wow! for my birthday, stephanie made a cream puff cake from scratch!
with a little amaretto in the cream!
it was so delicious!
thanks daphne!
(photo credit tara; editing me)
cream puff cake
3 Replies
Category Archives: friends
interview with joe
I knew who Joe was before I met him. He’s a bit of a local celebrity who dresses particularly and is known for his restaurants. But I knew him as the only person in my area who owned a Vespa. And I had just bought one. So about three years ago, I introduced myself, asked if I could go along on any group rides he was planning, and somehow found myself helping to open the future Liberty Market. But be careful! Once you are Joe’s friend, you must succumb to all kinds of crazy adventures-many of them involving blind taste tests of food. And believe me, this guy will wear you out! He’s made me visit more than five espresso joints in a day.
You can find many interviews with Joe and his journey of starting the Coffee Plantation, Joe’s Real BBQ, or the housing development complete with childhood-home-turned-restaurant Joe’s Farm Grill, but I would like to illuminate the more personal side of Joe. Because I dare to ask the questions!
JM: Please tell us a little about yourself.
JJ: That is an open question, so I’ll answer it a bunch of different ways.
I am happily married (to the lovely, talented, power-house: Cindy), have two married sons, and live in Gilbert.
I am chubby, moderate in build, wear a hat, have a titanium rod in my leg, blood pressure within the normal range.
I am self-deluded in thinking I can eat anything and not gain weight, that I am 30, that I am not dying, and certainly much more that I am oblivious to.
I am a visionary. I don’t mean that in a proud way any more than if I was to say that I am an artisan, a craftsman, or a farmer. The primary gift that God has given me is in the realm of ideas and how to advance them to become reality.
JM: I love the story of how you and Cindy met, would you mind sharing the tale?
JJ: At the time, I was an engineer and happily single, living in an apartment. I don’t mind being alone and don’t get bored easily, so I enjoyed working on cars and general tinkering. My mother was quite concerned that I would never get married. For one thing, she identified me as a nerd with fashion problems that might make me un-datable. To work on my fashion problem, she sent me to “Sincerely, Sandra”, a modeling and personal improvement shop at Dobson and Elliot. The basic idea was that the owner, Sandra, would color drape me and then teach me how to shop for clothes. Sandra is a vivacious lady of Lebanese ancestry. Through the process of figuring out that I was a “spring” and taking me shopping at Marshall’s, she decided I was a normal person, so she asked me if I would like to meet her sister. She hooked me up with her little sister, Cindy, who was living with Sandra and her husband at the time. It took me a while to get around to a first date. When we met, I thought she was beautiful … we got along fine. For many months we went out, just as friends and then we fell in love. That’s the best way.
JM: You have a distinct fashion style. Tell us how you created it and what your inspirations are.
JJ: My awareness of fashion started in the same way I met Cindy (see above). Since then, I have become more interested in fashion and have developed certain philosophies regarding dress:
1. Be comfortable with who you are and where you live.
I am a bit chubby (but cuddly), have a short inseam, a bald head, and ordinary looks (which I think of as a blessing). Doesn’t sound like a promising physique for fashion, but I have come to accept my situation and be happy about it. I also live in a warm state. Given these factors, I try to dress in ways that make sense. Being bald has opened up the world of hats, an area where people with hair seem timid to explore (except with the baseball cap [yuck!]). It protects from the sun and has many more options than hair. Being chubby, tight fitting clothes are a big no-no. Guayabera shirts are a favorite. They are loose fitting, a traditional shirt in warm climates, and come in great colors. I do not wear jeans. They emphasize the wrong part of my body. T-shirts: only at the gym.
2. Don’t go with the trends.
I used to wear classic Hawaiian shirts for the same reason as a Guayabera. Then they became popular and started showing up at Costco and all sorts of unstylish people started wearing them in horrible ways. I stopped wearing them. Hats have become popular again (I’ve been wearing them for 25 years), but most people buy cheap ones from China at Target, so it really hasn’t diluted quality hat wearing and I am not planning on abandoning hats. I avoid trends like “Affliction” shirts, Ed Hardy, and all of that stuff. I prefer classic, timeless pieces that go together well and last.
3. Buy quality.
I don’t buy poorly made stuff. It won’t last and it won’t feel good. That doesn’t mean it has to be expensive. Just be picky about quality, inspect your goods carefully, and then try to get the best price. For instance, my go-to fedoras are US made and are fashioned from wheat straw. They are very well made and cost about $35. Yes, that’s more than a Chinese “felt” fedora, but not that much more. It fits and lasts, plus you’re helping US workers. Some things are just plain expensive, but worth it. My LV “murse” is a great accessory that I use daily. It is SO well made and perfectly designed. It will last forever instead of some bad fitting, cheap mini-messenger bag. There’s some truth in the phrase “you get what you pay for”.
JM: Would you please share some Joe “before” pictures?
JJ:
JM: Would you like to share an internet link?
