June 30, 2024 • 36 mins
(00:35) What happens when a family-run restaurant transitions to the next generation? Join us as we chat with Todd Brezinski, co-owner of Jimmy Wan's in Fox Chapel, who shares the challenges and triumphs of modernizing a beloved family business. Todd and his wife, Kristen Wan, have made significant strides in both learning and leading the restaurant, with a move back to Pittsburgh, immersing themselves in the Fox Chapel location. You'll hear about customer favorites like General Tso's chicken, behind the scenes butchery, and how their upscale cocktail service sets them apart.
(12:27) Ever wondered how a restaurant empire begins? Todd recounts the history of the Wan family, from his father-in-law's move from Taiwan to New York, to the establishment of successful restaurants across multiple states. And discover the vital role community connections play in Pittsburgh's restaurant scene. Supporting local restaurateurs has been a cornerstone of their success, fostering mutual growth and loyalty.
(27:30) Plus, this episode serves up fun insights into summer grilling and wine pairings, along with a recipe of the week of Shrimp and Grits with a unique low country approach. Don't miss a bite!
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Doug (00:01):
Welcome to the Pittsburgh Dish.
I'm your host, doug Heilman.
How did a 3 am baby feedinglead a couple into restaurant
ownership?
We'll hear about it from thisweek's guest.
What are some of the best winesto pair with that smoky grill
flavor?
We have some ideas from ourwine expert and how to keep
(00:23):
shrimp as the star in a Southernrecipe for shrimp and grits.
All that ahead, stay tuned.
Hey, thanks so much for comingon to the show.
Would you introduce yourselfand what you have going on right
now in food?
Todd (00:41):
Sure, I am Todd Brezinski Right now.
Right now, I am owning andoperating Jimmy Wan's in Fox
Chapel.
Doug (00:48):
And we should clarify because you don't sound like
part of the family right awayyou are Kristen's husband.
Todd (00:55):
Yes, I am married to Kristen Wan.
Yes, my father-in-law is JimmyWan and my brother-in-law is
Jimmy Wan.
Exactly and Jimmy.
Doug (01:01):
Wan Sr is a little bit more retired from the business,
would you say, and his son mightsay he might not say that Maybe
we won't say that.
Todd (01:11):
No.
Doug (01:12):
I mean yes.
Todd (01:13):
At the end of the day, you know, we're sort of going
through, I would say, thegenerational transition that
every business owner wouldprobably like to do.
Yeah, but a lot of times yourkids don't want to do what your
parents did, and my wife mightfeel the same way, but in
general, you know, myfather-in-law is stepping back
and my mother-in-law is steppingback, my wife and I are
(01:35):
stepping forward, and mybrother-in-law has been there
for 18 years, so he's alreadybeen there.
Doug (01:39):
We're sort of meeting him where he's at Right and for any
of our listeners that are notfamiliar with Jimmy Wan's, there
are two locations.
There's one up in Cranberry andthat's where Jimmy Jr has been
managing for a bit.
Todd (01:53):
Right, yeah, so they opened in Cranberry 18 years ago
, right, and actually my wifegraduated college right when
they opened, and so she helpedopen that location as well.
She stayed in Pittsburghthrough 2009, when they opened
in Fox Chapel 15 years ago, andthen we started dating around
that time and she moved to NewYork where I was living in 2010.
Doug (02:16):
And that's an incredible run for a restaurant.
A couple of things that arereally sparking my mind right
now is A the longevity of bothplaces.
Sparking my mind right now is A, the longevity of both places
15 years in Fox Chapel, 18 yearsin Cranberry.
The positive side of this isthat generational change is
happening, because so often alot of family restaurants, there
(02:36):
isn't a next generation thatwants to take it over.
And it also sounds to me whenwe were talking earlier, you and
your wife are sort of takingsome of the reins around Fox
Chapel and you have both sort ofinjected some newer things into
the operations of it.
Todd (02:53):
the modernization of just how things run, yeah for sure, I
think you know I have aconsulting background which we
could get into later.
But you know, when I came inthe first thing I did was sort
of question some things whichobviously ruffles some feathers.
But also, you know, I'll useone example we use and tell me
if this example is bad or notbut in.
(03:14):
Fox chapel.
We ordered produce from twodifferent companies and we
ordered the same things onMonday from one provider and the
same things on Thursday fromanother provider.
I said, why do we use twoproviders?
Why not double our business andsee, or double their business
and see what we can get fromthem?
And so those sorts of thingsjust sort of went unasked for a
long time.
(03:35):
No one's fault, but what wetried to do was sort of just
inject some new life, some newthinking into the restaurants so
that we could approach, youknow, the next decade with some
renewed vigor for therestaurants.
Doug (03:50):
Yeah, perfect.
I also think we should talkfirst about what the restaurants
are known for in terms of, like, what are some of the most
popular dishes or how you guyseven describe the cuisine.
It's not just Chinese cooking.
How do you describe what'sgoing on now and what are some
of the most ordered things today?
Todd (04:09):
For sure.
I think you know it's funny.
When you've been around for aslong as these restaurants have
been around, I'm sure they'veassumed many personas you know
five, 10 years ago it was invogue to say you were Pan-Asian,
and so you see a lot of thingsrefer to Jimmy Wan's as
Pan-Asian.
Nowadays Pan-Asian has more ofa negative connotation.
(04:30):
Where you think about, you know, an Asian restaurant that tries
to do too much and so theydon't do any of it well or
they're not focusing on what youknow the chef or the ownership
you know truly does well inorder to please the masses, and
so in general in restaurantsyou've seen a move back towards
authenticity and cuisine.
(04:50):
I mean, just go up to SquirrelHill and you can.
You can see that as you walkdown the road Right At Jimmy
Wan's.
I would say you know, we're aChinese restaurant with a sushi
bar, which is really what we do.
There are some, you know,broader cultural elements that
we bring into it, be theyAmerican or other Asian cultures
, but at the end of the day thefood is pretty authentically
(05:12):
Chinese and Japanese or sushi.
Our biggest seller by far it'snot even really close is General
Tso's chicken.
Oh yes, at first when I showedup I was like well, how do we
sell more of other things youknow, besides General Tso's
chicken?
But over the months I've sortof realized that there's no
shame in that.
You know, like, stick to whatyou do well and you can, you can
(05:36):
sort of branch out from there.
Doug (05:38):
But I don't want to leave out you.
You all have a really goodcocktail service at both
locations as well, which I thinkgives you an edge.
Todd (05:46):
For sure, like the layer on top of the Chinese restaurant
and sushi bar is it's also alittle bit upscale.
Right, you can go and getfantastic wines.
We have an amazing cocktailprogram.
You know fun fact Jimmy mybrother-in-law up in Cranberry
is actually the number oneseller of Casa Azul tequila in
the entire state of Pennsylvania, which is interesting to think
(06:08):
that a Chinese restaurant inCranberry is, you know, the
number one seller of any brandof tequila.
You know the family, andespecially my brother-in-law,
have spent a lot of timecurating a pretty amazing
beverage program that reallylends itself to the cuisine.
A pretty amazing beverageprogram that really lends itself
to the cuisine.
(06:28):
That sort of adds to theupscale part of it.
It's a place you can go to graba glass of wine with friends as
well, as you know, have a bigChinese feast with your family,
which is how we want people touse the restaurant I love it.
Doug (06:39):
I mean, I also want to say like when I have visited your
locations, the plating, thestyling of the food, all of that
adds to sort of that upscalefeel.
Everybody's dish looks reallygood.
Could you share just a coupleof the biggest sellers?
I know you mentioned earlierGeneral Tso's chicken.
Is there anything else that'sjust been on the menu forever or
(07:00):
is always a fan favorite?
Todd (07:02):
A lot of our sort of dumpling offerings is always a
fan favorite A lot of our sortof dumpling offerings.
So, if we move away from theentrees, like what's core to
what Jimmy Wands does, andsomething where we're relatively
unique is that we've had thesame chef in Fox Chapel for 15
years he's actually a dim sumtrained chef and so he started
(07:23):
by making dim sum for bothrestaurants and a few years ago
took over the whole kitchen inFox Chapel and I would say the
work that he does with dumplingsmaking them in house, making
the variety of dumplings that hedoes, and how we plate those
and serve those really adds toall of those elements that I was
describing earlier.
Doug (07:42):
Yeah, and this is not an easy cuisine, right?
There's a lot of laborintensive technique going on in
the back of the house.
Is that right?
That is?
Todd (07:53):
correct, I have as many people in the kitchen on any
given night as I do in the front.
Oh, my goodness.
Doug (08:00):
And so you guys are doing your own dumplings, you're doing
probably in-house butchering,you know all of the other mise
en place that needs to takeplace and it's just, it's
intricate.
