September 13, 2025 • 34 mins
Neil Saavedra continues The Fork Report live from the Manhattan Beach Food & Wine Festival with a packed lineup of culinary talent. Chef Noah Clark of Box Chicken kicks off the hour, followed by Top Chef Masters winner Chris Cosentino, who catches up with Neil about life after the show. Kwini Reed and Chef Michael Reed from the acclaimed restaurant Funke share what makes their dining experience stand out, and Brendan Collins, corporate executive chef of BOA, closes the hour with insight from one of LA’s top steakhouses.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey, it's Neil Savedra. You're listening to KFI EM six
forty The four Purport on demand on the iHeartRadio app
(00:22):
Let me teach you had it.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
Let me teach you had it, Nathan, Let me teach
you had it.
Speaker 1 (00:35):
It's a color naration. Let me teach you had it.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
Let me teach you.
Speaker 1 (00:43):
KFI A M six forty live everywhere on the iHeartRadio. Appy, everybody,
It's the four Report, all Things Food, Beverage and beyond.
We are broadcasting live today from Manhattan Beach for the
Manhattan Beach Food and Wine Festival, its second year today.
We were here last year and it was fantastic. It
promises to be the same today as they're opening up
(01:05):
the Grand Tasting today. VIP starts at six and then
general admission opens up at seven. You've got tons of
chefs here, twenty plus you know, wine beer. You've got
chefs galore and all kinds of food, and the ticket
is all you can eat and drink. You come and
you enjoy yourself there are They announced on the program
(01:29):
that they released fifty more VIP tickets, So yeah, gonna
if you're gonna try and get some VIP tickets. I
would do that now. I think there might be some
general admissions still left to go to Manhattan Beach Food
and Wine all spelled out Manhattan Beach Food and Wine
dot com and you can get tickets there. It'll be great.
(01:51):
I can't wait for it to start right now with
someone we met last year at this event that has
blown our mind and love seeing him continue to blow
up with his family and they're wonderful food at Box
Chicken and West La. Chef Noah Clark is with us again.
N I see you. You've got that smile when chef's work
(02:12):
events like this and then have everything else that they
do do that's like, I'm really happy, but I'm really
really tired. But that's good.
Speaker 3 (02:23):
It's a good tired, right, It's a good thing. But
it's definitely wearing down on me today. For sure. That's
a lot.
Speaker 1 (02:30):
It's a lot, and you know what, I don't know
what it is. Chefs don't stop.
Speaker 3 (02:35):
It's pretty NonStop.
Speaker 1 (02:37):
Yeah, because it's like you and your regular stuff. Someone goes,
hey can you do this charity event?
Speaker 4 (02:42):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (02:42):
I mean I'm there, like there is no normal downtime. Yeah,
but your smile continues to glow. That's a good thing.
How's the family.
Speaker 3 (02:53):
They're great. You've got some cookies, Yeah she did, You're great.
I got my siblings here helping this time around el swing.
Speaker 1 (03:00):
By and say hi to all hands on deck.
Speaker 3 (03:02):
Yeah, for sure. It's glad to have them here too.
So it's been really.
Speaker 1 (03:05):
Tell everybody why uh box chicken is different and why
you're excited for people to try it.
Speaker 3 (03:12):
I mean it kind of speaks for itself, you know
when you.
Speaker 1 (03:15):
Taste Yeah, it just is like holy hell, I'm.
Speaker 3 (03:20):
To just try it and they'll understand. But no, it's
just really unique. You know. It's our take on katsu.
And where you're eating right now is something we're doing
just for the chef's lounge here today.
Speaker 1 (03:30):
But why did you do that last year with a
taco You're like, that's only here, no one's ever gonna
have it ever again.
Speaker 3 (03:37):
I'm like, yeah, wow. But the tots we're to do
a little tots where we drizzle some sessamel and like
a house seasoning, and then the sandwich is also something
we've been housemade. No, the tots aren't okay, but the seasons,
like the house seasoning.
Speaker 1 (03:51):
Yeah, okay, that that is great, Thanks.
Speaker 3 (03:55):
I appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (03:55):
How fun is that?
Speaker 3 (03:56):
Yeah, I actually purchased the it's one, so they're in
the shape of like Tetris pieces. But we kind of
likea like that, I'm gonna probably keep doing that.
Speaker 1 (04:05):
Yeah, are you kidding, I'm paint playing Tetris right.
Speaker 3 (04:08):
Open the box and I was like, these look like
game pieces, and I was like, all right, well we're
gonna use them.
Speaker 1 (04:13):
So yeah, but everybody thinks he's gonna be so cheffy, like,
oh my gosh, did you see those? Now? Now everywhere
we go in LA is going to have tots in
the shape Tetris.
Speaker 3 (04:23):
I love it.
Speaker 1 (04:23):
And the sandwich is that's your oh look at that.
Speaker 3 (04:26):
Yeah. So on top of that, it's like a non
bound sauce. So it's like kind of like a Japanese
tartar sauce in a way. It's a little egg egg
based with some pickles in it, some Japanese pickles and stuff,
and then we have our other pickle underneath.
Speaker 1 (04:37):
It and nice tender you're known for.
Speaker 3 (04:40):
And then if you want to add some heat, got
some spicy there for you too.
Speaker 1 (04:43):
So I'm telling you that is just the best of
the best takes. That chicken is always so tender and
just magical to crunch on there, and it's like nothing else.
I try and place it every time. Yeah, oh, I'm
so excited you were here. I was. I was thinking
that maybe you were just here for last night. You're
(05:05):
all I was here too, I wish. Yeah, I'm sure
you can use a night off.
Speaker 3 (05:09):
Yeah, we're just doing stephalons today, so we get to
enjoy the event after which we're pretty excited about just
as a family, just be out here to get to
try out everybody's food and all that.
Speaker 1 (05:17):
So, so where can people find you? How can they
experience your food?
Speaker 3 (05:22):
Yeah, so follow us on Instagram first, you know, or
TikTok and eat box chicken, and then if you want
to dine with us, you can order takeout. We're still
in a ghost kitchen at west Side Eats in Westwood,
right off the corner of Peako and Supulvida. But yeah,
just order online. I'd love to take care of you.
Speaker 5 (05:40):
Well, that sauce is good.
Speaker 3 (05:42):
Yeah, thanks, that sauce is good.
Speaker 1 (05:44):
There's listen. I don't get to eat a whole lot
on the show. I eat a whole lot off of
the show. But I was very excited that you were
going on. So it's very hard for me not to
eat your food while I'm doing the show. But nobody
wants to hear the the area. No one needs that.
(06:04):
My wife doesn't even like you. So but I look
at your food and it just screams, eat me. I'm sorry,
that's what it screams.
Speaker 3 (06:12):
Yeah, yeah, what Your mom's right there, bro who raised him?
Speaker 1 (06:21):
Geez. So obviously success you popped on with Gary and
Shannon at the station you've come on, and success is
continues to see your favor and all the hard work
you feel like it's paying off a little bit, all
the Hope's dreams.
Speaker 3 (06:38):
Oh yeah, I mean we're getting more traction, we're getting
a lot more catering. Yeah, I mean, all the work
we're putting in is definitely paying off. It's just a
matter of time. That's why I keep telling myself this
a matter of time. We get a brick and mortar,
and then it's to the moon. From that point.
Speaker 1 (06:51):
Oh, I can't wait. I can't wait. So the you know,
because people following a dream is hard unto itself. Uh,
And you've come a long way since last year when
we met you and you were last year doing the
lounge the chefs Loune. Yeah, and so are you in
a booth today?
Speaker 3 (07:12):
We did it yesterday. Oh that's awesome.
Speaker 1 (07:14):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (07:14):
It was really cool to be around all the guests
and get to feed them. You see people's reactions and stuff.
Speaker 1 (07:19):
How many plates you throw across the table yesterday?
Speaker 3 (07:22):
Ah? Man, it was close to a thousand, right, maybe
more than we were just turning out tenders, just NonStop.
Speaker 1 (07:30):
And what are you serving? What you have here?
Speaker 3 (07:32):
We just did the tend and then a little bit
of pickles and some ranch and that's you know, like
I said, speaks for itself.
Speaker 1 (07:38):
Yeah, that's the magic. I mean, that's the There is
something about simplicity when the creation itself is the star.
And you know, I always like to start with certain
you know, if I go to a bar, I like
to have an old fashion. If they can't get that right,
there's not going to They're not doing anything else.
Speaker 3 (07:54):
Right, I'll tell you that much.
Speaker 1 (07:56):
So if you can't get if you have to hide
behind a thousand ingredients, then I don't know that I
trust you. But if you give me something where I go,
I didn't expect that. I mean it looks like a
chicken tender, but it doesn't taste like any chicken tender
I've had. Yeah, I'll tell you. I keep telling my
wife more is more, but I don't think she buys it. No, uhuh,
(08:18):
nobody's buying it, not even wholesale. Yeah, but this looks fantastic.
