Welcome to the Nobody Knowz podcast with Callie Zamzow. Join us for conversations with local changemakers and hear the stories that don't always get told. It'll be honest, messy and beautiful. Touching and humorous. Slow down for a glass and pull up a chair. This is the Nobody Knowz podcast. Welcome to Nobody Knowz. I'm your host, Callie Zamzow, and I've been reflecting on Boise lately just because there's been so much, really a lot of change in the area.

And one of the things I was thinking about is, you know, like, in the good sense, like the wonderful changes that are happening. I was thinking as a kid when, whenever the family wanted to go out for dinner, and that didn't happen very often because back in the day, there wasn't a lot of that.

But if there was, we had a handful of places that we went and it was so good. We went to this place, this place or this place, pretty much. And I had been speaking with friends about that, and we all share the same—you know, we all knew the same places, and those are the places that we went.

And I was thinking about one of the wonderful things that has happened with some of the changes in Boise over the past ten years or so is that we have this onslaught of wonderful places to eat. And so today we get to speak with somebody who is a part of that scene. And I'm very excited about it because I think food is a, you know, it's a grand unifier.

And I think if you can get creative with food, it makes the unifying creative as well. So I'm very, very excited about our guest today. We have Chef Kelly Grindstaff with us. He is the head chef at the Modern Hotel and Bar, and he's helping cultivate Boise's food scene. And he brings together local farms and creative flavors.
And he really creates community around people who love food. So welcome to the studio, Kelly. I'm glad to have you. Yeah. Excited to be here. Yeah. This is really great. And I got to talk a little bit beforehand, and I already can sense your creative energy. So this is going to be fun to have you in the studio.

It's very cool. Before we get going too far, would you just kind of introduce yourself to our listener and share a little bit about your history? Yeah. You know, I'm not born in Idaho, but raised kindergarten through high school. And then, you know, after high school, the culinary school of hard knocks—didn't go to culinary school, just worked through restaurants. You know, worked for Jered Couch back in the day.

Started when I was 15 as a dishwasher. Worked at the original Dish, then out in Eagle at 616 from the day it opened to the day it closed, practically every day. And then I helped out a little bit at the newer Dish on 10th for a little bit, but, you know, Jered Couch was like my first introduction to cooking.

And, you know, I never wanted to be a chef. But when I was 15 and I was washing dishes at the original Dish, it's this open kitchen. Jared is pointing, talking to guests, you know, his tattoos on his arm. And I'm like, I could do this. And here I am still doing it, and I don't have any tattoos. I was just looking. I was like, oh yes. No tattoos.

Yeah. No, didn't go that route. But you know, that's where the passion came from. And it was like, you know, this is more than just putting food on a plate. And, you know, it's a community and an art, and, you know, so I really kind of grabbed on to that. You know, being a kid from Nampa, it was like, you know, like, I can do this.

This will get me out of bed every morning. Yeah, yeah. But boy howdy, are you doing it. Like, what's interesting is your story. I mean, some could make assumptions about how you got where you are right now. But I think that one ought not make assumptions. You are, you're very unique. Yeah. You know, my dad was a chef. Growing up, he was an executive chef for Shilo Inn.

Which is— I was born in Yuma, Arizona, but I was only there for, I think, like nine months. And then we packed up and moved on and on to the next Shilo. Because he would go into the new ones that were built and train the whole restaurant, food and beverage. And then I think we went from Yuma to the one in Twin.

I think we lived in Blackfoot. There's a very embarrassing photo that was on our fridge forever of me as, like, a toddler, no clothes on, with a trucker hat on a wooden rocking horse. That’s awesome. And then, you know, the Shilo Inn in Nampa right off the Franklin exit. Yeah. Then that's how we ended up in Nampa.

And, you know, the story goes on from there. And, you know, he was a chef in Oregon on the Oregon Coast in Depoe Bay, Oregon, at a place called the Sea Hag, which is one of my all-time favorite restaurant names ever, for Gracie Strom. And that's kind of how he—that was his, like, claim to fame, you know, his clam chowder and everything.

And, you know, I never wanted to do it. I was like, I don't want to do what my dad does. And then, you know, like I said, seeing Jared just kind of commanding the orchestra, it was like, oh, this is different, you know? And so I really clung to it and, you know, went from working for Jared to—2009.

I got a job at Redfish Lake Lodge in Stanley, and I was the chef there from 2009 to 2021, pretty much until I came back to Boise and started at the Modern. But the Redfish experience was really unique. You know, Jeff and Audra Clegg, who run it, they—they're just so nurturing. And, you know, if I would have gone and worked for anybody else when I was 21, I probably wouldn't be cooking anymore because, you know, they were so patient with me.

