(bright music) (mechanism creaking and clattering) (door creaking) (brain rattling) - Oy!

(mechanism creaking and clattering) (traffic humming) (car horn honks) (dramatic music) (dramatic music continues) - Restaurant years in New York are like dog years.

(steaks sizzling) It's extremely difficult.

That's something I've learned.

I've had three restaurants here in the last four or five years, and I only have one of 'em that's still open, which is Mission Chinese.

(diners chatting indistinctly) From day one, the odds are stacked against you.

Like, your lease is insane, and the operating cost is insane.

And I'm not complaining, I mean, it's like, it's a blessing to be able to operate in New York.

The dream is that you create this institution.

To create an institution, you have to deliver on a consistent level.

That's what I think is special about Peter Lugar.

This is quintessential New York.

It's just such a well-oiled machine.

I dunno how many people they see here, like a couple hundred.

There's like three people cooking meat.

I mean it's fun to talk numbers and be like, "Oh, how many steaks do you sell a day?"

But it's not about that for me.

The thing I respect the most about Peter Luger is just here, in the dining room, there's a vibe that's here that you can't really replicate, and it just comes with time, it comes with consistency, it comes from being an institution.

(steak sizzling) You can't buy taste.

You either have it or you don't.

All the things that happen at this restaurant are things that I wish to have.

(steak sizzling) You can hear it coming.

It's like crazy.

Oh man.

(diners chatting indistinctly) Thank you.

Thanks so much, man.

(diners chatting indistinctly) Other steaks don't taste... (laughs) Other steaks don't taste like this.

(laughs) It's so good.

(bright music) This is one of the very first dishes that we had at Mission Chinese Food.

People know these wings.

It came naturally to me just because I grew up eating chicken wings.

I love hot wings.

We take sugar, pulverize it in a blender until it's really fine.

Mushroom powder.

Cumin is a huge part of this dish, and like a lot of dishes that we make at Mission Chinese, we get these chilies from the Sichuan province.

We don't toast them or anything, we just grind them up dry.

Green Sichuan peppercorn.

The thing I love about this is it's very fruity.

It's a lot more aromatic, it's a lot more citrusy than red Sichuan peppercorn.

Star anise, clove.

This is cardamom, black cardamom.

It doesn't matter how many things are in your spice rub, but as long as you can taste all of them, and that's what really matters the most.

This is enough to make about 1,000 orders of chicken wings.

And being a chef, you always think about how can I get more flavor into this, and we tried many different ways, we brined them.

I don't like brining them, because I think brining them kind of makes 'em taste like deli meat.

Then we just thought about this process of oil blanching 'em, frying them quickly, and they come out and the skin is like really hot and soft.

We salt 'em heavily then, so that the salt melts into the skin.

Then we throw it in a freezer, which helps the skin kind of expand.

Now what we have now is this is the, after it's been fried, salted, and frozen.

So it's basically cooked through, I mean, it's cooked like 90% of the way.

It's gonna get a really crispy shattering skin without having the (indistinct) dredge to it.

What we do now is I wanted to mimic that chicken skin, like that crackling buttermilk skin, and I was like, "Well I think beef tripe, "if you close your eyes, "it kind of just tastes like pork crackling."

It's about really messing with people's reference points.

(oil bubbling) So the wings are done now.

You don't wanna drain all the oil off these, because the oil is really gonna be what helps make the chili powder stick.

When people get over the fact that this dish is extremely spicy, there's something that's very addictive about it, and a different way than like vinegar hot chicken wings or like Nashville-style chicken.

It's this dry heat.

(upbeat music) Something we've done a little bit more recently is we started adding a little bit of lime to this too, just because the way that lime activates spice on your palate.

It's not that it just makes it spicier, it also allows you to taste more... You taste more of the sweet spices with a sour.

We add the chilies as a garnish.

You don't necessarily have to eat the chilies.

It's up to you.

It's kind of a choose your own adventure.

Yeah, that's the most OG dish that we have.

But I always tell people the best part are these little pieces here, like the tripe.