I love the seasoning on the tots. There's something I
do at home where I will take tots and toss
them with my own spices or sauce or something and
just a snack. And so when I looked at these,
I'm like, oh, you know, I see some darker things
(08:41):
on there, but you the flavor bomb that is actually
on the outside of those days, that's super fun. I
like that. And that's just for tonight. Huh.
Speaker 3 (08:48):
Well, that's the season we've actually had in the in
the storage right now because we don't serve fries yet.
So when we do introduce fries, this the season we're
planning on using. So I've had this for like two years,
this seasoning itself.
Speaker 1 (09:02):
You have like a safe somewhere with all your seasonings
and what's gonna come out sooner or later. This is
coming out.
Speaker 3 (09:06):
Yeah, So once we get fries that'll be what they'll
all taste like. So well, so that's coming. That's that's
coming in.
Speaker 1 (09:12):
The future, the show. I know Kayla's not here producer Kayla. Yeah,
she's in Jersey right now. But I bet you she
could smell this. She's gonna be Yeah, I'm sending her
pictures in smell O vision. But the best to you
and your family. We're rooting for you every day and
(09:34):
every time I see you a social media and the
success is going on. I'm I'm just thrilled. So Noah Clark, cheft,
Noah Clark and his family and what they're doing at
box Chicken, look them up, tell people socials and where
they can find you.
Speaker 3 (09:46):
Yeah, Instagram, TikTok at eat box Chicken, our website eatbox
chicken dot com. Yeah, just look this up. We'll pop
right up.
Speaker 1 (09:53):
Yeah, I hear you, and you need a smile. Box Chicken. Yes,
nice to see you. Hell out to the family and all.
It's the Fork Report on Neil Savadra broadcasting live today
from the Manhattan Beach Food and Wine Festival. Come on
down and say hello. Tickets still available at Manhattan Beachfood
and Wine dot Com. If you do come, say Hello.
(10:16):
It starts at six for VIP, seven for general admission.
Stick around. More to come. It's The Fork Report on
Neil Savedra.
Speaker 6 (10:22):
You're listening to The Fork Report with Neil Savedra on
demand from KFI AM six forty.
Speaker 1 (10:29):
Hey, everybody, it's the Fork Report, all Things Food, beverage
and beyond. I am your friendly neighborhood Fork reporter Neil Savadra.
How do you do as we broadcast live today from
Manhattan Beach Food and Wine Festival in Manhattan Beach. It's
a lovely day. Actually, it's hazy enough, a little breeze
and cutting on the big old orange orbit in the sky.
(10:51):
As we're chatting with chefs before opening, we're kind of
tailgating before the event. VIP starts at six, General admission
starts at seven. If you don't have tickets and you
want to come down, I think there are some available.
I was told at the beginning of the show they
opened up fifty more VIP tickets. I would get on
those great lineup today and we're gonna be telling you
(11:13):
more about that. Go to Manhattan Beach Food and Wine
all spelled out dot com. Manhattan Beachfood and Wine dot
com for tickets. Chris Cosentino, Chef, Welcome to the program again, sir,
thank you for having me. It's nice to see you. You know,
I got to tell you I bust your chops because
I think we have a good rapport. I like talking
with you. I enjoy your personality, and I've been following
(11:35):
you for a long time. But you're you kind of
a history buff and you like you like the intellectual
side of food, and so so you and I on
and off the air have talked about stuff that probably
is not every chef gonna want to chat about.
Speaker 7 (11:51):
No, And I also think a lot of people don't
really understand the histories of why foods are the way
they are. Yeah, it's really important to understand. It's you know,
my first chef mentor who is still one of my
greatest mentors to this day and now a great friend
said to me, know your past before you try to
create the future.
Speaker 1 (12:09):
Oh that's awesome.
Speaker 7 (12:11):
And you know I'm dyslexic. I really struggled reading books
at culinary school. Now I have a library of over
three thousand because he really pushed and ingrained that in
me to really understand why things are the way they are.
Why do we You know, there's Why we Eat What
we Eat by Raymond Sokoloff. That really tells you how
chocolate and tomatoes and all these things moved around the
(12:31):
world to create these cuisines that we all know today.
Speaker 1 (12:34):
That's so funny because, like you, I'm dyslexic and I
had issues. I come from a large family, there's seven
of us kids, but I had issues with reading. Yet
books were a plenty in our house. My dad didn't
even graduate. I didn't even get past the eighth grade,
but read. And I used to have a library of
over three thousand books. I don't needmore. When I got
married and we moved, I donated them because it just
(12:58):
was it. Real books are hard to keep in a house,
Oh my god. It really. It's one of those things
that it it's difficult to keep real books, tangible books.
Cookbooks are cookbooks too.
Speaker 3 (13:10):
They're there.
Speaker 7 (13:11):
Yeah, you don't want to let them go, no, because
there there's so much history involved with them. And you
can see the evolution of the cookbook right from just
loose recipes to more refined recipes to home recipes and
then the super chef recipe. And you know there's just but.
Speaker 1 (13:26):
They all come from the basics. I mean, just like
the Five mother Sauces or anything like that. There is,
like you said, knowing your past before you try and
build your future. Yet you need that foundation. Now you
have your place in Maui. Correct, Uh the coast with
a K, right.
Speaker 7 (13:44):
Coast with a K. We're in Wilay Village in Maui.
Speaker 1 (13:47):
So I have to ask, you know, how's everything going
over there? How's is there rebuilding going on?
Speaker 7 (13:53):
So we're in Wiley, it's about a forty five minute
drive to lahinaa is doing They have done all the
cleanup and they are in process of now building.
Speaker 1 (14:02):
What about the vibe? I mean even forty five minutes away.
It's an island. I mean do you feel you know,
people wanting to go out? Are people spending money on
the island or have they left there to come on
to the other side of the island.
Speaker 7 (14:18):
So there is definitely a large community who continues to
go out. There is a large workforce there that has
shifted to different areas of the island. But yeah, I
mean it's a it's a very vacation land and you know,
tourism does drive sure there. And I think just like
(14:38):
what happened in Napa when Napa Valley had the fires.
There was this perceived notion that the whole of the
Napa Valley burnt down, that there was nothing left. And
I think there is that perception. Lahina is getting better.
They're working forward, and it's really exciting to see that
they're getting their building permits, that things are happening. So
(15:00):
it is moving forward.
Speaker 1 (15:01):
Yeah, because I mean, you know, we're still dealing with
the devastation from January here in southern California with the
eating fire there and in Altadena, and of course the
Palisades as well, so it you know, la is pretty big,
and they're they're far enough apart from each other, yet
they change the way people even go out to eat. Yes,
(15:21):
So I was just curious how that happens. So, you know,
I was looking over the menu at your restaurant there,
and one of the things that I love, and it's simple,
is the the corn ribs. And I was curious, do
you still have those on your menu there?
Speaker 6 (15:37):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (15:37):
So, and how do you prepare them?
Speaker 7 (15:39):
So the corn ribs, we're using local corn, yeah, and
it's really great. We can get corn from Maui and
then we can get corn from one of the other islands,
and we cut them into quarters, right and length wise.
Length wise, well, we cut the cob in half so
they're not you know, the full length.
Speaker 3 (15:56):
Otherwise you know, it just wouldn't work.
Speaker 7 (15:59):
But it's super simple. We quickly fry them and then
we toss them in this yuzoo butter and it's really fun.
Speaker 1 (16:06):
Wow. I don't know what it is about that. I've
eaten corn my whole life in every form, possibly, but
there's something about eating corn ribs that makes them better.
I think it's just something about it.
Speaker 7 (16:15):
It's a little more I think from the perspective of
eating in a restaurant, corn ribs are a little less messy. Yeah,
they're a little bit more approachable for everyone.
Speaker 1 (16:25):
Your nose doesn't get it.
Speaker 7 (16:26):
You're not holding this big monster right. And that's just
one of the simple things that we have on that.
I mean, we were constantly rotating what's on the menu.
We're really fortunate that we work with great fisher people
that take pictures from the boat. They'll call us from
out at sea and say, hey, guys, I've got this
many tuna, a sixty five pounder, an eighty five pounder.
(16:48):
I have this many mahi mahi and they show up
at the door and it's like that is one of
the most amazing parts about the restaurant. You know, we
are very fortunate that we have really discovered some wonderful
producers there. It's just really opened the door for us.
So we're working with like a dairy farm called, you know,
Surfing Go Dairy. We work with Lopes Farm for our pork.
(17:10):
We get whole pigs in.
Speaker 1 (17:11):
So you're fabricating in house. Then all we're.