And, you know, I really shouldn't have been doing it. Like, they gave me way too much responsibility. But, you know, through failure, you know, those are the biggest lessons, you know, that I feel like you can learn. That job was unique because, you know, like I said, I didn't go to culinary school, but I was only there from May to October.

And so from October to May, I could go do anything. And so, at first I spent my first winter in Boise. I actually helped open The Griddle in Eagle, and then I worked at Café de Paris for Matthew with Gaston's, you know, my first winter. And then my second winter, I went to the Virgin Islands, worked in Saint Thomas, and then came back a little early and actually helped open Fork with the opening chef there. Paul. And then I spent another winter here. And then from that point on, that’s right around the time I started kind of traveling a little bit. You know, I went to Ireland for one winter and then—and then the following was when my wife and I started dating, and then we had a friend in Los Angeles.

So we ended up doing L.A. for about six winters and got to work for a really cool chef, Phil, a pretty Long Beach native. Him and his sister opened a restaurant in Long Beach called Heritage. They currently have held a one Michelin star plus a Green Star for the last three years. And, you know, when I say Jered Couch gave me the foundation, Philip really kind of opened that box of creativity and being like, this isn't the only way to do it, you know, and kind of that—I kind of look at my food like, you know, it's like—

Like I kind of learned a lot, you know, that California cuisine, that freshness and everything. But it's kind of fun to bring it to Idaho and, you know, using the Idaho ingredients that we have at our disposal to, you know, kind of have fun with the plate and the canvas. Yeah. And so I had to tell you, when I thought you were going to start speaking about your history, I thought there was going to be, like, this really linear—I don't know why I thought that, but what an extraordinary group of experiences that's been had. Yeah, yeah. And so each one taught you something else. And so are you—just to give me a taste of your personality, I think I'm beginning to grasp it here.

But you're the type of person—you've fully immersed in something when you're there.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. No, it was, you know, that opportunity of those winters of, you know, just being able to go in and, you know, when—especially, you know, and Redfish was paying me year-round—it created this opportunity where I can walk into a restaurant and be like, just pay me, you know, base. I just want to learn. And I would try to not be like, oh yeah, I also run a kitchen in Idaho half the year. It would be more like, I just want to put my head down, be a nobody, and just—let me learn. And like, even if it was, you know— You know, my dad told me once, when I was early in my career, I was working at a place I won't name.

I was kind of struggling, and I was like, I don't think I want to do it anymore, you know? And he just goes, you know, the biggest thing you need to understand is even when you feel like you're not learning, you're learning what not to do. And, you know, that's more valuable than, you know, sometimes when you're learning what you should do because you kind of get the experience of like, you know, I'm not going to treat my employees that way, or I'm not going to do this, you know, that way, or, you know, to have that kind of culture and stuff like that. So it was nice. It was really cool.
But oh man—Yeah, I—so I'm just—I'm realizing now. So you are—you’re leading. You're now a leader of the Modern. So how did, like, all these times that you were working at other places—how did that shape how you are as a leader today?

Yeah. And do you think of yourself as a leader? Yeah. Yeah. It's funny, my wife and I, you know, when we'd go work and, you know, we'd go on our offseason to go work somewhere, we'd always laugh because by the, you know, midway through our winter, it'd be like they'd want to keep us. They'd be like, you know, like, what's it going to take for you to stay?

Yeah, like move up into a position. And it was always like—you know, it's kind of like why we were getting out of the seasonal stuff, because it was like, you know, we want to just settle, and, you know, somewhere close to home, family and everything. And, you know, every situation was different.

And you learn from so many ways how to talk to different people. You know, everyone is different. You know, that's something I always say, like, you know, you can keep that same standard that you hold everyone to, but how you hold everyone to it, you know, it's very hands-on and different. And, you know, you can't—you know, some people you can be a little more like, hey, you're not doing that right.

You know, a little more stern. Whereas others you gotta be like, you know, hey, let me show you how to do it. You know, and really in, like, our kitchen culture there, you know, we're not a yelling, cussing kitchen. It's, you know— You’ll know when I'm mad when I go quiet.

But I don't really feel that. It's just more of like, all right, you know, we should have done that differently. And, you know, it's fine. We made a mistake. And, you know, I really try to create that. Of all the experience I've had, the kitchens that I worked in where I didn't have a good time were the ones where you were afraid to say you messed up.

And that's something where I'm like, don't be afraid. Like, hey, we're going to fix it. It's fine. We're just going to do it again, you know? And same with when we're, you know, making a dish on the line and everything else. I try to really teach a neutral mindset of—you know, you don't want to be up here.