JJ:
Best food related periodical: http://www.artofeating.com/
Best antidote to Rachel Ray: http://bitchinlifestyle.tv/
Thanks again Joe for participating in my interview series! Please feel free to ask all your burning questions of Joe in the comments below!
And you can follow him on twitter (@realjoe)-although rumor is he might take a hiatus for a month in February!
interview with emily
I met Emily when I met her parents Jim and Joy. She’s the younger sister of Hannah, and she has two more younger sisters as well. Emily is a firecracker. She’s tough yet full of passion. She isn’t afraid to tell you what she’s thinking and I know this girl is going places. I enjoyed our interview, and I encourage you to share your thoughts or ask her questions in the comments below.
JM: Please tell us a little about yourself.
ES: i am almost sixteen (finally!) and i am a sophomore at a high school i love. i moved to this school from a dinky little charter school in Gilbert. the academic portion of the school was not up to par (and some of the kids weren’t that great either). i like to read and i do it constantly. writing is one of my favorite past times and i like to think I’m really good at it. i like school not just because of the friends I’ve made but because of my really cool teachers and just the feeling of being a part of a big school. i am in the ASL (American sign language) club and i am trying to find ways to become more involved in my school. i have a dog who is my pride and joy. she is such a character and i love her so very much. i like to sing and music is very important to me. i use it as an escape from my surroundings. walks are my favorite medicine and i take one whenever i can. I’ve been told that i always look upset and angry but I’m actually a quite serious person. i think a lot about everything. i am a very loud and opinionated person and i have no problem telling people what i feel. i am always there for my friends and i am (a lot of the time) the person they come to for help. i like being there and comforting them, and helping them through whatever problems i can. i may not seem like it sometimes, but i am a very compassionate person.
JM: Why did you choose to be in the ASL club?
ES: i’ve always been interested in learning a new language and i have yet to come upon one that is really interesting to me. i like the idea of knowing someone who can speak the same language as me but in a different way, like sign language. so i’ve begun with the group and next year i can take the actual class.
JM: This is the middle of your first year at a new high school. But you didn’t go to one of the feeder junior highs, you decided to leave a small charter school. Tell us about how and why you made that decision, and how has it panned out?
ES: my mom and i had been talking about me going to mountain view for a long time. it’s close to home and its where my mom used to go so she was a little biased. after my last year of junior high at a charter school in gilbert we decided that i would not be going back; mainly because the academics were not up to par. after a lot of struggling (on mostly my part) we decided mtn view would be the best place for me. it has worked out better than i expected. i fit in well and i have lots of friends. i enjoy doing all of the true high school things like joining clubs and going to football games. it’s a perfect fit.
(photo credit: Hannah Schroeder)
JM: You have a good relationship with your parents. What advice would you give to other kid’s parents if they wanted to have a good relationship with their kids?
ES: the reason i get along so well with my parents is because my parents are very open and that helps me to be open with them. they are very understanding and helpful and they do their best to not bring me down or get mad at me for my mistakes. they do their best to help me up, dust me off, and prepare me for the next big crisis (as a teenage girl i have a lot of those). parents just need to remember that every kid is different. they can’t hold their children back from who they want to be. and they can’t be condescending. children need help sometimes but parents can’t hold their hand throughout their whole lives. let go and let the child live and screw up. if parents hold on too tight their relationship with their children will become complicated and strained and that’s not good for anyone.
JM: You’ve been involved with some social activism in the last couple of years. Could you name a group that you are involved with and why you believe in the cause?
ES: i have been involved in some social activism. invisible children and laundry love are two of the organizations i have been involved with the most. laundry love is an organization my parents came upon that helps those who cannot pay for their laundry. my family, along with some other family friends, go to a local laundromat once a month and pay for people’s laundry. i have gone to a few protests and i always enjoy standing up for what i think is right. sticking up for the underdog is a priority of mine and when i feel like someone is being treated unfairly i will confront the situation head on. like when the person in charge of a peaceful protest is yelling at a pastor who made comments about our president and gay people. yes that has happened before. 🙂 people are people and we all need to be treated like what we are, human.
JM: What is Laundry Love?
ES: laundry love is an organization that my parents found out about from one of their friends. we go to a laundromat the first friday of every month and we pay for people’s laundry, whoever shows up. it’s been lots of fun and the people i’ve met are really nice and happy to share their stories.
JM: what do you think of those television shows about teen mothers and fathers?
ES: i find that the shows about teen parents are not trying to over glamorize the idea of becoming pregnant at a young age, like most of our society today. while giving them their own tv show and paying them may give others the idea to get pregnant and on tv is a bad idea, they don’t try to show that it’s a good thing. the tv shows show how complicated life will really be for everyone in the family. so yes i like them, but people may not have the best of intentions when trying to get on the show.
JM: Do you have an internet link you’d like to share?
