September 13, 2022 • 38 mins
How blessed I was recently to meet Chef Dino Redzik. He serves up the finest meals along with an abundant helping of food for the soul. His personality fills the room, his joy radiates in all directions, and he inspires everyone caught in his light to go forth and do great things.
I so enjoyed my time with him at Paul's On Times Square that I simply had to bring him aboard the podcast and share him with you. Have a seat at the table, his story is a feast for the spirit! ~ Delilah
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:04):
It's still hot outside. It's been so dry for so long.
The grass on my lawns and in the fields has
turned to a golden brown. I have to water my
veggie gardens and hanging baskets every day or they, too,
will begin to look like straw. But several of our
(00:25):
mornings have come with a bit of a nip to them.
The sun sinks behind the horizon much earlier than just
a few weeks ago, it seems, and my pumpkins are
growing plump on the vine, all signs that summer is
slipping away while autumn is knocking at the door. It's
creeping up from behind. I'm always sad to see one
(00:47):
season passed, but I'm always excited to see the next arrive.
Fall is one of my favorites for many reasons, but
if I'm gonna be honest, one of the biggest is
because of food. The gardens give up everything they've been nurturing,
inspiring many many more meals and side dishes than our
fast paced summer allowed, and most welcome. Now that school
(01:12):
is back in session and a family, especially one as
big as mine, is hungry after a busy day, we
gather around the table with more regularity. I'm always seeking
inspiration for meal ideas in life, and the two collided beautifully. Recently,
I've been eager to share the experience with you. For
(01:33):
the first time since COVID came onto the scene, I
was able to attend Broadway in Bryant Park in New
York City, an annual tradition where the most popular shows
on Broadway performed their biggest hits for free in the park.
It's always been a wonderful reason to take my family
(01:54):
into the Big Apple to enjoy everything yet has to offer,
and we have missed it so much the last couple
of years. While I was there this time, I met
the most remarkable human being. He's a chef, he's a
man of deep faith. He's a husband, he's a father,
(02:15):
and he is a friend to all. He's a humanitarian.
Google him and you'll see monikers like first Food Responder.
They call him the Light of Fort Street, as well
as a slew op press about his pizzeria that served
up slice after slice of delicious comfort and hope during
(02:38):
the worst of all times, all for free. The man
has a personality that simply cannot be contained. He seems
to have poundless energy, and joy. He wants all the
folks he comes into contact with to understand that life
is a series of countless opportunity, redase. Oh my gosh.
(03:03):
Talking to him for five minutes and I was ready
to jump over tall buildings and to tackle my biggest dreams.
He knows the secret to happiness is gratitude and giving back.
His name is Dino red Zick, and today he is
here with me on love someone with the Lilah, and
(03:23):
I can't wait for you to meet him and all
of his glory. He's got a delightful accent. He is
a larger than life man. I'll introduce you right after
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code Love for percent off. Dina, Welcome to Love Someone Today,
(05:43):
my longer format podcast. I have a shorter one, but
in this podcast I get a chance to talk to
people more in depth and hear more of the back story.
So I met you in New York in Times Square,
at your restaurant Halls on Times Square, and I was
immediately in love with you. It was love at first bite, No,
(06:06):
I mean love at first. It was our pleasure and
finally an honor to meet you. You have such a
larger than life personality and I was like, oh my gosh,
I have to get you on the podcast because you're
just You're just like bubbling joyous energy. And your love
(06:31):
for New York, your love for cooking, your love for
the people, your love for serving others, it emanates from
you like a lighthouse. You know how they have a
lighthouse up on a hill. No wonder, no wonder you
in this field. Your words are sweeters than the reality.
But thank you, God, bless you for that. Well, I
don't know what the reality is. I only met you
(06:52):
that one time, but that's that was my experience with you.
Thank you so much. I started talking about your food
because you did a wonderful presentation for us just I mean,
you opened your doors early to serve us and made
all this special food that I had to take pictures of.
(07:12):
It was so pretty, it was like a painting. Oh
my god, you will You're gonna make me blessed. Now
I'm wonna I won't be able to go back to cookie.
I didn't know it was not good. I'm gonna have
to increase my prices. You could, and you could get
away with it, um, because it really was that good.
But um. Then we started talking not just about food,
(07:37):
but about your heart for people. And that's when I
knew I had to get you on this podcast. Thank you.
I introduced you to my daughter Bridget, who is off
at culinary arts school right now, and you were so
gracious and so kind. She was speechless. She just sit
there with her mouth open, because you know, she's a
(07:57):
little quiet and shy and you I are not I
can tell. But but next time you're in with her,
we will give a thought of the kitchen and maybe
we can cook something together that would be awesome. After
we left, she was kicking herself for days, like, oh
my gosh, I met a real like a real top
chef from New York and I didn't even say anything.
(08:19):
I was so shocked. Thank you, thank you. So tell
me a little bit about your history. You have a
delightful accent. What's your backstory? Oh my god, I wouldn't
know where to begin, but I'll start. Um. I speak
seven languages, and uh, English is the last one I learned,
(08:40):
not going in school. I still butcher it. So I
apologized already to listeners. But I can converse in many
languages at the same time, which is a talent, not
only in the kitchen. There is a common joke they say,
how many chefs doesn't take to change a lightbulb? How
many five? I want to do act old job and
(09:00):
ford to tell them how they've done it at their
last job. It's very simple, I mean cooking. Cooking is
a gift many of us find a profession. Uh, it's
amazing life. Imagine my every day. It's similar to yours,
except people love to listen to you. Mine is whatever
someone calls it, a good time is my every day.
(09:22):
When you go on a date, you go to a restaurant.
When you have a business meeting, go to a restaurant.
When you go on vacation, you go to a restaurant.
So and then when you find somebody enjoy what you
create and you get paid for it. I mean, how
much work can you ask for. It's a kind of
a perfect situation. You you get to do what you
love and make people happy. I'm telling you it's incredible,
(09:44):
and I don't feel like I often forget. It's very
hard on my wife and my kids that I forget
what ame I go to work or when I go home.
It's so joyful. Now, that's a bright side of it.
The hard side of it, it's very hard in the
family hours along today. Difficulties with employ is with getting
the producing, with getting the stuff boat, but overall it
(10:05):
is all manager. It's Murphy Low applies more than often.
But we kind of learned how to improvise. And it's
a again, like I said, you will never get bored.
