Chef Justin

Chef Justin

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:00

Welcome to another edition of the LJ's Lounge podcast. So excited for the conversation that is taking place today. For those that have not participated or joined prior, introduced myself, Kenneth Jackson, one of the proprietors, founders, and passionate team members of LJ's Lounge. We're located here in Triangle Square in Costa Mesa, California, representing the OC, trying to bring that culture. Not even trying. We don't do trying. We will bring the culture. This project, we got the keys on March 20th of 2026. And so that was the culmination or pivotal point in a very long journey of many decades of just doing so many different things in EOC. But it was a special door that opened for us to have our own home. Well, at home, one of the key areas of it is the kitchen. And so the marketing side as a Titan of Cal State Fulletin, tuss up, felt comfortable on the business and the marketing side of it. We have many investors that are multi-talented from finance to music. And then we were fortunate to find Monty Martin. We got reconnected and he's running front of house. But the key element was who is going to bring the food to life. But we still needed someone to bring the kitchen to life. And so, a couple weeks ago, we stumbled and were blessed with the presence of one chef Justin McNeil. Thank you. Yeah. Thank you for the question. So I'll make it personal for me. So much has been said about the culture and the ethnicity and everything going on, and is it for black people only and all that madness? And no, no, no. It's for everyone. LJ's is for everyone. It's about community. That said, we also wanted to have some credibility and authenticity of who's going to bring the soul food to life. And so for you, uh as a black man, um, I will say for me candidly, I thought that that was a blessing that um I know that we've talked about your hey soul food is it's not something you necessarily fully grown up on, and over the last decade or so you've really started to embrace, but I still think you understand the culture well. Some of our fondest memories, and it's gonna be like an inside joke to some that don't know, we've sat around talking about old hip-hop songs, hip-hop movies, the playlist you have going on in the kitchen. Um people can't wait to see the men's bathroom, they don't even know, they don't even know what they're in for. They don't, right? They don't know. Absolutely. But you are you culturally get it. And to me, for us to have the authenticity and I think the success that we want to have, um, I was very pleased to see you come through the door. So I think I thank God, I thank uh our uh consultant, our brother Charles Smith, that helped kind of get you in. And uh I think uh we want to know, and everyone wants to know, tell us a little bit about your journey, how you came into cooking, um, and what give you that love and that passion.

SPEAKER_01 3:51

Uh I would say, I mean, childhood always had something. I mean, obviously with pie from you know, coming home from the racetrack, Lost Alamitos, and we're hitting up diners and we're getting that fried chicken with the apple pie to um bacon wrapped shrimp on the grill during the summertime because my grandparents had a pool in the backyard. We always there is a lot of fondness with and a lot of ties to food. But um to s to get into it professionally, I would say probably I would say roughly about 24, 25, I finally kind of was able to dip my toe into it. Um, started a corner bakery, um, kind of worked through that, opened up a location in Utah, came back. One of the managers that hired me um went to Portos in Downey. Got a call out of nowhere, probably seven months after Utah, and he's just like, I think you have a there's a spot here I just want you to try. Um took a chance. I was already working three jobs. I said, one of these jobs had I I gotta take a backseat because I'm just like, I just had that bug. Like I don't know where it came from, it's got that culinary bug. So took a chance, very difficult. I mean, you go from working 5 p.m. to midnight to working midnight to 2 p.m. Um worked my way through that, found out that you know I fell back in love with um with um baking, took a little break off from baking for a bit. Um fell in love with that, and then um while training someone in the kitchen that came over to want to learn how to do um pastries, he told me about a concept inside Nordstrom, said I should give it a shot, um took a chance on that, struggled for probably the better part of the year, and just one day it just clicked that I'm just not I'm that I guess I'm a little better than what I thought. And just day by day after that it just got I wouldn't say easier, but it it got it it it got more I guess what's the word uh I'm kind of word escacing, but I guess for lack of better term, it got easier. Um and I found that while it got easier, there were there obviously I had a set of challenges, but um I fell in love with that even more. Um and now I'm in a space where I can kind of use the nerd part of me and understand words like what's in my yard reaction, what is, you know, proper temps, know what zoning is in both your cooking aspects and in your um storage. Um, you know, proper labeling, FIFO, you know, um things like that. Um and with that, you know, I'm not one who's much of a talker, but I was able to kind of express myself through the culinary aspect, kind of like what I was internally feeling, and um from there I just l was able to show appreciation for all of my hard work through um essentially through just kind of like my kitchen journey.