ES: the only link i would like to share is for to write love on her arms. this organization is very important to me and has helped me a lot throughout the last 2 or 3 years. i want people to learn more about it and realize what they do and how they are helping people.
to write love on her arms is a non profit organization that helps teens and adults with addiction, depression, and different forms of self mutilation. they have people you can email and talk to and if you go on their website you can share your story. the staff even travel and speak at different cities around the nation. their purpose is to create a community of people who can all talk and share stories and just be there for each other. sometimes sharing your story and admitting you have a problem is the hardest and most helpful part of the journey.
(photo credit: Hannah Schroeder)
interview with kiersten
I first met Kiersten over two years ago when I started working at Liberty Market. She has more energy than most people reminding me of a hummingbird. She constantly injects puns into her speech, and she forgets to eat often. You had better be ready to eat big though if you ever go to a restaurant with her and her husband because they will order EVERYTHING on the menu. They want to try it all!
(photo credit Jen of kreatid photography)
JM: Tell us a little about yourself.
KT: I grew up in Bozeman, Montana….the oldest of 4 kids. My Dad is a potter, and he and my Mom have owned and operated Mountain Arts Pottery since I was a kid. I grew up in a family where my parents were (and still are) very supportive and encouraging. Christianity was the foundation of all we did but we all knew our faith had to be ours…not just because Dad and Mom said so.
I did pretty well as a track athlete in high school and decided to attend the University of Nebraska-Lincoln to run. I wasn’t very good at the check sheets in college and as such, ended up taking so many classes I have a Double Major in Elementary Education and Special Education as well as a minor in Deaf Education and a Master’s in Special Education/Learning Disabilities – and now I own a restaurant….go figure!
I moved to Arizona to work at ASU and met my husband at a dinner he was cooking for. Long story short…we got married and work together as co-owners of Liberty Market in Gilbert.
JM: How did you get involved with Special and Deaf Education?
KT: My younger sister, Becky, who is, as she likes to point out, exactly four years and eleven months younger than I am, was diagnosed with a learning disability soon after she was born. Referred to as Global Retardation, her disability affects each aspect of her life in different ways. Becky has a difficult time with her fine motor skills including printing and tying her shoes but reads at a college level.
She didn’t talk for the first three years of her life, and I remember with absolute distinction when she said her very first words….”Indian hat”. We were traveling to an art show and had stopped somewhere to fill up for gas. They must have had one of those plastic Indian hats with fake red, green and blue feathers sticking out of the top and when she pointed at it and said, “Indian hat”, my parents purchased it in absolute shock. Since then, I don’t think she’s stopped talking!!! 🙂
She has a job at Fuddruckers making the guacamole and helping in the kitchen and has told David more than once that he needs to learn the recipe she has memorized. Her memory is one that baffles all of our family. She has always corrected us when we would say something like, “Remember when we went to visit Grandma in 1985?” by saying, “It wasn’t 1985, it was 1984, and it was a Tuesday.” We would laugh it off until we started checking her dates and she was correct. She has more Civil War knowledge than the guides she used to drive with when visiting Gettysburg and her bible study teacher has stopped checking facts when Becky brings something up from the bible, because she’s always right.
The deaf education part of my life came into being as a result of my cousin Courtney’s deafness. I loved sign language and started learning it to communicate with her when she would visit in the summer. I would practice with my brothers on Sundays after church when my grandparents would take us out to lunch. We had no ipod, itouch, ipad, phone….etc. and would have to self-entertain. Practicing the alphabet forwards and backwards was ingrained in my head and in college I quickly learned I could forego the foreign language component by taking sign language!
It sat dormant in my mind between college and the opening of Liberty Market when we hired two employees who are deaf. Having a glassed-in kitchen is the greatest thing because I can communicate across the restaurant and into the kitchen! It does confuse guests, however, when I ask them if everything is alright or explain something to them and realize I haven’t said anything!!!
JM: You grew up in Montana. What’s it like? Do you see yourself moving back there?
KT: You hear a lot about people from small towns itching to leave never to return, but I never felt that. God has allowed some amazing opportunities to insert themselves into my life that have moved me to the next chapter in my life but never because I didn’t like the one I had just finished.
Bozeman is located in a valley surrounded by five mountain ranges and is amazingly beautiful. It’s cold and snows for half the year but there are three ski hills within thirty minutes of my house, the sledding hill is literally over the creek, through the park and across the street. I spent a lot of my summers in the Gallatin National Forest at our cabin. The back door opens up to the forest and the running water is connected to an underground spring so if you want it any warmer than ice cold, you have to heat it up on the stove.
It’s definitely a different world than Arizona. More REI-ish and less Fashion Square-ish. The magnitude of open space and sky is such a difference in comparison to Phoenix. It SMELLS….not bad….it just has a smell. When you get off the plane and walk out onto the tarmac (it’s a pretty little airport) it smells clean and clear, brisk and like pine. It’s one of the best parts of the whole area!!!
Will I ever move back….probably not permanently. David and I have this small little thing going on here that takes up a lot of our time – Liberty Market – however, we’d love to get to a place where we could spend time there over the summers. I’m not sure what that looks like but I can guarantee you that summer in Montana is significantly more enjoyable than summer in Phoenix!!!
