Hospitality with Integrity: Chef Erick Williams on Legacy, Leadership, and Lounges

[01:01:25:12 - 01:01:30:06]
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[01:01:33:02 - 01:02:28:22]
Sylvia
 Hey, foodie friends. On this episode of "Supper with Sylvia," I'm having a heartfelt conversation with Chef Erick Williams, James Beard, award-winning chef and the visionary behind virtue on Chicago's South Side. He named his restaurant virtue because he says it reflects how he lives with intention, generosity, and kindness. His southern-inspired dishes have turned virtue into a national must-visit attraction, drawing food lovers from across the country, including those who might normally never venture to the South Side. But beyond his incredible food, Chef Williams is uplifting a new generation through the Virtue Leadership Development Program. He's mentoring young black and brown men and women in leadership and culinary arts. So tune in and be inspired by how food, culture, and community are all coming together. This one gets a date.

[01:02:30:21 - 01:02:33:17]
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[01:02:35:04 - 01:02:39:12]
Sylvia
 Erick Williams, so nice to have you. Thanks for joining me. I'm so excited you're doing this.

[01:02:40:15 - 01:02:55:06]
Sylvia
 Thank you so much for having me. I really appreciate it. And first of all, congratulations. You just opened the brand new Countina Rosa. I was fortunate enough to be there for the opening. What a beautiful, beautiful place. Tell everybody about this.

[01:02:55:06 - 01:03:05:05]
Erick
 So Countina Rosa is our Mexican spirit and adave bar.

[01:03:06:08 - 01:03:10:07]
Erick
 We focus on tropical drinks and Mexican spirits.

[01:03:11:12 - 01:03:34:05]
Erick
 And we wanted to have a place that felt a bit more like a lounge where people could come before dinner after dinner or smack dab in the middle or a reset or a catch up with friends. And we're really, really happy it's been a success thus far. And we look forward to the growth of it.

[01:03:34:05 - 01:03:51:19]
Sylvia
 Well, that's just one of the many places you have. So it all started with virtue. Then we have Daisy's po' boy, right? Top this mac and cheese, mustard seed kitchen, and now Countina Rosa. I want to start with virtue because that was your first place.

[01:03:53:00 - 01:04:14:05]
Sylvia
 And I have to tell everybody, I have had the honor of eating there a few times. And I've shared this story with Erick already. Erick you've already heard this, but just the food is so good. And Erick kept sending us out food and I was eating and I looked at you, Erick and I said, I wish my stomach was bigger. This food is absolutely delicious.

[01:04:14:05 - 01:04:15:17]
Erick
 Well, thank you so much.

[01:04:15:17 - 01:04:27:05]
Sylvia
 So tell everybody about the concept of virtue. What is it that you want people to experience, not only in the food when they eat there, but the vibe and the surroundings?

[01:04:29:03 - 01:04:34:02]
Erick
 Well, I think the only way to combat the,

[01:04:36:16 - 01:04:55:22]
Erick
 to combat the negatives that we deal with on a day-to-day basis, our anxiety, our stressors, which when we're hungry, show up in the form of hangry, when you mix the two words, angry and hungry. And we don't realize sometimes how we're projecting.

[01:04:57:03 - 01:05:06:07]
Erick
 And so virtue works really, really hard to be a respite or a reset of sorts. And we combat that with hospitality.

[01:05:07:09 - 01:05:10:21]
Erick
 And that form of hospitality is displayed by kindness.

[01:05:12:00 - 01:05:44:15]
Erick
 And so what we want people to feel first and foremost is this very intentional, high level of kindness. And if we can usher you into our space and treat you well, the food tastes better without us even working that hard. Now, we happen to have a group of very hardworking, young cooks and chefs who are focused on delivering delicious night after night.

[01:05:46:12 - 01:05:54:13]
Erick
 We have the sounds of many of the R&B greats and the soul music greats,

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Erick
 from James Brown to Aretha Franklin,

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Erick
 playing in the backdrop.

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Erick
 It's one of the few restaurants in the city that delivers a very focused and plated version of Southern foods that are both influenced by the great migration and the Black diaspora.

[01:06:24:13 - 01:06:34:18]
Erick
 And so I think you can expect a fully submersive Black experience that's open to all who care to enter in.