Todd (08:10):
Yeah, I mean this.
This is going to be very insidebaseball, as I like to say, but
one of the things that I thinkmakes our food unique and good
is that we start with wholechickens and so we go through
between the two restaurants.
We go through a thousandchickens a week, which is
probably more chickens than anyrestaurant in Pittsburgh, but we
(08:31):
start with whole chickens.
We have a very specific chickenthat we like to get.
It's a three and a half to fourpound bird.
We've tried other sizes andthey don't work, but what we do
is we use that whole bird.
So, you know, the chicken breastbecomes tenders which go into
our you know white meatpreparations for general sews or
(08:53):
orange chicken or any of thosethings.
The sort of larger chickenbreast gets shaved and that
becomes the sort of sliced whitemeat for our chicken with
broccoli and those types ofdishes, the sort of sliced white
meat for our chicken withbroccoli and those types of
dishes.
The thigh becomes our chickenteriyaki, our chicken on the
stick, which is also phenomenal,yes, the legs they get
quartered and that becomes thedark meat for our general sews.
(09:15):
The wings we sell our wings arephenomenal and then all of the
remaining parts become the brothfor our wonton soup, our
chicken noodle soup and all ofthe other applications that we
use.
And so you know, people ask youknow what makes things
different, or why does you know?
Why is our general so so good?
Or why is or why are any of ourdishes so good?
(09:36):
And I think it really startsfrom whole bird preparation,
like you said, and it's just theattention to detail and sort of
quality ingredients.
Doug (09:49):
I love that story and also kind of coming back also to the
point that nothing goes towaste in that kitchen.
Todd (09:52):
You're doing something with everything that comes in.
Oh, it's amazing Like not tobelabor the point, but watching
the guys in the kitchen workwhen chickens come in is
simultaneously horrifying butalso like amazing to watch, like
the, the sort of speed andefficiency with which they work.
I mean, we're, we're, we'reblessed in our restaurant to
(10:12):
have key people that have beenthere for for very, very long in
our kitchen.
You know our top four guys havebeen there for 10 plus years.
You know my top two servershave been there.
I'm describing Fox chapel here,but our top two servers have
been there.
I'm describing Fox Chapel here,but our top two servers have
been here for eight to 10 years.
Everyone in front has beenthere for eight to 10 years.
My head bartender has beenthere for 12 years, and so we
(10:34):
have just amazing consistencyacross the restaurant, which
that allows for us to stand thetest of time, right.
Doug (10:43):
So Todd, you've described some of the aspects of the
restaurant so well.
I'd love to talk a little bitabout the family, and do you
want to start with your wife andtell us a little bit about her
and her involvement in thebusiness?
Todd (10:57):
Yeah, of course she's less of a public speaker and a
little more nervous about thingslike this.
She would have been rehearsingfor weeks leading up to it.
Doug (11:07):
So you're the spokesperson today.
Todd (11:08):
So I'm the spokesperson a little bit, although you know,
in the restaurant it's different.
I think it's when you have thetime to think about it that she
gets a little bit more nervous.
But you mentioned I'm thein-law.
It's funny, when we approachedmy in-laws with this idea to
move back from Dallas and takeover the restaurant, their first
response was sure, we've got aspot for Kristen.
(11:29):
And I think my wife was likewell, that's not exactly what we
wanted, and so you know howwe've accounted for that.
A little bit is.
You know, if you're in thatrestaurant on any given day,
you'll see me.
Doug (11:43):
I've sort of put in a lot more on the FaceTime side, right
, so that I can build up some ofthe credibility that you know
maybe inherently comes withbeing part of the Juan family,
right right, you know, duringCOVID and a lot of things got
shut down, I know the businessesmoved to more of a takeout and
you were saying to me earlierthat that's sort of when Jimmy
(12:05):
Juan Jr sort of took over alittle bit more of the business
because it wasn't necessary forthe whole family to be there.
But then, as the restaurantshave fully reopened and come
back, it just felt like a goodtime to change over to the next
generation and you and your wifewere out of state, you moved
back home and you're you knowyou're really getting entrenched
in the business.
(12:26):
For folks that don't know muchabout the the Wan family history
, Can you give us a littlesummary of like some of the
other restaurants, Cause I thinkthere was at least one or so
before?
Todd (12:38):
we can go.
We can go all the way back.
I'm I'm better at this, alittle bit better at the history
than even my wife is, andthere's also a great, a
fantastic article in Shady AveMagazine too that touches on a
bit of this.
But my father-in-law moved herefrom Taiwan when he was 18,
immediately went to work inrestaurants in New York, sort of
got the itch to go somewhereelse, went all the way down to
(13:01):
Florida, hooked through Texas.
He actually bought his firstrestaurant in Iowa.
Oh wow, it did not go well.
He ended up coming back.
He met my mother-in-law in NewYork and they decided to move
back to Pittsburgh and opened arestaurant in Beaver.
Didn't go especially well.
They moved back to New York.
(13:22):
Then they got a call from mygrandmother-in-law, my mother's
mother, about a spot in FoxChapel that had opened up and if
they wanted to come back.
She thought it was perfect forthem to open a restaurant and so
they got together with an oldchef and they opened Taip ei.
(13:42):
That was about, I want to sayabout 38 years ago, 1986.
With Taip ei they openedrestaurants a few.
There was one in Shadyside, onein Green Tree, I'm probably
forgetting one, but theybranched it out.
They branched it out, they grew,but maybe not as successfully
(14:04):
as they would have hoped.
When my father-in-law got anopportunity and located a site
in Cranberry 18 years ago, heopened that on his own with some
other partners.
And then, a year afterCranberry opened I mean back
then, cranberry was, you know,fields and farms, maybe not
completely, but not what it istoday.
Doug (14:30):
I worked up in Cranberry from way back when they mostly
called it Crider's Cornerbecause there was like a gas
station on the corner and thenall these industrial parks
started happening.
I specifically remember whenJimmy Wan's Cranberry opened we
went there a ton for lunch.
I mean it was always excellent.
Todd (14:42):
Yeah, the family actually got apartments up in Cranberry
because, you know, opening arestaurant, creating that base
of customers I mean, it's a24-hour-a-day, seven-day-a-week
job and if you want to be ableto even take a break for a
minute, you need to be close by.
And so that was 18 years ago.
(15:04):
17 years ago, jimmy left Taipei, so my father-in-law left
Taipei, and then 15 years ago,we opened in Fox Chapel.
Doug (15:13):
Got it.
Todd (15:14):
What's funny enough is that's actually my wife moved
back from college to openCranberry and to open Fox Chapel
before we sort of ended up inNew York and then away from town
for almost 15 years beforecoming back to Fox Chapel.
This is Todd Brezinski fromJimmy Wan's and you're listening
to the Pittsburgh Dish.
Doug (15:35):
All right.
Well, let's get back to youknow where you now step in.
Like for you personally, whatare some of the most interesting
things you've learned aboutbeing a restaurateur?
Todd (15:47):
It's interesting I so I was an extremely picky eater
when I was growing up, and so I,my favorite restaurant growing
up was Chili's.
No shame that I still likeChili's a lot, um, although I
would say, you know, maybe notas great as its hay day.
But I didn't actually startexperiencing restaurants until
after I graduated college.
(16:07):
I finally had some disposableincome.
I didn't exactly have roommatesthat wanted to go out to
restaurants, but I spent yearsin Boston sort of just going to
places, sitting at the bar,having food for one and, uh, you
know, sort of developing a lovefor different cuisines and
different food items and all ofthat.
Since then I've always been, youknow, maybe what you would call
(16:31):
a foodie although, you know,like Pan-Asian foodie is is one
of those words that that goes inand out of style and when we
lived in dallas.
So in dallas like restaurantsort of functions more as like a
status symbol, you know, and soit's.
It's about where you go and youknow how much you spend a
little bit on dinner.
Yeah, and moving back topittsburgh, the most interesting
(16:52):
thing has been it's all aboutknowing, it's about knowing the
owners, it's about having aconsistent experience.
It's about sort of knowing whoyou're supporting connection
yeah exactly, it's a Pittsburghthing, I got to tell you.
Pittsburgh, at the end of theday, is a collection of small
towns and each town has, youknow, so much community within
(17:13):
it.
Doug (17:13):
Yes.
Todd (17:14):
Yeah, and you know that works to our benefit, where
we've been adopted almost fromday one as part of our
neighborhood, as you know, partof the restaurant where we have
developed these friendships andthese relationships with
longtime regulars in a shortamount of time.
Yeah, in Pittsburgh, that justgoes such a long way.
Doug (17:35):
Yes, amount of time.
Yeah, in Pittsburgh that justgoes such a long way.