SPEAKER_02 6:49

Cool. So for as customers come in and get to know you and the team gets to know you, I'm gonna speak for myself. You know, I think you have a little bit of football in your background, but your your appearance is very confident. You have a presence about you. And even in that interview process, it was interesting because you're very serious, extremely focused. It's like game on, which people that know me, I'm similar. I'm I'm I can be a bit gregarious, loud, obnoxious, I guess, to an extent, but you are very serious. And so I I'll never forget. It just I was like, what do you do for fun? Because you seem so locked in, you know. 100% as an owner, listen, as an owner, that's what I want. But I was like, we gotta have a little bit of fun too. So absolutely. But you are a Renaissance man like me, you're a nerd, which I think is cool. Yes, but brothers can be nerds too. Absolutely. But um, you're a Renaissance man to me, so talk a little bit about what are some of your interests outside of the kitchen.

SPEAKER_01 7:50

That one was a tough one because I spent, I mean, I probably spent the better part of I would say 13 years working at least two jobs, sometimes in upwards of four. So once I was, once I was able to put in the work in a kitchen, it did kind of reward me with a little bit of extra time where I didn't need to work additional jobs. So then it just one day I just woke up, I I had a day off, didn't have to go to another job. I had about a good six, seven hours of sleep, which is like a vacation for me. So it was just like well, what what do I do? What do I do next? I put so much time into my craft that I had to actually just go out and find something. I would literally just drive around LA just trying to find something. I'd go to Lamer Park and I'll sit there for a couple hours with a book, watching, you know, all the purveyors out there trying to sell oils and um s sell their food. I would go to Santa Monica sometimes, go over there to Third Street, just walk around the promenade. Um then it's got to the point I had no idea I was doing, so I literally just jumped on YouTube, started scrolling, finding some stuff, and I realized I've kind of fell out of love with gardening. I loved to garden when I was younger. Um loved animals. Um and then one day it just clicked that don't know where it came from. Aquascaping. You know, coming into fish, trying to find that symbiotic relationship with how fish um, you know, through through them kind of releasing, you know, what they what they pass out, certain plants just take off from that. You know, there's uh there's a nitrogen cycle that is just great with that. Plants photosynthesize, they take those nutrients, they filter the water for the fish, and that just creates this very humble symbiotic relationship. And I found that, you know, there was a balance with that. Um also found out I like shooting paper targets. So um looked up YouTube on how to properly shoot a gun, how to store um a firearm, how to be responsible. I took a chance, went to Big Five in Culver City, did my tests right then and there. $200 later, I'm walking out with this long shotgun, having no idea what to do. Um, there's been a lot of products I've done. I've tried to teach myself how to um work on motorcycles, that was a dead end. Um, taught myself cars, taught myself um a lot of stuff, and even found a way to get back into all those somehow um being tied into culinary, you know, at least for me, you know, like the steps. There's always a step, there's a process in everything I do, and there's a step and process in any in any hobbies, you know. You DJ, there is, and as much as you love that, you were over here dancing around and you were spending like three, you still understand that there is a process and a setup leading to that. And I think that's what I kind of like. I like the mechanics of something more, and the end result kind of speaking for itself through other people that can come and see them like okay, that's cool, but you didn't see what led up to it. Yes, but that's the part I love. I love the part of the leading up to um and those hobbies are things where you definitely put in the work, you kind of build the mechanics, and they just become autonomous. I love it.

SPEAKER_02 10:59

What one of the things I've picked up from you over the past couple weeks, and you said it very well, you seem to be a lifelong learner. Like you are always interested in in understanding the background, the context, absolutely how things relate. And so I think that tied in perfectly for me. It was a very gratifying and emotional week last week to watch you have your culinary chops, if you will, but at the same time, you were very humble and willing to kind of learn from my mom. And you guys were kind of in there collaborating. And uh, you know, my daughter is very much uh my older daughter, that all three of my kids have their some of their dad's tendencies, or if not many. But my middle daughter, my middle child, my oldest daughter, uh, she she's very she has a strong presence. And so I we had that kind of all have this conversation of hey, this cooking, it's not it's not Iron Chef, it's a collaboration, not a competition. Absolutely. And so it was really cool how you were really willing to learn and listen to my mom, hey, this is how I do this. And again, there's no right. Um there was no right, there was no wrong. It was about, hey, what's the preference and what we're going for? Absolutely. And I think bringing it to the DJ side, you know, we want this healthy balance of the menu being originals and some remixes. And so we're trying to find that balance because someone in my age demographic is going to come in and we want a little bit more traditional. Someone that might be on a little younger end, they're cool with the traditional, but they might want a remix. And so I thought it was a very it was it was just a really cool thing to watch how you guys all collaborated. That said, talk to me about last week. What were some of your takeaways or some highlights from being in the kitchen with my mom, your twist on things, or what she may have said, because I we've been we haven't debriefed. I would love to know what did you take away from last week and what maybe you're excited about.