Speaker 7 (17:13):
Fabricating a whole pork, whole local pork and house. And
then the menu change is accordingly by cut, so it's
never the same dish depending on the cut. So if
you come one day and you have a pork chop,
two days later, it could be pork belly or we
could do a shoulder. We could so we're constantly rotating.
We're making sausages, and by getting the fish in this
(17:33):
particular way, our menu never stay stagnant. So we're constantly
evolving with what's available.
Speaker 1 (17:40):
And you notice any difference in Hawaiian corn versus I
don't know, you know American corn.
Speaker 3 (17:47):
Well, it's still all America.
Speaker 1 (17:48):
No, I get it. But I mean, I've talked about
the continent until USA. I guess it's Alaska's different too,
anywhere you could drive a road to.
Speaker 7 (17:57):
But I mean, I think that what's really unique about
out there is where the corn is coming from. As
you are on Maui, where we are in Wi Lea
is more of a dryer area. And as you climb
up to Koola where a lot of the farms are,
they do get colder nights, they do get socked in
by rain, so they do have more of a of
a changing temperature climate evolvement like we would here in
(18:22):
even in La Right, so you are going to see
those things. We do have tomato season. There is more
so a tropical fruit season than there is of everything
else because you can grow pretty much anything there dependent
on where you are on the island.
Speaker 1 (18:36):
Right.
Speaker 7 (18:37):
There's if you drive out on the road to Hanna,
you can pick you vomit. Well, the road is the
road is windy, you have to be really focused. But
it's it's just so beautiful because there's wild chocolate, there's
wild green papaya, there's fresh papaya, there's mangoes, there's stuff
growing all over that is just so abundant that it
(19:00):
really makes it special.
Speaker 1 (19:02):
That's very cool. Where can people find you to find
out what you're doing? What's next? Social media website?
Speaker 7 (19:08):
If you want to check out Coast, it's Coastmali dot com.
Make reservations, see what we're doing on the menu there.
But my website is Chefchriscosantino dot com just like my well,
my Instagram and chef Criscosentino And if you want take
a look, you can listen to how the sausage is
made my podcast where I talk to tons of local chefs,
Michael Reid being one of them in one of the backlogs,
(19:29):
and just have a lot of fun doing all those.
Speaker 1 (19:31):
Hey, I'm proud of you. You know why why you
didn't drop the F bomb once? He didn't look at
Who's a big boy?
Speaker 7 (19:37):
I'm the Who's.
Speaker 5 (19:40):
Good to see you?
Speaker 1 (19:40):
Chef? Always a real pleasure, I mean absolutely love it
all right, Chef. I always enjoy talking to him. But yeah,
he didn't drop one F bomb and I'm so proud.
It's The Fork Report on Imils Vader KFIM six forty.
Speaker 6 (19:53):
You're listening to The Fork Report with Nil Sevadra on
demand from KFI AM six forty.
Speaker 1 (20:00):
We come together every Saturday to kind of shake off
the heaviness of the news and celebrate food, the people
that make it, the culture behind it. Today we're broadcasting
live from the Manhattan Beach Food and Wine Festival. It's
the second annual. We were here last year and just
it's so funny because we're kind of doing the pregame
(20:20):
right now. We're tailgating before the event. VIP starts at six,
General admission starts at seven, and this place will go
off at a light up. Music and food will be everywhere.
We're celebrating all that by introducing you to chefs that
have been here on the show before, like my next
guests Queenie and Michael Reid from you know We've had.
(20:43):
Last time we had you guys on was over the phone.
I don't think we've had you in studio in a while.
But to remind everybody, you're with Poppy and Rose and
Poppy and Seed downtown Los Angeles and now in Anaheim.
Because we have a lot of Orange County listeners that
you may or may not have got out to your
gotten out to your LA place. How's everything going in Anaheim?
(21:04):
They treating you right. Anaheim is great for us. Oh
this one, Sorry about that.
Speaker 2 (21:08):
So Anaheim is great to us. You know, we've been
there for four and a half years now almost and
you know, first year top ten Best New Restaurants in
Orange County, which is awesome. Michelin Guide recommended semi finalist
for James Beard. So like that first two years were
this rocketing and it's you know, we treated like our playground.
It's food that we really want to eat. That's interesting,
(21:30):
it's fun, it's playful, it's thoughtful, it's seasonal. We have
our chef garden out there that we harvest from to
keep all our fresh herbs that we can do in
the garden to the table. It's just a really fun,
interesting greenhouse building that's unique.
Speaker 1 (21:45):
Explain to everybody how it started, the vision and the
things that were important to you guys when starting.
Speaker 2 (21:54):
You know, Queenie was used to us being at home
because we were just coming out of COVID, and so
the hotels that I used to be cooking at previous
to COVID, we're calling and asking me to come back,
and she's like, you cannot do that, and so I
was like, then let's open a restaurant.
Speaker 1 (22:13):
She gets her way a lot, Yes she does.
Speaker 8 (22:16):
I mean if people understand, like if you're in a
relationship with someone who is in hospitality, chef specific, you know,
it's kind of like, you know, like they're musicians. They're
here one day, not there the next, they're not at Christmas.
It gets lonely. And it just wasn't conducive to us
having a child and you know, trying to build something.
Speaker 9 (22:36):
And so I think, you.
Speaker 8 (22:38):
Know, we were at a crossroads, like, hey, we were
either going to buy a new home or we were
going to start a new business. And because we're crazy
in psychos and we love the hospitality industry after Poppy
and Rose being so successful, and that's how how we
got started.
Speaker 9 (22:54):
You know, Michael was like, let's do another restaurant. And
so it's like.
Speaker 8 (23:00):
In the middle of COVID, Like COVID wasn't even officially
like we can we're really still playing outside. We were
still you know, six feet apart in all those things,
and you know, we just we just bet on ourselves
and and now here we are and it's been a fantastic, wonderful,
magical experience.
Speaker 9 (23:19):
Uh, and we're looking to do so much more.
Speaker 1 (23:22):
Yeah, you know, you're as a chef, you're the voice
of wherever you are at the restaurant and any of that.
And it's like whenever you see artists of any kind, musicians,
or whenever you hear the stories about how someone stole
their music or someone to you know you've got it. Eventually,
you've got to do it on your own if you're
going to get all the monies that everybody has taken
(23:43):
a piece of.
Speaker 9 (23:43):
Right, and the monies is already little.
Speaker 8 (23:45):
Yeah, I don't want to have to share it with
too many people.
Speaker 1 (23:50):
So good for you for doing that. And you know
that's why we have good partners in our life.
Speaker 2 (23:55):
That is, you know, she's allowed me to really grow
and be myself as a chef. You know where it
is like anything that I'm thinking about, especially after being
pent up during COVID, Like I was changing the menu
almost every day, Like I just had so much like
ideas and thoughts that just were like flowing out that
I hadn't been able to do for like two years
on walls that I was just like, all right, here
(24:16):
we go. And so it was really it was a
really fun time in that opening. You know now it's
like chef tasty menus are on point ala carte service,
you know, super seasonal, and you know we do five
to six fresh pastas, like we're doing one of our
favorite end of the season right now is like the
Brentwood corn. We're doing a corn ravioli with crabs or.
Speaker 1 (24:38):
Just nice even mind taste that right now, just you
saying that you know that sweetness from the crab, but
what is that at both locations?
Speaker 2 (24:49):
So that one you can only get in Anaheim, So
you got to make that truck out there.
Speaker 1 (24:53):
But it's so worth it.
Speaker 2 (24:54):
It's such an experience, you know, because it's literally a
greenhouse with a massive garden just surrounds the building. And
so it's one of those dishes that this will one
more week and then it'll be off that menu.
Speaker 5 (25:07):
And then we'll move most likely into like honey.
Speaker 1 (25:09):
Nut squash or butter squash, which is still I'm down for.
I'm absolutely down for well that I love. Of course,
I've been following you guys for a long time, and
you've come on the show show multiple times, whether it
was during you know, COVID and via phone, but it's
been sometimes since I saw you folks, and I'm real
(25:30):
excited to know and to follow where you guys have gone,
because those are the those are the winds, those are
the stories. You know, that aren't the We were open
for three months and we had to close and it
just didn't take from some great chefs out there. So
keep doing what you're doing and we'll keep sending people.
You've got to check this out. Poppy and Rose in La,
Poppy in Seed downtown or in Anaheim. I think I
(25:52):
got that right.
Speaker 9 (25:52):
Yeah, yeah, I'm.
Speaker 1 (25:54):
Like, so check them out for our O see people.
You know that, you go see Poppy and Seed and
for our La people go to Poppy and Rose. But
Bessy is yeah, good to see you folks. Yes, I'm
really thrilled for all of the I'm.
Speaker 9 (26:09):
Gonna bring you some corn revy Ellie as soon as
he's ready.