Yes, so, todd, you just have methinking as you are back and
you're learning your restaurantbusiness, are there other
restauranteurs that you arecreating bonds with?
I mean whether they are justhelping out with your business
or coming into your business.
Todd (17:51):
We have a lot of restaurant owners that are
regulars at Jimmy Juan's.
And through that we've actuallychanged how we visit other
restaurants because we want tosupport sort of our good
customers and friends and peoplethat we've met through the
restaurant.
So you know I'll give you someexamples.
Like Kevin, who owns Knox'sTavern, is a is a regular at our
bar and you know Knox's Tavernhas now become a family favorite
(18:14):
.
You know Local Provisions andScott Pekarsik I mentioned yes,
they, you know again he comesinto our bar.
Funny story we actually used togo to a different Italian
restaurant but then we met FrankPasqualino who owns
Pasqualino's in Penn Hills.
And now that's our familyItalian restaurant on Sunday
nights when we all go out.
Doug (18:35):
Did you mention that Jamilka and Diane from Lilith
stop in to eat quite often?
Todd (18:40):
Yeah, for sure.
And it's funny that a lot ofindustry folks do love Jimmy
Wan's but they also like sort oftucking away in the corners and
just having a nice meal.
So you know Adam Milliron andwho's a fantastic food
photographer and a good friendof ours and a regular at the
restaurant, he sees people allover the restaurant and he's
like, oh, that's so-and-so fromhere and that's so-and-so from
(19:01):
there, and it really is quitethe legacy at Jimmy Wan's but
also like it's, you know,restaurant people supporting
restaurant people, which iswhich is great also.
Doug (19:11):
Such a Pittsburgh thing.
Todd (19:13):
So, todd, where did you grow up?
I grew up in Northern NewJersey, okay.
Doug (19:18):
And where did you and Kristen meet?
Todd (19:21):
So we met at Boston College Okay.
We both went to college inBoston.
Doug (19:25):
Uh-huh.
And then you said, you movedaround a little bit, so from
Boston where did you all head?
Todd (19:31):
Kristen came back here to open the restaurants.
Yes, I made my way to New York.
I had a career in finance,working at a hedge fund.
Okay, kristen moved out andjoined me, and then I we left to
go to Chicago where I went tobusiness school.
Out of business school, I wentinto management consulting with
(19:53):
Boston Consulting Group, and sowe moved to Dallas where we had
two girls.
And it was sort of right afterthe birth of our second daughter
that we realized the importanceof having family around.
And that's when my wife willtell you this.
That's when I approached herwith the idea of moving back to
Pittsburgh and taking over therestaurants.
It was one night at about 3 amafter feeding the baby.
(20:15):
So maybe not, maybe not whenyou do your best thinking, but I
sat on the idea for about twoweeks and I still felt good
about it.
Doug (20:24):
So you're really part of the catalyst, of of your family
moving back and her being ableto be a closer part of the
family restaurant.
Todd (20:31):
Oh for sure, you know I I've said this many times and
we've talked about sort of thegenerational shift.
There aren't many opportunitiesto, you know, take over
successful small businesses in areasonable way, and so they're
they're a little bit lessinterested in being a part of it
(20:57):
going forward, whereas, youknow, I'm a bit of an outsider
in many ways, and so I think Ihad a good assessment of sort of
what this could do for ourfamily and how we could sort of
branch out from here.
You know, fun fact is my wifeand I are about the same age
right now as my father-in-lawwas when he opened Taipei.
Oh, wow.
And so whenever we're sort offeeling down about you know all
(21:21):
the complexity that we've addedto our life, I like to think of
that, and you know all thesuccess that he's had and just
think about we're alreadybuilding off the base that he
has established and my in-lawshave established over the course
of, you know, 30, 38 years.
I have customers every day whosay we've been eating here since
Jimmy opened Taipei and that'samazing, how many opportunities
(21:45):
do you get to do that?
Doug (21:46):
Yeah, please inherit this legacy.
Please keep it going, becausepeople love it.
Todd (21:50):
Exactly and it's funny.
You know, in Pittsburgh youprobably see more of that than
anywhere else I've lived.
It's just there is a bit ofthat coming home feeling like a
lot of our friends in ourneighborhood or that we've met
in various social settings, likethey are folks that left for
college or left for you know,their sort of early adulthood
(22:12):
and then returned home when theyhad kids, because Pittsburgh is
a fantastic place to raise kids.
Doug (22:18):
I agree.
So, todd, let's, let's moveforward.
What are some of the goals thatyou see ahead of you?
You and Kristen have your eyesmore closely on the Fox chapel
location, and Jimmy Juan jr hashis eyes a little bit more
closely on the Cranberrylocation, but you guys are all
working in concert.
Todd (22:37):
Yeah, we.
We're basically talking everyday about sort of Jimmy Wan's
the enterprise.
You, know, and.
But then Jimmy has more timeand connections spent in
Cranberry and Chris and I havemore of that spent in Fox Chapel
.
Yes, but the idea is sort of tomake you know, to standardize
where we can you know.
(22:57):
It's very clear that therestaurant started with the same
blueprint, but when you havedifferent kitchens and different
eyes on everything, they'vedrifted apart.
Like part of our goal is tohave them drift closer together.
Doug (23:07):
Yeah, Like there may be one or two menu items that are
slightly different.
Or maybe, to your point earlier, it's about those long-term
customers and you.
You know, maybe the taste incranberry are a little bit
different and so we might put afilet on or something like that
to just change the menu up.
Todd (23:23):
But oh for sure, like you, customers are not shy to tell
you whether they, like you know,the hot and sour soup and
cranberry better than is in Foxchapel, even if it, you know is
is almost imperceptiblydifferent to most people.
You know, people have theirfavorites and honestly like part
of it.
It's just the ambience you knowlike and I don't mean that to
say that either restaurant.
I think they're both beautifulrestaurants and a great place to
(23:44):
eat.
But if you're used to someplace,the food tastes more familiar
and if you're less used tosomeplace, like so much of taste
and what you appreciate fromrestaurants is context, and so
you know you could tell me we,and we, chris and I, have had
people in Fox chapel stop uswhen we're at other restaurants
to say, oh, since you guys areback, the food is so much better
(24:05):
.
And you know, nothing haschanged.
To be clear, we haven't changedany recipes, like there's more
specials, et cetera.
But if you got General Tso'schicken a year ago and you got
it today, it is the same recipewith the same chicken.
Um, but when you, when you feelthe effort and the that my wife
and I have put into theambience and the staff and
(24:27):
training and all of that thatcan heighten, you know even the
same food absolutely Icompletely agree.
Doug (24:33):
Just knowing that this next generation is there it
gives it a whole new feel andpossibly to some folks, a whole
new taste.
I'd love to just jump forward.
So you guys are in the businessnow.
Any place you want to take therestaurants, what's on your mind
?
Todd (24:50):
For sure.
I mean, my wife and I areambitious.
We moved here, you know,because we wanted to do a lot
right, like we wanted to own ourown business and see where that
took us.
You know, right now we're sortof in the phase where we're
seeing, you know, how we canmake the two restaurants operate
more efficiently, just for ourown time.
You know there's there's apotential next phase which is,
(25:12):
you know, opening another JimmyJuan's, or just opening another
restaurant, or, absent that,opening another business.
So we're looking at a wholerange of opportunities, but
right now we're focused onmaking Jimmy Wan's the best
experience it can be, because wethink there's a lot more
potential in both restaurants.
Doug (25:27):
Yes, so, Todd, I'd love to give you a moment to go ahead
and tell everyone where they canfind Jimmy Wands and how they
can follow you if they want tosee your social feed.
All of that good stuff.
Todd (25:39):
For sure.
So right now it's a good timeto follow both Jimmy Wan's Fox
Chapel and Jimmy Wan's Cranberryon Instagram.
We're in the middle of the 15thanniversary for Fox Chapel, and
so we're doing a big giveawaywith a bunch of food influencers
and people in the foodcommunity within Pittsburgh that
we know and, like you know ingeneral, that's where we like to
(26:00):
keep our customers updated onnew dishes and just what's going
on in the world of Jimmy Wan's.
All right.
And then the website, too it'sjust jimmywans.
com, All right jimmywans.
com.
Doug (26:10):
That's easy Right, easy enough.
All right, todd, we are down tothe the last question.
I don't know exactly what youranswer will be for this, but the
name of the show is thepittsburgh dish.
What's the best dish you'veeaten this past week?
Todd (26:25):
I'll give one homer answer , which is so.
My chef walked out of thekitchen the other uh last
weekend and he just asked me totry something without any
context, and it was a blacktruffle soup dumplings, and they
were amazing like from from thefirst, from the first batch,
and and he doesn't even liketruffles he sort of thought that
(26:46):
the truffles on their own wasdisgusting, but he sort of
knocked it out of the park andso that's part of our new
specials right now.