JM: You trained a work dog once-what was that like?
KT: We raised a service dog through an organization here in Phoenix, and it was amazing. Johnny was a Golden Retriever that we trained as a “hearing dog” to work with an individual who was deaf. I only recommend doing this if you have TONS of time. We were in the process of opening Liberty Market and I had no set location at which I needed to work, so I was able to take him everywhere with me. As a result, he became extremely social which made him a better trained service dog.
The day David and I turned him in, we went and watched the tail end of the Iron Man Triathlon because we figured they were the only people more miserable than we were! If we ever do it again, I think we’ll do a dog with hospice. Even though we knew giving him up was in both ours and his best interest (we spent the first month of the restaurant opening working eighteen hours a day without a day off), it was the most ridiculously hard thing I’ve ever done!!!
JM: Your family is full of creativity-your dad and you knit, your parents have a ceramics studio and bakery, your brother is a photographer (what else am I missing?)-was creativity something your parents fostered?
KT: My brother Tim is amazingly musically inclined, and my sister Becky who has a learning disability has moved socialization with people to a whole new level!
My parents made us take piano lessons from Kindergarten through our senior year in High School and I say “made” because I am not gifted in that realm in any way! 🙂 Other than that, they just encouraged and loved us. More and more, I see that the family I thought “normal” growing up was and is anything but normal. My parents are together, they love us, they support us, they let us be us.
I hesitate to express how amazing it is to have a shelter to come back to during good and bad because there is no way to give it the credit it deserves without sounding goofy! When you see kids (and I see a lot of them in the restaurant, at church, in stores) you can tell those kids who don’t have to worry about the love of their family – whatever that family looks like. They are secure in the fact that they are loved and accepted. That was the world I grew up in. It wasn’t perfect…I can list my fair share of fights!!….but it was safe.
So….back to your question, did they foster creativity….not so much as they fostered us and creativity came out of that!
JM: Give us a list of some of your favorite restaurants and why you love them.
KT:
1 – El Pollo Supremo – Beef or Chicken? Flour or Corn? Those are your only options…great, inexpensive Mexican!
2 – Pizzeria Bianco – It’s our favorite because it affords us, as a couple, of at least 3 hours of uninterrupted “us” time. But….we always eat something first!
3 – Matt’s Big Breakfast – I hope my trainer doesn’t read this but I get the Hog + Chick with the ham steak, eggs scrambled on the side (and I give them to David) sourdough toast, hash browns and a waffle with bacon….but…I then don’t eat for the rest of the day. Mainly, because I can’t move.
4 – Houston’s/Chelsea’s Kitchen – in the vein of a little more costly, either of these two. Houston’s is the best chain/non-chain. They do a great job with everything and the service is impeccable! Chelsea’s Kitchen has the best Rib-eye Tacos I’ve ever had but I have a hard time justifying the price if I don’t split them!
5 – Café Wasabi – A little Japanese place on Southern and McClintock. It’s a nice place to get sushi at a reasonable price. You can get a salad and ten piece California Roll for $7 or $8.
JM: Is there an internet link you’d like to share?
KT: As a plug for how really great my parent’s pottery is….www.mtartspottery.com
I really recommend looking at the history behind the Blessing Jar!
interview with hannah
I met Hannah because she is the teenage daughter of my friends Joy and Jim. Hannah has become a friend of mine. She is smart and beautiful, and I can’t even begin to tell you what a creative and gentle soul she is. I have faith in the future because of her.
JM: Please tell us a little about yourself.
HS: I am currently a junior at Gilbert Classical Academy, a college prep school. And when they say college prep, they mean it. I can definitely say that the amount of work that is given to college students does not faze me at all, it is the idea of the adult-like maturity and responsibilities that I will need to quickly adapt to while living by myself that is scary. As you can tell, college has probably been the number one thing on my mind recently. (Or at least somewhere in the top five). I do not intend to go to school in state after I graduate. No, it is not that I have a problem with the local schools, in fact, they’re actually not bad. I have lived in Arizona my whole life and I almost feel that if I don’t leave when I have the chance, I will be stuck. And plus, I want some seasons other than summer. For college, I want to either go into the field of education or global public health…anything that has to do with helping kids. I love kids. After I get my BA or BS (whichever it happens to be…still in the process of deciding if I want to take a more artsy or medical route), I plan to join the Peace Corps. From there I think I will decide if I would rather get my Masters and continue on in my field on my own or stay with the Peace Corps. And somewhere in there, there will be a marriage and babies but that’s not necessarily something that can be planned.
