6 Questions with Patrick Ryan

  1. How did the food thing start for you?

    I grew up four blocks from my grandparents. And I kind of grew up with them. They had a garden outside, and we’d pick vegetables. So by the time I was like 6 or 7, I knew how to cook. I could make scrambled eggs. It’s sounds weird to say aloud, but I was just good at it when I was really young. And when you find something that you’re good at, you end up liking it a lot. And I just never quit loving it.

  2. Smells. Tell us your favorite smell.

    Queso fundido! It's Chihuahua cheese, chorizo rojo, poblano rojas, Mexican oregano, all coming out of a wood-burning oven with fresh corn tortillas… that’s my favorite smell. It’s my death row meal, it’s my favorite smell, it’s one of my favorite things to eat ever. It’s fantastic.

  3. How did you get connected with Mexico?

    I was working at mom-and-pop Mexican restaurants when I was like 14. I was the chip guy, or the dishwasher guy, kind of the one white guy. So I learned to speak Spanish, a little bit of the culture and geography. I just fell in love with the people I was working with. And the connection with Mexico followed.

  4. What do you love about going to Mexico?

    Over the last four or five years, I started going to Mexico more and more often, and into different places. It’s such a huge, diverse country. And now I just caught that bug. And I just want to see all of it. Even just Mexico City. It's so huge. It’s like going to New York City for the first time. You can’t experience everything. You can get a little bit here and there.

  5. You say you were a "sports guy" growing up. What Kansas City team do you most want to win a championship?

    Right now, it’s gotta be the Chiefs. Sporting Kansas City, the soccer team, I really really like. There are a lot of people I’m really close to in the organization and the players, which have lived in the same building as me. So I’m really connected to Sporting Kansas City. But, man, we got to get a Chiefs Super Bowl in my lifetime. Probably this year.

  6. Serious question. Is a hot dog a sandwich?

    Oh my god. We were just talking about this... Fuck no! It’s not a sandwich, it’s a hot dog! Look, I get it. I’m open to all opinions... but it’s not a sandwich. A torta is a sandwich. I mean, if my dad was ordering a hamburger, he’d call it a "hamburger sandwich." He’d never call a hot dog a sandwich. Because it’s not a sandwich.