Um, the non-homer pick is myfavorite other local restaurant
and we don't get out much, somost everything is within a
five-minute proximity of JimmyWan's and Fox Chapel, but is the
Spoon Burger at LocalProvisions, which is, you know,
(27:07):
for me, the best burger inPittsburgh, although I'm working
on trying some more.
Doug (27:11):
There's a lot to try.
Could you remind folks where isLocal Provisions?
Todd (27:15):
Local Provisions.
Is in that Fox Chapel Plaza,right sort of catty corner to
Alta Via?
Doug (27:21):
That's right, best Bites this week.
Todd Brezinski of Jimmy Wan's.
Thanks so much for being on ThePittsburgh Dish.
Thanks for having me.
As grilling season ramps up,let's check in with Catherine
Montest and see what she'sdrinking when she's out at the
barbecue.
Hey, Catherine, welcome back tothe podcast.
How you doing.
Catherine (27:41):
I'm really well, doug , it's great to see you again.
Doug (27:43):
You too, and we're in the height of summer right now.
I know a lot of people aredoing grilling and barbecuing.
What wines are on your mindthat go with that barbecue
season?
Catherine (27:56):
Wow, barbecue season.
Oh, it's so much fun.
I'm thinking barbecue.
You put a big juicy hamburgeror a big juicy steak on the
grill and it gets all thoseluscious grill marks and such on
there.
One of the best wines to gowith a great big meaty burger or
a big meaty steak is Zinfandeloh yeah, are wey, steak is
(28:16):
Zinfandel oh yeah, are wetalking a red Zinfandel?
We're talking red Zinfandel.
Okay, we're not talking aboutthe white Zinfandel that mom
used to drink.
Right she was transitioning kindof into wine and away from soda
pop.
No, we're talking aboutdelicious, rich, luscious
Zinfandel.
It's mostly grown in California.
Doug (28:39):
In California it's like the Lodi Valley.
A couple of my favorite Zinsare from that area.
Catherine (28:45):
California, absolutely Lodi Valley, One of
the ones that I really enjoy,and I brought a bottle of this
for you today.
It's from a winery calledArmida, and last time my husband
and I were out in California weended up upon their winery and
we liked it so much.
We get a case from them two orthree times a year.
Doug (29:07):
Wow, this is really saying something.
Catherine (29:09):
It's really delicious .
It's got bold red, ripe fruitflavors.
You're tasting raspberries,strawberries, even some plum in
there.
And the nice thing about theZinfandel, and why it works so
well with steak, is steak'sgoing to be kind of fatty and
the acid level in the Zinfandelis just high enough to cut
(29:32):
through that.
And when you balance thefattiness of the steak with the
acidity that's happening in theZinfandel, it pops and brings
even more of those fruit flavorsinto your mouth with the wine.
Doug (29:45):
That sounds so good.
I was also wondering, you know,when we are grilling we have
those smoky flavors and thosecharred flavors, and does that
also then tend to work with theZinfandel?
Catherine (29:55):
Absolutely.
Your palate is so good, Doug.
It's really kind of dazzlingwith the things you just come up
with so very quickly.
Doug (30:04):
So Zinfandel good with grilled meats.
Catherine (30:07):
Absolutely and grilling, since you've got the
grill hot and maybe noteverybody likes the big bold red
that slaps you around a littlebit.
Another way to go is to sliceup some citrus I'm talking
lemons, limes and oranges Popthem on the grill, get a couple
(30:27):
little char marks going on thoseand you're going to mix those
together with a bottle ofGrenache, and I also like to add
a bottle of Cava, which is aSpanish version of champagne, so
to speak.
So you make a sangria.
Oh, so this is my favoritesummer sangria and I'm planning
on serving this in about twoweeks.
(30:48):
We're having folks over forribs.
Grill the citrus two of eachand put them in a bowl or other
serving thing, and a bottle ofGrenache, a bottle of Cava, all
of your fruit, a cup of simplesyrup and a cup of brandy, and
you just give it a stir, throw alittle ice at it.
Doug (31:09):
I was going to say you need to chill this one.
Catherine (31:10):
You're going to want to chill it.
Doug (31:11):
It's sangria, and I think this is like the perfect quote,
unquote summer punch, when yousaid get a big bowl, oh yeah.
Catherine (31:18):
It's definitely a summer punch.
It's just absolutely delicious.
And you bring those littlesmoky notes in to the wine, it's
absolutely divine.
Doug (31:27):
It's so different.
I haven't really ever heard ofa grilled citrus sangria.
Catherine (31:32):
Well, I hope you try it this summer.
You'll be glad you did I loveit.
Catherine, I hope you try itthis summer.
You'll be glad you did, I loveit.
Doug (31:36):
Catherine, thank you so much.
Catherine (31:38):
My pleasure Doug, Always good to see you.
Doug (31:40):
You too.
You can learn more aboutCatherine and even book a
private event.
Check out her website atwwwyourfairywinemothercom.
If you've been following mypersonal social media at Doug
Cooking, you know that I'm oneof the home cook contestants on
this season of The GreatAmerican Recipe on PBS.
I'm giving a call to my otherfellow contestants from this
(32:04):
season to see what they'recooking at home.
This week we talk with TimHarris in Fort Mill, South
Carolina, and get his take onshrimp with cheesy grits.
Let's give him a call and learna little bit more about this
dish.
Hello, hey, tim.
Doug, how's it going?
(32:25):
It's great.
How are you doing today?
Doing really well.
Doing really well, my friend.
How about you?
I'm doing great.
And, tim, I want to talk aboutthis cheesy shrimp and grits
recipe that you sent us.
Thank you so much for therecipe.
Tim (32:38):
Oh, no, thanks for the opportunity, thanks for asking.
Doug (32:40):
Yeah, tim, is there anything about this shrimp and
grits?
That really is your spin andmakes it a little different than
some of the other versions inthe South.
Tim (32:49):
Well, a lot of Southern versions will use a sausage,
andouille sausage, smokedsausage.
I use bacon not just to get thegrease to start the roux, but
just kind of to like level itdown.
I want the shrimp to be thestar of the show, yeah, and the
same thing with the cheesy grits.
I use the Colby Jack instead oflike a sharp cheddar, because I
just kind of want a mild cheesyflavor in there.
I don't want the grits to beoverpowered with cheese.
(33:10):
I kind of want the shrimp andthe gravy to be the star.
Doug (33:13):
It sounds so good and for any of our listeners that
haven't seen the recipe yet onthe blog, the grits are pretty
straightforward.
You start out with, actually,chicken broth.
You add the grits when they'realmost done and thick, you add
half and half that shreddedColby that you mentioned and
some butter and I think reallythe star here on the top is the
shrimp gravy.
So, like we just said, you'restarting out with a few strips
(33:38):
of bacon.
Do you cut the bacon up firstbefore you render out like the
fat?
Is that how you do it?
I?
Tim (33:41):
like to leave it whole strips just to kind of render
out the fat of it, and I cook itextra crispy, get extra crispy
strips out of it before I setthose aside, and we keep the fat
in the pan and that's what I'mgoing to start my saute with.
Doug (33:56):
And so you're putting some onion in there, and then
eventually tomatoes, butter,garlic and white wine, and then,
just to make sure you don'tovercook the shrimp, we're
adding the shrimp like near thevery end.
Is that right?
Tim (34:09):
Right, if your gravy is kind of thinner than you'd like
it.
You'd like it a little thicker.
You can I use a sift a little,just a little tablespoon or so
of flour, kind of like just pickup the roux a little bit more
just to thicken it up a littlebit, cause you know, once you
add the shrimp in there, thatwill they will draw some a
little bit of moisture out ofthe shrimp.
You still want them nice andjuicy, but it'll still draw some
moisture and it'll kind of thinit back out again.
(34:30):
It's not like a dinner gravy.
It's more like just kind of likea looser gravy to kind of mix
in with the grits and everything.
I love it.
Doug (34:38):
Tim, this I mean it sounds delicious, and you sent over
some pictures.
They look amazing and I knowyou have so many other recipes,
especially like in barbecue.
If people want to find andfollow you and your food, where
can they find more about you?
Tim (34:52):
Oh great, yeah, you know I love grilling and I love the
barbecue.
You can find me on InstagramDapperdadskitchen is my handle,
Tim Harris.
The same thing on Facebook.
I also have a website, which Ijust launched,
dapperdadskitchencom.
That will get you to all mysocial media as well.
And another great place to findme is going to be cooking
alongside you on season three ofPBS's Great American Recipe.
Doug (35:16):
Oh, that's right.