That’s academic/goals side of me. I also enjoy music; listening and playing. I have been playing the cello for seven, going on eight years now, took bass guitar lessons for a couple years because it’s similar to the cello, I am a self-taught, amateur guitarist (don’t expect me to be a prodigy – I’m not), and recently I’ve had a fascination with trying to learn piano. The only instrument that I can read music for is the cello. All of my musical endeavors were started due to a sort of domino effect – the cello triggered the bass, the bass led to the guitar, the guitar led me to the piano. And none of it would have happened without my mom. When I was going into fourth grade, my mom told me that she had always loved cello music; loved the way the cello sounded. She wanted to play it when she was younger, but her teacher was mean, so she quit. And that was it for me. That year I joined the orchestra. And my very first year, I hated it. At first, I couldn’t understand how to read the music and I had to learn all my songs by ear, which really frustrated me. Of course, my mom wouldn’t let me quit. And thank God for that, because I would have quit in a heartbeat. It seemed unfair then, but I look back now and realize what a pivotal point that was for me. If it hadn’t been for my mom, I would never have thought to play a musical instrument. Ever.
So…there’s a little peek into the inner-workings of Hannah.
JM: You are a creative person. Since I’ve known you, you’ve explored music, painting, and photography. What does art mean to you?
HS: For me, art is a catharsis. It is expressing the elements about yourself that cannot be communicated through words. It’s my stress reliever; my hobby; It’s in my genes. It’s always on my mind. I view my world as a photograph – I am always trying to see the image in front of me as I would through my lens. I want to see the objects in front of me as the finished product in my head before I even pull the camera towards my eyes or put the pencil to paper.
Art is life. It is in everything everyone does all the time. Everyone does things in a different way…to me, that’s art. To take something – an essay topic, a room, a pair of shoes, a piece of paper, a website, a sandwich – and put a little bit of yourself into it is art. People are beautiful, and to take an object and make it show the elements of your unique beauty can only be defined as art. Art’s in everything and everyone. It is everything and everyone.
JM: You are a social activist. What drives you to care about others when so many teens are driven by popularity and the “mean girl” culture?
HS: For me, it’s difficult to understand why anyone would be motivated by the “mean girl” culture. It might be genetics; my parents are caring people. It could just be the way they were brought up, and likewise the way I was brought up. My parents always told me 1. to treat others the way I would like to be treated, 2. to put others first, and 3. would you like it if I did that to you? Of course, this all stemmed out of the “conservative Christian” way of life that they had at the time, but the lessons are still valuable and important to me. So naturally, I grew up asking myself if I would appreciate it if so-and-so was mean to me, and acting on those thoughts versus whether or not what I was about to do would make me happy. I can really appreciate the example my parents set for me when the church wasn’t able to. Some of it is just being willing to acknowledge my own hypocrisy and that of others, and trying to deal with it instead of turning a blind eye. It’s amazing to me how a church Sunday-school can teach children songs about wanting to be sheep (followers of Jesus) versus Pharisees, yet turn out the biggest batch of Pharisees I have ever seen in my life. It’s amazing how people can claim to follow Jesus – the guy who hung out with hookers, tax collectors, thieves, murderers and the like – yet so strongly oppose those very people – the out-casts, the different ones – that he had an explicit love for.
But back to teens…I’ll be honest, teenagers are selfish. Possibly the MOST selfish people on the face of the earth. American teens, that is. Or teens from any other country as privileged as America. And we’ll try to deny it, but it’s so obvious that the only person on our minds is ourselves. We’ve never had to work for anything, thus automatically assuming we deserve everything, and never appreciating that which we do have. And I think this goes for a lot of adults too. To me…something seems amiss with this whole mentality.
Some people see activism as a negative thing, which is something that I all together do not understand. How can the desire to help people be bad? I may be a “bleeding heart”, but at least I have a heart to bleed from. I don’t know…sometimes it seems that it should be common sense and common decency to treat others the way we want to be treated, to put ourselves in someone else’s shoes, to care about people. I know for a fact that if I was a little girl in Africa who had contracted HIV and I knew there was someone out there rich enough to pay for my vaccination, I would want them to do so. I think we all need to go back to Kindergarten when we were taught to share with others, to be kind, to use our inside voices (notice how many people that get air-time are extremists?), to treat others with respect, and to be kind. Obviously, we didn’t get it the first time.
JM: can you attach a drawing or a photo that you’ve created?
HS: Sure can!
JM: Would you like to share an internet link with us?
HS: How about…5 million links? Just kidding, I don’t have THAT many, but I will have to narrow it down quite a bit…how about my top five?
http://www.invisiblechildren.com/about
http://www.endhumantrafficking.org/about
http://www.worldvision.org/content.nsf/about/aboutus-home
http://www.toms.com/our-movement/
Funny story about the first link. I was just perusing photo bucket, looking for pictures of Africa for a school project/presentation type thing when I came across a picture that said children are born with these arms (picture of arms) not these (picture of guns). This really piqued my interest, so I typed in the web address that was in the corner (invisiblechildren.com) and read all about it…it’s incredible, really. As an American, it’s so hard to imagine that people live like that…anyways. You just have to check it out. Educate yourselves…the websites for those organizations are EXPONENTIALLY cooler than Facebook can ever dream to be.