You will never get even with a few clients in
your restaurant versus a liner door. There is always something
to do. Not everything is orchestrated correctly. There is always
some room that you can It would take a skillful
(10:27):
person to navigate. I'm telling you there is a challenges
in a restaurant business more than anywhere else. But it's
manager and joyful. Now, going back to how I started
in this, I am a doctor caught unclose a physical
therapist that had never practiced a single day. Wait wait
wait wait wait wait, you went to all that school
(10:48):
and got your education to be a physical therapist. And
you've never therapized anybody, not a single day, And I
probably need it now more than anyone would. Um. Also,
I concentrated on sports medicine. Not many people know about this,
and I would never drug you up. If you're a
baseball player and you twist your knee, or if you
(11:10):
have an injury, or you'll be spine or what have you,
you're getting off that field, and most like I'll be
fired on my first day. You can fight the owners
administration and whatever the protocol is. Obviously someone else designed
the game, not do you know? And I figure out
fighting a system probably won't make me make a living. Uh, definitely,
I would feel good about what I do, but it
(11:33):
won't work. Then I did not speak English. I find
myself in New York, but that would be another story.
How I got in New York, You're gonna need a
lot more than half an hour for that. I came
through Mexico like any other Mexican or Hispanic dame. Then, uh,
we've made my way up to where I am. But
at one point I realized, what does the one do?
This is not a Mexican accent I I know you
(11:55):
speak Spanish, but this is not a Mexican accent. Definitely
not the Mexican believe it or not. Mexico is so
big and it's such a lovely country. Even certain states
in Mexico they don't understand each other in their native
language is not Spaniard. So it's uh, it's an interesting
It's a great country. I actually traveled a lot and
seen seen plenty of places, and I love the country
(12:16):
and I love their food and passion, and it's kind
of kind of similar to where I come from. Our
food is not American food. Our food where I come
from in Montenegro, it's more peasant style, but not cookie
It's peasant style living. And you kind of all the
food and ingredients were not available year round if we
(12:36):
didn't have a resource or to get fresh basil in
February or fresh tomato. That's why you have to come
with all these pickling stuff and make something last that
you're gonna, you know, put in a some kind of
brine that would last through the winter until the new
problems kicks in. So do you can now? Do you do?
(12:59):
You are up here to make those? Do you can anything? Oh? No, no,
I don't. But my first butcher shop that I had,
Slash Gourmet. I was making my own stuffed peppers with cabbage,
my own pickles. I even did that with a beef
prescudo and my own sausages. And you know, at that time,
it was just a dream come true. I mean, back home,
(13:21):
we didn't even have a refrigerator, for God's sake, And
looking here I get to cleat a sausage with my
label on. I mean, well, what an American dream? And such.
I mean, today, thirty years later is a lot easier,
But in the very beginning, I would pinch myself, Like
you said, your daughter was like I talked to a
real chef. It's like, my Gods, I did this and
people actually enjoy my food. I mean, what an honor.
(13:44):
So Paul's on Broadway, the restaurant that you have now
is real Italian food? Is that your favorite style of cooking?
Or do you like my I wouldn't say sorry to
correct you. I will never do that. It's Pauls on
Time Square, on Time Square, Sorry, right on forty two Street,
been Broadway in six in Hilton Garden in Hotel Hatal Lobby,
(14:04):
which is at the fourth floor unobstructed view of the blueldroom.
The view is beautiful, but that as beautiful as the food.
Thank you. Now, when you say Italian food, I am
not Italian. I do cook Italian food, but up here
it's more kind of my food, my experience through life.
Kind of New York Italian flair, but New York American dinos.
(14:31):
How about that flair? And why is that? Of My
clients are either Broadway goers or hotel clients, and and
they kind of set in their ways what they want
and pressed for the time. So you can really, you know,
venture too much or cook them out to flair or
(14:54):
make them, uh, you know something crude all of Fresco
or all Gras. In certain ways, they kind of want
that burger, but I want to make sure that they
eat the best burger that there is, or they wanna
because they want to, you know, munch on something while
they're enjoying a cocktail at the bar that could sit
for a little bit, you know it kind of you
(15:15):
can I in this restaurant, I really listened to what
the clientele, what they were asking for, and therefore I
went back to drawing board and figure out what's feasible
what's not. But I tried that with the top ingredients.
What we do with fish, you know, I don't. I
used to have three or four of them on the menu.
Now I only kept only two salmon, and then I'll
do one in a special every so often. You know,
(15:37):
to get it is New York and we do have
probably the best supplying choices in the world. You want
to get something that's fresh, that you know, that you
you feel good about. They will feed your kids. Now,
when we were talking, you and I started talking about
all the wonderful things that you have done, and the
(16:00):
way you talked about America and all the the good
you were paying back was the way somebody talks about
a lover, like the love on your face. And you
were saying, so many opportunities and so much goodness has
come here, and you just kept saying, I just want
to pay it back. I just want to pay it forward.
I just want to be a help to other people.
(16:24):
And I love that that spirit that is motivated by gratitude.
That's what I'm trying to get to. Your spirit is motivated,
do you know when I met you by pure gratitude,
And so many people today are so ungrateful and have
an entitlement attitude like I'm entitled to this blessing. No
(16:47):
you're not. No you're not. None of us are. Come on,
and yet you you exude that gratitude. Tell me some
of the projects that you've taken on over the years.
I mean, I can, I can recall just a couple
that you mentioned, the people that you fed for weeks
(17:07):
after nine eleven and the first responders, and what you
did during the COVID shutdown. Share with our listeners some
of those labors of love you took on. Absolutely, I'm
gonna first stop on your on your first thing on entitlement.
I often often in all of my public speaking and
UH food classes and a pizza show that I do
(17:27):
for children, and I can tell that a lot of
them feel entitled to a lot of stuff, you know,
the predominant parental UH influencing their life and schooling and
what have you. But I often tell them, guys, this
is a real story. In the United States, thank God
and God bless America. The air is free. Nothing else.
(17:48):
Even driver license is a privilege, not the right. You
have it. You do something stupid with it, they'll take
it away. So only free air. And believe me, today
people in Ukraine and everyone else that there is trouble
would die to get some fresh free air. I'm I'm
loving what you're saying. I think I have such a
(18:10):
hard time parenting my children because I have been blessed,
and so I try to bless them, and then I
get frustrated that they have this entitlement attitude, and then
I have to look at the mirror and go, guess
who caused it? Guess who created this? Guess who created
this monster. I did show you that I got nobody
to blame but myself, and so I am constantly trying
(18:34):
to help them to understand you. You need to be grateful.
You have to have an attitude of gratitude, and um,
it's it's kind of hard to come by these days.
Do I tell you? I think you know. I think
you know. I don't know whether you find yourself in that,
but in every every parent story I find myself and
my wife to it. We are professionals. We work very hard,
(18:56):
and then we want to we think that we can
raise perfect family, affec children the way we think we should. Uh.
Then we want a time for each other. And but
I think where every American family makes a mistake is
I think children should be part of us every day.