[01:06:36:00 - 01:06:56:20]
Sylvia
 And one of the other things I love about it is the artwork. You have taken the time to make sure that that art also creates the vibe that you were just talking about. What are some of the favorite pieces you have there? Because when you go inside and you sit in your restaurant, you are struck by some of the artwork on the wall because it's pretty powerful.

[01:06:58:08 - 01:06:59:00]
Erick
 Well,

[01:07:00:08 - 01:07:05:07]
Erick
 there's a The Askingates piece that is really special to us.

[01:07:06:20 - 01:07:11:09]
Erick
 It's one of the few pieces that we left hanging during the pandemic.

[01:07:12:12 - 01:07:16:13]
Erick
 It's a really heavy piece in every sense of the word.

[01:07:18:01 - 01:07:21:10]
Erick
 It's the weight of the thing is extreme,

[01:07:22:15 - 01:07:41:19]
Erick
 but the weight of the message behind it is extreme. It is reclaimed hoses that represent the hoses that were used to break peaceful protests that were coined as race riots during the civil rights era. And it's a really beautiful piece.

[01:07:43:20 - 01:07:52:05]
Erick
 However, it's very striking. So once you're informed of what it is, it's a lot to kind of take in at first sight.

[01:07:53:09 - 01:07:59:22]
Erick
 We have pieces by MacArthur Binion. We have pieces by Rauliz Vasquez.

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Erick
 We have a piece by the amazing photographer

[01:08:08:10 - 01:08:20:04]
Erick
 turned friend, Dawoud Bey. And so there's some pretty cool images throughout the space that have been carefully curated by the artists.

[01:08:21:13 - 01:08:27:01]
Erick
 And it really speaks to Chicago's arts community.

[01:08:28:05 - 01:08:37:15]
Erick
 And that community is the most densely populated community of black fine artists anywhere in the nation.

[01:08:40:09 - 01:08:52:04]
Sylvia
 It's interesting to hear what you're doing out there and to have experienced it as well, because in Chicago, we're a city of neighborhoods. So people tend to stay in their neighborhoods. They tend to eat in their neighborhoods.

[01:08:53:12 - 01:09:30:17]
Sylvia
 And to just say, oh, I'm gonna drive to the South Side to have dinner. Some people don't ever do that because they're so used to just kind of sitting in their neighborhoods. And I think that that's something that you have done with not only virtue, but some of the other restaurants that you have there, is that you have brought people who have lived in this city forever to the South Side and to experience a different side of Chicago. And not only are they driving out there because they know they're going to get this amazing food, but once they get out there, they don't even realize it. They're part of a story. They're part of history. That was a goal for you, wasn't it?

[01:09:32:03 - 01:09:37:19]
Erick
 It was definitely a goal for us to be as close

[01:09:38:20 - 01:09:46:12]
Erick
 to a black community as possible. It was also a goal for us to be able to feed the parents

[01:09:47:13 - 01:09:59:12]
Erick
 that have toiled for many years to rear their children and lower middle to high middle working class communities

[01:10:01:01 - 01:10:21:21]
Erick
 that may not eat out as much because their home cooking to save and maybe restaurants for them was an opportunity to get out for a special occasion and not as much for a home meal replacement or for a two to three time a week outing.

[01:10:22:23 - 01:10:26:12]
Erick
 And we thought about that in terms of price point.

[01:10:27:19 - 01:10:44:19]
Erick
 My own mother doesn't eat out very much unless it's her birthday or some occasion. And now she gets out more and she doesn't get out more because I own a restaurant or because I'm a chef. I've been a chef for some time and she still continue with her patterns.

[01:10:46:07 - 01:11:01:14]
Erick
 But the place feels more comfortable for her and she feels like she belongs in that space. And that's what we wanted to extend. We wanted people of color to have a space in our city that had a level of sophistication,

[01:11:03:12 - 01:11:30:18]
Erick
 polish as it related to its service style and its plating, the delivery of the food and how people were received. And we have been able to really knock it out of the park where all of those goes. We have people traveling from the North suburbs as far as Blinco. We have people coming out of the West suburbs, from Naperville.

[01:11:32:08 - 01:11:35:08]
Erick
 People are coming from Indianapolis proper,

[01:11:36:18 - 01:11:39:22]
Erick
 the South suburbs and from around the country.