I want to thank Hannah for taking the time to answer my questions and be so open and honest. Please feel free to ask her any questions in the comments below.
interview: travis
Travis is someone that I’ve worked with at Liberty Market for quite awhile although we didn’t really become friends until I started expediting, and he began working the sandwich station. We bonded over the similarities of labor in Starbucks and In-N-Out Burger; only to discover we have the same immature, name-calling, “that’s what she said” sense of humor. Keep your eye on this one because he’s going to run a sweet restaurant someday soon.
JM: Tell us a little about yourself.
TT: I’ve just completed my third year at Arizona State University. My degree will be in Design Management and a minor in Urban Planning. I had always wanted to be an architect since I was in eighth grade. I took that passion through high school and completed drafting and design courses to prep myself for architecture in college. I went through my first year at ASU as an architecture student, and I dreaded it. It was no what I had anticipated; however, I still loved design. I quickly switched my major to Design Management which allowed me to stay in the design field and was essentially going to allow me to oversee a lot of design aspects without focusing on one particular area of study. I decided to minor in Urban Planning to fill up my elective hours because I think the layout and planning of a city is fascinating.
I’ve lived in Arizona my entire life; I’m a fourth generation native. My family has held farm land in Glendale, and I’ve grown up in the area and in north Phoenix. I am the oldest child in my family with one younger brother, Luke, who is seven years younger. We’re definitely not the same. People say we look the same, but I am definitely a first born and he is clearly the second child haha. I love him to death though. My parents are awesome and have been supportive and encouraging in everything I have ever pursued or worked towards. This you don’t find often: I’ve lived with the same two roommates for over two years (this coming June will be three years). These guys are my best friends and brothers; I don’t know where I’d be without companions and godly men to grow with. They’ve been a blessing to me, and I value our friendships.
Ehhh, why not, let’s give a little plug to the girl that means so much to me: Taylor Sossaman. She’s awesome and definitely pushes me to be a better man, while encouraging me and being right by my side in what I hope to accomplish. She’s great.
I’ve been working at Liberty Market in Gilbert, Arizona for a little over a year now. It’s a fabulous place to work. There’s an incredible staff built by amazing owners: David & Kiersten Traina and Joe & Cindy Johnston. This is a place you can go and hang out, have a great cup of coffee and a fabulous meal, all while getting to know the staff on a different level than anyone else. Chef and Joe have both been instrumental in mentoring me and teaching me ways of the restaurant business that are invaluable and I could learn nowhere else. Liberty Market is a hidden (well, not so much anymore) gem in the Valley and all things aside, I think they deserve a lot more credit than they seem to get.
JM: You want to open a restaurant someday. How did you make that decision?
TT: Yes, I definitely want to open my own restaurant someday. I have a few different concepts in mind, and I am working through those right now. It’s such an exciting and scary adventure to be an entrepreneur, especially in this economy haha. How did I make that decision… well it was about a year and a half ago that I thought I’d start down this scary path. Through some turn of events I spent an entire summer finding local hot spots and cool restaurants throughout the Valley, with one of my roommates. Liberty Market was one of the places that intrigued me, along with The Vig and Postino’s, and even the then-new St. Francis. As I frequented these places something drew me in, it was the people and sense of community within these restaurants. The staff was nice and knowledgeable, engaging with customers, and there was also great food and drink being served. I got very inspired and thought it would be great to have one of these own “community hangouts” of my own. I’ve always loved food and cooking and I figured, “Hey, I’m young, why not?” So since then I have been plugging away at creating what I hope to achieve.
JM: Would you like to share any details about the type of restaurant you want to open?
TT: I have ideas for multiple restaurants-all being different concepts throughout the Valley. The concept I am currently working on could be defined as a gastro pub, but with a little more emphasis on food. I’d also like to do a boutique wine bar, maybe something with simple fare such as burgers, and maybe an old-school bar concept.
JM: What is your earliest memory about food?
TT: My earliest memory of food… To be honest, it’s making homemade ice-cream on the floor of my grandma’s house on Fourth of July. Simply the best, pure bliss for a young boy. However, food became prevalent in the house when Saturday night was “guy’s night” in the kitchen. This was the night of the week when Dad and I would cook dinner and do the dishes for mom. It started with steak and sautéed mushrooms at a young age and grew from there.
JM: Can you describe a foochebag? Are you friends with any?
TT: Foochebag by definition can be found here.
“Portamanteau of ‘foodie’ and ‘douchebag,’ typically referring to foodies who are categorized by attention-seeking, elitism, and superficiality. Basically, arrogant food bloggers and Twitter users.”
To me, a foochebag is someone who is pretentious and pretends to know more than they do about food in an attempt to gain recognition. They don’t even necessarily need to be in the food-service industry, but just someone who frequents the establishments. Am I friends with any… Sure. I think I am, and at the very least I have to admit that I am acquaintances to a handful of Valley foochebags. I also have to admit that I have been called a foochebag before, and there is definitely a hint of validity to it. It’s something I have had to realize, the fact that I don’t know anything or even close to what I think I know. It’s a humbling thing to be called such especially when I know I have much to learn. My goal has been to become a listener and learner and not a corrector of people in the food area. I used to be legitimate friends with some foochebags, and I came to that realization and decided to call them out on it. And as I’m sure you can imagine, they don’t talk to me anymore, but I don’t want to be known for that. I’d like to be a person who has a passion for great food and creating such dishes, but without the pretention as to think that I am better than anyone else in the industry or even a customer. I’ve come to the point where I would rather work on my craft, skill and knowledge of food than to show anyone how great I think I am in the kitchen.