Even if you go to dinner, it should be with
children and not everybody texting on the phone, and at
dinner table, talk about school, talk about they who bullied,
(19:19):
who who had an issue on the bus getting home,
whatever the case is. But try to be off the
social It doesn't have to last long. Parents often make
a mistake. I'm a victim of that. I haven't seen
my wife in so long, after not being home all
day long. We give them a strange babysitter at home,
and then we go out to dinner when we come
home this week, and that happens Monday and Tuesday. Friends
(19:42):
come over and Wednesday and Thursday. And children, especially today's children,
they don't forget. They pay us right back. And I
think this entitlement is what that falls in where children feel, oh,
I was born first, Why does she has to get
a call like why don't I have? And he finds
parents in a in a very bad situation where they're like,
(20:03):
oh my god, I created this. How when I was
going to school, I didn't even have a car. And
now they don't want this car, you know, they're not
good enough. You know, I got enough for and this
is not what I wear. You know, instead of you
buying me clothes, why don't you just let me buy
it on my own and or or this is the classic.
In my family, I cook my whole life. I go home, kids,
(20:28):
open up refrigerator. There's nothing here. I can at any
given time, I can cook for thirty people. How much
food is in my house. But they opened it that
there's nothing here, close the door, get on the phone,
and not even to go pick it up. Or something
Uber eats. So you order a burger that cost twelve
(20:48):
dollars and Uber tried to do to bring it to you. Yeah, no,
that that that that will never happen on my watch.
You're not home to see it. Then my studios in
my house, So Alma bears got eyes on. I think
that's a that's a classical one for American family. And
and that's how we got us. Helfie to that. I
(21:09):
have a friend that when he was younger, he's an
adult now, but when he was younger, his parents took
him on vacation. I think it was to Florida, and
while they weren't really paying attention, because they were at
the pool and they were having a drink and they
were doing this, he ran up like a seven hundred
dollar room fee, you know, putting it on his dad's card,
(21:31):
on the room card. When they weren't paying attention. He
was ordering you know, soda and a hamburger for thirty
bucks to be delivered to the room. And oh, my
goodness is folks. So back to some of the good
projects that you have been involved with, and and you
(21:53):
were so animated. I wish our listeners could see your
face and see the sheer joy when you talk about
the joy you feel when you're helping others and doing
good for others. Tell me about some of those colossal
things you did. I tell you I, Uh, by luck
(22:13):
of the drone right pre nine eleven, I was a
part of opening crew at the Windows in the World
and uh, unfortunately I lost a lot of people that
I worked there. Nine Oh my god, horrible, horrifying things.
That many that I couldn't you lost nine that I
(22:34):
work with every day, that I worked with every day.
It's just it was very I still can't go to
the site. Uh. I did some humanitarian it was an
interesting project on the world World Trade Center seven. At
that time, my wife and I were expecting our first child,
and if I had gone with them, this would have
(22:57):
happened to my kids. The kids who who are survivors
of lost one or both parents and windows in the
world had a tremendous trauma issue in their life and
they all got into really bad things drugs, alcohol, prostitution.
They just couldn't find themselves. They were never given opportunity
(23:19):
to be themselves like a normal human being with the
both parents that they will go for a bike ride
or walk in the park. They were always missing, and
media and us we all talked about atrocity on nine eleven.
So they were never gave the right amount of attention
that any child of that age would be. So those
kids were lost, and a couple of group people came up.
(23:44):
They wrote a book about him that they said that
let's try to give back, explain ourselves. Why is this
what it is? You know, we are not used to
you know, last time we had something like this was
a pearl harbor and h this was a very different
thing to have on American soil, and you know, every
day was a new thing. And these children were in
(24:07):
a desperate need that some really good people got around
and they created this foundations when they asked me to cook,
and the stories collided and my partners and this did
a nice uh display, and I was moved. I couldn't
move by. I was going to passionately describe and talk
about my food, but I I was frozen. I just
had a life flash right in front of me. We
(24:30):
don't know what tomorrow brings, so we don't know what
tomorrow today has because but we just have to go forward.
So that's that's the one of the first things that
we did at the World Trade Center. Then when we
opened one of our restaurants, Uncle Pol's Pizza, back in
two thousand twelve, I think when Hurricane Sandy devastated New York,
(24:52):
we had ability that we cook for larger groups, and
we realized that even female found themselves in a very
difficult situation. For instance, there is one place called New
doorp in Staten Island when female brought in thousands of
food items but frozen and cooked burgers with no ways
a family who had lost everything that they can cook
(25:15):
those burgers, and there was ton of water, blankets, everything
was You would think it's sufficient enough, but nobody had
thought that these people got not a basic thing at home.
They don't have a home, and even if they do
have a home, that home has been submerged to the roof,
so there is nothing drying nothing, no power, no no gas,
(25:36):
no no drinking water. So the sufficient thing would be
to give them full meal. So my partners and I
decided we actually got support from a lot of neighboring
restaurants and neighboring business owners trucks and we brought first
six hundred hot meals to Newdorp the very first day.
My son was five years old and he was so
(26:00):
excited that he could make the difference. So there is
one of the things that proudly my partner's Paul Nikai
and Nika Kutti, and I did my mom or my
brother who owned the butcher's shop at that time. Uh,
everyone kind of felt in the right place. And believe
it or not, it was so well founded that we
served those six hundred meals maybe in fifteen minutes. And
(26:21):
I'm like, oh my god, this can happen in America.
Where is everyone else? Why don't we have ten barbecue
grills here and cook all this fro But I mean
the next day they catch on and they figure out
they brought in the coral engineers. And like I said,
it was not shortage of items, it were just shortage
of what was immediately needed. I'm sure there were donuts
(26:44):
and coffees. I don't think these people were hungry, but
like the comfort of the hot meal, I think, you know,
he didn't make you survive, but it made you feel
good after you probably lost everything, and these people really
lost everything. Imagine in new house, a golf, a bit
that you lose even the last of the last picture
of your beer one and there is no copy anywhere
(27:08):
else of it. So it's it's amazing what water could do. Then,
UH life seems to you know, challenge itself all the
time in the city in Manhattan preterminously, landlords are whether
you like it or not, becomes your business partner. Rents
are so expensive and it's very hard. You may be
(27:29):
in the right location, you may have the right product,
but rent is outrageously expensive, almost to make you not
want to do business because you can't afford it. But
there is plenty of business. So during UH COVID, we
found ourselves, specially in my business partner, Nick and I
going to work every day, but to serve no one.
(27:51):
There was no phone calls. There was you know, curfuse everywhere.
There was no people on the street. For the first
week of two many people were stranded in a hotel
was about to tell that we were located as a
commercial tenant, so their kitchen staff never came. So we
fed those people for until they figure out a way home.
(28:11):
But then after that and everyone of us was thinking,
oh my god, this is just a bad dream. Another day,
another week, but who would think he will last as
long as he did last? So in in this uh war,
when you couldn't see an enemy, I think the doctors, nurses,
e ms, police, all the first responded with true heroes.