We will be on this seasonMonday nights or on pbs.
org or streaming on the PBS app.
Tim Harris, thank you so muchfor this recipe and thank you
for being on the Pittsburgh Dish.
Thanks for having me, doug.
If you have a recipe, share itwith us.
Just go to our website atwwwpittsburghdishcom and look
(35:41):
for our share a recipe form.
That's our show for this week.
We'd like to thank all of ourguests and contributors, and to
Kevin Solecki of CarnegieAccordion Company for providing
the music to our show.
We'll be back again next weekwith another fresh episode.
Stay tuned.
Welcome to the Pittsburgh Dish.
I'm your host, doug Heilman.
How did a 3 am baby feedinglead a couple into restaurant
ownership?
We'll hear about it from thisweek's guest.
What are some of the best winesto pair with that smoky grill
flavor?
We have some ideas from ourwine expert and how to keep
(00:23):
shrimp as the star in a Southernrecipe for shrimp and grits.
All that ahead, stay tuned.
Hey, thanks so much for comingon to the show.
Would you introduce yourselfand what you have going on right
now in food?
Todd (00:41):
Sure, I am Todd Brezinski Right now.
Right now, I am owning andoperating Jimmy Wan's in Fox
Chapel.
Doug (00:48):
And we should clarify because you don't sound like
part of the family right awayyou are Kristen's husband.
Todd (00:55):
Yes, I am married to Kristen Wan.
Yes, my father-in-law is JimmyWan and my brother-in-law is
Jimmy Wan.
Exactly and Jimmy.
Doug (01:01):
Wan Sr is a little bit more retired from the business,
would you say, and his son mightsay he might not say that Maybe
we won't say that.
Todd (01:11):
No.
Doug (01:12):
I mean yes.
Todd (01:13):
At the end of the day, you know, we're sort of going
through, I would say, thegenerational transition that
every business owner wouldprobably like to do.
Yeah, but a lot of times yourkids don't want to do what your
parents did, and my wife mightfeel the same way, but in
general, you know, myfather-in-law is stepping back
and my mother-in-law is steppingback, my wife and I are
(01:35):
stepping forward, and mybrother-in-law has been there
for 18 years, so he's alreadybeen there.
Doug (01:39):
We're sort of meeting him where he's at Right and for any
of our listeners that are notfamiliar with Jimmy Wan's, there
are two locations.
There's one up in Cranberry andthat's where Jimmy Jr has been
managing for a bit.
Todd (01:53):
Right, yeah, so they opened in Cranberry 18 years ago
, right, and actually my wifegraduated college right when
they opened, and so she helpedopen that location as well.
She stayed in Pittsburghthrough 2009, when they opened
in Fox Chapel 15 years ago, andthen we started dating around
that time and she moved to NewYork where I was living in 2010.
Doug (02:16):
And that's an incredible run for a restaurant.
A couple of things that arereally sparking my mind right
now is A the longevity of bothplaces.
Sparking my mind right now is A, the longevity of both places
15 years in Fox Chapel, 18 yearsin Cranberry.
The positive side of this isthat generational change is
happening, because so often alot of family restaurants, there
(02:36):
isn't a next generation thatwants to take it over.
And it also sounds to me whenwe were talking earlier, you and
your wife are sort of takingsome of the reins around Fox
Chapel and you have both sort ofinjected some newer things into
the operations of it.
Todd (02:53):
the modernization of just how things run, yeah for sure, I
think you know I have aconsulting background which we
could get into later.
But you know, when I came inthe first thing I did was sort
of question some things whichobviously ruffles some feathers.
But also, you know, I'll useone example we use and tell me
if this example is bad or notbut in.
(03:14):
Fox chapel.
We ordered produce from twodifferent companies and we
ordered the same things onMonday from one provider and the
same things on Thursday fromanother provider.
I said, why do we use twoproviders?
Why not double our business andsee, or double their business
and see what we can get fromthem?
And so those sorts of thingsjust sort of went unasked for a
long time.
(03:35):
No one's fault, but what wetried to do was sort of just
inject some new life, some newthinking into the restaurants so
that we could approach, youknow, the next decade with some
renewed vigor for therestaurants.
Doug (03:50):
Yeah, perfect.
I also think we should talkfirst about what the restaurants
are known for in terms of, like, what are some of the most
popular dishes or how you guyseven describe the cuisine.
It's not just Chinese cooking.
How do you describe what'sgoing on now and what are some
of the most ordered things today?
Todd (04:09):
For sure.
I think you know it's funny.
When you've been around for aslong as these restaurants have
been around, I'm sure they'veassumed many personas you know
five, 10 years ago it was invogue to say you were Pan-Asian,
and so you see a lot of thingsrefer to Jimmy Wan's as
Pan-Asian.
Nowadays Pan-Asian has more ofa negative connotation.
(04:30):
Where you think about, you know, an Asian restaurant that tries
to do too much and so theydon't do any of it well or
they're not focusing on what youknow the chef or the ownership
you know truly does well inorder to please the masses, and
so in general in restaurantsyou've seen a move back towards
authenticity and cuisine.
(04:50):
I mean, just go up to SquirrelHill and you can.
You can see that as you walkdown the road Right At Jimmy
Wan's.
I would say you know, we're aChinese restaurant with a sushi
bar, which is really what we do.
There are some, you know,broader cultural elements that
we bring into it, be theyAmerican or other Asian cultures
, but at the end of the day thefood is pretty authentically
(05:12):
Chinese and Japanese or sushi.
Our biggest seller by far it'snot even really close is General
Tso's chicken.
Oh yes, at first when I showedup I was like well, how do we
sell more of other things youknow, besides General Tso's
chicken?
But over the months I've sortof realized that there's no
shame in that.
You know, like, stick to whatyou do well and you can, you can
(05:36):
sort of branch out from there.
Doug (05:38):
But I don't want to leave out you.
You all have a really goodcocktail service at both
locations as well, which I thinkgives you an edge.
Todd (05:46):
For sure, like the layer on top of the Chinese restaurant
and sushi bar is it's also alittle bit upscale.
Right, you can go and getfantastic wines.
We have an amazing cocktailprogram.
You know fun fact Jimmy mybrother-in-law up in Cranberry
is actually the number oneseller of Casa Azul tequila in
the entire state of Pennsylvania, which is interesting to think
(06:08):
that a Chinese restaurant inCranberry is, you know, the
number one seller of any brandof tequila.
You know the family, andespecially my brother-in-law,
have spent a lot of timecurating a pretty amazing
beverage program that reallylends itself to the cuisine.
A pretty amazing beverageprogram that really lends itself
to the cuisine.
(06:28):
That sort of adds to theupscale part of it.
It's a place you can go to graba glass of wine with friends as
well, as you know, have a bigChinese feast with your family,
which is how we want people touse the restaurant I love it.
Doug (06:39):
I mean, I also want to say like when I have visited your
locations, the plating, thestyling of the food, all of that
adds to sort of that upscalefeel.
Everybody's dish looks reallygood.
Could you share just a coupleof the biggest sellers?
I know you mentioned earlierGeneral Tso's chicken.
Is there anything else that'sjust been on the menu forever or
(07:00):
is always a fan favorite?
Todd (07:02):
A lot of our sort of dumpling offerings is always a
fan favorite A lot of our sortof dumpling offerings.
So, if we move away from theentrees, like what's core to
what Jimmy Wands does, andsomething where we're relatively
unique is that we've had thesame chef in Fox Chapel for 15
years he's actually a dim sumtrained chef and so he started
(07:23):
by making dim sum for bothrestaurants and a few years ago
took over the whole kitchen inFox Chapel and I would say the
work that he does with dumplingsmaking them in house, making
the variety of dumplings that hedoes, and how we plate those
and serve those really adds toall of those elements that I was
describing earlier.
Doug (07:42):
Yeah, and this is not an easy cuisine, right?
There's a lot of laborintensive technique going on in
the back of the house.
Is that right?
That is?
Todd (07:53):
correct, I have as many people in the kitchen on any
given night as I do in the front.
Oh, my goodness.
Doug (08:00):
And so you guys are doing your own dumplings, you're doing
probably in-house butchering,you know all of the other mise
en place that needs to takeplace and it's just, it's
intricate.
Todd (08:10):
Yeah, I mean this.
This is going to be very insidebaseball, as I like to say, but
one of the things that I thinkmakes our food unique and good
is that we start with wholechickens and so we go through
between the two restaurants.
We go through a thousandchickens a week, which is
probably more chickens than anyrestaurant in Pittsburgh, but we
(08:31):
start with whole chickens.
We have a very specific chickenthat we like to get.
It's a three and a half to fourpound bird.
We've tried other sizes andthey don't work, but what we do
is we use that whole bird.