[01:11:40:23 - 01:11:57:03]
Erick
 And I can't tell you that we were hoping that people would travel from around the country and around the world as a matter of fact, to eat our food. I don't know if that was exactly my aim, but it was my aim to have a space where people felt like they belong.

[01:11:57:03 - 01:12:26:21]
Sylvia
 Yeah, that's incredible too because it's not just known as a black restaurant. I mean, it's a restaurant for everybody. And there are certain areas that you go to where, even in my Latino community, you see more Latinos eating in a certain area, but you've really brought people together, which I think is really representative of what you try to do and who you are. And I'm curious, you were born and raised in Chicago. Tell me how your time growing up in Chicago has shaped the person you are today and what you do.

[01:12:28:08 - 01:12:54:21]
Erick
 Well, growing up in Chicago has shaped the person that I am in every aspect. And it is definitely ingrained in everything that I do. I haven't lived anywhere else in my life. I've visited many places that influence and inspire, but Chicago is home for me. Chicago represents community for me and Chicago is my anchor, it's my base.

[01:12:56:06 - 01:13:06:06]
Erick
 So when I think about Midwest hospitality and how that informs me, I wanna expand that and extend it as far as we possibly can.

[01:13:07:08 - 01:13:21:07]
Erick
 Chicago is a meat and potato town. And so we make sure that we have a hefty portion of red meat by way of those braised short ribs on the menu at all time.

[01:13:22:11 - 01:13:28:11]
Erick
 If you are craving a steak, you're not gonna go for salmon, but you will go for a short rib.

[01:13:29:23 - 01:13:33:14]
Erick
 And Chicago being known as the Windy City

[01:13:34:23 - 01:13:41:10]
Erick
 has a lot of grit. People work hard, they expect an honest day's work for honest day's pay.

[01:13:42:16 - 01:14:21:20]
Erick
 And it's an integral town despite what the media may say in some instances in our political scenes and other genres. The reality is our one-off politicians or one-off individuals who do wrong are not a representative of the entire city and or state of Illinois. And so I'm a Chicago born and bred through and through from Chicago's West side. And I feel fortunate to have been received on the South side by way of virtue.

[01:14:23:10 - 01:14:38:15]
Sylvia
 Yeah, and that has been quite the accomplishment. You also are very big on giving back, as I said at the top of our discussion, give a special program to help in creating a new generation of chefs, the Virtue Leadership Development Program.

[01:14:39:19 - 01:15:03:20]
Sylvia
 Tell me, because we haven't had a chance to kind of delve into this, this is what you do, Erick I've heard people tell me stories about how you go and you seek young men and women who you wanna give opportunities who may not necessarily have ever thought they wanted to be in the restaurant world. So let's talk about this program, why you do it and the goal I know isn't always necessarily molding a chef. Tell us about that.

[01:15:05:19 - 01:15:06:00]
Erick
 So,

[01:15:10:01 - 01:15:12:20]
Erick
 many years ago, I started feeding

[01:15:16:01 - 01:15:17:11]
Erick
 people by way of

[01:15:20:18 - 01:15:22:19]
Erick
 feeding the homeless community during the holidays.

[01:15:24:10 - 01:15:46:09]
Erick
 And that provided a few outlets for me. It allowed me to rethink providing care by way of food to people and bringing together a team

[01:15:48:06 - 01:15:50:17]
Erick
 to execute that effort.

[01:15:51:19 - 01:16:00:12]
Erick
 And a little bit of an unusual way. We had an experience where we're feeding a men's shelter

[01:16:01:23 - 01:16:10:14]
Erick
 and someone made the mistake of saying to one of the gentlemen in the shelter that it was time for us to feed,

[01:16:11:14 - 01:16:15:23]
Erick
 that they should get with the rest of the group. And the person paused

[01:16:17:12 - 01:16:25:12]
Erick
 and like confusion and said, "I'm sorry." And then the individual on our team repeated, "Hey, you need to get with the rest of the group. It's time for us.

[01:16:26:19 - 01:16:28:12]
Erick
 We're about to open the doors. It's time for us to feed."

[01:16:29:13 - 01:16:33:11]
Erick
 And the gentlemen paused and grabbed their hand and said, "Thank you.