(28:32):
God bless them. And you know they put their life
online over and over again, and not every day every day.
So we figure out, you know, talking to each other,
you know, you know, everyone thirsty for information, whether it's
gonna stop or not. But we realized the government was
working on a stimulus package for the restaurants, but everything
(28:55):
was coming not fast enough. You know, if you shut
power in the restaurant for a week or two, everything's
gonna spoil. If you have a walking boxes and everything
full of food. And if you don't have no one
need for it, in a month will be will be gone.
It would expire. So I set to my part of
the said we have a couple of choices. I said,
(29:16):
we be ourselves, and we were. By the way, all
three of us are not an American born. We are American,
proud American citizens today, but we came as immigrants and
we figured out it was time that we do pay back.
So we decided to for two to three weeks that
we would feed all first responders to free That included doctors, nurses,
(29:42):
e ms, fire departments, police department, even traffic guys. Anyone
that was in uniform was border and Malcolm to get
a hot meal. And also on the other hand gave
us something that we could bringing in some of the
people who worked for us who were in desperate need
of work, and so that we don't you know, we
(30:02):
lay off by a substantial amount of people until the
first PP money came in to bring him back. But
those six or seven of them really stuck with us
all the way. So that was that wasn't nice thing
to do. We got coverage from a lot of different
medias We even have one gentleman from l A who
(30:26):
learned what were we're doing. I don't even know how
you heard about it, but he did and he called
me up and he said, that are you do? You know?
So I am. He goes, you're doing a great thing.
I would like to donate five tho dollars anonymously and uh,
pick a hospital of your choice. And I said, wait
a minute, you're gonna give me five thousand dollars. You're
not even gonna tell me your name. I said, I'm
(30:47):
just gonna take your money. I'm not gonna cook. He goes, no, No,
you're not gonna do that. You're gonna cook. And we did. Wow.
I wish Dino had hours to talk with us, but
he's got a restaurant to run and a thousand things
to do on a busy day in the city. Let
me tell you about another of my podcast sponsors then,
(31:09):
and we'll wrap up our conversation with our guests today.
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you my friend will get special pricing. So you know
the traditional story called stone soup and I'm afraid not.
So there's a famine and there's a village and everybody's starving,
(32:22):
everybody's hungry, and Dino comes into the village and he
pulls this this pretty rock out of his pocket and
they said, what is that? And you said, it's a
magic stone that makes stone soup. Can somebody bring me
a big cauldron, a big pot, Okay, somebody bring me
the fire. And he puts the pretty stone in the
(32:45):
pot of water and starts boiling it, and he goes, oh,
doesn't that smell good. Everybody's watching him, going you're crazy.
He goes, no, this will be the best soup you
a rate. If only I had a clove of garlic,
it would be perfect. And so somebody says, I have
a clove of garlic, and they go get the garlic,
and they bring it and they put it in. He goes, oh,
this is gonna be so good enough for everybody, if
(33:07):
only if only we had some potatoes. And somebody else says,
I have I have a potato at home, and they
bring the potato and he cuts up the potato. Dino does,
and he puts it in the soup, and then he goes, oh,
you know what would really make this soup perfect is
if somebody had some carrots. And so the villagers one
(33:32):
by one bring what they have, as small and meager
as it is, and Dino stirs the soup, and minute
by minute it smells better and better, and and then
there's enough soup to feed the entire community dinner and
lunch the next day, and dinner the next day. And
(33:52):
then somebody remembers they had more potatoes, and it's called
stone soup. And the snow one wasn't magical at all.
It was the community coming together. You're the chef that
carries the magic Stone. I believe, oh God bless that's
a very nice story and it actually believe it or not,
(34:15):
that a lot of times in a real life situations
like that do happen. There is a lot of people
that would love to change somebody live, I mean life
in a way. They just need to be reminded somehow
or invited, or they just don't have that entrepreneurial or
(34:35):
what you what are you gonna call it a starting
up point that he says, Okay, we'll figure it out.
Let's just try, and it does happen. It was a
matter of fact, you brought me up to uh when
we were going to New York Uh that with a
convoy of six hot meals, and we we ran into
a trouble that the entire island was evacuating, So every
(34:58):
lane of highway and everything was going out of Staten Island.
So we got in a grid luck right on Verrizano
Bridge with with no movie. Now we have all these
foods for all these people that are leaving the island.
They don't know that there is food coming their way,
but they're blocking us. We can't get in. So senior
(35:20):
partner and I said, Paul, what do we do, and
he goes up, I don't know what can I do?
I said, well, you know some police commissioners and chiefs
or because, oh my god, never thought of that, so
just give them where you at and let them come
and escort us. Oh my god. Twenty minutes later we
had a convoy of police in front and behind us
(35:41):
getting us to the point. So, like I said, there
is a it's a contribution from everyone. It's just like
you have to incentify somehow. You gotta remind if you can,
you have to ask. You're the one with the magic stone.
You gotta try. I guess that stone does get hit
heat up. Well. I I loved meeting you. I love
(36:02):
talking to you, but mostly I love that spirit of
gratitude that you have. And I know that you talk
to kids, you work with kids, you work with young chefs.
You do everything you can to inspire people to have
that entrepreneurial spirit and that gratitude, and I appreciate that.
(36:24):
Thank you so much, and I love your phote. I
appreciate it. We have to have you back, and uh,
thank you again for inviting us on your show, and
really honored and privileged. Hopefully that you can broadcast you
know here for New Year's Eve. When you can see
the balls, I can see the ball drop. I'm there,
Din know, Thank you God, bless you. Thanks. Likewise, when
(36:49):
you're in New York, you can find you you know
where I did in the kitchen of Paul's on Times Square.
There he and his partner Paul Nekaj, will please your
It was spirited Italian dishes, served elegantly but not unapproachable.
It's located in the new Hilton Garden Inn on West Street,
(37:10):
in the center of the city that never sleeps. If
he's not there, he's probably off caring for someone or
a group of someone's who he has met with an
unfortunate adversity. Because Dino has a grateful heart bigger than
the Big Apple, and he will never turn the other
way when he sees a need that can be filled.
Dino has inspired me to kick things up in the
(37:33):
kitchen and to look for ways to be of service
to others. I hope this conversation has done the same
for you. Something to think about as our days grow
shorter and those longer evenings might invite some restlessness. Volunteering
where your skills and talents will be appreciated. Is a
much better use of your time than wasting it on devices,
(37:56):
scrolling through TikTok videos or whatever. Go do some thing
to be a help to others. Thank you for sharing
this time with me, for joining me on my radio program,
and just for being you. Let's catch up with one
another right here in a couple of weeks. Until then,
remember to slow down and love someone. Do
It's still hot outside. It's been so dry for so long.