JM: What would be your last meal?
TT: My last meal would be the twenty-nine course tasting menu that I had the pleasure of enjoying at Binkley’s in Cave Creek. This meal was hands down, the most amazing food experience I have ever had. The only reason I would be okay with this being my last meal is because of the food hangover I had the following morning haha. Here’s a link to a blog (Jess Harter) on our meal. Thanks to Ty Largo for the invitation to the dinner.
JM: That‘s a clever answer, a bit in the vein of “I’d wish for more wishes” though. Let’s pretend you were only allowed to have one last dish. What would it be?
TT: Okay that’s fair enough.
My last meal would probably a dish my dad makes: Moroccan Rack of Lamb. He roasts a rack of lamb with a Moroccan rub which consists of spices such as cinnamon and cumin. When it’s roasted there’s a crust/shell of spices that will melt in your mouth. It’s to die for. I’ve always admired my dad, and really he’s the one who got me into cooking, so it’s only fair that my last meal come from him.
JM: Would you like to share an internet link?
TT:
http://rulesformyunbornson.tumblr.com/
http://www.acontinuouslean.com/
Please feel free to ask Travis more questions in the comments!
Thanks again to Travis for participating in my interview!
interview with erin
Erin and I met in high school. We were in some of the same classes; we also both hung around the drama room. (She was much more into the debate scene though). We shared many of the same friends, but I don’t think we actually became good friends until college. She ended up leaving the state, and returning to her southern roots to attend some random Oklahoma university. I still have no idea how she ended up back there-maybe that should’ve been an interview question, eh? We’d always make a point to hang out when she was in town, and she eventually moved back . She hosts an annual party involving the Salt River and karaoke; she makes all her friends come and bring her presents. This year’s party was held at the most podunk bar I’ve ever been to. No really. When I walked in, there was an old man with no teeth trying to sing and dance with Erin.
JM: Could you tell us a little about yourself?
EM: I am sort of a non-interesting, interesting person….like I believe most of us are at heart. I am judgmental and curse like a sailor. I used to be a card-carrying member of the NRA as well as the ACLU. I reflect on the past far more than I ought to. I read every book I can get my hands on, as well as watch far too much television. I love political discourse but deplore name-calling. I think I am kind while being not at all selfless. I believe that civility is a lost art form that may never make it’s return. Assimilation has always made me fearful. I fall down a lot (literally and figuratively speaking). I would make a horrible crime scene detective but an awesome motivational speaker. I love the Counting Crows and hate Creed. I coulda been a contender….
JM: You love movies and television but also books. Talk to us about what draws you to both.
EM: I love a good story, even going back years and years to when I was a child. I like to hear stories. I often thought I would make a good biographer. I have a tendency to lose myself in fiction . I love the written word because when someone writes a story, most often, the author comes out in the pages, even if the book is a new subject matter that the author has never experienced. I love the investigation of people – whether it be the character or author — I love the nasty bits I feel like I wasn’t supposed to know, like I have uncovered a great secret that deliciously is mine to keep or tell. I also love reading a writer’s interpretation of emotion — easily the hardest thing to convey on the page. TV and movies are different…everything is in front of you, sometimes just a few feet from you on the screen. I become the voyeur. This is a much more intimate place, watching the actors . The writing has to be succinct (unlike my ramblings), as the emotions and feelings aren’t described for the audience — this is why solid acting is key – it has to be believable. I have to immediately be invested in the outcome. In books I can imagine anyone I want to. On the screen it is already there. The page offers the starting point for imagination. The screen, if done correctly, allows you to be part of the drama. And, I love good drama.
JM: Are books always better than the movies?
EM: Oh God, yes! Well, no…well, most of the time. OK, yes, with the following notable exceptions:
– Fight Club – Book by Chuck Palahniuk
– Children of Men – Book by P.D. James
– Last of the Mohicans – James Fenimore Cooper
JM: Recommend one movie every adult should see.
EM: I hate this question. I have 25 movies that every person should see. But to name one? One? Ugh. I won’t give you my favorite movie as the answer (which is The English Patient) nor will I give you my favorite movies as a child/teen (Reality Bites, Dazed and Confused, and Pump up the Volume). I also won’t share my favorite TV shows of all time (Buffy the Vampire Slayer and The West Wing). Oh wait…i just did….oh well, deal with it. Here are 3 (sorry, best I could do).
– Way of the Gun – stylized, gritty, great story. Just a great film for everyone — who doesn’t love a little sex and violence and Violent Femmes, plus I don’t think most people have seen it, and I am always happy to have someone discover it.