You don't want to be down here. You just want to be here. And so you can shift into that. You know, it's like, individual tickets—you know, hey, that ticket we messed up on, but let's not let it affect the next one. And so, you know, let's just keep going. And we gotta, you know, live the history, let it go.

Understand why, what, when. And let's move on to the next thing. And so, you know, I think my kitchen crew right now—I kind of have a newer kitchen crew I had to rehire recently. And, you know, one of the things—doing the seasonal work, you know, it's all young kids, you know, it's like 18-year-olds.

And for like six summers at Redfish, I had about an 85 to 90% return rate, which was not unheard of for seasonal working. And a lot of them still work there. In fact, the new chef at Redfish, Alex Martinez, he started as a dishwasher for me years ago. Wow. And so, a lot of them are still going there and everything.

And when I came to Boise, I kind of realized it was a little different. It was like, you know, there's a lot of cooks that were like, you know, I got this experience, like, here's my resume. And so I started hiring on experience. And, you know, sometimes it really kind of bit me in the rear. And, you know, there was a little bit of turnover of people just kind of moving on.

And the funny thing is, my wife wanted me to mention this. When we first opened, nobody was really applying because, you know, it was right after COVID. A lot of industry people went on to something else. And so nobody was applying. And we have 13 nieces and nephews on both sides. And a few of mine are ready to work and a couple of them already work in kitchens.

They've worked at, you know, Bittercreek forever. And so I just kind of was cycling through my nephews for a little bit. I always joke that I was going to open a restaurant called Nephew, Nephew and just hire them. But, yeah, you know, they've recently moved on to kind of other things, better things.

And so this recent round of hiring, I really kind of talked to some other chefs that I look up to and asked, you know, what they do. And I really started to—something stuck with me. One of them said, you know, hire for personality, not experience. You know, and if they have the experience, great.

But that personality— And so it's like, this last batch, I don't interview with, like, you know, where do you want to go, where you want to be, how do you—do you know how to cook an egg, you know, those types of things. It's like, I'm more like, let's just have a conversation, you know, and let's—shake hands, have a conversation.

You know, if it's jiving, we're not going to talk anything personal. It's just, you know, why are you in Boise, like, you know, all those things. And get a good feeling. It's like, all right, you want to come in to do a stage tomorrow? And so I really feel like I lucked out in this.

You know, last three cooks I just hired, they're really doing a really good job. So how do you create the culture in the kitchen? Like, how do you do that? So obviously it starts with hiring. You just said that you choose people that are going to vibe. And then how do you kind of maintain that?

You know, I think you gotta let them be themselves and grow into the space. And, you know, like I said, two of the people we just hired are super green, but it's been amazing. I gotta shout out one of our cooks, Mikayla.

She just surprises me every day, you know? It's like, she does things, and you look and— I learned. You know, I'm sitting there and I'm showing her how to make this cake. And, you know, it's like, you do this cake on a half sheet pan and you want to find a flat full sheet pan so you can put the half sheet pan inside the full sheet pan because sometimes it'll overflow.

So we don't want to make a mess. And I'm watching her and, you know, I'm sitting there kind of like, what is she doing? And, you know, she finds the sheet pan and she can't find a full sheet pan that's flat. And so I'm kind of watching, seeing what she's doing. And she takes parchment paper and wedges it up, and makes the half pan flat.

And I turned to my other cooks and I said, you guys would have never done that. And they all laughed and they were like, we wouldn't have thought about it. That's awesome. Okay, so let's talk a little bit about food because, you know, there are places in Boise that you go to where you're like, okay, they just make a solid burger. I know I can trust it. It's, you know, whatever. And I can doll it up the way I want to doll it up and make it the way I want it to taste and all that fun stuff. That does not seem to be the way that you take things on. You and your team, you're interested in making food different and exciting and something that I think people—when they're looking for, Hey, I want to taste something different—something, by the way, that we never used to have in Boise. But now, all of a sudden, we do, where we can actually say, I want to—I just want to taste something different. And they can do that when they come and eat your food.

So tell us about that process. How do you come up with your—You know, it's all from experience and working with, you know, not just the chefs that I've worked for and things like that. You know, you see one technique and you go, you know, wow, I could really apply that to this other thing.

And I could make it, you know, completely different than what their idea of what they were trying to do with it. And, you know, you kind of just start to play and, honestly, it's the team. It's so nice to have a group of cooks that, you know, they all kind of want to have an opinion on it.

