Avi Solo: Ep. 2 - Food Costs

Avi and Jessica are back on the pod to share some exciting new updates about the 3rd St Carla storefront opening, upcoming menu items, announcements, and some of their favorite recent top bites.0:45 - Jessica is pregnant and we’re having our first child!1:25 - Opening Carla Cafe 3rd Street brick + mortar location5:00 - Compliments to the staff and customer satisfaction6:03 - Current menu favorites: Chicken Caesar wrap R&D8:14 - Matcha controversy10:06 - Avi’s raw kefir journey14:55 - Korean BBQ breakfast burrito vs. the OG16:11 - Expanding hours and opening on Sundays18:21 - Top things we’ve been eating - Matu, Apple Pan18:47 - Alix Earle chili recipe19:55 - Recent Madeo experience and order23:08 - Arbol in Cabo, poolside fish tacos and nachos25:05 - Signed a lease for a Century City Carla location with possible future smoothie/menu items

Avi sits down solo today to discuss some of the recent responses and protests to the Israel/Palestine conflict occurring throughout US campuses and cities, trying to make sense of the current discourse towards further divisiveness.

Avi sits down solo today to discuss some of the upcoming initiatives for the 3rd St. Carla location around their planned coffee and matcha program and the procurement process - we'd love to hear your feedback on this one! 2:08 - notes and price points for the 9 different matcha samples 8:26 - unanimous results from blind taste test of Avi's top 4 10:19 - margins and pricing based on the most popular pick 14:28 - taste vs. price - which is more important? 17:26 - prioritizing quality while protecting margins within a trial program 19:38 - we want to hear your thoughts/feedback on the proposed pricepoint!

On today’s episode, Avi sits down with interior designer and friend Mike Moser who is working with Carla on their upcoming 3rd St. brick and mortar location. Mike’s bicoastal projects have been featured in Architectural Digest and commended for their client-first approach. From working at Wasteland when he first moved to LA to getting a job at Ralph Lauren and starting his own eponymous design studio, Mike highlights his journey of personal and professional self-discovery with this discussion that covers: 2:21 - what happens when projects or client relationships shift and how to handle them 5:24 - the impact of being featured in Architectural Digest 9:03 - growing up in a close-knit Christian family and coming to terms with Mike’s own sexuality 15:49 - the complexities of religious/internalized shame when trying to validate your identity as you come of age 18:59 - people are not defined by their “sins” and it is not their identity 22:06 - turning an awareness of design and aesthetics into a career 23:28 - falling in love at Wasteland and the whirlwind decision to move to LA instead of going back to San Diego 29:42 - getting a job at Ralph Lauren and the experience of working at such a recognizable brand/aesthetic style 33:43 - when Mike realized it was time to move on and start his own studio  34:30 - honor your true strengths and passions while learning to delegate the rest 43:13 - where Mike gets inspiration for his designs 50:48 - working with people directly to bring them joy and happiness is the goal 58:45 - other key moments that Mike attributes to helping him get to where he is today 1:04:07 - the privilege of the ability to work with clients of a certain caliber and the pride but also responsibility to deliver that comes with it 1:07:52 - what Mike avoids when approaching a design project 1:10:47 - misconceptions about designing a space and how to align your vision with the client’s 1:18:34 - Mike’s current relationship with God/spirituality and valuable lessons he's learned about himself

Avi and Jessica sit down to discuss the story of Moses, when they each started to fully embrace God, and how it impacted their journey with starting Carla Cafe and turning it into a business. 1:15 - the story of Moses leading the Jews out of Egypt 2:57 - how Avi & Jess envision mana tasting 4:20 - interpreting the meaning of the Sabbath 5:55 - how literally to interpret God’s words from the Torah/Old Testament 15:28 - how the takeaway of believing that everything will work out relates to the start of Carla 25:07 - saying goodbye to Avi’s aunt and his parents’ house being destroyed by flooding on the same day serving as the catalyst for Carla to become possible during COVID 29:18 - living out of the Beverly Hills Hotel with no money in the checking account 32:29 - a pivotal phone call from Avi’s brother that planted the seed of the Carla vision 33:42 - why the rental house at Leslie was the unexpectedly perfect place to realize that vision 36:54 - hindsight and a perspective shift change memories from sad to positive 41:38 - the value of believing 44:22 - feeling a calling from God at the wedding to go with the flow 49:30 - why you need to be watching The Traitors Season 2

Avi and Jessica sit down to discuss their 3 favorite recent bites of the week with orders for each, and give an overview of the story & lessons of Tamar. 5:07 - coffee testing for new location 8:06 - McConnell’s 11:08 - hot take: not enough top tier pizza in LA 13:45 - Lamonica’s 18:39 - Manpuku 22:22 - Baja Fresh 27:07 - homemade chicken lettuce cups 27:34 - South Beverly Grill 27:54 - homemade Benihana-style salad 28:03 - Raffi’s vs. Darya 29:14 - story of Tamar and continuation of Sunday Service 34:54 - does having sex with Tamar curse men to die? 40:05 - Judah respects Tamar for her poise and takes accountability for his actions despite her being a woman during a time when women were considered a man’s property 43:28 - book rec - The Way of Forgiveness