SPEAKER_01 12:53

I mean, the the the biggest takeaway was just about how community-driven it was. I believe your cousin came in, your sister, meaning I'm sorry, your um daughter was here, son-in-law was here. Obviously, Linda Jean being here was kind of a big thing because this is all for her, and um, this is where life started um for you know for this. Um so it was it was good just kind of have that just conversation on stuff that she did, uh, learning about what she was like growing up, you know, living in Arkansas at that time couldn't have been um easy. My grandfather actually was born in Arkansas, he moved over here at a very young age. So um hearing just some of that history leading up to now, anything about history, I'm always gonna be a fan of. I'm a huge geek for history. So just listening to how she made something as a little girl and how that just kind of carried over to um her and her beautiful age was just all is something I'm always gonna listen to because I I love to I love to hear because part of my learning is being an active listener and um seeing how she made her greens, talking about, you know, you know, why she's putting ham hocks in here and why it's important of just like you know, boiling something down at a nice hard rolling boil, even if she doesn't know what a hard rolling boil is, she does it because that's just innate in her. So being able to kind of put a word to something that she's clearly been doing for such a long period of time, that's also kind of inspiring as well. Because yeah, I read that and learn it, but actually seeing someone who hasn't read it, who wasn't um professionally trained, and they're doing something that I had to just learn and her doing it naturally, that's always just kind of um cool for me to see.

SPEAKER_02 14:28

Cool, cool. So we've been working diligently on the menu. Would love to hear giving folks a little bit of a preview of maybe some dishes that you're most excited about making. Uh, I'm gonna do a quick insertion. We did a lot of food last week. A lot of it. And you dropped the mic or dropped the plate or whatever you want to call it with the catfish at the end of the day on Friday. That that was ridiculous. So I'm a huge catfish fan. So y'all, that y'all come get some of that catfish. But what are you excited about? Uh some dishes that we've been working on and planning through.

SPEAKER_01 15:02

Um, I mean, obviously the catfish. Finding catfish that's coming from the Delta. Um, that was one thing my my my wife was adamant about. She's not stepping foot in this place if we have catfishing that's not coming from Mississippi in any way. Um, she stands on that. Um same for my mother-in-law. Um, and my mom, when she comes in, she's gonna love it because you know, we grew up in an area uh for Crenshaw Slaws where we had catfish and had access to it, but nothing like this. Yeah. Um obviously candy yams, I'm a huge yam fan. Um, so I'm definitely excited about it. That was dope last week. Because then we took the skin off, right? We took the skin off. We did the skin on the learned that. I wasn't up on that. Yeah, and I love the skin for you know for the texture, but uh again, if it's a yam, I'm I'm I'm gonna eat it. No way pants are buttons. No way, parents are butt.

SPEAKER_02 15:50

Um real quick, and Caitlin, we'll make sure we get the marshmallows on. For some of y'all, we know you like the marshmallows.

SPEAKER_01 15:55

We'll put some marshmallows on there for you, reluctantly. Um but yeah, no, the the candy yams, the catfish first and foremost is definitely one um going with the new brine where we're doing our turmeric pickles for the sandwich and adding that in to kind of create incorporate some of that yellow color with that like sweet turmeric um taste. Um the sweet potato pie, obviously, because it's yeah, obviously, because it's sweet potatoes. Um the fried chicken. I mean, anything that we put out there was burf what was just nothing short of just great. But the ones that stand out is obviously the catfish, anything sweet potato, even a mac and cheese recipe that we're playing around with, where do we want less gouda, do we want more mild cheddar? That those are just fun ways of just trying to incorporate more of what um soul food and what LJs will have to offer. Cool, cool.

SPEAKER_02 16:42

So there's been a for me, this has been a labor of love. And I've really tried to really bring a certain decor to life. And even as I sit here, I've told people there'll be so many people come by, and you've seen it, your chef, they'll come by and they're like, when are you guys opening and what's going on and what's the vibe? And the the two things I will describe to them is a trying to, it's like a mini house of blues where we're coming in, it's it's like coming into a little intimate dining experience. Absolutely. And then the other one is like, hey, we're inviting you over to our house for dinner. And as I say that, and I sit here with you and I think about the drapes and the pictures, we really almost, I shouldn't say we might the vision is coming to life where it's a living room, right? And we're bringing over.

SPEAKER_01 17:29

100%.

SPEAKER_02 17:30

Talk about your feeling of, you know, maybe some of the pictures on the wall. We've talked about fun with the bathroom, but is there anything that's resonated with you from a decor perspective that you're like, okay, yeah, I get it or I feel it?

