like I found a new one called Zubrovka that's a potato of Polish vodka. Is very very nice and it's not terribly expensive. It's but it's good. Yeah, are well as Helix, I think and uh, which is a French vodka. But yeah, you're you're you're right in saying that there's not you don't have the originator there. Yeah the other guys. Yeah, that's true. Well, if vodka tasted like Gin, I think we'd probably have more at the place. Martini.

I like it. I like Gin, you do? Yeah? So what about what about stories from opening the restaurant? What about the clientele? What do they say? I've been pretty receptive this this, this, this go around. I mean, look, we've been really really fortunate, I think, I think coming from where we came and opening French yet we had a tremendous amount of goodwill and support from from you know, from the press, from patrons, from peers and so on

and so forth. Uh and and and here it's just sort of extended, you know, really fortunate with the staff that we have. You know, Joel Michelle is our general manager. We work with him, um many many years ago at Baltasar and I think he was a manager over the pasties. So he's another emigrat from Balthaz. Yeah, yeah, you know, he he left and he did a little stint in fine dining and then he you know, he worked with Jean George and uh, you know, post COVID, there were

a lot of sort of free agents around. Um, a lot of people sort of skeptical about getting back in the business, but you know they you know, we were sort of known entities to them and and and previous friends, so so you know, they sort of took a leap with us. Well your time. He was really pretty good to be able to be planning and building a restaurant during the most difficult time in New York restaurant history. Yeah, just world history. Yeah, world history. But even in New York,

what a difficult time last two years have been. And then to be able to open with great fanfare and have people they're eating and enjoying in a in a most iconic location, it's been. It's been fantastic. So are you happy with the turnout? I mean you are. Biggest adjustment is just you know, the times people would come in for the or want table as their prime time tables downtown French yet it's always been seven thirty eight

and here it's more six. Well, they kiss right out of work, right, and you're getting that big bar rush at five. Did you read in the New York Times today how restaurant diners are now opting for earlier and earlier. Yeah, so they can get home and watch their streaming shows. So much to watch, isn't it funny? But no, I think it's also healthwise. Earlier you eat, the better it is for you for dinners and uh and then you and then you also you know, get you know, you're

just coming out of the officers. No, you don't have to stay late at the same late at the office is not a priority. These days the same coming to the office is not such a priority these days, which is really I hate this. I hate this whole not coming to work thing. So have you had any difficulty filling the filling the spots in your restaurant in terms of waiters, wait staff and kitchen kitchen staff is? Uh, yeah, it's been difficult for sure. I mean, we're we we're

basically operating five dinners and that's our entire staff. You know, should actually single them ountain and congratulate them as well. You know, our chef, our executive chef as Walker Stern who had a restaurant in Brooklyn, Michelin Starred and Jeffrey Teller, who's are one of our chefs are executive chef company

ye and our pastry chefs as well, Maria and Michelle. Um, we're fortunate that to sort of have a core group that as as strong as they are and have plowed through the whole, you know, pandemic situation with us, and you're lucky. But I think I think is because of you two guys who are such loyal employers and so and so nice to work for, it, nice to be friends with. I mean, it's it's it's really you're the

you're the glue together. You know, it's it's a pretty good it's a feel good story right now, you know, I mean it's a restaurant opening. They're still difficult. You just went through it yourself and and you know, and it's not like, Okay, we're open and it's over. It's it's open. It's beginning. So how much time do you spend at LaRock right now? All the time. Yeah, it's friendships, all friendships, operating wealth. I'm very impressed with their wine

menu at French chet Where did you get all that wine? Yo? An existing wine seller? I wish we did. No, we didn't. We didn't have the money for that. We just started to collect. We started to look. Our wine director is Hore Riera. You know I know Hore over thirty years we worked together at lahaw and big proponent of the natural wine movement, and we knew we wanted to sort of make that distinction with French Chett. And uh he

built out that wine list and in blank last night. No, No, it was very Yeah, it was probably from a former a former Bobbasar employee, Lauren Sairet. I bet you had the lucky you Yeah, so we worked together as there. Yeah, and so are you continuing at tradition here? Absolutely? So that's your that's your wheelhouse. Yeah, I mean to to move off of that would be disingenuine yea. And but it's extensive. And so what do you what do you find I mean when you when you're dealing with such

a eclectic clientele, but but pretty much all American? Well, I guess you find it mostly American right now? Yeah, or a New York American New York Americans do they do? They do ask for anything that you don't want to make. No, everyone's been very receptive menu and there's so many kind of different choices to go there that by the way,

also the boys also ordered the big Steak. Yeah, they Thomas. Well, you know why because we last week on my little New Roku show, we cooked a coach to booth and I on a grill and I had never really cooked a great that kind of well it wasn't actually a coach, but it was a Tomahawk. But but we reversed heared it, you know, cooking it really slow for a long time, and then we then we caramelized the exterior. It was very good, but we were just comparing steaks, and your