And it's really challenging. It's like, well, why are we doing that? And then I'm just like, this is why. And now it makes me think, like, why are we doing this?

And so it is—it's a really, like, you know, one, it's a huge team building thing. And, you know, the kitchen—we try to really get everyone. I try to tell them all the time, like, you know, especially if I have a quiet cook, I'm like, hey, you should take this, this, and this home and just kind of flip through them—cookbooks—and if you see anything you really like, just bring it back, and, you know, let's talk about it.

And then maybe we can build on it and do a version of something that is maybe out of a book so we can get you out of your shell. Because I'm always like, it's about learning the techniques. And then once you've learned the techniques, then you can start to be like, well, man, we can take this and make it this way using this other technique that's for a completely different application. And then they start to kind of really open their minds to it. And, you know, I like to think that we're creative. But, you know, one thing with the Modern—it's, you know, big shoes to fill with, you know, Nate and Rémi. And my wife and I actually just ate at Terroir the other night for the first time because we never have nights off and just happened to be able to get out early on a Saturday night. And she's like, we should go to dinner.

And I was like, we should go to Terroir. And so actually, Nate came and sat down with us and chatted for a little bit, and Rémi brought us some champagne, which I like to think is special, but maybe he does it for everyone. But it was a really, really good meal. And it's just really nice to see again—Like, you know, Boise just being able to go into some place and be like, wow, that was such a fun meal and different than what I would do. And, you know, but it's amazing. Like, it was top to bottom just such a good meal. I love that. There's some—it literally is one of the few things that literally changes you at the cellular level because it's food.

But then you also get the experience along with it. And the flavors. A good night out at a really good restaurant where you eat something that delights your senses is—I mean, there's nothing like it, it’s great. I think, you know, when I think of Nate's food and, you know, coming into the Modern and taking that program over— What— There's a term I hate the most. Fine dining. It's such a, like, death sentence. It's like, oh, I only go there on special occasions, right? 

You know, really, it's like, can you just be good food, right? Like, it's, you know—I've eaten, you know, three Michelin star restaurants to one star restaurants, to restaurants with no stars in the middle of Cambodia.
You know, and it's the—You know, like, you know, nobody in town's got that stuffiness of, like, you gotta have a jacket on and we're going to walk you to the restroom or anything. And it's like—I think people really think— I kind of think Boise fine dining is the steakhouses. Yeah. Yeah. That's kind of where you do get a little bit of that feel, but it's like, you know, when you think of the Modern, or places like Terroir, or, you know, White Rabbit, you know—you know, those are just—you know, it could just be good food. Yeah. You can—It is what you want it to be. It could be your version of fine dining and that elevated experience. Or it could just be a Tuesday night and I'm hungry. Yeah. So very Boise, the way that you're describing that. I'm like, yeah, that's—and that's, I think, the vast majority of Boiseans. And sure, there's a time when your grandma turns 90 and you want to go to the steakhouse and you want to try to dress up, and yeah, I get all that.

That has its place too. But I think for every day, you know, sometimes you just—you want to go out with your husband and have something delicious. Yeah. So I like that. It is very Boise. Yeah. So tell us when you came on at the Modern, because—I mean, a lot of changes happening, a lot of— So tell me, were you like—was it carte blanche? Were you given the opportunity to create the vision? Oh, yeah. The—you know, Elizabeth, the owner, she's very hands-off. And I think I kind of surprised her because, you know, she has history at Redfish. You know, her ex-husband, Dan's family, owned Redfish before the Crouch's—

Who I worked for—purchased it in ’99. And so she actually worked at Redfish and ran the dining room at Redfish for years. Just so many stories. It's really fun to kind of talk with her, share a glass of wine. But, you know, she just kind of wanted me to come in and do my thing.

And I think, you know, at Redfish, we were really kind of—you know, we went from steak and potatoes at Redfish over the years to, like, my fifth summer finally being able to—like, can we take that tenderloin off? Can we do a hanger steak? And then, you know, finally being able to do those things. And I think that had a lot to do with the consistency of the crew coming back and everything. But, yeah—

No, she actually let me do my thing. And there are two staples on the menu that I really haven't changed from day one. One—we were going to do our charcuterie board, like a cheese board and whatnot, and none of the stuff came in in time. Oh. And so it was like, we gotta open. And so I was like, you know, I have all this bread. Let's just do toast and butter with pickles. And, you know, we make our house pickles, a little pickled red onion, and some Castelvetrano olives, you know, marinated, and then just whipped butter. And she—it's the only thing that she said—that was such a good idea, you should keep that on. And, like, she didn't even say keep it on. She just was so excited about it. And I was like, well, that's staying on. And it has. And people love it. You know, it's really kind of perfect. And it's an easy prep item. And then our cauliflower, which is a kind of a combination of experiences I got with some Italian restaurants I've worked at.

