WITH FATSO
***image1***
SFR: So you're originally from Long Island, right?
F:
Well, I got raised in Argentina until I was 12, and then I landed in Queens, and then I went to Long Island, and then I left New York when I was 18 to go to LA. So I learned a lot about Italian food because I was hanging out with a lot of Italians in New York and Los Angeles too.
So how does an Argentinean who moved to New York and then LA and hung around with a lot of Italians end up out in Santa Fe?
Uh, that's kind of a weird story, you know. I was kinda sick of LA, and I lit a candle one night. The next day, I was at the pizzeria, Little Tony's, I was working at. I looked up from makin' the dough and I saw this homeless guy, and I go, 'Buddy, can I help you?' And he told me I had to move to Santa Fe. And I said, 'What?' And he started yelling it at the top of his lungs. I told the boss that night I needed two week's notice.
Why did you listen to him?
I dunno! Sometimes I wonder if he says that to everybody!
Had you ever heard of Santa Fe before?
No-never heard of it.
Did you cook when you first got here too?
I got 26 years cooking, so I've always been cooking. I cooked at Casa Sena, El Farol. My last gig was at the governor's mansion for the governor and his wife. That was nice. The fun part was when the governor would come in to the kitchen every day and say, 'You're fired! Get the hell out!' He was kidding.
Did he like your food?
Yeah, but he was on the Atkins diet. I couldn't cook him no lasagna.
I bet he ate everything on his plate though.
Yeah, the lamb chops and stuff like that.
So how did you get hooked up with this gig cooking at WilLee's?
I was at the house fantasizing about food, like giving people a really fierce plate. Like there isn't anywhere. Cause, uh, people that work at restaurants, they serve people all day, they cook for people all day. Where do those guys go on their day off? They got movies rented, but what do they want to eat? And that was what I was visualizing. Cooking for them. And uh, when I got this chance, when I found out the kitchen wasn't being used, I jumped on it and asked if I could cook from out of there. That's how it happened. I do it for people who want a really fierce munch. Like, four pounds of pasta. They wanna go back home and have some more pasta that night with a movie or something. Comfort food, you know.
Why are the portions so big?
That's the one thing I hated all these years cooking for other people. I hated when they told me, 'That plate's too big.' Because I was always thinking: 'Yeah, but the place is full, buddy. What's the matter with you!' You gotta feed them like it's you when you're starved.
And why no salad?
I just hate salad. I don't think your soul comes here to eat salad. I just think your soul comes here to smoke cigarettes and eat and do all this stuff you can't do on the other side.
What else makes your food different from other restaurants?
It can't even compare. I mean, a bowl of pasta you get somewhere else, you're not even full. If you don't have to unbutton your pants, then you didn't eat Italian food. I'm sorry. That's all there is to it. If you want to go get a plate with three shrimps on it, go somewhere else. 'Cause I won't serve a plate I wouldn't eat myself.
Do you think there are good chefs in Santa Fe?
Yeah, I worked with a couple of good ones. But I'm not into the fine dining. I did it a lot of the years. I always felt like we're cheating people. Twenty-six dollars for a plate. You know, the plates are not really big. My favorite thing that happened since I've been here is when Billy Bob Thornton came in here and told me, 'Everywhere I've been they've been giving me these pussy plates and I'm finally full for the first time in three months.' He had the chicken parm. He almost killed it. He bought a T-shirt too. He was really into it. And I got to tell him that
Badder Santa
was the best movie. It was great. I just don't like it when they give you a plate that has no love in it. If I'm cooking, you're never gonna get a plate I wouldn't eat myself.
Why the name Fatso's?
Because it conveys what I'm trying to say with the food. That it's huge. It's the size of your head.
