TO THE MAX WITH ANDRE GUERRERO

Andre Guerrero

Andre Guerrero first made a name for himself on the LA food scene as the chef at Linq, which was, for a spell, the hottest spot in town. In 2002, Guerrero and then partner, Michael Lamb, opened Max in Sherman Oaks. Four years later, Guerrero’s newest project, The Oinkster, debuted in Eagle Rock. Read what Guerrero has to say about pastrami, LA’s dining scene and the nuances of working with his two sons and longtime girlfriend, pastry chef Jan Purdy.

Why did you choose the San Fernando Valley when you opened Max?
I’ve worked in the Valley before. I know the area and people know me. Also when Michael and I opened it we didn’t have any investors. We pretty much did it on our own. If we did it on the Westside with rents and tried to raise capital, it would have been difficult.

What do you say to people who think the quality of food in the San Fernando Valley is inferior to the Westside?
I think for the most part it’s true. But I also think that a lot of restaurants on the Westside are overrated. On any given day there are restaurants that really shine whether they’re in the Valley or the Westside. I can’t tell you how many times we get people who come to the Valley to eat at Max who live on the Westside. I think a lot of opinions are misguided.

Boneyard Bistro—they seem to be doing a really great job. Aaron Robins certainly has a pedigree. He worked at Charlie Trotter’s. Pinot Bistro—they have a new chef I’ve been hearing very good things about. Mistral has a new chef.

Max is pretty upscale. Why did you decide to open The Oinkster, which is decidedly more casual?
I really wanted to do it for my sons. They’re running it. (It’s kind of ironic because they’re both vegetarians.)

In this business you really need to have some diversity because if you put everything into one restaurant, especially fine dining (even though I don’t consider Max fine dining), it’s very difficult when the economy is bad. The people who take a hit are the ones at the top. I thought with The Oinkster it would always be very steady business.

Is there some magic beyond serving great food and giving good service?
You have to find a niche. Our intention was to be a very good neighborhood restaurant. If you don’t capture the neighborhood you’re not going to have the core business that keeps you going. I think that’s where a lot of restaurants fail.

How do you divide your time between Max and The Oinkster?
I’ve been mostly at Max. My chef left. So I’m back, doing my menu and spending about one day a week at The Oinkster. My next step is developing the menu a bit at The Oinkster. We are preparing a lot of things from scratch: the sauces, smoking our own pastrami. Pulled pork we brine for two days and have to smoke it overnight for eleven hours.

Can you talk a bit more about the pastrami? You spent a lot of time coming up with the recipe, correct?
About a year and a half. I got to the point where I started not liking pastrami anymore. I went around tasting everyone else’s pastrami. I wish someone would have handed me a recipe. There was a lot of trial and error.

The big difference is that we osmosis cure. The meat has to sit for two weeks in the brine. Something happens to the meat during this osmosis brine versus the very fast injection process. That’s where the slow fast food concept comes from. We’re going back to a way of curing meat that people have gotten away from.

What are the most popular dishes at The Oinkster?
We have probably the best burger out there for the money. A third pound of choice beef from Nebraska. Fresh patties that we hand make every day. We make our own dressing. It’s like Thousand Island. It has shallots. There’s some Gorgonzola cheese in there. It’s very subtle but it’s very complementary for this burger.

Those three things; pastrami, pulled pork and burgers are our most popular items.

How about at Max? What do people like?
Steak. People don’t think of us as a steak house. But our steak is very good.

In addition to your sons, you work with your girlfriend, pastry chef Jan Purdy. How is it mixing family and business?
As far as family, we respect each other. I think that’s very important. If they were not going to do a good job, I think they probably wouldn’t be working for me. What’s been amazing has been watching my sons develop into what they turned out to be. They’ve done such an amazing job. I’m so proud of them. It’s really a pleasure working around them.

They’re both on the business side?
Yes. They’re in management. With Jan, we’ve been together for ten years. There have been some very trying moments because of working together. At the end of the day, we have this collective goal that we want to succeed and we want to do this together. I think that’s very important. It’s important not only for the family but for every business where you put together a team that wants to be there because they believe in the culture of that particular restaurant.

Jan does the desserts for both restaurants?
Yes. And she’s moving into a lot of the management stuff as well.

Do you plan to open more restaurants in LA?
I’m definitely going to open more Oinksters. One restaurant I’d like to do again is another Mexican restaurant. I really think there’s a style of restaurant that’s missing here. I would love to see a restaurant where they’re serving really great Mexican food.

Does it seem to you that restaurants are opening at a furious pace?
They are opening at a furious pace. But I’m seeing just as many restaurants closing as there are opening. One door opens and another one closes. It’s like a revolving door.