(Danny crunching) It is really good.

It's crunchy and chewy at the same time, which I think is amazing.

I mean, I don't know of anything else I can do to change this at this point.

It's the happiest I've ever been with it.

That's the hard thing is as a creative, when you're putting yourself out there for everybody to voice their opinion on something like food, you have to just know how you like it and then stick with it.

(traffic humming) (people speaking indistinctly) I remember I lived on Mulberry and Grand.

I'd always pass Emilio's Ballato.

I really like the long awning that stretches from the storefront to the street.

There's something that just feels very New York about that.

It's very inviting.

(diners chatting indistinctly) There's not a lot of disingenuous service there, and that's what I think is important, because a lot of restaurants that I've gone to, even as a kid, you know, sure they're nice, but do they want to be there?

That restaurant, the servers are just as excited for you to get dessert as they are when you're ordering your pasta.

I felt like the pacing of that restaurant is really great.

They're there when they need to be there.

They're not interrupting you every two seconds.

Emilio's has been really special to me, because it never changes.

(upbeat bright music) You can't talk about New York without talking about Italian food.

You can't talk about meatballs in New York without talking about Emilio's.

So you guys are from New York.

You guys grew up- - Born and raised.

- around the corner from here, right?

- Yeah, Spring between Elizabeth and Mount.

- And when you guys were little kids, what was the first job you guys had in the restaurant?

'Cause you guys, it's crazy, like your dad, you guys are brothers- - Hanging coats.

- Y'all work here.

- Hanging coats.

- Your first job was hanging coats, but in the kitchen- - Hanging coats, washing dishes, busing tables.

He didn't want us to be on the top before learning the whole business.

- [Danny] So when did you start working in the kitchen?

- Me, only three years ago, man.

- Three years ago.

- Me, seven.

- Seven, so you taught him how to cook or no?

- No, my father always taught him how.

- Yeah, yeah, he taught us.

- So we started with Mario first, which is my oldest brother, and then it was me, and now it's him.

- Damn.

And now are there any other kids left to like, no?

- [Emilio] No, no, no, no.

- No, that's it.

- Only if we have kids.

- It is what it is.

- It's kind of a double-edged sword, right, because you can't trust anybody else as much as your family.

- [Anthony] Yeah, exactly, no.

- [Danny] But no one else can get on your nerves or can get under your skin- - 100%.

- But family, exactly.

- [Danny] especially when you're cooking together- - And.

you know, when you're working with family, it's like you could say anything you want to say back.

- Yeah.

- Say you working for like- - I don't have to watch what I gotta say in front of him.

- You know what I mean?

If you're working for somebody else, you gotta watch your tongue.

- You know, you butt heads every once in a while, but at the end of the day, you're family.

- So it works, it vibes, but this is a dream scenario.

I mean, I think of this restaurant, this is definitely like a, it's a institution in New York.

- Yeah.

- Places like this kind of like define a neighborhood, I think.

- Defines it, yeah, totally.

- You feel special when you come in and you live around in the neighborhood.

- And then how long has your family had it now?

- 28 years.

- 28 years.

Now, how old are you guys?

- I'm gonna be 30.

- And then you're so young.

- I'm 26.

- What the hell, oh my god.

- Yeah, he's a young one.

He looks like my older brother, right?

- [Danny] You guys have your whole lives ahead of you.

That's insane, man.

(Anthony laughing) My dad just made meatballs with ground beef.

What do you guys like to do?

- Pork and beef.

- But the secret to the pork is it's hot pork sausage, yeah.

- [Emilio] A little sweet- - [Anthony] A little sweet and a little hot.

- [Emilio] and a little spicy.

- [Danny] So what kind of breadcrumbs are these, because this a little different.

- [Anthony] You soak the panko in a little bit of milk.

- Oh amazing.

- Yeah.

So, it gives it really that texture of the meatball, you know, when you cut through it, it's- - Yeah.

Is this parm?

- This is Pecorino Romano.

We use that instead, because it gives it the saltiness.

So, we don't even add salt.