Speaker 1 (26:11):
You should renter out to call people and go you're
not doing what you should be doing, Queen. He's here
to tell you to get off your rs and get
into whatever.
Speaker 3 (26:19):
That's right.
Speaker 1 (26:20):
I love it. Excellent, excellent, All right, it's the Fork
Report broadcasting live from Manhattan Beach Food and Wine Festival today.
So many more people who want to introduce you to,
so go know where.
Speaker 6 (26:30):
You're listening to The Fork Report with Neil Savedra on
demand from KFI AM six forty.
Speaker 1 (26:37):
Welcome to the Fork Report. I am your friendly neighborhood
Fork Reporter Neil Savedra. How do you do if you're
not familiar with the show. We get together for three
hours every Saturday and we just shake off, you know,
the news. There's always going to be horrible news, but
this is kind of a sanctuary, an opportunity for us
to come and celebrate food, the people that make it,
the culture behind it, talk about cooking at home, obviously
(26:59):
going out to eat. I've said this before and I
will say it again. Local economy rises and falls on
hospitality for not going out to eat, everything else falls.
Today we are at Manhattan Beach Manhattan Beach Food and
Wine Festival this year. We're thrilled to be here again.
It's second annual and it's amazing. You could I think
there are some They opened up some VIP tickets for
(27:20):
six o'clock, so you can check out at Manhattan Beachfood
and Wine dot com all spelled out, and then there
might be some general admission which opens at seven o'clock tonight,
So we're kind of doing the pregame and I want
to bring on the show Brendan Collins with Boa steakhouse
here in Manhattan Beach. How many locations are there now?
Speaker 4 (27:41):
So we've got full And on Thursday I fly to
Las Vegas to open up our.
Speaker 1 (27:45):
Fifth Oh my gosh, Las Vegas is now like this
culinary Yeah, chefs, incredibly talented chefs. But so are you
out there to open?
Speaker 4 (28:01):
Yeah, we have a space in the Palazzo with you know,
at the Venetian and yeah, we got we got it
the end of last year and we've been you know,
going back as forth, and now it's time to We've
hired all the staff and now it's time to go
get them trained up and get this place open.
Speaker 1 (28:14):
How do you so in a circumstance like that, you
have the location here in Manhattan Beach and the like,
but when you're going to a place that's a world
destination and of course Southern Californias too, but that has
different tastes, different palettes, different cultures, how do you build
that menu?
Speaker 4 (28:32):
So ninety percent of the menu is the same, you know,
it's it's a steakhouse menu, so it's it's a yeah,
I don't want to say yeah, you know, it's it's
a bread and butter, you know. But when we opened
up in Austin last year, so we put items on
the menu, geographical items on the menu that were for Austin,
like dedicated for Austin.
Speaker 5 (28:49):
And we're doing the same thing again for Las Vegas.
Speaker 4 (28:53):
The three locations that we have in Southern California, Santa Monica,
Manhattan Beach, and West Hollywood, they're all.
Speaker 5 (28:59):
Exactly the same.
Speaker 4 (29:00):
But anything that we do outside of that, we we
always add something that's you know, for for Vegas, we're
doing a lot of wow things.
Speaker 5 (29:07):
You know that pizaz, you.
Speaker 1 (29:09):
Know, expectations exactly when you're around that much attention getting vibe,
you got to have your own vibe.
Speaker 5 (29:17):
Yeah, very very theatrical, you know.
Speaker 4 (29:19):
And the one thing that we do very very well is,
you know, our food is obviously top notch and great ingredients,
but we really focus on really well on hospitality and
and you know, and and the ambiance of the restaurant.
And that's one thing that sets us worlds apart from
from other steakhouses.
Speaker 1 (29:32):
I've never had a bad experience experience at Boa, but
I will tell you this I have. It was one
of the first places restaurants where I remember thinking, Holy hell,
these sides are equally a star. Yeah, to the meat,
to the protein. I mean, the sides are spectacular.
Speaker 5 (29:54):
Everything.
Speaker 4 (29:54):
Every single dish that leaves the kitchen is a is
an example of what we are. And if it's not perfect,
it's not season correctly, if it's not piping hot.
Speaker 5 (30:02):
You know, it doesn't matter how great the steak is.
Speaker 4 (30:04):
You know, you still you're still going to walk away
remember and remembering how bad your mashed potato.
Speaker 5 (30:09):
Yeah, how about how bad your cream spinach was?
Speaker 4 (30:11):
So yeah, we we we put one hundred percent focus
on every single dish that leaves the kitchen.
Speaker 1 (30:15):
Bo what is your what's your go to chef for
a side? When you have a steak? What do you think? Man,
this has to be right next to it.
Speaker 5 (30:23):
I mean I'm a sucker for cream spinach. Oh yeah, suerach.
Speaker 1 (30:28):
Spinach is great on its own, cream is great on
its all. Put them together.
Speaker 4 (30:31):
Together exactly, add some garlic and not Megan Dingo.
Speaker 1 (30:34):
Yeah, that is. That's one of those sites too, that
it just elevates the experience to what I want when
I'm having.
Speaker 5 (30:41):
And the same again.
Speaker 4 (30:42):
It's like getting that recipe just right and getting the
temperature of it just right, and the you know, the
balance of cream to spinach has to be right. It
can be too spinachy, it can be too creamy.
Speaker 5 (30:50):
It has to be just be right.
Speaker 4 (30:51):
So yeah, a lot, a lot of focus goes into
making sure that we you know, we get out recipes right.
I've been with the company almost two years now, and
I took all the recipes from the old school.
Speaker 5 (31:00):
You know, a couple of this, a couple of this, and.
Speaker 4 (31:01):
As to that, it's a metric, so it's like three
grams of this foreground, and.
Speaker 5 (31:05):
I know when they've not measured it properly. So yeah,
I like way less room for error.
Speaker 4 (31:10):
You know, a lot a lot more messing about technically,
but it's worth it because the consistency is key.
Speaker 1 (31:15):
Well, you know what's funny is, you know, growing up
here in the States obviously and using imperial for everything.
You know, it's what we know right Well.
Speaker 5 (31:26):
I'm British, we use both. We already talk about confusion.
Speaker 1 (31:29):
But the funny thing is the minute I started baking,
doing any baking right, it's just you can't do it anyway,
when you're going on volume, it's just gonna there's too
many variables. And I like to build. I like to
create stuff. I like to design stuff, and I'm using
everything in millimeters. So because you yeah, it's this is
so so funny that I couldn't learn it in school,
(31:50):
but now that I have that, I need it. Yeah,
It's like, okay, it makes me laugh.
Speaker 4 (31:54):
It's like you take a little button on the scale
and you just click it across.
Speaker 5 (31:58):
It's like, it's not that difficult. You can get it
in this or you can get it in that exactly.
Speaker 1 (32:05):
But it also you know, it helps her, you know,
or when we're traveling to be able to tell a
friend that it's like I go to say something in
feet and I go, okay, but that's great. So what's
your favorite cut of steak?
Speaker 5 (32:19):
Well, I'm a sucker for New York. I genuinely I
love a Porterhouse too.
Speaker 4 (32:22):
I know, I know technically as as chefs, we're not
supposed to like Philey, but I think that the you know,
the juxtaposition between the two.
Speaker 1 (32:28):
Why is that? Why why do we have to turn
down or not? I think the flat is still just
a lovely cut is it uber flavorful?
Speaker 5 (32:36):
No, we we have a phile a.
Speaker 4 (32:38):
It's called a j one phile and it's it's American
cattle that's been raised in Japan and treated like you know,
treated like a wagyu. The f one phile a is
out of this world. Yeah, next time you're in, the
next time you're in, I'll send you some eight is
out of this world.
Speaker 5 (32:55):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (32:55):
Yeah, you have to suspect a steak that they wrap
in bacon. I get it.
Speaker 4 (33:00):
But this f won phile that we have, you know,
it's on the procesa side, but it is an experience
in all of its own Honestly.
Speaker 1 (33:06):
Wow, I'm going to come try that. Yeah, Chef, what
a pleasure. That's Chef Brennon Collins. They're at Boas Steakhouse,
Manhattan Beach and Beyond. But a real pleasure to finally
get a chance to meet you. Thanks for coming on
and saying hello, My pleasure. I appreciate it, my friend Jays.
All right, it's the Fork Report broadcasting live from Manhattan
Beach Food and Wine today. If you are looking for
something to do, there still are some tickets, I believe
(33:28):
Manhattan Beachfood and Wine dot Com all spelled out. It
starts at six for VIP. Seven o'clock is when general
admission opens up, and if you do come come by
and say hi. I'll be sitting at a table later
after the broadcast. Once we open up, I'm going to
stay here for a while and enjoy it for my
darn self. So go know where this is KFI heard
(33:50):
everywhere on the iHeartRadio app. You've been listening to the
Fork Report. You can always hear us live on KFI
AM six forty two to five pm on Saturday, and
anytime on demand on the iHeartRadio app.