So, you know, the chicken breastbecomes tenders which go into
our you know white meatpreparations for general sews or
(08:53):
orange chicken or any of thosethings.
The sort of larger chickenbreast gets shaved and that
becomes the sort of sliced whitemeat for our chicken with
broccoli and those types ofdishes, the sort of sliced white
meat for our chicken withbroccoli and those types of
dishes.
The thigh becomes our chickenteriyaki, our chicken on the
stick, which is also phenomenal,yes, the legs they get
quartered and that becomes thedark meat for our general sews.
(09:15):
The wings we sell our wings arephenomenal and then all of the
remaining parts become the brothfor our wonton soup, our
chicken noodle soup and all ofthe other applications that we
use.
And so you know, people ask youknow what makes things
different, or why does you know?
Why is our general so so good?
Or why is or why are any of ourdishes so good?
(09:36):
And I think it really startsfrom whole bird preparation,
like you said, and it's just theattention to detail and sort of
quality ingredients.
Doug (09:49):
I love that story and also kind of coming back also to the
point that nothing goes towaste in that kitchen.
Todd (09:52):
You're doing something with everything that comes in.
Oh, it's amazing Like not tobelabor the point, but watching
the guys in the kitchen workwhen chickens come in is
simultaneously horrifying butalso like amazing to watch, like
the, the sort of speed andefficiency with which they work.
I mean, we're, we're, we'reblessed in our restaurant to
(10:12):
have key people that have beenthere for for very, very long in
our kitchen.
You know our top four guys havebeen there for 10 plus years.
You know my top two servershave been there.
I'm describing Fox chapel here,but our top two servers have
been there.
I'm describing Fox Chapel here,but our top two servers have
been here for eight to 10 years.
Everyone in front has beenthere for eight to 10 years.
My head bartender has beenthere for 12 years, and so we
(10:34):
have just amazing consistencyacross the restaurant, which
that allows for us to stand thetest of time, right.
Doug (10:43):
So Todd, you've described some of the aspects of the
restaurant so well.
I'd love to talk a little bitabout the family, and do you
want to start with your wife andtell us a little bit about her
and her involvement in thebusiness?
Todd (10:57):
Yeah, of course she's less of a public speaker and a
little more nervous about thingslike this.
She would have been rehearsingfor weeks leading up to it.
Doug (11:07):
So you're the spokesperson today.
Todd (11:08):
So I'm the spokesperson a little bit, although you know,
in the restaurant it's different.
I think it's when you have thetime to think about it that she
gets a little bit more nervous.
But you mentioned I'm thein-law.
It's funny, when we approachedmy in-laws with this idea to
move back from Dallas and takeover the restaurant, their first
response was sure, we've got aspot for Kristen.
(11:29):
And I think my wife was likewell, that's not exactly what we
wanted, and so you know howwe've accounted for that.
A little bit is.
You know, if you're in thatrestaurant on any given day,
you'll see me.
Doug (11:43):
I've sort of put in a lot more on the FaceTime side, right
, so that I can build up some ofthe credibility that you know
maybe inherently comes withbeing part of the Juan family,
right right, you know, duringCOVID and a lot of things got
shut down, I know the businessesmoved to more of a takeout and
you were saying to me earlierthat that's sort of when Jimmy
(12:05):
Juan Jr sort of took over alittle bit more of the business
because it wasn't necessary forthe whole family to be there.
But then, as the restaurantshave fully reopened and come
back, it just felt like a goodtime to change over to the next
generation and you and your wifewere out of state, you moved
back home and you're you knowyou're really getting entrenched
in the business.
(12:26):
For folks that don't know muchabout the the Wan family history
, Can you give us a littlesummary of like some of the
other restaurants, Cause I thinkthere was at least one or so
before?
Todd (12:38):
we can go.
We can go all the way back.
I'm I'm better at this, alittle bit better at the history
than even my wife is, andthere's also a great, a
fantastic article in Shady AveMagazine too that touches on a
bit of this.
But my father-in-law moved herefrom Taiwan when he was 18,
immediately went to work inrestaurants in New York, sort of
got the itch to go somewhereelse, went all the way down to
(13:01):
Florida, hooked through Texas.
He actually bought his firstrestaurant in Iowa.
Oh wow, it did not go well.
He ended up coming back.
He met my mother-in-law in NewYork and they decided to move
back to Pittsburgh and opened arestaurant in Beaver.
Didn't go especially well.
They moved back to New York.
(13:22):
Then they got a call from mygrandmother-in-law, my mother's
mother, about a spot in FoxChapel that had opened up and if
they wanted to come back.
She thought it was perfect forthem to open a restaurant and so
they got together with an oldchef and they opened Taip ei.
(13:42):
That was about, I want to sayabout 38 years ago, 1986.
With Taip ei they openedrestaurants a few.
There was one in Shadyside, onein Green Tree, I'm probably
forgetting one, but theybranched it out.
They branched it out, they grew,but maybe not as successfully
(14:04):
as they would have hoped.
When my father-in-law got anopportunity and located a site
in Cranberry 18 years ago, heopened that on his own with some
other partners.
And then, a year afterCranberry opened I mean back
then, cranberry was, you know,fields and farms, maybe not
completely, but not what it istoday.
Doug (14:30):
I worked up in Cranberry from way back when they mostly
called it Crider's Cornerbecause there was like a gas
station on the corner and thenall these industrial parks
started happening.
I specifically remember whenJimmy Wan's Cranberry opened we
went there a ton for lunch.
I mean it was always excellent.
Todd (14:42):
Yeah, the family actually got apartments up in Cranberry
because, you know, opening arestaurant, creating that base
of customers I mean, it's a24-hour-a-day, seven-day-a-week
job and if you want to be ableto even take a break for a
minute, you need to be close by.
And so that was 18 years ago.
(15:04):
17 years ago, jimmy left Taipei, so my father-in-law left
Taipei, and then 15 years ago,we opened in Fox Chapel.
Doug (15:13):
Got it.
Todd (15:14):
What's funny enough is that's actually my wife moved
back from college to openCranberry and to open Fox Chapel
before we sort of ended up inNew York and then away from town
for almost 15 years beforecoming back to Fox Chapel.
This is Todd Brezinski fromJimmy Wan's and you're listening
to the Pittsburgh Dish.
Doug (15:35):
All right.
Well, let's get back to youknow where you now step in.
Like for you personally, whatare some of the most interesting
things you've learned aboutbeing a restaurateur?
Todd (15:47):
It's interesting I so I was an extremely picky eater
when I was growing up, and so I,my favorite restaurant growing
up was Chili's.
No shame that I still likeChili's a lot, um, although I
would say, you know, maybe notas great as its hay day.
But I didn't actually startexperiencing restaurants until
after I graduated college.
(16:07):
I finally had some disposableincome.
I didn't exactly have roommatesthat wanted to go out to
restaurants, but I spent yearsin Boston sort of just going to
places, sitting at the bar,having food for one and, uh, you
know, sort of developing a lovefor different cuisines and
different food items and all ofthat.
Since then I've always been, youknow, maybe what you would call
(16:31):
a foodie although, you know,like Pan-Asian foodie is is one
of those words that that goes inand out of style and when we
lived in dallas.
So in dallas like restaurantsort of functions more as like a
status symbol, you know, and soit's.
It's about where you go and youknow how much you spend a
little bit on dinner.
Yeah, and moving back topittsburgh, the most interesting
(16:52):
thing has been it's all aboutknowing, it's about knowing the
owners, it's about having aconsistent experience.
It's about sort of knowing whoyou're supporting connection
yeah exactly, it's a Pittsburghthing, I got to tell you.
Pittsburgh, at the end of theday, is a collection of small
towns and each town has, youknow, so much community within
(17:13):
it.
Doug (17:13):
Yes.
Todd (17:14):
Yeah, and you know that works to our benefit, where
we've been adopted almost fromday one as part of our
neighborhood, as you know, partof the restaurant where we have
developed these friendships andthese relationships with
longtime regulars in a shortamount of time.
Yeah, in Pittsburgh, that justgoes such a long way.
Doug (17:35):
Yes, amount of time.
Yeah, in Pittsburgh that justgoes such a long way.
Yes, so, todd, you just have methinking as you are back and
you're learning your restaurantbusiness, are there other
restauranteurs that you arecreating bonds with?
I mean whether they are justhelping out with your business
or coming into your business.
Todd (17:51):
We have a lot of restaurant owners that are
regulars at Jimmy Juan's.
And through that we've actuallychanged how we visit other
restaurants because we want tosupport sort of our good
customers and friends and peoplethat we've met through the
restaurant.
So you know I'll give you someexamples.
Like Kevin, who owns Knox'sTavern, is a is a regular at our
bar and you know Knox's Tavernhas now become a family favorite
(18:14):
.