Also, a little parsley.

- Here it is, beautiful.

And then a little black pepper, and then you add the eggs, and after everything's in, you gotta massage the meat.

Massage that, get your hands a little dirty.

There you go.

- Next.

- Gimme a little olive oil.

Gonna shoot you with a little olive oil, all right?

- [Danny] Oh this helps keep it from off, oh that's smart.

- There you go, see?

Bang, there it is.

- Oh man.

(all speaking indistinctly) (Anthony and Emilio laugh) - I mean, specifically, in the neighborhood, it used to be a lot different.

I mean, have you guys seen it change a lot?

I mean you're in here.

- Yeah, man.

Everything's turning corporate around here, man.

You got all these clothing stores where, you know- - [Danny] Yeah, I mean there's no restaurants.

- old school, Italian restaurants used to be or old coffee shops, and now, everything is just getting bought out, you know?

- You know why, it's because no one could afford to stay because of the rent.

- [Danny] That's the problem in New York.

- The rent is so high.

- [Danny] That's New York 101 right there.

- You know what I'm saying?

- It's the lease.

It's like- - Yeah.

You know how much pasta you gotta sell to make $30,000 a month.

- [Anthony] It's sad though, because like I said- - [Emilio] That's not gonna be a neighborhood anymore.

- places, yeah.

You wanna feel special in your neighborhood from where you grew up, you know?

Honestly, after my father's generation is gone, I feel like there's no more of that, done.

- Really?

- Yeah.

- [Emilio] Finito.

- Well, we're gonna try to keep the tradition here.

(upbeat music) (sauce bubbling) (oil sizzling) - [Danny] Oh nice.

So that's how you sear 'em.

- Yep, you see how they brown?

- [Danny] Yeah, it's nice.

(sauce bubbling) - [Emilio] So these are halfway cooked, and then you cook 'em the rest of the way in the sauce.

That's what gives it the moisture.

- [Danny] Nice and low and slow.

How long do you go, like an hour, an hour and a half?

- [Emilio] An hour, about an hour.

(upbeat music continues) - [Danny] Let's give it a little taste.

- [Emilio] Make sure it's nice and al dente.

- [Anthony] Yeah, give it a little taste.

- [Danny] You want a little bit of the pasta water or no?

- Yes.

- Yep, you gotta little pasta water.

- Definitely.

- Loosen up the sauce, beautiful.

Let's throw some basil in there.

Now dump the pasta, beautiful, boom.

For a little touch, extra virgin olive oil.

- [Anthony] Boom, done.

I'm gonna put that right there, like this, give a little bang.

- A little twirl.

- Like that.

- Danny, throw two meatballs, one here and one here.

- Yeah, sure.

Get some of that sauce.

- Yeah, get that going.

- [Anthony] Mama Mia!

Boom!

- [Emilio] And then top off the pasta with some more sauce.

- [Anthony] There it is, woohoo.

- There we go.

- Beautiful.

- [Danny] Nice man.

- (indistinct) Can never get enough of basil though.

- [Emilio] Top it off with a little extra virgin.

There's the spaghetti and meatballs.

- [Danny] That's insane.

Oh my god.

There's only a few things in New York like that.

You know, you think of steak at Peter Luger.

You think of bagels.

You think about have lox, you go to like Katz's Deli, or you go to Russ & Daughters for lox, You eat pastrami at Katz.

You eat meatballs at- - [Emilio] Everything has their specific- - At Emilio's.

- But not everybody has that.

There's only a few people.

- Thank you, man.

- So, congrats.

- [Anthony] Appreciate that.

- [Emilio] Thank you, brother, thank you.

(lively music) (bell chimes) (horns honking) (people screaming) (ape grumbling) (people cheering) (crowd roaring) - Safe!

(skaters swooshing) (soup splashes) - This is gonna be really funny, but when I had this dish the first time, Yu Bo made it for me, and I was just like giddy the whole time.

And just again, being a big fan boy, like oh my god.

So it's basically, I'm gonna take his dish and make it taste like something that I am familiar with in New York, which is matzo ball soup.