– BBC Pride and Prejudice — I am actually surprised at how many people have not seen this adaptation from the 90’s. Men, if you want to know what women want, watch this film, get a morning coat, and speak with a British accent.
– Lonesome Dove – this is the greatest mini-series of all time – back when mini-series were actually a “waited-for” event. It has everything and everyone in it, and I find it to be a good adaptation of the classic McMurtry novel. This will tear you up.
JM: Recommend one movie every child should see.
EM: Labyrinth – I think we all need to go back and watch a movie that has perfectly respectable CGI for its time, music that everyone loved, and an obscure love story — it’s like Glee, Avatar, and Harold and Maude all rolled into one, right? Perfect for your children. I am not kidding.
JM: you also love politics, tell us how a true third party would change things. what would the ideal third party look like to you?
EM: Well, call me a pessimist, but I don’t think a third party would change very much. For a multi-party system to really work the current aim of politics (at least in the current state) would have to be redefined. We spend so much time berating and charging others with accusations based on their sound byte-belief system that we rarely discuss the problems of our society. We discuss hot-button issues that have replaced true ideals and passionate party politics. I am all for political parties. I really am. But the “issue of the day” is a product of 4th Estate. The free press has never been free — at least not in a mainstream way.
We all have our agendas. I don’t want your candidates in office so I will do whatever is necessary to prevent that from happening. Even if it doesn’t work, i am going to do everything in my power to make sure you can’t get anything done once in office (no matter the office). i won’t try to find a way to work on the problems, I am just going to make sure that the problem of “you” goes away as soon as possible. This happens on both sides of mainstream politics, but also agenda/issue-based 3rd parties, no matter the size.
I think for a third party (or, a real multi-party system of actionable people who represent more than one thought and don’t run on the, “I am a former porn-star platform”) to be effective you have to start at the local level. that is where most of the actual work happens. There isn’t as much grandstanding or hands to shake. That is the place to penetrate with multi-parties, but, more importantly, multi-ideas. It isn’t “one size fits all” politics. Politics should be about the generation of ideas to better the community and respectfully debating the ideas and deciding whose ideas seem to better benefit the community. Then supporting each other, even while respectfully disagreeing with it.
JM: What is the 4th estate?
EM: The 4th estate is really any non-elected institution that has power or clout but isn’t really recognized as part of the political process — ie, the media, especially the 24hr news cycle that has made “hot issues” the main story, instead of a byproduct of the real issues. Sound byte edutainment from pseudo-experts who wear too much makeup (speaking about the men here) and rehearse their stories for greater impactful sighs and head nods. These are not my political teachers. These are not well-intentioned patriots. These people not only serve the lowest common denominator, they wallow in it. These are puppet masters…with too much makeup. I detest this type of greedia, er, I mean media.
JM: It’s interesting that you say all the actual work gets done at the local level because no matter who’s president, they seem to get blamed for all that goes wrong. I heard this idea on West Wing, but I kind of liked it: what about a Regent? Someone to be the face of the country while someone else is the President who does the work.
EM: I don’t know if a Regent would be much better in this celeb-u-tant society that has been created. Where did the Regent eat? Who is she sleeping with? Did she get fat? Is he gay? Is he bi? Does he have hair plugs? I keep having this picture of a Kardashian or a Snooki with a sceptor and cape. Shiver. I don’t know if a figure head is the right idea — I think the President, in a lot of ways, is already like that. A mouthpiece. So, the idea is to separate them…and in a perfect world it just may work. However, we then have an elected Regent — who kisses babies (not Snooki, gross) and acts as the glorified Supreme Wal-Mart greeter, and an elected President that does the work. We wouldn’t be able to leave him/her alone to work. We would start looking at them the same way…then the Regent would overstep their boundaries and attend a budget meeting and before you know it “GTL” is the national slogan of the US of A!!! OK, maybe not that extreme, but I don’t see how a separation of duties would really be beneficial. I don’t see American being able to really make that transition. Sigh.
JM: What if the regent was not an elected office but an appointment?
EM: Who appoints? The President? The Congress? It becomes a pissing contest of whose appointment goes through, like the Supreme Court. It is political, even if it is a baby-kissing position. My fear is who is behind the promoting of the appointment. What spin do they want? What is their endgame? Do we start on the role of palace intrigue by having a monarchy? I think not!
JM: Would you like to share an internet link?
EM: For all your bacon needs:
I want to thank Erin for being an interview volunteer! You’d make her a very happy woman if you asked her a million questions in the comments below!
And by the way, here’s a link to her blog. Maybe the pressure will get her to blog more often!
interviews
i am going to start a series on my blog.
i don’t have a title for it yet, but i will be interviewing people i know.
i’m looking for volunteers.
you need not be anything other than yourself-i am looking to explore the uniqueness of the individual.
so…please feel free to put your name down in the comments if you’re willing.
the process will involve me sending you a list of questions through email,
and all you have to do is reply and attach a photo.
or i can take one.
also, if you have any suggestions on what i should name the series-please let me know!