And then also the cauliflower itself from one of my old employees at Redfish, who showed me this technique of soaking it in coconut milk, and then you take it out the next day and strain it, and then you just toss it in cornstarch. And you can hold it, you know, in a six pan on top of each other.

And then you just fry it and it stays so crispy. The cauliflower dish on our menu—we do roasted baba ganoush on the bottom. And then we do the fried cauliflower with a pepper, Chinese parsley, olive oil, lemon, salt. And then we top it with dukkah, which is like a Mediterranean nut spice mix.

So it's like—it's like southern Italy with Morocco kind of vibes. So cool. But it's another dish where I took it off once a couple winters ago. And I went about a month and a half before somebody finally was like, what happened? Like, I bring people in for this one. Because it hits all the markets—gluten-free, vegan, everything. So—But yeah, you're—the way that you talk about food is almost magical. It's fun to listen to you talk about, you know, deconstructing what—you know, just that dish you just talked about is amazing. One of the things I think that is somewhat unique about what you do is that you work with local farms and producers, and you do that year-round. How does—how do you manage that?

And is that like a principle, or is that just because it does taste better? It's both. You know, it's obviously way better. You know, I didn't argue with the guy at the co-op, but he was saying the apples I was buying at the co-op, which were like the Cosmic Reds or something—they looked really nice, but, you know, I had to—I did an event the other day, and nobody has apples right now.

So I just was like, I'll go to the next best place—co-op. And he's like, oh, these are the best apples ever. And I was like, have you tried Waterwheel’s Pink Lady apples during the season? Because that's the best apple. And so, so it is— You know, one of our bartenders, Tony, keeps bringing in his garden tomatoes, and he brings, like, a quarter of it, and then just sets them on the bar while he's setting up, and then we just eat them all, and he turns over and they're gone, and it's like, well—you just—they're literally like candy, you know?

And it's just like—but, you know, people will try it and go, I don't like tomatoes. And then they try one of his—just at home, you know, a little garden tomatoes. And it's like, yeah, that's what it should taste like. Yes. Totally different. I always say that to people who say they don't like tomatoes. I'm like, have you—Yeah. Like, have you picked one off and put it in your mouth? Because it's not—it's very, very different. Yeah. The other thing that's very interesting, I think, about you in particular is that you—and I'm just going to hack the way I'm saying this—but you don't stay in the kitchen. 

Yeah.

You are very community-involved. Yeah. Tell us about that. Like, you're involved with Treefort, or—you weave yourself into things. Sometimes too much. I don't think so. I think it's just right.
This last Treefort was a doozy. Because I kind of got involved with Treefort because during the construction on Grove, we decided—not this last Treefort, but the Treefort before—we weren't going to do Camp Modern because it was like, where are people going to park? Where are they going to walk across the construction?

Right.

And everything like that. And so we just decided to not do it. So it kind of gave me an opportunity to be like, well, I'll try and get involved. Let's get the Modern name, you know, as much as we can, all over.

So, you know, I did the brunches for Dragfort. And then I did Street Eats last year with Dave—and then obviously again this year. And this year, though, we did Camp Modern again, and I said, you know what? I'm still going to do Street Eats. And the brunches for Beerfort or Alefort—And I think I accumulated, like, ten passes by all the stuff I was doing. And it was kind of like Pokémon. I was like, I don't know why I'm trying to catch all these. I had too many that, like, I couldn't give them away.

And I was like, I'm not going to try and charge people for them. Like, just, you know, here—give it to a friend. But it was—it almost was too much with that. And then we also did a brunch at Hap Hap—you know, this year. And it just—it is a lot of fun.

I think my next growth spurt is going to be saying no. We all have to do it at some point. Like—
And that's a— No. And that's what's interesting for me when that happens is usually I'll start saying no. And then I'll have to go backwards to the things I'm currently doing that I also need to say, I gotta stop doing these things too.

Will you—just for our listeners who are not aware of Camp Modern—will you describe that, just so people—Oh, it's so fun. You know, we take the Modern, we empty out the parking lot. We put a stage at the end. And it's kind of, you know, somewhat Basque-themed because the Tullis’s are very, very, very much Basque. You know, the Modern itself was an old Basque boarding house. In Nampa, so i believe—I believe—sorry, Elizabeth may say this wrong.