The grass on my lawns and in the fields has
turned to a golden brown. I have to water my
veggie gardens and hanging baskets every day or they, too,
will begin to look like straw. But several of our
(00:25):
mornings have come with a bit of a nip to them.
The sun sinks behind the horizon much earlier than just
a few weeks ago, it seems, and my pumpkins are
growing plump on the vine, all signs that summer is
slipping away while autumn is knocking at the door. It's
creeping up from behind. I'm always sad to see one
(00:47):
season passed, but I'm always excited to see the next arrive.
Fall is one of my favorites for many reasons, but
if I'm gonna be honest, one of the biggest is
because of food. The gardens give up everything they've been nurturing,
inspiring many many more meals and side dishes than our
fast paced summer allowed, and most welcome. Now that school
(01:12):
is back in session and a family, especially one as
big as mine, is hungry after a busy day, we
gather around the table with more regularity. I'm always seeking
inspiration for meal ideas in life, and the two collided beautifully. Recently,
I've been eager to share the experience with you. For
(01:33):
the first time since COVID came onto the scene, I
was able to attend Broadway in Bryant Park in New
York City, an annual tradition where the most popular shows
on Broadway performed their biggest hits for free in the park.
It's always been a wonderful reason to take my family
(01:54):
into the Big Apple to enjoy everything yet has to offer,
and we have missed it so much the last couple
of years. While I was there this time, I met
the most remarkable human being. He's a chef, he's a
man of deep faith. He's a husband, he's a father,
(02:15):
and he is a friend to all. He's a humanitarian.
Google him and you'll see monikers like first Food Responder.
They call him the Light of Fort Street, as well
as a slew op press about his pizzeria that served
up slice after slice of delicious comfort and hope during
(02:38):
the worst of all times, all for free. The man
has a personality that simply cannot be contained. He seems
to have poundless energy, and joy. He wants all the
folks he comes into contact with to understand that life
is a series of countless opportunity, redase. Oh my gosh.
(03:03):
Talking to him for five minutes and I was ready
to jump over tall buildings and to tackle my biggest dreams.
He knows the secret to happiness is gratitude and giving back.
His name is Dino red Zick, and today he is
here with me on love someone with the Lilah, and
(03:23):
I can't wait for you to meet him and all
of his glory. He's got a delightful accent. He is
a larger than life man. I'll introduce you right after
I let you in on some inside information about one
of my fantastic podcast sponsors. This podcast is sponsored by
a company solving a family problem. They've got the greatest
(03:47):
name Forever Forever dot com. I love my family, and
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But I have the same problem as many people. My
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and old photo albums, others are on social media sites
and cloud storage accounts, and thousands are on my phone.
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code Love for percent off. Dina, Welcome to Love Someone Today,
(05:43):
my longer format podcast. I have a shorter one, but
in this podcast I get a chance to talk to
people more in depth and hear more of the back story.
So I met you in New York in Times Square,
at your restaurant Halls on Times Square, and I was
immediately in love with you. It was love at first bite, No,
(06:06):
I mean love at first. It was our pleasure and
finally an honor to meet you. You have such a
larger than life personality and I was like, oh my gosh,
I have to get you on the podcast because you're
just You're just like bubbling joyous energy. And your love
(06:31):
for New York, your love for cooking, your love for
the people, your love for serving others, it emanates from
you like a lighthouse. You know how they have a
lighthouse up on a hill. No wonder, no wonder you
in this field. Your words are sweeters than the reality.
But thank you, God, bless you for that. Well, I
don't know what the reality is. I only met you
(06:52):
that one time, but that's that was my experience with you.
Thank you so much. I started talking about your food
because you did a wonderful presentation for us just I mean,
you opened your doors early to serve us and made
all this special food that I had to take pictures of.
(07:12):
It was so pretty, it was like a painting. Oh
my god, you will You're gonna make me blessed. Now
I'm wonna I won't be able to go back to cookie.
I didn't know it was not good. I'm gonna have
to increase my prices. You could, and you could get
away with it, um, because it really was that good.
But um. Then we started talking not just about food,
(07:37):
but about your heart for people. And that's when I
knew I had to get you on this podcast. Thank you.
I introduced you to my daughter Bridget, who is off
at culinary arts school right now, and you were so
gracious and so kind. She was speechless. She just sit
there with her mouth open, because you know, she's a
(07:57):
little quiet and shy and you I are not I
can tell. But but next time you're in with her,
we will give a thought of the kitchen and maybe
we can cook something together that would be awesome. After
we left, she was kicking herself for days, like, oh
my gosh, I met a real like a real top
chef from New York and I didn't even say anything.
(08:19):
I was so shocked. Thank you, thank you. So tell
me a little bit about your history. You have a
delightful accent. What's your backstory? Oh my god, I wouldn't
know where to begin, but I'll start. Um. I speak
seven languages, and uh, English is the last one I learned,
(08:40):
not going in school. I still butcher it. So I
apologized already to listeners. But I can converse in many
languages at the same time, which is a talent, not
only in the kitchen. There is a common joke they say,
how many chefs doesn't take to change a lightbulb? How
many five? I want to do act old job and
(09:00):
ford to tell them how they've done it at their
last job. It's very simple, I mean cooking. Cooking is
a gift many of us find a profession. Uh, it's
amazing life. Imagine my every day. It's similar to yours,
except people love to listen to you. Mine is whatever
someone calls it, a good time is my every day.
(09:22):
When you go on a date, you go to a restaurant.
When you have a business meeting, go to a restaurant.
When you go on vacation, you go to a restaurant.
So and then when you find somebody enjoy what you
create and you get paid for it. I mean, how
much work can you ask for. It's a kind of
a perfect situation. You you get to do what you
love and make people happy. I'm telling you it's incredible,
(09:44):
and I don't feel like I often forget. It's very
hard on my wife and my kids that I forget
what ame I go to work or when I go home.
It's so joyful. Now, that's a bright side of it.
The hard side of it, it's very hard in the
family hours along today. Difficulties with employ is with getting
the producing, with getting the stuff boat, but overall it
(10:05):
is all manager. It's Murphy Low applies more than often.
But we kind of learned how to improvise. And it's
a again, like I said, you will never get bored.