Hey, it's Neil Savedra. You're listening to KFI EM six
forty The four Purport on demand on the iHeartRadio app
(00:22):
Let me teach you had it.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
Let me teach you had it, Nathan, Let me teach
you had it.
Speaker 1 (00:35):
It's a color naration. Let me teach you had it.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
Let me teach you.
Speaker 1 (00:43):
KFI A M six forty live everywhere on the iHeartRadio. Appy, everybody,
It's the four Report, all Things Food, Beverage and beyond.
We are broadcasting live today from Manhattan Beach for the
Manhattan Beach Food and Wine Festival, its second year today.
We were here last year and it was fantastic. It
promises to be the same today as they're opening up
(01:05):
the Grand Tasting today. VIP starts at six and then
general admission opens up at seven. You've got tons of
chefs here, twenty plus you know, wine beer. You've got
chefs galore and all kinds of food, and the ticket
is all you can eat and drink. You come and
you enjoy yourself there are They announced on the program
(01:29):
that they released fifty more VIP tickets, So yeah, gonna
if you're gonna try and get some VIP tickets. I
would do that now. I think there might be some
general admissions still left to go to Manhattan Beach Food
and Wine all spelled out Manhattan Beach Food and Wine
dot com and you can get tickets there. It'll be great.
(01:51):
I can't wait for it to start right now with
someone we met last year at this event that has
blown our mind and love seeing him continue to blow
up with his family and they're wonderful food at Box
Chicken and West La. Chef Noah Clark is with us again.
N I see you. You've got that smile when chef's work
(02:12):
events like this and then have everything else that they
do do that's like, I'm really happy, but I'm really
really tired. But that's good.
Speaker 3 (02:23):
It's a good tired, right, It's a good thing. But
it's definitely wearing down on me today. For sure. That's
a lot.
Speaker 1 (02:30):
It's a lot, and you know what, I don't know
what it is. Chefs don't stop.
Speaker 3 (02:35):
It's pretty NonStop.
Speaker 1 (02:37):
Yeah, because it's like you and your regular stuff. Someone goes,
hey can you do this charity event?
Speaker 4 (02:42):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (02:42):
I mean I'm there, like there is no normal downtime. Yeah,
but your smile continues to glow. That's a good thing.
How's the family.
Speaker 3 (02:53):
They're great. You've got some cookies, Yeah she did, You're great.
I got my siblings here helping this time around el swing.
Speaker 1 (03:00):
By and say hi to all hands on deck.
Speaker 3 (03:02):
Yeah, for sure. It's glad to have them here too.
So it's been really.
Speaker 1 (03:05):
Tell everybody why uh box chicken is different and why
you're excited for people to try it.
Speaker 3 (03:12):
I mean it kind of speaks for itself, you know
when you.
Speaker 1 (03:15):
Taste Yeah, it just is like holy hell, I'm.
Speaker 3 (03:20):
To just try it and they'll understand. But no, it's
just really unique. You know. It's our take on katsu.
And where you're eating right now is something we're doing
just for the chef's lounge here today.
Speaker 1 (03:30):
But why did you do that last year with a
taco You're like, that's only here, no one's ever gonna
have it ever again.
Speaker 3 (03:37):
I'm like, yeah, wow. But the tots we're to do
a little tots where we drizzle some sessamel and like
a house seasoning, and then the sandwich is also something
we've been housemade. No, the tots aren't okay, but the seasons,
like the house seasoning.
Speaker 1 (03:51):
Yeah, okay, that that is great, Thanks.
Speaker 3 (03:55):
I appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (03:55):
How fun is that?
Speaker 3 (03:56):
Yeah, I actually purchased the it's one, so they're in
the shape of like Tetris pieces. But we kind of
likea like that, I'm gonna probably keep doing that.
Speaker 1 (04:05):
Yeah, are you kidding, I'm paint playing Tetris right.
Speaker 3 (04:08):
Open the box and I was like, these look like
game pieces, and I was like, all right, well we're
gonna use them.
Speaker 1 (04:13):
So yeah, but everybody thinks he's gonna be so cheffy, like,
oh my gosh, did you see those? Now? Now everywhere
we go in LA is going to have tots in
the shape Tetris.
Speaker 3 (04:23):
I love it.
Speaker 1 (04:23):
And the sandwich is that's your oh look at that.
Speaker 3 (04:26):
Yeah. So on top of that, it's like a non
bound sauce. So it's like kind of like a Japanese
tartar sauce in a way. It's a little egg egg
based with some pickles in it, some Japanese pickles and stuff,
and then we have our other pickle underneath.
Speaker 1 (04:37):
It and nice tender you're known for.
Speaker 3 (04:40):
And then if you want to add some heat, got
some spicy there for you too.
Speaker 1 (04:43):
So I'm telling you that is just the best of
the best takes. That chicken is always so tender and
just magical to crunch on there, and it's like nothing else.
I try and place it every time. Yeah, oh, I'm
so excited you were here. I was. I was thinking
that maybe you were just here for last night. You're
(05:05):
all I was here too, I wish. Yeah, I'm sure
you can use a night off.
Speaker 3 (05:09):
Yeah, we're just doing stephalons today, so we get to
enjoy the event after which we're pretty excited about just
as a family, just be out here to get to
try out everybody's food and all that.
Speaker 1 (05:17):
So, so where can people find you? How can they
experience your food?
Speaker 3 (05:22):
Yeah, so follow us on Instagram first, you know, or
TikTok and eat box chicken, and then if you want
to dine with us, you can order takeout. We're still
in a ghost kitchen at west Side Eats in Westwood,
right off the corner of Peako and Supulvida. But yeah,
just order online. I'd love to take care of you.
Speaker 5 (05:40):
Well, that sauce is good.
Speaker 3 (05:42):
Yeah, thanks, that sauce is good.
Speaker 1 (05:44):
There's listen. I don't get to eat a whole lot
on the show. I eat a whole lot off of
the show. But I was very excited that you were
going on. So it's very hard for me not to
eat your food while I'm doing the show. But nobody
wants to hear the the area. No one needs that.
(06:04):
My wife doesn't even like you. So but I look
at your food and it just screams, eat me. I'm sorry,
that's what it screams.
Speaker 3 (06:12):
Yeah, yeah, what Your mom's right there, bro who raised him?
Speaker 1 (06:21):
Geez. So obviously success you popped on with Gary and
Shannon at the station you've come on, and success is
continues to see your favor and all the hard work
you feel like it's paying off a little bit, all
the Hope's dreams.
Speaker 3 (06:38):
Oh yeah, I mean we're getting more traction, we're getting
a lot more catering. Yeah, I mean, all the work
we're putting in is definitely paying off. It's just a
matter of time. That's why I keep telling myself this
a matter of time. We get a brick and mortar,
and then it's to the moon. From that point.
Speaker 1 (06:51):
Oh, I can't wait. I can't wait. So the you know,
because people following a dream is hard unto itself. Uh,
And you've come a long way since last year when
we met you and you were last year doing the
lounge the chefs Loune. Yeah, and so are you in
a booth today?
Speaker 3 (07:12):
We did it yesterday. Oh that's awesome.
Speaker 1 (07:14):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (07:14):
It was really cool to be around all the guests
and get to feed them. You see people's reactions and stuff.
Speaker 1 (07:19):
How many plates you throw across the table yesterday?
Speaker 3 (07:22):
Ah? Man, it was close to a thousand, right, maybe
more than we were just turning out tenders, just NonStop.
Speaker 1 (07:30):
And what are you serving? What you have here?
Speaker 3 (07:32):
We just did the tend and then a little bit
of pickles and some ranch and that's you know, like
I said, speaks for itself.
Speaker 1 (07:38):
Yeah, that's the magic. I mean, that's the There is
something about simplicity when the creation itself is the star.
And you know, I always like to start with certain
you know, if I go to a bar, I like
to have an old fashion. If they can't get that right,
there's not going to They're not doing anything else.
Speaker 3 (07:54):
Right, I'll tell you that much.
Speaker 1 (07:56):
So if you can't get if you have to hide
behind a thousand ingredients, then I don't know that I
trust you. But if you give me something where I go,
I didn't expect that. I mean it looks like a
chicken tender, but it doesn't taste like any chicken tender
I've had. Yeah, I'll tell you. I keep telling my
wife more is more, but I don't think she buys it. No, uhuh,
(08:18):
nobody's buying it, not even wholesale. Yeah, but this looks fantastic.
