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  • The Days Inn Fresno, we used to go to every,

  • every night when we were like.

  • How were we at a bar, we were like, like 18?

  • Oh yeah.

  • We'd just go and stay for like three hours.

  • We also used to, we use to bus tables.

  • Like, you use to go to other tables and

  • eat their food.

  • Yeah.

  • You didn't tell me that before I married you.

  • No, this is the rule.

  • This is the rule.

  • What? No, for once, hold on-.

  • Ew. No, no, no, no,

  • there's nothing, let me explain myself.

  • Well, all right, I think I've heard enough.

  • It's, no, no, it's fair game if you assume it has

  • not been touched, IE Who orders shit that

  • hasn't been touched at dinner?

  • You'd be surprised.

  • My name is Nick Erven.

  • I'm the executive chef and

  • partner of Saint Martha restaurant, in Koreatown,

  • Los Angeles.

  • Saint Martha is the patron saint of cooks and

  • servants.

  • We really based our entire concept around

  • that idea of old world hospitality.

  • Of relax, we got this, just enjoy yourself.

  • That coupled with, the food,

  • which is comfort food dishes done with a fine

  • dining ethos, but it's not.

  • Think of this as food that you have to get in

  • there and get your hands dirty.

  • And you know, you're probably gonna get some

  • on your pants.

  • And that's okay,

  • this is a place where you can lick the bowl and

  • no one's gonna be upset.

  • At the end of the day,

  • we're in a rundown strip mall in Koreatown,

  • we can't be that fine dining.

  • I always liked like Koreatown.

  • I think it's one of those areas of the city that

  • has been forgotten for so long.

  • It's not as glamorous as downtown.

  • It's not as wealthy as mid city.

  • It's just sort of an in between zone.

  • And I wanted to come in here and

  • kinda just be a neighborhood spot.

  • The hipster light stays on until the last

  • dessert goes out.

  • And that's kinda our kitchen's closed sign.

  • The hipsters have left the building.

  • Each item on the menu,

  • there's sort of base thought behind it.

  • What we try to do here is at Saint Martha is kind

  • of take dishes that are familiar and

  • kind of twist them on their head.

  • Chips and guac are like my favorite thing in

  • the world to eat.

  • I love it, I could eat it every day.

  • And we wanted to put a chips and

  • guac on the menu.

  • So ours It's bruleed sea urchin, avocado mousse,

  • shaped chili and

  • the chips are seaweed Doritos.

  • But you eat it like it's chips and guac.

  • Like chips and guac from the sea.

  • People talk about our steak and oyster tartar,

  • with bone marrow beignets and champagne sabayon.

  • The bone marrow beignets are filled with liquid

  • bone marrow, that you bite into and

  • it gets everywhere.

  • There is a surprise factor.

  • People are afraid of raw steak and raw oyster.

  • It can be scary things, but

  • together it tastes like a cheeseburger.

  • That's kinda what we try to do with the food,

  • is that play of it's unexpected, it's new.

  • My wife Betsy and Anar joined us at Saint Martha

  • to get the party started.

  • Betsy is, she's an actor, comedian,

  • all around general badass.

  • Black belt in karate.

  • Anar is one of our friends that

  • we've known forever.

  • She's also an actor, she came from New York,

  • lady knows her food.

  • She's always down to go out.

  • I want the love potion.

  • Love potion.

  • Start with some soju.

  • To a good night.

  • To a great night.

  • Woo.

  • That'll do ya.

  • I get one night off a week.

  • So, I knew that I was probably going

  • to go pretty big.

  • We have not gone to like, multiple establishments

  • In one night like this.

  • In a while, In a while.

  • In a while.

  • Out at Tart, it's the cool base,

  • great outer patio and it's a great vibe.

  • All right, let the debauchery begin.

  • Oh, shit.

  • Yes.

  • Hey, what's up?

  • We rolled up my friend Alex was there waiting

  • for us.

  • Anar and Alex met at my wedding,

  • that's kind of a growing friendship.

  • These are my three favorite people in LA.

  • We need some drinks up in this bitch.

  • I think I'm gonna start with wine.

  • Mezcal.

  • Yeah?

  • Oh, sh Getting tequila,

  • it's a fucking Mezcal night.

  • Or, we could get a punch bowl.

  • No! No!

  • No punch bowls?

  • We can't start with a punch bowl!

  • We will leave hammered.

  • Yeah.

  • Their punch bowls are dangerous.

  • Maybe we are gonna do a punch bowl.

  • Punch bowls it is!

  • Ordered a big punch bowl.

  • So this is going to happen right now.

  • This is a small.

  • This is a half size.

  • Drinking out of the punch bowl is great.

  • You're constantly refilling your drink and

  • refilling a friend's drink.

  • You feel like you're at kind of a little party.

  • Let's get fucked up.

  • Ow, ow.

  • I chose Tart for

  • dinner because I love the food there.

  • Tart's American country goes to London and

  • has an affair in Paris.

  • So like a little bit of like Southern,

  • a lot of French technique, and

  • a little bit of spin off of the UK.

  • I was the chef of Tart for

  • about a year, before we open Saint Martha.

  • Brussel sprouts with a chili vinaigrette.

  • There's like a lime cream on the bottom and then,

  • sunny side egg.

  • It's like sexual.

  • Oh, my God.

  • So good.

  • Gonna get up, all up in this shit.

  • I think it's one of those places in LA that is

  • kind of hidden.

  • People don't really know about it for dinner.

  • It's an amazing brunch spot.

  • It's a party during the day and

  • at night it has one of the best patios, I think,

  • in the city.

  • The highlight for

  • me at Tart, were I think probably the pig ears.

  • So good, it's like chewy, cartilagey, meaty,

  • at the same time.

  • Oh my God, I went in like I loved the egg

  • in the truffle jar.

  • The flavors in the egg were very much

  • throw back to sort of French food.

  • But you know, it's egg, and truffle, and potato.

  • Oh damn, truffle and egg and love and

  • everything good about- I think there's bacon.

  • Oh yeah, there's a little bit of bacon in there.

  • I think he's trying to hide that from me.

  • It's very, very like comforting.

  • Oh, fuck me, here I go.

  • Gladly.