Restaurant Talks OFF THE CLOCK with Jon Nguyen

LET'S GO EAT! That's the literal translation of the name of the restaurant of today's guest. Chef Dennis Ngo joins us from Brooklyn, NY where his restaurant Di An Di is one of the hottest Vietnamese restaurants in all of New York. Dennis takes us through his incredibly unconventional journey to becoming a chef and restauranteur. His story proves that as long as our passion and drive are strong enough, it doesn't matter how much or little experience you have at something, you will always find a way to overcome anything. Coming from the same neighborhood in Houston, it's no wonder we had such a fluid connection and such a great conversation. We talk about the humility it takes to become a strong leader and how self-awareness is key to success. Dennis explains to us through his first-hand experience how his cooking career was over before it could even start and how he was able to persevere and thrive to become the chef and business owner that he is today.

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AUSSIE AUSSIE AUSSIE! OY OY OY! Today we have the pleasure of talking with Miami's own Scaliwag himself, Paul van Hamond, founder of The Drinks Company and Expressed Juice right here in Miami. His brand is spread all across the city, in every hotel, grocery store and on all the cruise ship that comes in and out of our city. His fascinating journey from Queensland, Australia to Miami is a testament of the true human spirit and our resiliency as a species. Paul's ability to seize opportunity all around him is a lesson we can all use and his ability to survive is unmatched. This story is proof that as long as we just smile, and keep looking forward and up and put ideas into action, we will never die.

Calling ALL OG Miami Beach constituents! In this episode, we chat with the incomparable and talented Gui Jaroschy, formerly of Broken Shaker. Gui is one of the most respected names in the bar industry in Miami and beyond. He takes us through his journey from landing on this beach and navigating his way to help to build one of the best bars in the world and finding his own voice along the way. This is a story that proves that you don't always have to work for yourself in order to create something special on your own. If you are persistent in the approach of your passions, eventually the time will come for you to own something of your own WHEN THE TIME IS RIGHT. Gui shows us that we don't need to put pressure on ourselves to always be doing what we THINK we should be doing, but rather to just do what we KNOW we can do and do it well.

Chef Dale Talde joins us today to talk a gang of shit and opens up about his life, the fallout of his restaurant group and his new ventures. His story is truly one of perseverance and persistence, as he weaved his way through the Chicago and New York dining scene. You'll find that Dale is a person of absolutely zero fear of going out and getting what he wants. His turbulent journey to where he is today is a true testament of staying true to who you are, learning from your mistakes and evolving into someone better for the betterment of yourself and your family. Fuck the haters and use their hate to motivate your own path. Let's get it.

PART 2 of our conversation with Mike Ortiz, founder of JoJo Tea in Miami. We dive right into how he started his business and what he had to do in order to turn an obsession into a viable business. Without any experience in business, and without any help, Mike taught himself how to run a business and hustled his way into over 300 restaurants in Miami and now into retail stores. This story is one of persistence, passion and how the belief in one's self will always conquer doubts and insecurities when used in balance with humility.

We chat with Mike Ortiz, who started JoJo Tea in Miami after becoming obsessed with tea from learning the customs and history of tea and Buddhism. This hilarious tale of how he got into tea and his seemingly endless knowledge of tea and its history will surely capture your imagination and attention. Please listen in and join us as we ride along with this country's #1 tea master's journey into the world of tea and his love for his craft.

i've always been a big fan of pablo zitmann's food at his restaurant No Name Chinese. it was this modern asian dim sum restaurant in south miami, ran by this German/Colombian chef, which sounds weird, but trust me, the flavors and techniques were far from weird. this story is one of continuous let-downs and hardships outside of our control, yet remaining optimistic towards the future and KNOWING that no matter what happens in life, we will come out stronger and wiser on the other side. Let's help NO NAME CHINESE get it's name back into the mouths of Miami.

PART 2 of our conversation with Nick Montgomery of Konbi, LA. We get to the manifestation of Konbi and what they wanted to represent. Nick takes us through their immediate rise to notoriety and all the hard lessons along the way. Join our conversation on the insights of navigating through this COVID - 19 crisis and how to look at the future of restaurant dining. ENJOY!!!

Part 1 of our conversation with Nick Montgomery of Konbi, LA. Nick is a dear friend of mine from back in NYC and he is doing great things with his restaurant out in West Hollywood, so we wanted everyone to get to know Nick a little bit through our conversation with him. He's a super talented guy with humble beginnings and his story is one of persistence and overcoming adversity even when we are lost in this world and life might seem directionless.

WE'RE BACK!!! New format, New guests, New focus...Same Shit Talkin

After a 5 month hiatus, we have finally returned with our brand new show. Today's guest is a old friend of mine, RANDY YEH, who's a radiologist working the front line with all our health professionals in NYC. I wanted to bring him on to get his perspective from ground zero on how the COVID-19 virus is affecting NYC, and what our future might look like after all this is over. IT FEELS AWESOME TO BE BACK!!!