You know Local Provisions andScott Pekarsik I mentioned yes,
they, you know again he comesinto our bar.
Funny story we actually used togo to a different Italian
restaurant but then we met FrankPasqualino who owns
Pasqualino's in Penn Hills.
And now that's our familyItalian restaurant on Sunday
nights when we all go out.
Doug (18:35):
Did you mention that Jamilka and Diane from Lilith
stop in to eat quite often?
Todd (18:40):
Yeah, for sure.
And it's funny that a lot ofindustry folks do love Jimmy
Wan's but they also like sort oftucking away in the corners and
just having a nice meal.
So you know Adam Milliron andwho's a fantastic food
photographer and a good friendof ours and a regular at the
restaurant, he sees people allover the restaurant and he's
like, oh, that's so-and-so fromhere and that's so-and-so from
(19:01):
there, and it really is quitethe legacy at Jimmy Wan's but
also like it's, you know,restaurant people supporting
restaurant people, which iswhich is great also.
Doug (19:11):
Such a Pittsburgh thing.
Todd (19:13):
So, todd, where did you grow up?
I grew up in Northern NewJersey, okay.
Doug (19:18):
And where did you and Kristen meet?
Todd (19:21):
So we met at Boston College Okay.
We both went to college inBoston.
Doug (19:25):
Uh-huh.
And then you said, you movedaround a little bit, so from
Boston where did you all head?
Todd (19:31):
Kristen came back here to open the restaurants.
Yes, I made my way to New York.
I had a career in finance,working at a hedge fund.
Okay, kristen moved out andjoined me, and then I we left to
go to Chicago where I went tobusiness school.
Out of business school, I wentinto management consulting with
(19:53):
Boston Consulting Group, and sowe moved to Dallas where we had
two girls.
And it was sort of right afterthe birth of our second daughter
that we realized the importanceof having family around.
And that's when my wife willtell you this.
That's when I approached herwith the idea of moving back to
Pittsburgh and taking over therestaurants.
It was one night at about 3 amafter feeding the baby.
(20:15):
So maybe not, maybe not whenyou do your best thinking, but I
sat on the idea for about twoweeks and I still felt good
about it.
Doug (20:24):
So you're really part of the catalyst, of of your family
moving back and her being ableto be a closer part of the
family restaurant.
Todd (20:31):
Oh for sure, you know I I've said this many times and
we've talked about sort of thegenerational shift.
There aren't many opportunitiesto, you know, take over
successful small businesses in areasonable way, and so they're
they're a little bit lessinterested in being a part of it
(20:57):
going forward, whereas, youknow, I'm a bit of an outsider
in many ways, and so I think Ihad a good assessment of sort of
what this could do for ourfamily and how we could sort of
branch out from here.
You know, fun fact is my wifeand I are about the same age
right now as my father-in-lawwas when he opened Taipei.
Oh, wow.
And so whenever we're sort offeeling down about you know all
(21:21):
the complexity that we've addedto our life, I like to think of
that, and you know all thesuccess that he's had and just
think about we're alreadybuilding off the base that he
has established and my in-lawshave established over the course
of, you know, 30, 38 years.
I have customers every day whosay we've been eating here since
Jimmy opened Taipei and that'samazing, how many opportunities
(21:45):
do you get to do that?
Doug (21:46):
Yeah, please inherit this legacy.
Please keep it going, becausepeople love it.
Todd (21:50):
Exactly and it's funny.
You know, in Pittsburgh youprobably see more of that than
anywhere else I've lived.
It's just there is a bit ofthat coming home feeling like a
lot of our friends in ourneighborhood or that we've met
in various social settings, likethey are folks that left for
college or left for you know,their sort of early adulthood
(22:12):
and then returned home when theyhad kids, because Pittsburgh is
a fantastic place to raise kids.
Doug (22:18):
I agree.
So, todd, let's, let's moveforward.
What are some of the goals thatyou see ahead of you?
You and Kristen have your eyesmore closely on the Fox chapel
location, and Jimmy Juan jr hashis eyes a little bit more
closely on the Cranberrylocation, but you guys are all
working in concert.
Todd (22:37):
Yeah, we.
We're basically talking everyday about sort of Jimmy Wan's
the enterprise.
You, know, and.
But then Jimmy has more timeand connections spent in
Cranberry and Chris and I havemore of that spent in Fox Chapel
.
Yes, but the idea is sort of tomake you know, to standardize
where we can you know.
(22:57):
It's very clear that therestaurant started with the same
blueprint, but when you havedifferent kitchens and different
eyes on everything, they'vedrifted apart.
Like part of our goal is tohave them drift closer together.
Doug (23:07):
Yeah, Like there may be one or two menu items that are
slightly different.
Or maybe, to your point earlier, it's about those long-term
customers and you.
You know, maybe the taste incranberry are a little bit
different and so we might put afilet on or something like that
to just change the menu up.
Todd (23:23):
But oh for sure, like you, customers are not shy to tell
you whether they, like you know,the hot and sour soup and
cranberry better than is in Foxchapel, even if it, you know is
is almost imperceptiblydifferent to most people.
You know, people have theirfavorites and honestly like part
of it.
It's just the ambience you knowlike and I don't mean that to
say that either restaurant.
I think they're both beautifulrestaurants and a great place to
(23:44):
eat.
But if you're used to someplace,the food tastes more familiar
and if you're less used tosomeplace, like so much of taste
and what you appreciate fromrestaurants is context, and so
you know you could tell me we,and we, chris and I, have had
people in Fox chapel stop uswhen we're at other restaurants
to say, oh, since you guys areback, the food is so much better
(24:05):
.
And you know, nothing haschanged.
To be clear, we haven't changedany recipes, like there's more
specials, et cetera.
But if you got General Tso'schicken a year ago and you got
it today, it is the same recipewith the same chicken.
Um, but when you, when you feelthe effort and the that my wife
and I have put into theambience and the staff and
(24:27):
training and all of that thatcan heighten, you know even the
same food absolutely Icompletely agree.
Doug (24:33):
Just knowing that this next generation is there it
gives it a whole new feel andpossibly to some folks, a whole
new taste.
I'd love to just jump forward.
So you guys are in the businessnow.
Any place you want to take therestaurants, what's on your mind
?
Todd (24:50):
For sure.
I mean, my wife and I areambitious.
We moved here, you know,because we wanted to do a lot
right, like we wanted to own ourown business and see where that
took us.
You know, right now we're sortof in the phase where we're
seeing, you know, how we canmake the two restaurants operate
more efficiently, just for ourown time.
You know there's there's apotential next phase which is,
(25:12):
you know, opening another JimmyJuan's, or just opening another
restaurant, or, absent that,opening another business.
So we're looking at a wholerange of opportunities, but
right now we're focused onmaking Jimmy Wan's the best
experience it can be, because wethink there's a lot more
potential in both restaurants.
Doug (25:27):
Yes, so, Todd, I'd love to give you a moment to go ahead
and tell everyone where they canfind Jimmy Wands and how they
can follow you if they want tosee your social feed.
All of that good stuff.
Todd (25:39):
For sure.
So right now it's a good timeto follow both Jimmy Wan's Fox
Chapel and Jimmy Wan's Cranberryon Instagram.
We're in the middle of the 15thanniversary for Fox Chapel, and
so we're doing a big giveawaywith a bunch of food influencers
and people in the foodcommunity within Pittsburgh that
we know and, like you know ingeneral, that's where we like to
(26:00):
keep our customers updated onnew dishes and just what's going
on in the world of Jimmy Wan's.
All right.
And then the website, too it'sjust jimmywans.
com, All right jimmywans.
com.
Doug (26:10):
That's easy Right, easy enough.
All right, todd, we are down tothe the last question.
I don't know exactly what youranswer will be for this, but the
name of the show is thepittsburgh dish.
What's the best dish you'veeaten this past week?
Todd (26:25):
I'll give one homer answer , which is so.
My chef walked out of thekitchen the other uh last
weekend and he just asked me totry something without any
context, and it was a blacktruffle soup dumplings, and they
were amazing like from from thefirst, from the first batch,
and and he doesn't even liketruffles he sort of thought that
(26:46):
the truffles on their own wasdisgusting, but he sort of
knocked it out of the park andso that's part of our new
specials right now.
Um, the non-homer pick is myfavorite other local restaurant
and we don't get out much, somost everything is within a
five-minute proximity of JimmyWan's and Fox Chapel, but is the
Spoon Burger at LocalProvisions, which is, you know,
(27:07):
for me, the best burger inPittsburgh, although I'm working
on trying some more.
Doug (27:11):
There's a lot to try.
Could you remind folks where isLocal Provisions?