(dramatic music) For me, food is all about reference.

So when you made this for me, and you put those dried medicinal herbs in there, it tasted almost like celery, which reminded me of matzo ball soup.

(Fuchsia speaking a foreign language) So it's a really traditional...

This is not an expensive dish at all.

You should taste it.

I just wanna know.

(Fuchsia speaking a foreign language) So it kind of has the same texture as the same, right?

So then what I thought today we would do is we would make your thing, and then we would just add the flavors of matzo ball soup.

All right.

(Yu Bo and Fuchsia respond in a foreign language) (dramatic music continues) Tell me about this dish, 'cause whenever we made it together, Yu Bo was very excited.

Can you gimme a history of the dish, 'cause I didn't really go into it?

- Yeah, it's a traditional, old, classical Sichuanese dish, and it's not at all spicy, so it's not what people think Sichuanese food is.

And it's also what you would call a (Sichuanese term) dish, which means that it's extraordinarily laborious.

So it's a kind of high-level banquet dish.

(blender whirring) And it also expresses the kind of witty, playful culture of Chinese gastronomy, because the whole point is that you take chicken, and you make it look like tofu.

So there's this saying that you (speaking Chinese), which means you are eating chicken, but you don't see chicken.

- [Danny] Right.

- So you present your guests with what looks like a sort of big square of just a cheap street snack, freshly made tofu.

And then when they eat it, it's this gorgeous, tender curd made from chicken breast in a very fine banquet stock.

So this is like the sort of, you know, the wit and the game playing of high-level Chinese cooking.

(blender whirring) (liquid burbling) There's our chicken milkshake.

- I know, right?

- Really go for it.

(crew speaking indistinctly) All right, let's go.

- All right, so the chicken tofu is done.

So, I've been adding a little bit of this tender celery leaves, the hearts, and then carrot for sweetness but just a little bit, not a lot.

Add some of this.

I have a little bit of dill, fresh dill, oil that has parsley and dill in it.

- [Fuchsia] Mm!

- When you eat matzo ball soup, you always eat a slice of bread on the side, and usually, it's rye bread, so this has been toasted, and we just kinda make it into a little powder, so just dust some rye powder on top.

And then for Yu Bo, 'cause I want to make it extra pretty, I'll put a few flowers on here too.

- [Fuchsia] That's lovely.

(Danny laughs) (Yu Bo speaking a foreign language) - [Danny] Yes, well here, let's try some, yeah?

- [Fuchsia] Yeah.

- That's for you.

You can see, if you taste that, and you taste this again, it kind of tastes exactly the same.

It's similar, right?

(Yu Bo speaking a foreign language) (Fuchsia speaking a foreign language) (Yu Bo speaking a foreign language) (Fuchsia speaking a foreign language) (Yu Bo speaking a foreign language) (upbeat music) (Yu Bo speaking a foreign language) - [Fuchsia] So, this is a bit of light soy sauce.

(Yu Bo speaking a foreign language) A little bit of salt.

Brown rice vinegar.

This is Zhenjiang vinegar.

(Fuchsia speaking a foreign language) He's doing a sour and hot flavor, a sour and hot flour tofu is a classic Chengdu street snack.

(Fuchsia chuckles) (Yu Bo speaking a foreign language) Chili oil going in there.

- This is the sediment, so this is all the crunched parts from the (indistinct) making chili oil.

And we have this one too that we put cured chilies into.

I'm so excited to eat this.

(Fuchsia laughing) (Yu Bo speaking a foreign language) (Fuchsia speaking a foreign language) (Yu Bo speaking a foreign language) (Yu Bo and Fuchsia laughing) - I'm getting emotional.

It's so good.

Oh my god.

Thank you, Fuchsia, again.

- (laughs) You're welcome.

- [Danny] Oh my gosh, that was amazing.

(people speaking indistinctly) (upbeat music) How recently have you been here?

Two nights ago?

Well, when was the last time you were here?

- [Peter] I was here for breakfast the other day.