You will never get even with a few clients in
your restaurant versus a liner door. There is always something
to do. Not everything is orchestrated correctly. There is always
some room that you can It would take a skillful
(10:27):
person to navigate. I'm telling you there is a challenges
in a restaurant business more than anywhere else. But it's
manager and joyful. Now, going back to how I started
in this, I am a doctor caught unclose a physical
therapist that had never practiced a single day. Wait wait
wait wait wait wait, you went to all that school
(10:48):
and got your education to be a physical therapist. And
you've never therapized anybody, not a single day, And I
probably need it now more than anyone would. Um. Also,
I concentrated on sports medicine. Not many people know about this,
and I would never drug you up. If you're a
baseball player and you twist your knee, or if you
(11:10):
have an injury, or you'll be spine or what have you,
you're getting off that field, and most like I'll be
fired on my first day. You can fight the owners
administration and whatever the protocol is. Obviously someone else designed
the game, not do you know? And I figure out
fighting a system probably won't make me make a living. Uh, definitely,
I would feel good about what I do, but it
(11:33):
won't work. Then I did not speak English. I find
myself in New York, but that would be another story.
How I got in New York, You're gonna need a
lot more than half an hour for that. I came
through Mexico like any other Mexican or Hispanic dame. Then, uh,
we've made my way up to where I am. But
at one point I realized, what does the one do?
This is not a Mexican accent I I know you
(11:55):
speak Spanish, but this is not a Mexican accent. Definitely
not the Mexican believe it or not. Mexico is so
big and it's such a lovely country. Even certain states
in Mexico they don't understand each other in their native
language is not Spaniard. So it's uh, it's an interesting
It's a great country. I actually traveled a lot and
seen seen plenty of places, and I love the country
(12:16):
and I love their food and passion, and it's kind
of kind of similar to where I come from. Our
food is not American food. Our food where I come
from in Montenegro, it's more peasant style, but not cookie
It's peasant style living. And you kind of all the
food and ingredients were not available year round if we
(12:36):
didn't have a resource or to get fresh basil in
February or fresh tomato. That's why you have to come
with all these pickling stuff and make something last that
you're gonna, you know, put in a some kind of
brine that would last through the winter until the new
problems kicks in. So do you can now? Do you do?
(12:59):
You are up here to make those? Do you can anything? Oh? No, no,
I don't. But my first butcher shop that I had,
Slash Gourmet. I was making my own stuffed peppers with cabbage,
my own pickles. I even did that with a beef
prescudo and my own sausages. And you know, at that time,
it was just a dream come true. I mean, back home,
(13:21):
we didn't even have a refrigerator, for God's sake, And
looking here I get to cleat a sausage with my
label on. I mean, well, what an American dream? And such.
I mean, today, thirty years later is a lot easier,
But in the very beginning, I would pinch myself, Like
you said, your daughter was like I talked to a
real chef. It's like, my Gods, I did this and
people actually enjoy my food. I mean, what an honor.
(13:44):
So Paul's on Broadway, the restaurant that you have now
is real Italian food? Is that your favorite style of cooking?
Or do you like my I wouldn't say sorry to
correct you. I will never do that. It's Pauls on
Time Square, on Time Square, Sorry, right on forty two Street,
been Broadway in six in Hilton Garden in Hotel Hatal Lobby,
(14:04):
which is at the fourth floor unobstructed view of the blueldroom.
The view is beautiful, but that as beautiful as the food.
Thank you. Now, when you say Italian food, I am
not Italian. I do cook Italian food, but up here
it's more kind of my food, my experience through life.
Kind of New York Italian flair, but New York American dinos.
(14:31):
How about that flair? And why is that? Of My
clients are either Broadway goers or hotel clients, and and
they kind of set in their ways what they want
and pressed for the time. So you can really, you know,
venture too much or cook them out to flair or
(14:54):
make them, uh, you know something crude all of Fresco
or all Gras. In certain ways, they kind of want
that burger, but I want to make sure that they
eat the best burger that there is, or they wanna
because they want to, you know, munch on something while
they're enjoying a cocktail at the bar that could sit
for a little bit, you know it kind of you
(15:15):
can I in this restaurant, I really listened to what
the clientele, what they were asking for, and therefore I
went back to drawing board and figure out what's feasible
what's not. But I tried that with the top ingredients.
What we do with fish, you know, I don't. I
used to have three or four of them on the menu.
Now I only kept only two salmon, and then I'll
do one in a special every so often. You know,
(15:37):
to get it is New York and we do have
probably the best supplying choices in the world. You want
to get something that's fresh, that you know, that you
you feel good about. They will feed your kids. Now,
when we were talking, you and I started talking about
all the wonderful things that you have done, and the
(16:00):
way you talked about America and all the the good
you were paying back was the way somebody talks about
a lover, like the love on your face. And you
were saying, so many opportunities and so much goodness has
come here, and you just kept saying, I just want
to pay it back. I just want to pay it forward.
I just want to be a help to other people.
(16:24):
And I love that that spirit that is motivated by gratitude.
That's what I'm trying to get to. Your spirit is motivated,
do you know when I met you by pure gratitude,
And so many people today are so ungrateful and have
an entitlement attitude like I'm entitled to this blessing. No
(16:47):
you're not. No you're not. None of us are. Come on,
and yet you you exude that gratitude. Tell me some
of the projects that you've taken on over the years.
I mean, I can, I can recall just a couple
that you mentioned, the people that you fed for weeks
(17:07):
after nine eleven and the first responders, and what you
did during the COVID shutdown. Share with our listeners some
of those labors of love you took on. Absolutely, I'm
gonna first stop on your on your first thing on entitlement.
I often often in all of my public speaking and
UH food classes and a pizza show that I do
(17:27):
for children, and I can tell that a lot of
them feel entitled to a lot of stuff, you know,
the predominant parental UH influencing their life and schooling and
what have you. But I often tell them, guys, this
is a real story. In the United States, thank God
and God bless America. The air is free. Nothing else.
(17:48):
Even driver license is a privilege, not the right. You
have it. You do something stupid with it, they'll take
it away. So only free air. And believe me, today
people in Ukraine and everyone else that there is trouble
would die to get some fresh free air. I'm I'm
loving what you're saying. I think I have such a
(18:10):
hard time parenting my children because I have been blessed,
and so I try to bless them, and then I
get frustrated that they have this entitlement attitude, and then
I have to look at the mirror and go, guess
who caused it? Guess who created this? Guess who created
this monster. I did show you that I got nobody
to blame but myself, and so I am constantly trying
(18:34):
to help them to understand you. You need to be grateful.
You have to have an attitude of gratitude, and um,
it's it's kind of hard to come by these days.
Do I tell you? I think you know. I think
you know. I don't know whether you find yourself in that,
but in every every parent story I find myself and
my wife to it. We are professionals. We work very hard,
(18:56):
and then we want to we think that we can
raise perfect family, affec children the way we think we should. Uh.
Then we want a time for each other. And but
I think where every American family makes a mistake is
I think children should be part of us every day.