Todd (27:15):
Local Provisions.
Is in that Fox Chapel Plaza,right sort of catty corner to
Alta Via?
Doug (27:21):
That's right, best Bites this week.
Todd Brezinski of Jimmy Wan's.
Thanks so much for being on ThePittsburgh Dish.
Thanks for having me.
As grilling season ramps up,let's check in with Catherine
Montest and see what she'sdrinking when she's out at the
barbecue.
Hey, Catherine, welcome back tothe podcast.
How you doing.
Catherine (27:41):
I'm really well, doug , it's great to see you again.
Doug (27:43):
You too, and we're in the height of summer right now.
I know a lot of people aredoing grilling and barbecuing.
What wines are on your mindthat go with that barbecue
season?
Catherine (27:56):
Wow, barbecue season.
Oh, it's so much fun.
I'm thinking barbecue.
You put a big juicy hamburgeror a big juicy steak on the
grill and it gets all thoseluscious grill marks and such on
there.
One of the best wines to gowith a great big meaty burger or
a big meaty steak is Zinfandeloh yeah, are wey, steak is
(28:16):
Zinfandel oh yeah, are wetalking a red Zinfandel?
We're talking red Zinfandel.
Okay, we're not talking aboutthe white Zinfandel that mom
used to drink.
Right she was transitioning kindof into wine and away from soda
pop.
No, we're talking aboutdelicious, rich, luscious
Zinfandel.
It's mostly grown in California.
Doug (28:39):
In California it's like the Lodi Valley.
A couple of my favorite Zinsare from that area.
Catherine (28:45):
California, absolutely Lodi Valley, One of
the ones that I really enjoy,and I brought a bottle of this
for you today.
It's from a winery calledArmida, and last time my husband
and I were out in California weended up upon their winery and
we liked it so much.
We get a case from them two orthree times a year.
Doug (29:07):
Wow, this is really saying something.
Catherine (29:09):
It's really delicious .
It's got bold red, ripe fruitflavors.
You're tasting raspberries,strawberries, even some plum in
there.
And the nice thing about theZinfandel, and why it works so
well with steak, is steak'sgoing to be kind of fatty and
the acid level in the Zinfandelis just high enough to cut
(29:32):
through that.
And when you balance thefattiness of the steak with the
acidity that's happening in theZinfandel, it pops and brings
even more of those fruit flavorsinto your mouth with the wine.
Doug (29:45):
That sounds so good.
I was also wondering, you know,when we are grilling we have
those smoky flavors and thosecharred flavors, and does that
also then tend to work with theZinfandel?
Catherine (29:55):
Absolutely.
Your palate is so good, Doug.
It's really kind of dazzlingwith the things you just come up
with so very quickly.
Doug (30:04):
So Zinfandel good with grilled meats.
Catherine (30:07):
Absolutely and grilling, since you've got the
grill hot and maybe noteverybody likes the big bold red
that slaps you around a littlebit.
Another way to go is to sliceup some citrus I'm talking
lemons, limes and oranges Popthem on the grill, get a couple
(30:27):
little char marks going on thoseand you're going to mix those
together with a bottle ofGrenache, and I also like to add
a bottle of Cava, which is aSpanish version of champagne, so
to speak.
So you make a sangria.
Oh, so this is my favoritesummer sangria and I'm planning
on serving this in about twoweeks.
(30:48):
We're having folks over forribs.
Grill the citrus two of eachand put them in a bowl or other
serving thing, and a bottle ofGrenache, a bottle of Cava, all
of your fruit, a cup of simplesyrup and a cup of brandy, and
you just give it a stir, throw alittle ice at it.
Doug (31:09):
I was going to say you need to chill this one.
Catherine (31:10):
You're going to want to chill it.
Doug (31:11):
It's sangria, and I think this is like the perfect quote,
unquote summer punch, when yousaid get a big bowl, oh yeah.
Catherine (31:18):
It's definitely a summer punch.
It's just absolutely delicious.
And you bring those littlesmoky notes in to the wine, it's
absolutely divine.
Doug (31:27):
It's so different.
I haven't really ever heard ofa grilled citrus sangria.
Catherine (31:32):
Well, I hope you try it this summer.
You'll be glad you did I loveit.
Catherine, I hope you try itthis summer.
You'll be glad you did, I loveit.
Doug (31:36):
Catherine, thank you so much.
Catherine (31:38):
My pleasure Doug, Always good to see you.
Doug (31:40):
You too.
You can learn more aboutCatherine and even book a
private event.
Check out her website atwwwyourfairywinemothercom.
If you've been following mypersonal social media at Doug
Cooking, you know that I'm oneof the home cook contestants on
this season of The GreatAmerican Recipe on PBS.
I'm giving a call to my otherfellow contestants from this
(32:04):
season to see what they'recooking at home.
This week we talk with TimHarris in Fort Mill, South
Carolina, and get his take onshrimp with cheesy grits.
Let's give him a call and learna little bit more about this
dish.
Hello, hey, tim.
Doug, how's it going?
(32:25):
It's great.
How are you doing today?
Doing really well.
Doing really well, my friend.
How about you?
I'm doing great.
And, tim, I want to talk aboutthis cheesy shrimp and grits
recipe that you sent us.
Thank you so much for therecipe.
Tim (32:38):
Oh, no, thanks for the opportunity, thanks for asking.
Doug (32:40):
Yeah, tim, is there anything about this shrimp and
grits?
That really is your spin andmakes it a little different than
some of the other versions inthe South.
Tim (32:49):
Well, a lot of Southern versions will use a sausage,
andouille sausage, smokedsausage.
I use bacon not just to get thegrease to start the roux, but
just kind of to like level itdown.
I want the shrimp to be thestar of the show, yeah, and the
same thing with the cheesy grits.
I use the Colby Jack instead oflike a sharp cheddar, because I
just kind of want a mild cheesyflavor in there.
I don't want the grits to beoverpowered with cheese.
(33:10):
I kind of want the shrimp andthe gravy to be the star.
Doug (33:13):
It sounds so good and for any of our listeners that
haven't seen the recipe yet onthe blog, the grits are pretty
straightforward.
You start out with, actually,chicken broth.
You add the grits when they'realmost done and thick, you add
half and half that shreddedColby that you mentioned and
some butter and I think reallythe star here on the top is the
shrimp gravy.
So, like we just said, you'restarting out with a few strips
(33:38):
of bacon.
Do you cut the bacon up firstbefore you render out like the
fat?
Is that how you do it?
I?
Tim (33:41):
like to leave it whole strips just to kind of render
out the fat of it, and I cook itextra crispy, get extra crispy
strips out of it before I setthose aside, and we keep the fat
in the pan and that's what I'mgoing to start my saute with.
Doug (33:56):
And so you're putting some onion in there, and then
eventually tomatoes, butter,garlic and white wine, and then,
just to make sure you don'tovercook the shrimp, we're
adding the shrimp like near thevery end.
Is that right?
Tim (34:09):
Right, if your gravy is kind of thinner than you'd like
it.
You'd like it a little thicker.
You can I use a sift a little,just a little tablespoon or so
of flour, kind of like just pickup the roux a little bit more
just to thicken it up a littlebit, cause you know, once you
add the shrimp in there, thatwill they will draw some a
little bit of moisture out ofthe shrimp.
You still want them nice andjuicy, but it'll still draw some
moisture and it'll kind of thinit back out again.
(34:30):
It's not like a dinner gravy.
It's more like just kind of likea looser gravy to kind of mix
in with the grits and everything.
I love it.
Doug (34:38):
Tim, this I mean it sounds delicious, and you sent over
some pictures.
They look amazing and I knowyou have so many other recipes,
especially like in barbecue.
If people want to find andfollow you and your food, where
can they find more about you?
Tim (34:52):
Oh great, yeah, you know I love grilling and I love the
barbecue.
You can find me on InstagramDapperdadskitchen is my handle,
Tim Harris.
The same thing on Facebook.
I also have a website, which Ijust launched,
dapperdadskitchencom.
That will get you to all mysocial media as well.
And another great place to findme is going to be cooking
alongside you on season three ofPBS's Great American Recipe.
Doug (35:16):
Oh, that's right.
We will be on this seasonMonday nights or on pbs.
org or streaming on the PBS app.
Tim Harris, thank you so muchfor this recipe and thank you
for being on the Pittsburgh Dish.
Thanks for having me, doug.
If you have a recipe, share itwith us.
Just go to our website atwwwpittsburghdishcom and look
(35:41):
for our share a recipe form.
That's our show for this week.
We'd like to thank all of ourguests and contributors, and to
Kevin Solecki of CarnegieAccordion Company for providing
the music to our show.
We'll be back again next weekwith another fresh episode.
Stay tuned.
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