steak was utterly delicious. And my favorite thing that I think, after the crab, was the duck. Wow, where's that duck from? Is that a long island? Long island? What a beautiful, beautiful piece of duck And it was boneless. And then the flavorful you have sugar on their it's what's the what's the crystal things? That's honey, and then it's coated and spices it is so yeah, and a lot of

is that coriander? Yeah, it was delicious, So a little bit Moroccan kind of a to me, almost Roman kind of inspired by that sort of stuck yeah, um yeah, that's um. Yeah. Walker brought that to the menu. And I love the Swiss chard. Oh, the Graton switch. I grew a lot of Swiss chard and that was that was just delicious. Yeah. So you have sort of the influence of of of what a cream spinach would be

or how it would play in a steakhouse. But it's that Gratton is a very French, French technique and approach, and that meat is all sort of local beef, very good beef premise as well. It is two boy, where do you do all that because I went back and I saw the kitchen. There's a whole So again, the Rockefeller Center planned well for the for the future, and you have enough space. Um, but the kitchen is beautiful and that's a it's sort of square. Yes, yes, it's

not like a typical I guess straight line rectangle. Yes. We're using these athor suites, which are a way to work where you're kind of working across some people. So it's it's communication wise, it's it's great. It's an amazing equipment. And we have two sections. We have like an entree section and then a separate app and garmage a section where um, so there's two stoves and we can go simultaneously because it's it's a very I love the kitchen.

It's beautiful than you and it looked like there's lots of camaraderie and uh it's concentric squares. It's all tired. They're just all tired. The there there there. What are the hours of the restaurant? Uh five the bar opens at five five to ten. We start seating dinner at five thirty. Um. I hope to expand on that. I mean, the idea is really to go continuous service from from sort of eleven in the morning till eleven you know at night with with sort of a continuous menu. We'll

see how that evolves. And then Petty d eight four right, I'll be there for Petty Jane when I have to go and do the Today Show. Yeah. I do regular appearances on that Today Show right down the street and it's always fun. Have you been on the Today Show yet? We haven't. Oh they have to have you. Gosh, you guys, should they should come over it? I got a face for radio. Oh, yes, you're you'll be great on TV.

Oh look, people are walking by. We have windows right on this ponds from a very big liquor store Moral. That's a very nice quiet store. So if you could have gotten the vodka for me right there, told me go out and get stuffing. The only PoCA we have is in Lee's like filing cabinet in the office. Next day is to kill outside of the restaurant. What do you do? What do you do with your kids? What do you do on your do you have a day off?

We're having Sundays off lately. Um, when we have more of a regular schedule, I guess you know my hobby is to serve and to be in the ocean as much as possible. We're out in Montalk. Yes, that's usually where we go because it's closest. It's a year um family stuff. Yeah, I mean the kids are into thrifting these days, so we do a lot of that and you know, I'm just hanging out and yeah, doing the family stuff. That's great. And what do you do with

my getaway? The activity is steel heading, so it's uh so fly fishing for steelhead or Atlantic salmon out West Alaska? Do you go to Alaska? I was in Alaska in April, Prince of Wale Islands. Guess what I got for my birthday? I got a fly fishing lesson. Fantastic. I used to tie all my brothers flies for them and I'm good at that. But then my casting I went. I went with Kenna Redski, who's a big fly fisherman from from his restaurant across the street Patroon, and he uh and

he thought I was terrible castor. So I got a fly fishing lesson, so I'm looking forward to that. I actually think you'd be a great caster. Well. I love doing it, I love catching you steal that is a passion and m so try and do that as as a as a getaway and then um ever do ever do for tarpin um that's so that's hard. I did that down in in uh in, Costa Rica for tarpon.

That's right, very my my fishing buddies, one of them is turning forty next year, and there's plans of Rica, not Costa Rica, and they've been talking about going to Cuba and and doing a liverboard there and doing some tarp and fishing. So Hemmingway action, a little Hemmingway action. It's not steel head, but it was a hundred and twenty five pounds and it took five hours to get it in and my stomach was black and blue because I was holding the room. I didn't have one of

those harnesses. I didn't know about that incredible and my stomach was completely black and blue trying to hold the rod. They say, it's pretty intense when you actually see that tarp and eye for the first time. It's like you're looking at it's like checking out. You're in a little robot, like a little skiff, so you're not working anything. It's rocking back and forth with this big fish it on a wall somewhere. No, no, no, it's all catch and released.

Yeah you can't. Absolutely you can't keep your trophies. Yeah, it's better, but they're very beautiful. Well listen, guys, I think that you have to get back to your kitchen. But I know this is great. I think that you know, please okay. I think that you have done amazing things in a very short period of time and developed a clientele that really loves you and loves your food so much and will follow you to the ends of the earth. Each that crab and that and that fabulous duck and

those escargo I will. And I think it's just incredible what you've done. And I wish you the very very best of luck. Thank you so much for taking the change today. And you should all look up lar Roc New York City and it's called Larroc NYC dot com. The menus are listed, and make your reservation early, because boy, you will miss out if you come to New York on a visit and don't visit lar Roc. Thanks every bank, Thank you,