SPEAKER_01 17:42

Um obviously the pictures. I mean, there's there's a myriad of pictures, and each one of those, anyone that you look at, especially growing up in the 80s, you've seen some of this be it in person um or see it on TV. So the pictures already tell a story. I mean, like I said, what was that last week? You, me, and Monty were sitting around, and every time you show a picture, which like uh drip drip drip, you know, follow the drip. So we um the pictures more first and foremost always, you know, the like that style of couch, you know, I would imagine that with some kind of um plastic on there, but that's my great-grandmother's butt. I mean, the couch is one thing most definitely. The the the decor just kind of has that almost, you know, it has it definitely has like that grandmother feel to it. Um but then you have this nice contrast of the brick on the side, you have the stage right here, you have this carpet that has that nice little plushness, so it brings a little bit of uh elevation, but it's still to me, it just feels like an elevated grandmother's house. Yeah. Um and that's what and I think that's what I I like most about the decor. It's just it is new, it has that chicness to it, but it does have remnants of that walking into your your your pretty much your grandparents' house on a on a weekend. Totally agree.

SPEAKER_02 18:54

So um we are will uh put the Tables up, seatbacks upright position, um, seat belts buckled. Yep. Um yes, every time. We're gonna land the plane. Every time. Um the kitchen is your domain. Um, you know, I'll never forget, you know, we were having some early conversations when you came aboard, and I was like, Chef, it's your it's your kitchen, do your deal. I I get it's kind of my house per se, but it's your kitchen. So I think what I would love to know, um you've you touched me in the interview, you were talking about, and I don't want to mispronounce it, is it my yard? My art. My art. Absolutely. And you talked about kind of your desire and your passion. Um, and for me, I I really enjoy leadership and I enjoy mentoring and coaching and um and legacy. And so what I want to do is you are helping me bring my dream, my vision to life, and I want to reciprocate and help you do that. And so, can you just help us out as we kind of land things? Talk to you about what your vision is, not only for LJs and your role as leading the back of house and the food, but also even beyond that, uh, what some of your visions and aspirations are from LJs and beyond.

SPEAKER_01 20:10

Um, so I found that throughout my years of cooking, you know, just trying to find my niche is because like I said, growing up, um, the food we had was memorable, but it wasn't specific to a region or um certain communities, a little bit of everything. You know, I do have a multi, um, I have a very multicultural family. Um, so we have different dishes from different parts of their childhood. And I found that things that usually have a brazen aspect, a roasting aspect, um, something that takes a long time, that needs a little bit of that searing, a little bit of flour, those smells are just something that from barbecues to ovens to um what was that, the stew chicken that my aunt would make to the sweet potato pies my grandmother would make. Um I just found that those notes of some type of browning, roasting, any any heat-related type of smell is just something that I just love. And you know, I'm very fortunate that um I have a partner that is very explorative, like I am. We've gone to different parts of um the world right now. Our last spot was in um Tenerife. And they've had For those that don't know, geographically, where's that at? That is about three hours outside of Spain, actually closer to Morocco than it is to Spain. Um so very warm out there, very saline smell. You just get that ocean smell, and it's just it's it's hard to put into words and put on camera just how beautiful that place was. But we're sitting, I remember we're just sitting out um and they bring this beautiful fish encased in all this salt. They crack, and it's just that smell and the heat just reminds me of just so much of childhood because you get that earthy smell, you get a little bit of that roasting sensation, you get that like really fresh fish taste, which we're Definitely going to have with our catfish. Um, but it just was just kind of like an all-encompassing of like this is what I want my mark to be. I always want to be able to pretty much I I want people to come into LJ's, any establishment, but primarily LJ's. I want them to come in and almost have that almost like cartoon whiff of when you smell something, you just float in the air. You know, as soon as you walk in, I want them to smell our oxtails. I want them to smell that oil from the catfish. I want them to smell those candy hands and those those toasted cloves coming out. I want anything that is in that kitchen to resonate all throughout the dining room because they're already gonna have we're already gonna have good music. We're already gonna have good drinks. I want to have good, actually, no, I want to have great drinks. I want to have great music and I want to have great food. And I want all those to tie in because those are things that I celebrated growing up. From, you know, listening to Bob Marley while we have ribs on the grill to listening to Tina Turner while we're jumping off the diving board in my grandparents' backyard. Um, I want every one of our guests to come in and find a way to travel back in time when they taste something. You know, even if they've never had soul food before. They know what cinnamon tastes like. They know what a green should taste like, that they know what smoked, uh, any kind of smoked meat should taste like, and I want that to be on every single plate that comes out that kitchen. Cool.

SPEAKER_02 23:24

Chef, thank you for being a part of our journey. Thank you. Uh thank you for welcoming us to be a part of your journey. And uh so excited uh to start this new venture in this new chapter in uh both both of our respective lives, and uh the best is yet to come. Appreciate you. Thank you. Let's do it. All right. Peace.