I love the seasoning on the tots. There's something I
do at home where I will take tots and toss
them with my own spices or sauce or something and
just a snack. And so when I looked at these,
I'm like, oh, you know, I see some darker things
(08:41):
on there, but you the flavor bomb that is actually
on the outside of those days, that's super fun. I
like that. And that's just for tonight. Huh.
Speaker 3 (08:48):
Well, that's the season we've actually had in the in
the storage right now because we don't serve fries yet.
So when we do introduce fries, this the season we're
planning on using. So I've had this for like two years,
this seasoning itself.
Speaker 1 (09:02):
You have like a safe somewhere with all your seasonings
and what's gonna come out sooner or later. This is
coming out.
Speaker 3 (09:06):
Yeah, So once we get fries that'll be what they'll
all taste like. So well, so that's coming. That's that's
coming in.
Speaker 1 (09:12):
The future, the show. I know Kayla's not here producer Kayla. Yeah,
she's in Jersey right now. But I bet you she
could smell this. She's gonna be Yeah, I'm sending her
pictures in smell O vision. But the best to you
and your family. We're rooting for you every day and
(09:34):
every time I see you a social media and the
success is going on. I'm I'm just thrilled. So Noah Clark, cheft,
Noah Clark and his family and what they're doing at
box Chicken, look them up, tell people socials and where
they can find you.
Speaker 3 (09:46):
Yeah, Instagram, TikTok at eat box Chicken, our website eatbox
chicken dot com. Yeah, just look this up. We'll pop
right up.
Speaker 1 (09:53):
Yeah, I hear you, and you need a smile. Box Chicken. Yes,
nice to see you. Hell out to the family and all.
It's the Fork Report on Neil Savadra broadcasting live today
from the Manhattan Beach Food and Wine Festival. Come on
down and say hello. Tickets still available at Manhattan Beachfood
and Wine dot Com. If you do come, say Hello.
(10:16):
It starts at six for VIP, seven for general admission.
Stick around. More to come. It's The Fork Report on
Neil Savedra.
Speaker 6 (10:22):
You're listening to The Fork Report with Neil Savedra on
demand from KFI AM six forty.
Speaker 1 (10:29):
Hey, everybody, it's the Fork Report, all Things Food, beverage
and beyond. I am your friendly neighborhood Fork reporter Neil Savadra.
How do you do as we broadcast live today from
Manhattan Beach Food and Wine Festival in Manhattan Beach. It's
a lovely day. Actually, it's hazy enough, a little breeze
and cutting on the big old orange orbit in the sky.
(10:51):
As we're chatting with chefs before opening, we're kind of
tailgating before the event. VIP starts at six, General admission
starts at seven. If you don't have tickets and you
want to come down, I think there are some available.
I was told at the beginning of the show they
opened up fifty more VIP tickets. I would get on
those great lineup today and we're gonna be telling you
(11:13):
more about that. Go to Manhattan Beach Food and Wine
all spelled out dot com. Manhattan Beachfood and Wine dot
com for tickets. Chris Cosentino, Chef, Welcome to the program again, sir,
thank you for having me. It's nice to see you. You know,
I got to tell you I bust your chops because
I think we have a good rapport. I like talking
with you. I enjoy your personality, and I've been following
(11:35):
you for a long time. But you're you kind of
a history buff and you like you like the intellectual
side of food, and so so you and I on
and off the air have talked about stuff that probably
is not every chef gonna want to chat about.
Speaker 7 (11:51):
No, And I also think a lot of people don't
really understand the histories of why foods are the way
they are. Yeah, it's really important to understand. It's you know,
my first chef mentor who is still one of my
greatest mentors to this day and now a great friend
said to me, know your past before you try to
create the future.
Speaker 1 (12:09):
Oh that's awesome.
Speaker 7 (12:11):
And you know I'm dyslexic. I really struggled reading books
at culinary school. Now I have a library of over
three thousand because he really pushed and ingrained that in
me to really understand why things are the way they are.
Why do we You know, there's Why we Eat What
we Eat by Raymond Sokoloff. That really tells you how
chocolate and tomatoes and all these things moved around the
(12:31):
world to create these cuisines that we all know today.
Speaker 1 (12:34):
That's so funny because, like you, I'm dyslexic and I
had issues. I come from a large family, there's seven
of us kids, but I had issues with reading. Yet
books were a plenty in our house. My dad didn't
even graduate. I didn't even get past the eighth grade,
but read. And I used to have a library of
over three thousand books. I don't needmore. When I got
married and we moved, I donated them because it just
(12:58):
was it. Real books are hard to keep in a house,
Oh my god. It really. It's one of those things
that it it's difficult to keep real books, tangible books.
Cookbooks are cookbooks too.
Speaker 3 (13:10):
They're there.
Speaker 7 (13:11):
Yeah, you don't want to let them go, no, because
there there's so much history involved with them. And you
can see the evolution of the cookbook right from just
loose recipes to more refined recipes to home recipes and
then the super chef recipe. And you know there's just but.
Speaker 1 (13:26):
They all come from the basics. I mean, just like
the Five mother Sauces or anything like that. There is,
like you said, knowing your past before you try and
build your future. Yet you need that foundation. Now you
have your place in Maui. Correct, Uh the coast with
a K, right.
Speaker 7 (13:44):
Coast with a K. We're in Wilay Village in Maui.
Speaker 1 (13:47):
So I have to ask, you know, how's everything going
over there? How's is there rebuilding going on?
Speaker 7 (13:53):
So we're in Wiley, it's about a forty five minute
drive to lahinaa is doing They have done all the
cleanup and they are in process of now building.
Speaker 1 (14:02):
What about the vibe? I mean even forty five minutes away.
It's an island. I mean do you feel you know,
people wanting to go out? Are people spending money on
the island or have they left there to come on
to the other side of the island.
Speaker 7 (14:18):
So there is definitely a large community who continues to
go out. There is a large workforce there that has
shifted to different areas of the island. But yeah, I
mean it's a it's a very vacation land and you know,
tourism does drive sure there. And I think just like
(14:38):
what happened in Napa when Napa Valley had the fires.
There was this perceived notion that the whole of the
Napa Valley burnt down, that there was nothing left. And
I think there is that perception. Lahina is getting better.
They're working forward, and it's really exciting to see that
they're getting their building permits, that things are happening. So
(15:00):
it is moving forward.
Speaker 1 (15:01):
Yeah, because I mean, you know, we're still dealing with
the devastation from January here in southern California with the
eating fire there and in Altadena, and of course the
Palisades as well, so it you know, la is pretty big,
and they're they're far enough apart from each other, yet
they change the way people even go out to eat. Yes,
(15:21):
So I was just curious how that happens. So, you know,
I was looking over the menu at your restaurant there,
and one of the things that I love, and it's simple,
is the the corn ribs. And I was curious, do
you still have those on your menu there?
Speaker 6 (15:37):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (15:37):
So, and how do you prepare them?
Speaker 7 (15:39):
So the corn ribs, we're using local corn, yeah, and
it's really great. We can get corn from Maui and
then we can get corn from one of the other islands,
and we cut them into quarters, right and length wise.
Length wise, well, we cut the cob in half so
they're not you know, the full length.
Speaker 3 (15:56):
Otherwise you know, it just wouldn't work.
Speaker 7 (15:59):
But it's super simple. We quickly fry them and then
we toss them in this yuzoo butter and it's really fun.
Speaker 1 (16:06):
Wow. I don't know what it is about that. I've
eaten corn my whole life in every form, possibly, but
there's something about eating corn ribs that makes them better.
I think it's just something about it.
Speaker 7 (16:15):
It's a little more I think from the perspective of
eating in a restaurant, corn ribs are a little less messy. Yeah,
they're a little bit more approachable for everyone.
Speaker 1 (16:25):
Your nose doesn't get it.
Speaker 7 (16:26):
You're not holding this big monster right. And that's just
one of the simple things that we have on that.
I mean, we were constantly rotating what's on the menu.
We're really fortunate that we work with great fisher people
that take pictures from the boat. They'll call us from
out at sea and say, hey, guys, I've got this
many tuna, a sixty five pounder, an eighty five pounder.
(16:48):
I have this many mahi mahi and they show up
at the door and it's like that is one of
the most amazing parts about the restaurant. You know, we
are very fortunate that we have really discovered some wonderful
producers there. It's just really opened the door for us.
So we're working with like a dairy farm called, you know,
Surfing Go Dairy. We work with Lopes Farm for our pork.
(17:10):
We get whole pigs in.
Speaker 1 (17:11):
So you're fabricating in house. Then all we're.
Speaker 7 (17:13):
Fabricating a whole pork, whole local pork and house. And
then the menu change is accordingly by cut, so it's
never the same dish depending on the cut. So if
you come one day and you have a pork chop,
two days later, it could be pork belly or we
could do a shoulder. We could so we're constantly rotating.