Avi sits down solo today to share his thoughts on the current state of the Israel/Palestine conflict since the Oct. 7th attacks & the confusing anti-Israel stance that non-Palestinian progressives are taking. 1:06 - Avi shares his memories and emotions felt on Oct. 7th, 2023 3:47 - Avi’s parents’ experience as Persian Jews and fleeing their home country 6:40 - explaining why this conflict is inherently a religious issue since the beginning of Israel’s existence 12:04 - the divisiveness of insinuating that some lives are more valuable than others 14:34 - peace hasn’t been possible without the acceptance of a two-state solution & living under Hamas regime shouldn’t be an option 18:02 - the irony of progressives walking hand in hand with white supremacists 21:06 - Jews are responding to a war that Hamas started 24:45 - the progressive one-sided fallacy of claiming to care about civilian deaths 26:11 - what you are really supporting if you back a Hamas pro-Palestinian agenda 30:14 - the contradiction of implying Israel as an oppressor because they are more powerful and wanting to level the playing field rather than improve Palestine 35:45 - the issues with Marxist ideology 43:46 - woke ideals are not the best thing for society if they rely on tearing one group down to raise another up

Jessica and Avi sit down today to discuss some memorable recent bites and give a full recap of part 1 of their recent Italian nuptials. Part 2 coming soon to unpack the rest of the unforgettable experience. 1:26 - some favorite bites of the month starting with the Chanos nachos 3:23 - how Avi and Jessica recreated their Thanksgiving leftover turkey sandwich with a twist 18:10 - update on Carla storefront construction 18:37 - almost missing the flight to Italy for their own wedding (there were several contributing factors but Avi’s 45 minute shower didn’t help for Jessica) 23:10 - bringing Carla on the plane to enhance the flight experience 27:15 - hot travel tip for extra luggage assistance  27:44 - getting separated with both phones dead while wrangling luggage in Rome, Avi fears Jessica has been abducted 31:36 - Avi & Jessica are relieved to reconnect but transporting the luggage to the hotel remains a challenge 35:10 - dinner and drinks the first night at St. Ana and Hotel Locarno 37:20 - Avi’s foot injury and buying chips for the welcome bags 38:44 - sightseeing and exploring for the day 40:20 - guests start arriving, sampling candies and chocolates 43:18 - bird shits on guest’s face within 30 mins of arrival on the way to dinner 43:43 - Al Moro order 45:03 - Tuesday night dinner at Zuma & order 46:45 - Wednesday day prep and Jess buying a last-minute dress 49:31 - Avi’s nap bleeds slightly into dinnertime, post dinner drinks and dancing vibes 51:47 - pizza at Emma 54:26 - welcome drinks (Avi shows up to cocktail attire in a t-shirt), apps served, and a midnight golf-cart tour of Rome for kick-off event 59:44 - revolving risotto and McDonald's

Jessica and Avi sit down today to discuss the latest Carla updates, what managing the early days of the business informed about the need to bring on a back of house operator for the next phase of growth, as well as the biblical story of Joseph, forgiveness, and if Rachel and Jacob were actually getting after it. 1:27 - what the early days of the business taught Avi about the need for someone to handle operations 4:41 - when a third kitchen hire is driven by power dynamics to take shortcuts 6:36 - putting a different spin on the tuna chop that had pros and cons 10:04 - what the new back of house operator has been able to accomplish to prioritize consistency 12:32 - Jessica's favorite Carla order and why the GAC changed their lives 16:21 - process of R&Ding and hint at upcoming new menu items 18:25 - Angelini Osteria order to taste test with Ryan and Brittany 22:39 - Avi wants to tell Jessica the story of Joseph from the Bible 25:00 - Jessica wonders if people could really date back then, Avi contends that familial power structures of the time would make hooking up privately a challenge 27:59 - Jacob's polygamy loophole to be able to get together with Rachel after accidentally sleeping with her sister 33:51 - Joseph's asshole siblings throw him down a well in a jealous rage for being the favorite 35:05 - Joseph's ultimate come-up from 13 years of slavery to saving all of Egypt from famine 37:16 - Joseph comes face to face with his siblings in their time of need and is put to the highest test of forgiveness 40:01 - trusting the path that you are on is the right one regardless of the challenges along the way (Jessica thinks Joseph still might be a pick-me though)

Avi sits down solo today to share his thoughts on food prices as well as some insights from inside the restaurant industry on the important correlation between costs and quality. 0:24 - Avi's recent experience at Avi Cue and order 2:57 - the IG story response about Avi Cue's prices that set this episode in motion 3:23 - why making everything in-house is expensive by nature 4:07 - negotiating pricing with suppliers takes time 5:06 - how pricing is calculated 5:57 - Restaurant Depot's eye-opening frozen section 7:54 - the reality of how often we are served pre-made food 8:28 - appreciating the dedication of restaurants that commit to better quality food in-house 9:35 - why most restaurants are incentivized to keep from raising their prices 11:19 - the importance of communicating feedback to your favorite restaurants about what they're doing well 12:02 - Carla's belief system about customer demand for quality product 13:15 - how to support the places in your area that are committed to quality