Cheers and Thank You

I just talked to Noah Sandoval, the chef/partner of the Michelin two star restaurant Oriole for an interview that will run in this newsletter next week. He told me a story about how in January of 2010 he asked his wife, Cara, the general manager of Oriole and sister spot Bar Kumiko, if she would marry him on March 1st of that year. She said yes without hesitation, but asked, “Why March 1st?”

He told her, “Because, that’s my day off.”

That is sweet and funny, and also pretty much a story anyone in hospitality would understand. Which is to say hospitality folks don’t get a lot of time off, especially paid time off. They work when they’re sick, when bad things are happening to the ones they love, and sometimes, because they’re so passionate about what they do, on their actual designated days off. Sometimes they get married in between shifts.

If there’s any bright side of this epidemic, it’s that, for many of us, including hospitality folks, we have been given the gift of a pause and a little bit of extra time. It may not feel like a gift. If you’re struggling to figure out where your next meal or paycheck is coming from, it might feel like more intense pressure than when you were overwhelmed with non-stop work. But, even in that case, because there are so many normal things we can’t do: sports to be watched or played, commutes to drive, or kids to be driven to school, etc., I hope that you all have at least an extra bit of time you didn’t have and that you can find a way to do something you’ve put on hold or always wanted to try.

For me the gift of extra time has meant that I’ve gotten to write about and interview and feature chefs and restaurant owners and tell their stories in a way I used to do all the time, but stopped doing because the daily demands of my day job took over. I still wrote of course. As many of you know, I am the curmudgeon king of critical restaurant reviewers. But, I missed telling stories. So, to have this outlet and to be motivated because me writing means people subscribe, which means we can donate more money to people in the hospitality industry who need it, well that’s an incredible privilege. So, thanks to all of you who have made that possible

Your generosity so far has been overwhelming. We’ve raised $1,100 so far from paid subscriptions. I donated $600 of that today. As the balance of funds gets paid out for the rest, I’ll pay out the remainder. I hope to keep telling stories here and keep raising money as long as this epidemic continues to pause the work lives of restaurant workers in need. Below, and to be transparent, I’m posting screenshots of many of the donation receipts (some of the receipts have my personal info, so I’ll edit that out and eventually post them all) so you can see where the money is going.

One other piece of good news, Substack, the platform this newsletter is on, has waived their 10% cut of fees they take from paid subscriptions so that we can send more money out. This means now is a great time to subscribe if you’re reading this newsletter for free. It’s $5 a month.

If you can afford that, but don’t feel like your soul is moved to subscribe just for the sake of helping people, I understand. So be selfish instead. Sign up because everyday you’re getting 5 recs curated by me for best takeout and delivery options - these are places I eat at all the time and legit think are good, not just random picks. Also, many of you have joined the free list because you really like interviews with top chefs. In the next few weeks I’ve got Noah Sandoval of Oriole, Top Chef Winner and former Spiaggia chef Joe Flamm, as well as Derrick Tung, the owner of Paulie Gee’s Logan Square. I’m also open to any suggestions of who you’d like me to talk with in the future. Email me: mike@michaelnagrant.com.

As always, stay safe, stay hungry, try not punch anyone you’re sick of in quarantine, and thank you, thank you, thank you.

—Mike