We're making sausages, and by getting the fish in this
(17:33):
particular way, our menu never stay stagnant. So we're constantly
evolving with what's available.
Speaker 1 (17:40):
And you notice any difference in Hawaiian corn versus I
don't know, you know American corn.
Speaker 3 (17:47):
Well, it's still all America.
Speaker 1 (17:48):
No, I get it. But I mean, I've talked about
the continent until USA. I guess it's Alaska's different too,
anywhere you could drive a road to.
Speaker 7 (17:57):
But I mean, I think that what's really unique about
out there is where the corn is coming from. As
you are on Maui, where we are in Wi Lea
is more of a dryer area. And as you climb
up to Koola where a lot of the farms are,
they do get colder nights, they do get socked in
by rain, so they do have more of a of
a changing temperature climate evolvement like we would here in
(18:22):
even in La Right, so you are going to see
those things. We do have tomato season. There is more
so a tropical fruit season than there is of everything
else because you can grow pretty much anything there dependent
on where you are on the island.
Speaker 1 (18:36):
Right.
Speaker 7 (18:37):
There's if you drive out on the road to Hanna,
you can pick you vomit. Well, the road is the
road is windy, you have to be really focused. But
it's it's just so beautiful because there's wild chocolate, there's
wild green papaya, there's fresh papaya, there's mangoes, there's stuff
growing all over that is just so abundant that it
(19:00):
really makes it special.
Speaker 1 (19:02):
That's very cool. Where can people find you to find
out what you're doing? What's next? Social media website?
Speaker 7 (19:08):
If you want to check out Coast, it's Coastmali dot com.
Make reservations, see what we're doing on the menu there.
But my website is Chefchriscosantino dot com just like my well,
my Instagram and chef Criscosentino And if you want take
a look, you can listen to how the sausage is
made my podcast where I talk to tons of local chefs,
Michael Reid being one of them in one of the backlogs,
(19:29):
and just have a lot of fun doing all those.
Speaker 1 (19:31):
Hey, I'm proud of you. You know why why you
didn't drop the F bomb once? He didn't look at
Who's a big boy?
Speaker 7 (19:37):
I'm the Who's.
Speaker 5 (19:40):
Good to see you?
Speaker 1 (19:40):
Chef? Always a real pleasure, I mean absolutely love it
all right, Chef. I always enjoy talking to him. But yeah,
he didn't drop one F bomb and I'm so proud.
It's The Fork Report on Imils Vader KFIM six forty.
Speaker 6 (19:53):
You're listening to The Fork Report with Nil Sevadra on
demand from KFI AM six forty.
Speaker 1 (20:00):
We come together every Saturday to kind of shake off
the heaviness of the news and celebrate food, the people
that make it, the culture behind it. Today we're broadcasting
live from the Manhattan Beach Food and Wine Festival. It's
the second annual. We were here last year and just
it's so funny because we're kind of doing the pregame
(20:20):
right now. We're tailgating before the event. VIP starts at six,
General admission starts at seven, and this place will go
off at a light up. Music and food will be everywhere.
We're celebrating all that by introducing you to chefs that
have been here on the show before, like my next
guests Queenie and Michael Reid from you know We've had.
(20:43):
Last time we had you guys on was over the phone.
I don't think we've had you in studio in a while.
But to remind everybody, you're with Poppy and Rose and
Poppy and Seed downtown Los Angeles and now in Anaheim.
Because we have a lot of Orange County listeners that
you may or may not have got out to your
gotten out to your LA place. How's everything going in Anaheim?
(21:04):
They treating you right. Anaheim is great for us. Oh
this one, Sorry about that.
Speaker 2 (21:08):
So Anaheim is great to us. You know, we've been
there for four and a half years now almost and
you know, first year top ten Best New Restaurants in
Orange County, which is awesome. Michelin Guide recommended semi finalist
for James Beard. So like that first two years were
this rocketing and it's you know, we treated like our playground.
It's food that we really want to eat. That's interesting,
(21:30):
it's fun, it's playful, it's thoughtful, it's seasonal. We have
our chef garden out there that we harvest from to
keep all our fresh herbs that we can do in
the garden to the table. It's just a really fun,
interesting greenhouse building that's unique.
Speaker 1 (21:45):
Explain to everybody how it started, the vision and the
things that were important to you guys when starting.
Speaker 2 (21:54):
You know, Queenie was used to us being at home
because we were just coming out of COVID, and so
the hotels that I used to be cooking at previous
to COVID, we're calling and asking me to come back,
and she's like, you cannot do that, and so I
was like, then let's open a restaurant.
Speaker 1 (22:13):
She gets her way a lot, Yes she does.
Speaker 8 (22:16):
I mean if people understand, like if you're in a
relationship with someone who is in hospitality, chef specific, you know,
it's kind of like, you know, like they're musicians. They're
here one day, not there the next, they're not at Christmas.
It gets lonely. And it just wasn't conducive to us
having a child and you know, trying to build something.
Speaker 9 (22:36):
And so I think, you.
Speaker 8 (22:38):
Know, we were at a crossroads, like, hey, we were
either going to buy a new home or we were
going to start a new business. And because we're crazy
in psychos and we love the hospitality industry after Poppy
and Rose being so successful, and that's how how we
got started.
Speaker 9 (22:54):
You know, Michael was like, let's do another restaurant. And
so it's like.
Speaker 8 (23:00):
In the middle of COVID, Like COVID wasn't even officially
like we can we're really still playing outside. We were
still you know, six feet apart in all those things,
and you know, we just we just bet on ourselves
and and now here we are and it's been a fantastic, wonderful,
magical experience.
Speaker 9 (23:19):
Uh, and we're looking to do so much more.
Speaker 1 (23:22):
Yeah, you know, you're as a chef, you're the voice
of wherever you are at the restaurant and any of that.
And it's like whenever you see artists of any kind, musicians,
or whenever you hear the stories about how someone stole
their music or someone to you know you've got it. Eventually,
you've got to do it on your own if you're
going to get all the monies that everybody has taken
(23:43):
a piece of.
Speaker 9 (23:43):
Right, and the monies is already little.
Speaker 8 (23:45):
Yeah, I don't want to have to share it with
too many people.
Speaker 1 (23:50):
So good for you for doing that. And you know
that's why we have good partners in our life.
Speaker 2 (23:55):
That is, you know, she's allowed me to really grow
and be myself as a chef. You know where it
is like anything that I'm thinking about, especially after being
pent up during COVID, Like I was changing the menu
almost every day, Like I just had so much like
ideas and thoughts that just were like flowing out that
I hadn't been able to do for like two years
on walls that I was just like, all right, here
(24:16):
we go. And so it was really it was a
really fun time in that opening. You know now it's
like chef tasty menus are on point ala carte service,
you know, super seasonal, and you know we do five
to six fresh pastas, like we're doing one of our
favorite end of the season right now is like the
Brentwood corn. We're doing a corn ravioli with crabs or.
Speaker 1 (24:38):
Just nice even mind taste that right now, just you
saying that you know that sweetness from the crab, but
what is that at both locations?
Speaker 2 (24:49):
So that one you can only get in Anaheim, So
you got to make that truck out there.
Speaker 1 (24:53):
But it's so worth it.
Speaker 2 (24:54):
It's such an experience, you know, because it's literally a
greenhouse with a massive garden just surrounds the building. And
so it's one of those dishes that this will one
more week and then it'll be off that menu.
Speaker 5 (25:07):
And then we'll move most likely into like honey.
Speaker 1 (25:09):
Nut squash or butter squash, which is still I'm down for.
I'm absolutely down for well that I love. Of course,
I've been following you guys for a long time, and
you've come on the show show multiple times, whether it
was during you know, COVID and via phone, but it's
been sometimes since I saw you folks, and I'm real
(25:30):
excited to know and to follow where you guys have gone,
because those are the those are the winds, those are
the stories. You know, that aren't the We were open
for three months and we had to close and it
just didn't take from some great chefs out there. So
keep doing what you're doing and we'll keep sending people.
You've got to check this out. Poppy and Rose in La,
Poppy in Seed downtown or in Anaheim. I think I
(25:52):
got that right.
Speaker 9 (25:52):
Yeah, yeah, I'm.
Speaker 1 (25:54):
Like, so check them out for our O see people.
You know that, you go see Poppy and Seed and
for our La people go to Poppy and Rose. But
Bessy is yeah, good to see you folks. Yes, I'm
really thrilled for all of the I'm.
Speaker 9 (26:09):
Gonna bring you some corn revy Ellie as soon as
he's ready.
Speaker 1 (26:11):
You should renter out to call people and go you're
not doing what you should be doing, Queen. He's here
to tell you to get off your rs and get
into whatever.
Speaker 3 (26:19):
That's right.