It's a third-generation hotel. Yeah. And with her and her brother Robert. And, you know, they're very—you know, they used to own Chacaltaya on 14th and—so we do Basque sandwiches, and then I'll usually do, like, a Basque-inspired soup. And we used to do the Burning Lamb, but that was kind of back— That was before me, and back when, you know, Dan Ansotegui wasn’t doing his own thing. And they helped out a lot. And then, by the time I got there, it was kind of funny. I think somebody sabotaged the spit barbecue grill because we found some pieces to it, and then it was like the pieces that were missing were just like—you couldn't—It was so old. We would have to get a new one. At the time, it was like, you know, we don't really have the money for that. So, you know, the way we do it now—we don't do the Burning Lamb anymore, stuff like that, which could be fun to get back to at some point. But we kind of turn the Modern into a campground, you know, with the red-and-white checkered tablecloths.

And we put lanterns out. And staff—we all have, like—they have scout or camp host uniforms. And we have, like, signs out— You know, the indoor bar, we don't have people coming in order. They just order at a stand. And we have signs out that say, like, don't feed the bear-tenders.

And so, you know, everyone— It's a lot of fun. It's a lot of work. But it's tons of fun. It's kind of a little party. And, you know, that's the beauty of the Modern and why I try to get out of the kitchen and do other things, because it's so valuable to get your staff out of a routine every now and then. 

And, you know, like, currently we're doing a garden series dinner with Molly Mahoney—she's the Garlic Goddess, Molly Mills of Garlic Goddess Spices—

And then Matt from Waterwheel. And so the first one we did was in June at the Modern. And then the second one was beginning of August—actually, the first one was in July. Second one was beginning of August at Molly's house in Garden City. And then our third one, final one, is on the 30th out at Waterwheel Gardens in Emmett.

And we haven't even posted the menu yet, and we already sold over 60 tickets. Wow. You know, we were kind of joking about it. We were like, we could just do a hamburger. We're not. Yeah. But, yeah—no. But it is—it's like, you can kind of sit there and go—you kind of reward some staff that are really taken by it and say, you know, hey, why don't you come work this event with us, you know, get you out of the kitchen and kind of see you in a different experience.

And, you know, it's so fun to do those six-course dinners where you're kind of having fun and joking around. And, you know, it's all in the preparation. You know, that's my whole goal of—let's have everything done. So we just drive there, unload, organize, and then we just do it. And so it's a lot of fun.

It's really good for some of the younger staff to see it happen. And then every single one, I think I learn something new from it too. Gosh. So great. Well, speaking of great things, we want to take a moment to notice our sponsors and thank them. So this episode is brought to you by Zamzows, your local source for garden, pet, and planet-friendly products. At Zamzows, we believe that great things grow from local roots, whether that's a backyard harvest or a thriving food scene. Visit zamzows.com or stop by one of our 12 Treasure Valley locations. Nobody knows like Zamzows..
This is kind of like our rapid fire portion. It's kind of sharing is caring. So we'd like to hear about things that you're loving lately.

That's basically what we're going to get to hear. Are you ready for this? Let's do it.
All right. Cool. So, what is a seasonal ingredient that you're excited about using right now? Oh, tomatoes and watermelon. Oh, watermelon. Just got watermelon, and we're going to do a new watermelon salad. And then definitely—I mean tomatoes, it's like my favorite time of the year.

I wish I could just get them all and, like, can ’em and have the space, because that's one of the issues with the Modern—we have no space. Yeah. But if I could just, like, capture that so we can use it in the winter, that'd be so nice. Good. But—Yeah, no. Definitely that. And, you know, we've been going through a lot of lamb from Purple Sage, which has been a lot of fun. Our lamb dish right now is a lot of fun with some peas from Dan at Dry Creek. And—My mouth is watering. It literally is watering right now. I was just saying that. So just really quickly about watermelon. That's another one that people are like, I don't like watermelon. But if you taste a fresh local—it's a totally different beast. 

It's so good. Oh, man. And you really can only get it, like—Yeah. Right now. Okay, how about a local producer or a farm that you'd like to give a shout-out to?

Well, I got a few. Bruce Ranch Beef we just used on our last dinner, and they were amazing. And the brisket we used was amazing. The dish was really, really, really good. Came out awesome. And I think they—I want to say—they should have a website. I'm not sure. But I know they have an Instagram that you can get all their information from. But it's Bruce Ranch Beef—CSAs.

I think they mainly just do CSAs. They're just kind of getting into selling to restaurants. And so it was really nice to create a relationship with them recently. And then obviously Matt and his family out at Waterwheel Gardens. And, you know, Molly’s Garlic—I gotta shout that. She'd kill me.