Even if you go to dinner, it should be with
children and not everybody texting on the phone, and at
dinner table, talk about school, talk about they who bullied,
(19:19):
who who had an issue on the bus getting home,
whatever the case is. But try to be off the
social It doesn't have to last long. Parents often make
a mistake. I'm a victim of that. I haven't seen
my wife in so long, after not being home all
day long. We give them a strange babysitter at home,
and then we go out to dinner when we come
home this week, and that happens Monday and Tuesday. Friends
(19:42):
come over and Wednesday and Thursday. And children, especially today's children,
they don't forget. They pay us right back. And I
think this entitlement is what that falls in where children feel, oh,
I was born first, Why does she has to get
a call like why don't I have? And he finds
parents in a in a very bad situation where they're like,
(20:03):
oh my god, I created this. How when I was
going to school, I didn't even have a car. And
now they don't want this car, you know, they're not
good enough. You know, I got enough for and this
is not what I wear. You know, instead of you
buying me clothes, why don't you just let me buy
it on my own and or or this is the classic.
In my family, I cook my whole life. I go home, kids,
(20:28):
open up refrigerator. There's nothing here. I can at any
given time, I can cook for thirty people. How much
food is in my house. But they opened it that
there's nothing here, close the door, get on the phone,
and not even to go pick it up. Or something
Uber eats. So you order a burger that cost twelve
(20:48):
dollars and Uber tried to do to bring it to you. Yeah, no,
that that that that will never happen on my watch.
You're not home to see it. Then my studios in
my house, So Alma bears got eyes on. I think
that's a that's a classical one for American family. And
and that's how we got us. Helfie to that. I
(21:09):
have a friend that when he was younger, he's an
adult now, but when he was younger, his parents took
him on vacation. I think it was to Florida, and
while they weren't really paying attention, because they were at
the pool and they were having a drink and they
were doing this, he ran up like a seven hundred
dollar room fee, you know, putting it on his dad's card,
(21:31):
on the room card. When they weren't paying attention. He
was ordering you know, soda and a hamburger for thirty
bucks to be delivered to the room. And oh, my
goodness is folks. So back to some of the good
projects that you have been involved with, and and you
(21:53):
were so animated. I wish our listeners could see your
face and see the sheer joy when you talk about
the joy you feel when you're helping others and doing
good for others. Tell me about some of those colossal
things you did. I tell you I, Uh, by luck
(22:13):
of the drone right pre nine eleven, I was a
part of opening crew at the Windows in the World
and uh, unfortunately I lost a lot of people that
I worked there. Nine Oh my god, horrible, horrifying things.
That many that I couldn't you lost nine that I
(22:34):
work with every day, that I worked with every day.
It's just it was very I still can't go to
the site. Uh. I did some humanitarian it was an
interesting project on the world World Trade Center seven. At
that time, my wife and I were expecting our first child,
and if I had gone with them, this would have
(22:57):
happened to my kids. The kids who who are survivors
of lost one or both parents and windows in the
world had a tremendous trauma issue in their life and
they all got into really bad things drugs, alcohol, prostitution.
They just couldn't find themselves. They were never given opportunity
(23:19):
to be themselves like a normal human being with the
both parents that they will go for a bike ride
or walk in the park. They were always missing, and
media and us we all talked about atrocity on nine eleven.
So they were never gave the right amount of attention
that any child of that age would be. So those
kids were lost, and a couple of group people came up.
(23:44):
They wrote a book about him that they said that
let's try to give back, explain ourselves. Why is this
what it is? You know, we are not used to
you know, last time we had something like this was
a pearl harbor and h this was a very different
thing to have on American soil, and you know, every
day was a new thing. And these children were in
(24:07):
a desperate need that some really good people got around
and they created this foundations when they asked me to cook,
and the stories collided and my partners and this did
a nice uh display, and I was moved. I couldn't
move by. I was going to passionately describe and talk
about my food, but I I was frozen. I just
had a life flash right in front of me. We
(24:30):
don't know what tomorrow brings, so we don't know what
tomorrow today has because but we just have to go forward.
So that's that's the one of the first things that
we did at the World Trade Center. Then when we
opened one of our restaurants, Uncle Pol's Pizza, back in
two thousand twelve, I think when Hurricane Sandy devastated New York,
(24:52):
we had ability that we cook for larger groups, and
we realized that even female found themselves in a very
difficult situation. For instance, there is one place called New
doorp in Staten Island when female brought in thousands of
food items but frozen and cooked burgers with no ways
a family who had lost everything that they can cook
(25:15):
those burgers, and there was ton of water, blankets, everything
was You would think it's sufficient enough, but nobody had
thought that these people got not a basic thing at home.
They don't have a home, and even if they do
have a home, that home has been submerged to the roof,
so there is nothing drying nothing, no power, no no gas,
(25:36):
no no drinking water. So the sufficient thing would be
to give them full meal. So my partners and I
decided we actually got support from a lot of neighboring
restaurants and neighboring business owners trucks and we brought first
six hundred hot meals to Newdorp the very first day.
My son was five years old and he was so
(26:00):
excited that he could make the difference. So there is
one of the things that proudly my partner's Paul Nikai
and Nika Kutti, and I did my mom or my
brother who owned the butcher's shop at that time. Uh,
everyone kind of felt in the right place. And believe
it or not, it was so well founded that we
served those six hundred meals maybe in fifteen minutes. And
(26:21):
I'm like, oh my god, this can happen in America.
Where is everyone else? Why don't we have ten barbecue
grills here and cook all this fro But I mean
the next day they catch on and they figure out
they brought in the coral engineers. And like I said,
it was not shortage of items, it were just shortage
of what was immediately needed. I'm sure there were donuts
(26:44):
and coffees. I don't think these people were hungry, but
like the comfort of the hot meal, I think, you know,
he didn't make you survive, but it made you feel
good after you probably lost everything, and these people really
lost everything. Imagine in new house, a golf, a bit
that you lose even the last of the last picture
of your beer one and there is no copy anywhere
(27:08):
else of it. So it's it's amazing what water could do. Then,
UH life seems to you know, challenge itself all the
time in the city in Manhattan preterminously, landlords are whether
you like it or not, becomes your business partner. Rents
are so expensive and it's very hard. You may be
(27:29):
in the right location, you may have the right product,
but rent is outrageously expensive, almost to make you not
want to do business because you can't afford it. But
there is plenty of business. So during UH COVID, we
found ourselves, specially in my business partner, Nick and I
going to work every day, but to serve no one.
(27:51):
There was no phone calls. There was you know, curfuse everywhere.
There was no people on the street. For the first
week of two many people were stranded in a hotel
was about to tell that we were located as a
commercial tenant, so their kitchen staff never came. So we
fed those people for until they figure out a way home.
(28:11):
But then after that and everyone of us was thinking,
oh my god, this is just a bad dream. Another day,
another week, but who would think he will last as
long as he did last? So in in this uh war,
when you couldn't see an enemy, I think the doctors, nurses,
e ms, police, all the first responded with true heroes.