- When I came to New York, I didn't have any friends here.

Even now, many chefs and people that are really steeped in tradition may look at my appearance and they're like, "You can't be a chef."

And Peter was the first non-judgmental person that I met that was really open and became my friend, and he became the key to this treasure map that I had that was New York.

Do you know his order already by heart?

I'll get a samosa with chickpeas and everything.

- And I'm gonna get the three items over rice.

I'll get the radish, the pumpkin, cauliflower, and peas.

And can we also get one of the paratha with the butter?

- I think I've like eaten here more than I've eaten at any other restaurant.

- [Danny] I'm with you in that boat now.

Is there anything you don't like?

- [Peter] No.

How do you feel like it's...

So when you came, you felt like you were an outsider coming to New York, and I think that that existed in people's perception of mission Chinese food.

- But you gave me the confidence just to be genuine and not come in and try to be chefy or anything else, and I think that like that genuine...

There was a lot of respect that came across and I think that diffused a lot of the- - You came in with that spirit, and you wanted to be part of the community, and you had delicious, spicy Chinese food, which is something that everybody wants.

- Well, it's not threatening, 'cause not everyone's making delicious, spicy Chinese in New York.

I was 29, I knew at the time I was like, "I gotta just do the hardest thing ever."

I gotta figure out what is the hardest thing for me and the most challenging, 'cause quite honestly, San Francisco was really good to us, and I didn't have to do anything.

I mostly drank Tsingtao and made dumplings.

Coming here was like a recommitment to cooking.

I don't really remember the first couple of years in New York, 'cause I was just so terrified of not pleasing everyone.

And then you realize that like you can't please everyone, and you never will be able to, and that you have to be happy yourself.

- Right, so I think people are really happy to see that, and you came in sharing what you were doing.

I think that there was some resentment of the amount of heat you got.

- Oh yeah, it was insane.

- Like that Brett Martin piece in "GQ," or Wells saying it was like one of the best restaurants of the year or whatever.

But how did that feeling change for you over time?

- I've lived here for almost six years.

I'm starting to feel like I'm a part of this situation, and I feel like the confidence is coming back.

But the thing I've noticed about New York is it doesn't matter what you do, it takes you living here, taking your bumps, and then realizing, okay, well I chose to live here, and this is what I have to put up with to be here.

I don't know, I mean, I'm not as scared of New York anymore, 'cause I see it for what it is.

New York will make you extremely honest with yourself, or you'll just crash and burn.

(gentle music) So let's lid everything up, and we're ready to go.

And the utensils they got.

All right man, I'll see you soon.

Thank you.

Hey, what's up, man?

(people speaking indistinctly) All right.

- Bring a little food?

- [Danny] I know, right?

Hey, what's up, man?

- Normally we're gonna eat steak every day.

- [Danny] I know, right?

- It's not easy.

- It's rough.

I'm understanding what it takes to become sustainable in this industry and to be sustainable in life.

That's crazy, 30 years on steak.

I was four-years-old when you started making steak.

- Four-years-old?

- Four years old.

- You're a baby.

- I'm a baby, no, no.

When we opened up Mission Chinese in Chinatown, it was setting up a brick and mortar restaurant with like a 17-year lease and everything else.

I'd come to this conclusion of this is what it's gonna take to get me what I want.

For the Mission Chinese in New York, I just wanted to be here, and I wanted it to be a place that I'm happy to go in, and people will leave in a good mood.

(diners chatting indistinctly) I always talk about a sense of place, how something just feels like it belongs there, and it's been there forever, and it's not going anywhere.

Places like Emilio's Ballato or like Peter Luger's, even Punjabi Deli, everyone that's there feels like being there.

That's what really attracted me to restaurants in the beginning was that there was this sense of community.

And it's this constant thing that I can go back and experience, and I don't have to worry about it not being the same or not being there.

That's really what I was looking for in my whole life, just stability.

(wine burbling) (glasses clinking) (gentle music continues) (traffic humming) (lever clicks) (bright music) (bright music continues) (bright music continues) (text box clatters)