“I live in New York and I’m in New York basically all the time. I spend a lot of my time in my restaurants, and I feel like that’s why they’re successful.”

I think people are intimidated by grilling .. maybe it’s the flame, maybe it’s the big grills, maybe they’ve had some bad childhood experiences .. but I think that grilling is actually the easiest technique in cooking.

Nothing goes perfectly, especially when you’re opening a restaurant.

There are so many great things about this business. Almost everybody is on the same team. It is all for one-friendly competitiveness. No one is out to hurt anyone.

The first album I bought with my own money was ‘A Hard Day’s Night.’

I looked at it as a job. My first job was at Joe Allen’s, and I remember there was a photo over the bar of the Triple Dead Heat from the 1944 Carter Handicap.

While there continues to be differences, the important point is that all citizens and elected officials use democratic and legal avenues for solving those differences.

Cook ingredients that you are used to cooking by other techniques, such as fish, chicken, or hamburgers. In other words be comfortable with the ingredients you are using.

There’s a verse in the Bible: ‘Those who are barren have more children than those who give birth.’ There are young people all over the world who come to me for advice and love. I have all the children I can handle.

I want to go to college and go back to Georgetown. It’s a really cool place.

A grill is just a source of heat. Just like a stove, it is very user-friendly.

One thing you don’t want to do as a host is be running around all evening. Do as much as you can ahead of time, so all you have to do is grill the main ingredients.

In the end, your creativity — perhaps even your outrageousness — will determine the final result.

Even if the chef has a good business head, his focus should be behind kitchen doors. A business partner should take care of everything in front of the kitchen doors.

I can’t grill vegetables, shellfish or steaks without tongs. Don’t bother with those long-handled grilling tongs normally found in the BBQ section of your home store. Get intimate with your grill and opt for the regular stainless steel tongs.

I probably use my chef’s knives more than any other tool in the kitchen. I’m not married to a particular brand, because they all work, they all have sharp blades.

Chipotles to me are a one-of-a-kind pepper because they’re smoked jalapenos, so they’re fiery and they’re smoky. It’s good to use chipotles in salsas or soups or condiments – that works really well. To me, they always really pick up anything you put them in.

Nothing goes perfectly, especially when you’re opening a restaurant.

And I couldn’t get over the fact that there was no difference between Sylvia’s restaurant and any other restaurant in New York City. I mean, it was – it was exactly the same, even though it’s run by blacks, primarily black patronship.

I’ve been touted for my guacamole. I’ll stand by my method. People have asked me to come to their home and prepare it. Restaurants have asked me about it.

Why are fish unsustainable? Because they’re popular. What makes restaurants work? Popular dishes that people come back for.