(28:32):
God bless them. And you know they put their life
online over and over again, and not every day every day.
So we figure out, you know, talking to each other,
you know, you know, everyone thirsty for information, whether it's
gonna stop or not. But we realized the government was
working on a stimulus package for the restaurants, but everything
(28:55):
was coming not fast enough. You know, if you shut
power in the restaurant for a week or two, everything's
gonna spoil. If you have a walking boxes and everything
full of food. And if you don't have no one
need for it, in a month will be will be gone.
It would expire. So I set to my part of
the said we have a couple of choices. I said,
(29:16):
we be ourselves, and we were. By the way, all
three of us are not an American born. We are American,
proud American citizens today, but we came as immigrants and
we figured out it was time that we do pay back.
So we decided to for two to three weeks that
we would feed all first responders to free That included doctors, nurses,
(29:42):
e ms, fire departments, police department, even traffic guys. Anyone
that was in uniform was border and Malcolm to get
a hot meal. And also on the other hand gave
us something that we could bringing in some of the
people who worked for us who were in desperate need
of work, and so that we don't you know, we
(30:02):
lay off by a substantial amount of people until the
first PP money came in to bring him back. But
those six or seven of them really stuck with us
all the way. So that was that wasn't nice thing
to do. We got coverage from a lot of different
medias We even have one gentleman from l A who
(30:26):
learned what were we're doing. I don't even know how
you heard about it, but he did and he called
me up and he said, that are you do? You know?
So I am. He goes, you're doing a great thing.
I would like to donate five tho dollars anonymously and uh,
pick a hospital of your choice. And I said, wait
a minute, you're gonna give me five thousand dollars. You're
not even gonna tell me your name. I said, I'm
(30:47):
just gonna take your money. I'm not gonna cook. He goes, no, No,
you're not gonna do that. You're gonna cook. And we did. Wow.
I wish Dino had hours to talk with us, but
he's got a restaurant to run and a thousand things
to do on a busy day in the city. Let
me tell you about another of my podcast sponsors then,
(31:09):
and we'll wrap up our conversation with our guests today.
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(31:35):
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(31:57):
Com forward slash Delilah that Rock and Romance Cruise dot
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you my friend will get special pricing. So you know
the traditional story called stone soup and I'm afraid not.
So there's a famine and there's a village and everybody's starving,
(32:22):
everybody's hungry, and Dino comes into the village and he
pulls this this pretty rock out of his pocket and
they said, what is that? And you said, it's a
magic stone that makes stone soup. Can somebody bring me
a big cauldron, a big pot, Okay, somebody bring me
the fire. And he puts the pretty stone in the
(32:45):
pot of water and starts boiling it, and he goes, oh,
doesn't that smell good. Everybody's watching him, going you're crazy.
He goes, no, this will be the best soup you
a rate. If only I had a clove of garlic,
it would be perfect. And so somebody says, I have
a clove of garlic, and they go get the garlic,
and they bring it and they put it in. He goes, oh,
this is gonna be so good enough for everybody, if
(33:07):
only if only we had some potatoes. And somebody else says,
I have I have a potato at home, and they
bring the potato and he cuts up the potato. Dino does,
and he puts it in the soup, and then he goes, oh,
you know what would really make this soup perfect is
if somebody had some carrots. And so the villagers one
(33:32):
by one bring what they have, as small and meager
as it is, and Dino stirs the soup, and minute
by minute it smells better and better, and and then
there's enough soup to feed the entire community dinner and
lunch the next day, and dinner the next day. And
(33:52):
then somebody remembers they had more potatoes, and it's called
stone soup. And the snow one wasn't magical at all.
It was the community coming together. You're the chef that
carries the magic Stone. I believe, oh God bless that's
a very nice story and it actually believe it or not,
(34:15):
that a lot of times in a real life situations
like that do happen. There is a lot of people
that would love to change somebody live, I mean life
in a way. They just need to be reminded somehow
or invited, or they just don't have that entrepreneurial or
(34:35):
what you what are you gonna call it a starting
up point that he says, Okay, we'll figure it out.
Let's just try, and it does happen. It was a
matter of fact, you brought me up to uh when
we were going to New York Uh that with a
convoy of six hot meals, and we we ran into
a trouble that the entire island was evacuating, So every
(34:58):
lane of highway and everything was going out of Staten Island.
So we got in a grid luck right on Verrizano
Bridge with with no movie. Now we have all these
foods for all these people that are leaving the island.
They don't know that there is food coming their way,
but they're blocking us. We can't get in. So senior
(35:20):
partner and I said, Paul, what do we do, and
he goes up, I don't know what can I do?
I said, well, you know some police commissioners and chiefs
or because, oh my god, never thought of that, so
just give them where you at and let them come
and escort us. Oh my god. Twenty minutes later we
had a convoy of police in front and behind us
(35:41):
getting us to the point. So, like I said, there
is a it's a contribution from everyone. It's just like
you have to incentify somehow. You gotta remind if you can,
you have to ask. You're the one with the magic stone.
You gotta try. I guess that stone does get hit
heat up. Well. I I loved meeting you. I love
(36:02):
talking to you, but mostly I love that spirit of
gratitude that you have. And I know that you talk
to kids, you work with kids, you work with young chefs.
You do everything you can to inspire people to have
that entrepreneurial spirit and that gratitude, and I appreciate that.
(36:24):
Thank you so much, and I love your phote. I
appreciate it. We have to have you back, and uh,
thank you again for inviting us on your show, and
really honored and privileged. Hopefully that you can broadcast you
know here for New Year's Eve. When you can see
the balls, I can see the ball drop. I'm there,
Din know, Thank you God, bless you. Thanks. Likewise, when
(36:49):
you're in New York, you can find you you know
where I did in the kitchen of Paul's on Times Square.
There he and his partner Paul Nekaj, will please your
It was spirited Italian dishes, served elegantly but not unapproachable.
It's located in the new Hilton Garden Inn on West Street,
(37:10):
in the center of the city that never sleeps. If
he's not there, he's probably off caring for someone or
a group of someone's who he has met with an
unfortunate adversity. Because Dino has a grateful heart bigger than
the Big Apple, and he will never turn the other
way when he sees a need that can be filled.
Dino has inspired me to kick things up in the
(37:33):
kitchen and to look for ways to be of service
to others. I hope this conversation has done the same
for you. Something to think about as our days grow
shorter and those longer evenings might invite some restlessness. Volunteering
where your skills and talents will be appreciated. Is a
much better use of your time than wasting it on devices,
(37:56):
scrolling through TikTok videos or whatever. Go do some thing
to be a help to others. Thank you for sharing
this time with me, for joining me on my radio program,
and just for being you. Let's catch up with one
another right here in a couple of weeks. Until then,
remember to slow down and love someone. Do
Host
Delilah
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