Speaker 1 (26:20):
I love it. Excellent, excellent, All right, it's the Fork
Report broadcasting live from Manhattan Beach Food and Wine Festival today.
So many more people who want to introduce you to,
so go know where.
Speaker 6 (26:30):
You're listening to The Fork Report with Neil Savedra on
demand from KFI AM six forty.
Speaker 1 (26:37):
Welcome to the Fork Report. I am your friendly neighborhood
Fork Reporter Neil Savedra. How do you do if you're
not familiar with the show. We get together for three
hours every Saturday and we just shake off, you know,
the news. There's always going to be horrible news, but
this is kind of a sanctuary, an opportunity for us
to come and celebrate food, the people that make it,
the culture behind it, talk about cooking at home, obviously
(26:59):
going out to eat. I've said this before and I
will say it again. Local economy rises and falls on
hospitality for not going out to eat, everything else falls.
Today we are at Manhattan Beach Manhattan Beach Food and
Wine Festival this year. We're thrilled to be here again.
It's second annual and it's amazing. You could I think
there are some They opened up some VIP tickets for
(27:20):
six o'clock, so you can check out at Manhattan Beachfood
and Wine dot com all spelled out, and then there
might be some general admission which opens at seven o'clock tonight,
So we're kind of doing the pregame and I want
to bring on the show Brendan Collins with Boa steakhouse
here in Manhattan Beach. How many locations are there now?
Speaker 4 (27:41):
So we've got full And on Thursday I fly to
Las Vegas to open up our.
Speaker 1 (27:45):
Fifth Oh my gosh, Las Vegas is now like this
culinary Yeah, chefs, incredibly talented chefs. But so are you
out there to open?
Speaker 4 (28:01):
Yeah, we have a space in the Palazzo with you know,
at the Venetian and yeah, we got we got it
the end of last year and we've been you know,
going back as forth, and now it's time to We've
hired all the staff and now it's time to go
get them trained up and get this place open.
Speaker 1 (28:14):
How do you so in a circumstance like that, you
have the location here in Manhattan Beach and the like,
but when you're going to a place that's a world
destination and of course Southern Californias too, but that has
different tastes, different palettes, different cultures, how do you build
that menu?
Speaker 4 (28:32):
So ninety percent of the menu is the same, you know,
it's it's a steakhouse menu, so it's it's a yeah,
I don't want to say yeah, you know, it's it's
a bread and butter, you know. But when we opened
up in Austin last year, so we put items on
the menu, geographical items on the menu that were for Austin,
like dedicated for Austin.
Speaker 5 (28:49):
And we're doing the same thing again for Las Vegas.
Speaker 4 (28:53):
The three locations that we have in Southern California, Santa Monica,
Manhattan Beach, and West Hollywood, they're all.
Speaker 5 (28:59):
Exactly the same.
Speaker 4 (29:00):
But anything that we do outside of that, we we
always add something that's you know, for for Vegas, we're
doing a lot of wow things.
Speaker 5 (29:07):
You know that pizaz, you.
Speaker 1 (29:09):
Know, expectations exactly when you're around that much attention getting vibe,
you got to have your own vibe.
Speaker 5 (29:17):
Yeah, very very theatrical, you know.
Speaker 4 (29:19):
And the one thing that we do very very well is,
you know, our food is obviously top notch and great ingredients,
but we really focus on really well on hospitality and
and you know, and and the ambiance of the restaurant.
And that's one thing that sets us worlds apart from
from other steakhouses.
Speaker 1 (29:32):
I've never had a bad experience experience at Boa, but
I will tell you this I have. It was one
of the first places restaurants where I remember thinking, Holy hell,
these sides are equally a star. Yeah, to the meat,
to the protein. I mean, the sides are spectacular.
Speaker 5 (29:54):
Everything.
Speaker 4 (29:54):
Every single dish that leaves the kitchen is a is
an example of what we are. And if it's not perfect,
it's not season correctly, if it's not piping hot.
Speaker 5 (30:02):
You know, it doesn't matter how great the steak is.
Speaker 4 (30:04):
You know, you still you're still going to walk away
remember and remembering how bad your mashed potato.
Speaker 5 (30:09):
Yeah, how about how bad your cream spinach was?
Speaker 4 (30:11):
So yeah, we we we put one hundred percent focus
on every single dish that leaves the kitchen.
Speaker 1 (30:15):
Bo what is your what's your go to chef for
a side? When you have a steak? What do you think? Man,
this has to be right next to it.
Speaker 5 (30:23):
I mean I'm a sucker for cream spinach. Oh yeah, suerach.
Speaker 1 (30:28):
Spinach is great on its own, cream is great on
its all. Put them together.
Speaker 4 (30:31):
Together exactly, add some garlic and not Megan Dingo.
Speaker 1 (30:34):
Yeah, that is. That's one of those sites too, that
it just elevates the experience to what I want when
I'm having.
Speaker 5 (30:41):
And the same again.
Speaker 4 (30:42):
It's like getting that recipe just right and getting the
temperature of it just right, and the you know, the
balance of cream to spinach has to be right. It
can be too spinachy, it can be too creamy.
Speaker 5 (30:50):
It has to be just be right.
Speaker 4 (30:51):
So yeah, a lot, a lot of focus goes into
making sure that we you know, we get out recipes right.
I've been with the company almost two years now, and
I took all the recipes from the old school.
Speaker 5 (31:00):
You know, a couple of this, a couple of this, and.
Speaker 4 (31:01):
As to that, it's a metric, so it's like three
grams of this foreground, and.
Speaker 5 (31:05):
I know when they've not measured it properly. So yeah,
I like way less room for error.
Speaker 4 (31:10):
You know, a lot a lot more messing about technically,
but it's worth it because the consistency is key.
Speaker 1 (31:15):
Well, you know what's funny is, you know, growing up
here in the States obviously and using imperial for everything.
You know, it's what we know right Well.
Speaker 5 (31:26):
I'm British, we use both. We already talk about confusion.
Speaker 1 (31:29):
But the funny thing is the minute I started baking,
doing any baking right, it's just you can't do it anyway,
when you're going on volume, it's just gonna there's too
many variables. And I like to build. I like to
create stuff. I like to design stuff, and I'm using
everything in millimeters. So because you yeah, it's this is
so so funny that I couldn't learn it in school,
(31:50):
but now that I have that, I need it. Yeah,
It's like, okay, it makes me laugh.
Speaker 4 (31:54):
It's like you take a little button on the scale
and you just click it across.
Speaker 5 (31:58):
It's like, it's not that difficult. You can get it
in this or you can get it in that exactly.
Speaker 1 (32:05):
But it also you know, it helps her, you know,
or when we're traveling to be able to tell a
friend that it's like I go to say something in
feet and I go, okay, but that's great. So what's
your favorite cut of steak?
Speaker 5 (32:19):
Well, I'm a sucker for New York. I genuinely I
love a Porterhouse too.
Speaker 4 (32:22):
I know, I know technically as as chefs, we're not
supposed to like Philey, but I think that the you know,
the juxtaposition between the two.
Speaker 1 (32:28):
Why is that? Why why do we have to turn
down or not? I think the flat is still just
a lovely cut is it uber flavorful?
Speaker 5 (32:36):
No, we we have a phile a.
Speaker 4 (32:38):
It's called a j one phile and it's it's American
cattle that's been raised in Japan and treated like you know,
treated like a wagyu. The f one phile a is
out of this world. Yeah, next time you're in, the
next time you're in, I'll send you some eight is
out of this world.
Speaker 5 (32:55):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (32:55):
Yeah, you have to suspect a steak that they wrap
in bacon. I get it.
Speaker 4 (33:00):
But this f won phile that we have, you know,
it's on the procesa side, but it is an experience
in all of its own Honestly.
Speaker 1 (33:06):
Wow, I'm going to come try that. Yeah, Chef, what
a pleasure. That's Chef Brennon Collins. They're at Boas Steakhouse,
Manhattan Beach and Beyond. But a real pleasure to finally
get a chance to meet you. Thanks for coming on
and saying hello, My pleasure. I appreciate it, my friend Jays.
All right, it's the Fork Report broadcasting live from Manhattan
Beach Food and Wine today. If you are looking for
something to do, there still are some tickets, I believe
(33:28):
Manhattan Beachfood and Wine dot Com all spelled out. It
starts at six for VIP. Seven o'clock is when general
admission opens up, and if you do come come by
and say hi. I'll be sitting at a table later
after the broadcast. Once we open up, I'm going to
stay here for a while and enjoy it for my
darn self. So go know where this is KFI heard
(33:50):
everywhere on the iHeartRadio app. You've been listening to the
Fork Report. You can always hear us live on KFI
AM six forty two to five pm on Saturday, and
anytime on demand on the iHeartRadio app.
The Fork Report w Neil Saavedra News
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