James Pennington - Adobo In The House

In honor of Filipino Appreciation Month, my guest today is James Pennington. The world-famous Filipino!

James is a personal chef in San Francisco and taught English in China when the coronavirus broke out. We talk about lock-downs, the rising hate towards Asian-Americans, and Jolly Bees fast food.

I'm a little bit late with this particular interview I wanted to have this interview up and running in October in honor of Filipino appreciation month but the editing took a little bit longer, those things happen but my guest is the awesome James Pennington yes you guessed it - he's my favorite Filipino in the world and also a talented personal chef who was in China when the coronavirus broke out which will talk about a little bit later so I met James probably about 15 years ago we were in a bar shocking and I first noticed him because he was hugging all of his friends good bye when he left the bar. The next time I saw James' I commented on his hugging abilities and then he hugged me! And we've been friends ever since.

Trish Tracey - Food Apps Killed The Restaurant Star

In today's episode, I finish my interview with Chef Trish Tracey. We talk about trying to keep up with PPP loan applications, cooking for Frontline Food SF, losing family members to COVID, the election, the Black Lives Matter protests and the all-around awfulness of 2020. And what it’s like to lose your restaurant and dream.

I have to remind people - we're still in a pandemic please get vaxed and please mask up! Thank you!  This is the second part of my interview with Trish Tracy of Myriad restaurant in San Francisco and last episode we talked about how great it was to work in restaurants in San Francisco in the 90s, how many women were in the back of the house back in the day and the dreaded an awful delivery apps! They suck!!!

Trish Tracey - Gimme That 90’s Love

My guest is Trish Tracey, chef owner of Myriad restaurant in San Francisco, in the Mission. We talk about gaining the Covid 15lbs weight, working in restaurants in the 90s, and the dreaded food apps.

This is a two-part interview. I met Trish in 2015 she just opened her restaurant Myriad and I would go in about once a week and my order was always the same it was Chicken Sammie sliders and a wedge salad with extra house made Thousand Island Dressing it was so good. It was kind of like my weekly thing to go in and say hello to Steven and Paige the bartenders, give a quick wave to everyone in the back of the house and then watch Trish as she ran around checking on customers, checking on her chefs, checking on the bartenders. It was just such a really lovely evening to spend time in Myriad with Trish and her crew.

Chris Green - The Gem of The Tenderloin

Today, my guest is Chris Green. Chris explains what it is like to live and work in the Tenderloin of San Francisco. The frustration and love Chris has with the neighborhood. The failures of the local government (Mayor Breed) to help those in dire need during this pandemic.

Chris Green - one of the sweetest and hardest working bartenders out there and worked during the pandemic with the exception of the lockdowns. I met Chris when we both worked at the Hotel Utah Saloon. Chris was a bar back and bartender and was so eager to learn how to make drinks and make them properly and learn how to be behind the bar which I found so endearing because I was not like that at all. I always thought that Chris was such a hard worker and had a real drive for the craft and I was right because now Chris is a bar manager at a bar in the city the Royale Bar in the City. Good job Chris.

Will Morgan - Smoking Inside, N. Carolina Style

Happy Pride!!!!

Happy Pride!!!! My guest is Will Morgan!!! This San Franciscan bartender is originally from North Carolina. We talk about growing up as a 90s kid in the South and being bullied in kindergarten for being gay. The many issues were communicated to the owners of Jolene’s bar but not addressed. And Will’s new outlook towards life as a masseur and bartending.

So Will was very new to San Francisco when we met, and he would come and visit me at a bar I was working in, in the mission on Sunday nights. And Will would tell me all the things that he was doing in San Francisco and experiencing. It was so sweet, and I enjoyed Will's energy and expressions and his lens of San Francisco and being new to The City.

This interview occurs when Will is actually in Mexico City, so I appreciate him taking time away from eating delicious Mexican food to talk to me. So thank you, Will! Happy Pride!!!

Melinda Lopez - The Smile That Never Stops

My lovely guest, Melinda Lopez.

Today I am speaking with the lovely Melinda Lopez. I met Melinda when we worked in bars and restaurants in the South of Market neighborhood. I was at the Hotel Utah Saloon, and she was at Marlow, which is around the corner from the Utah. Melinda would come into the Utah before her shift, sit at the bar, and get shitfaced. I'm kidding; I'm kidding; she did not do that! I joke because Melinda is such a professional and takes such great pride in her job that she would never show up to a shift drunk like some bartenders and servers have been known to do from time to time but not Melinda.

When Melinda came in, we would catch up about the week, gossip a little, and then she would head out to Marlow, and it was such a beautiful little part of my Friday afternoon to have Melinda pop in. In this interview, we talk about the housing crisis in San Francisco, the lack of female bartenders when we started in the bar business, the rise of the "tech bro" and the repercussions of tech on San Francisco and the dining scene.

Christian “Suzu” Suzuki-Orellana - The Gazelle Behind The Stick

Interview with bartender supreme, Christian "Suzu" Suzuki-Orellana.

Hello and welcome back to BoozeNation The Podcast.

Today my Interview with bartender supreme, Christian "Suzu" Suzuki-Orellana.  And like most bartenders Suzu was working at three bars in San Francisco before the pandemic hit and I met him at one of those bars - Wildhawk, which is in the Mission. I would go into Wildhawk after my bar shift ended on Saturday night and Suzu would make me such delicious cocktails and one of the things I noticed about Suzu is how graceful he is behind the bar. He glides around the bar and around his coworkers like a graceful gazelle and I just love watching him work. I think because I am like a Clydesdale behind the bar and somebody who can move that gracefully was just kind of a mystery to me.

We talk about some of the San Francisco bars Suzu has worked in prior to COVID, his family's businesses in the East Bay and Japan. His commitment to giving back to his community through his Kagano pop-up, and what it's like to work with the public since 2016. At times it's very scary working with such a hate fueled public.

So here we are episode two and enjoy Suzu's giggle.