The Garlic Goddess. Love it at your local market. And then, you know, Dan at Dry Creek is amazing as well. And, you know, we do a lot with them. And— Yeah, I'm trying to think of who else. Obviously, Marcus at Real Foods. You know, I get all my seafood from him.

I don't go through any bigger company. It's so easy to have a relationship with him. And then I get a lot of produce from this little fruit stand farm down in Twin. It's technically Buhl, the address, but it's, like, kind of on your way to or from Twin.

It's Countryside Market, and it's Doug and his family. It's just him, his wife, and his daughters. And I literally gone out there, and he's got his tractor rigged up with two bucket seats down below, and his daughters sit in it, and they just plant seeds as they go. And it's, you know, his little plot of land—

I mean, it's not very big, but he does melons. He does everything— tomatoes. Melons. So many things that are just really, really, really cool. And we kind of got that relationship when I was working up at Redfish. You know, that's when we—you know, this whole, like, local—and, you know, restaurants that are not really doing it—

I just don't get it because my old sous chef, TJ, who's still working at Redfish—he's the one that was like, you know, he came from Portland. It's like, oh, let's go to the markets and let's meet everybody. And then we just figured out this whole system of, like, we can piggyback, you know— Little Cow Mountain Farm chicken.

Yeah. Deb and Kyle, for sure. Gotta shout them out there. Amazing. And, you know, it's like, we met Deb and Kyle from Redfish, and they're like, you know, we're kind of small. We're not producing a lot of chickens. I think by the end of the summer, we bought like 900 to 1000 chickens—probably more now that I'm thinking about it.

And I think they did not even see us coming. But it was like, you know, we were so happy to boost their business. Oh yeah. They're the nicest people. Oh, they're so nice. They're—So—Yeah. Yeah, I know them from a different—obviously I'm not a food person, but I know them from a different way. And some of the coolest people. And they have a really cool story too.

Yeah. There— And her water paintings—she's—Yeah. She's amazing. Yeah.Yeah, yeah.
Gosh, that's so great. Great, great answer. You're a relationship guy. Yeah. I'm really glad to know you. This is awesome. Okay, one more question for you. A cookbook or a chef or a restaurant that has influenced your style. Cookbook—

Jeremy Fox. He's the chef of Rustic Canyon in Santa Monica. His— One cookbook that was really just transformative for me was On Vegetables. And he just released On Meats, which I haven't gotten yet, but I'm going to get it. But, you know, his cooking style is just really, really cool.

It's really thoughtful. Zero waste. You know, he has an idea for everything. And then, you know, also—let's see. I think, when I was young, the Momofuku cookbook—it was like the first cookbook that had, like, a story. Yeah. And, like, how David Chang opened the restaurant. And it was so interesting and stuff like that. And, you know, becoming older and then getting to know Edward Higgins, Chef Higgins from The Lively, and then learning that, you know, in the foreword of Momofuku, when he's talking about all the chefs he worked with at Craft—

Ed Higgins is Chef Higgins from that—who helped open The Lively. And, you know, getting to know that whole story. And it's like, you know, full circle and really cool. And then obviously, you know, Chef Phil and Jered Couch and, you know, those guys in my life really, really kind of created my demeanor.

Yeah. Whether it was good or bad. This is off-script. You have a book in you. Do you know this? You have a book. I would totally read it. I hope that that's, you know, maybe another chapter. My wife is a writer, so—All right. She's actually finishing her first book right now, so—Oh, that's awesome. And she—honestly, she'd laugh. I'll be like, I don't know what to do. I'm trying to, like, really think of this. So I'll just, like, throw an idea out there and I'll just—in my head—immediately be like, no, I don't want to do that.

I'll do it. And then, like, a week later, it's like, hey, we should do this. And then I go, it's my wife's idea. Yeah. Like—She's like—She's like, I don't know how to do it. I'm just, like, thrown—That's a great yin-yang right there. That's—Yeah, that's pretty much the best. All right, well, we've come to the part of the show.

This is a question that we ask every guest as we come to a close here. So what we'd like to know is, what is one thing that nobody knows about you or about work or something in your life? What is something that nobody knows? 

I think I've told everything already. I was going to use that I was born in Yuma. My dad was a chef. But, you know, I'm kind of an open book. Yeah. I love this conversation because of that. You know, I really—at the end of the day, I want people to know, you know, what they're getting into, especially, you know, if they're one of my employees. You know, I try not to—you know— Honesty— You know, I've been using these three words lately.

Grace, patience, and humility. And that's having grace for everyone around you and yourself. Having patience for everyone around you and yourself. And humility to know we all don't know everything. You know, we all have something to learn, whether you're, you know, the leader or you're the dishwasher. And, you know, a lot of times the leader learns from the dishwasher.

Yeah, absolutely. You know, and honesty comes from all that. And that's where, you know—backing up—it's like, don't be afraid to say when you messed up because then we can fix it and then we can learn from it, and then we can move on. And we don't have to go back to it.

We get a lot of questions about fixing. And speaking of which, right now, people are asking us how they fix their crabgrass in their lawn. So here's your tip of the week to deal with your crabgrass this fall. You don't have to do anything at all. The nice thing about crabgrass is that it's an annual, and it's going to die here in the next few weeks. So if you just have a little patience, let it be. How Zamzows can help you is if you join our text reminders in the spring, we will text you when those seeds are getting ready to germinate, and we will tell you exactly what you need to apply and when to apply it, so that you can avoid the crabgrass next year.

So to join the text reminders, you're going to send the words “Join all”—and there's a space between those two words—to (208) 586-3459. And Zamzows will send you a reminder, and you won't have this problem next year. Nobody knows like Zamzows. I didn't know going into this interview what I was— If I haven't met you before today and I—You are extraordinary. And I think what makes you most extraordinary for all the things you've been doing is that you're just a normal guy, which is really cool, or—you're not haughty. You have lots of reasons to be. You've done some amazing things here. You're doing cool things. You're on the cutting edge. I think cool people hang around you.

So I think, you know, you have every reason to be the guy who's, you know, a cool guy who, you know, doesn't have time to come on Callie’s podcast. But you're really—Yeah. You're just a normal guy. It's funny. I really, you know, get—you know, it's like when Chef Higgins is like, I only come and eat at your restaurant, you know, type thing. And then he sits at the bar and he wants to chat and things like that.

And it's like, this guy's got so much going on. Like, I can't believe he's here. Or, you know, I run into Kris Kamori  and, you know, we just start talking. And pretty soon we're an hour in. And it's like—you know, it's just like those are the types of things where I'm like, you know— When a guest in the dining room says, you know, this is amazing. Oh, are you the chef? I always like to say, I mainly wash dishes. But, you know, any good feedback—I always say I've got a really good team and immediately go straight to the kitchen to tell them, you know, hey, you guys are crushing it because, you know, as much as I—I'm there and I spend a lot of time there, you know, I really am just opening the door for them and hoping that, you know, their opportunity gets to the point where they can go.

And hopefully, you know, I'm teaching them that, you don't have to be the “Oh I did that” type mentality. Because it doesn't matter at the end of the day, because I couldn't do it without them.
Right. Like, I would close the doors. And, you know, you really have— You carried your roots forward with everything.

You're not a guy who has said, oh, well, that's the past. That was an old me. You've carried— It's all—like, you've just built upon yourself all these years and just remained super authentic.

Yeah. I mean, my whole family is kind of in it. You know, my sister Jennifer, who's the best one of us—Sorry, Marvin, John, David, and Sarah. But you guys all say it too. And she's just the sweetest human in the world. But she cooks up at Redfish. She does catering, and she runs the employee food program up there at night. And worked with me when I was up there. And then my sister Sarah owns a couple bars in Seattle.

She's got— I'm going to say this—she's probably top five bartender in Seattle. I mean, she's so talented. She actually came and helped us redo the bar at the Modern and train and everything. And she's— You think I'm an open book? You should get her on the podcast. You know what I want?

I want to come to Christmas dinner. Yeah. With  your family. Yeah. That's what I want.
And then my brother Marvin owns a Detroit-style pizza pizzeria in Reno called Our Town. And, you know, he's crushing it and doing really, really good. And so—so cool. It's all—it's all my family.

It is. Yeah. Like—Yeah. You are—you and your family are to making food as the Sam’s Own family is to growing it. Yeah, we probably couldn't all work together in the same room. Yeah. You know, there would probably be a lot of lines drawn. Like, a lot of—That's exactly what happens—lines.

Like, you don't cross that. Exactly. You know, this is my— Like in the car seat when you're on a vacation, like, you can't cross this or you'll light on fire—was what we used to tell my brother and I—tell each other. You cross over, your hand will light on fire. It never happened, but—
Well, Kelly, thank you for being here. This has been a lovely conversation.

Thanks for having me.Oh my gosh, just wonderful. If you've enjoyed today's conversation, make sure to follow the podcast. And please, please, please leave a review. I would love it if you would. And next time you're planning a night out or a weekend staycation, go visit the Modern Hotel and Bar. Then next week, we've got another Boise story on the menu—one you won't want to miss. But until then, thanks for listening.