[01:16:34:21 - 01:16:42:22]
Erick
 No one has looked at me like a normal person in a long time. I'm one of the people you're feeding." Wow.

[01:16:44:04 - 01:17:12:12]
Erick
 And that was it. That was the moment where we were just like, "Okay, this is bigger than what we're trying to do." We're adding value back to people's lives, right? We're identifying a value that they're craving for. And it's just a through line. It's a normality. And so I was able to take that, those moments, those stories and think about how they could be more virtuous,

[01:17:13:17 - 01:18:07:00]
Erick
 hence the name virtue. So we don't just add value to people's lives that are homeless or that are without or that are down on their luck or in shelters, but we do it for people every day, no matter what walk of life. We don't care what your status is, what your rank is, what your station is in life. What we care about is creating a sense of value that we can all relate to. And that value happens to be integrity. It happens to be a reset of purpose and normality. It happens to be a value that's centered around letting people know that we care. And we don't care about everything that's wrong in your life. We care about the individual and their importance to the world and all of us.

[01:18:08:12 - 01:18:09:18]
Sylvia
 And we'll be right back.

[01:18:12:12 - 01:19:07:20]
Sylvia
 Hi, Foodie friends. I wanted to let you know, I was out at Pico La Sonja restaurant the other night, sitting in that back patio that I love so much with the twinkling lights and it was the perfect Chicago night. And as I was leaving, I noticed that Tony Priolo, the chef there, he now has his products on display that he sells at Mariano's. So he's been selling the balsamic and the olive oil for a while now, but now he has pasta sauces and he's got his pastas, including the squidy pasta, which who's ever gonna make squidy pasta at home. Now you can buy Tony's. I made a recipe from Ina Garten that called for squid ink pasta. I used his pasta sauce and shrimp and I felt like a professional chef. Wanted you to know about this because this is part of the Mariano's We Love Local Program. And I'm happy to say, Mariano's is now the official sponsor of Supper with Sylvia. Try their We Love Local products.

[01:19:07:20 - 01:19:10:16]
 (Upbeat Music)

[01:19:10:16 - 01:19:54:18]
Sylvia
 So this leadership development program, Ben, I want you to share with me, because I love these personal stories. I want you to share with me a mentoring program or a mentorship that you have done, because you've done so many one-on-one that were not under a program, or somebody under one of your current programs who you have noticed has been directly impacted in a positive way. There are so many, but I love these, I love these kind of behind the scenes story. Is there anybody, and you don't have to name names, is there anybody in particular who you can tell us about that you can say to yourself, this is why I do this?

[01:19:54:18 - 01:19:58:09]
Erick
 Well, absolutely. So I will name a name.

[01:19:59:09 - 01:20:14:04]
Erick
 We have a gentleman right now. We've got quite a few in our group right now. And I'll focus in a little bit, because I gave you a lot about the backstory, but I didn't give you a lot about the current.

[01:20:15:14 - 01:20:22:08]
Erick
 So everything I said previously led to this kind of pinnacle for me, which is virtue leadership development.

[01:20:23:12 - 01:20:32:11]
Erick
 And now we're using the restaurant as an incubator, where we can teach young people of color

[01:20:33:14 - 01:20:41:12]
Erick
 how to use their skills, their innate skills, their survival skills to adapt in a work environment.

[01:20:42:18 - 01:20:46:12]
Erick
 And those skills happen to be the ability to think on your feet.

[01:20:48:11 - 01:20:51:06]
Erick
 And when we say think on your feet, think under pressure.

[01:20:53:15 - 01:21:02:22]
Erick
 We work with people who are not afraid to work in a hostile and or dangerous environment.

[01:21:04:04 - 01:21:06:23]
Erick
 Those don't necessarily sound like skills

[01:21:08:10 - 01:21:18:10]
Erick
 until you think about this term, analysis paralysis, the inability to be able to make decisions because you're over analyzing the situation.

[01:21:19:19 - 01:21:22:15]
Erick
 Well, the reality is, is many of our inner city youth

[01:21:23:17 - 01:21:30:07]
Erick
 are conditioned for that work. And so it translates appropriately in kitchens.

[01:21:31:12 - 01:21:36:11]
Erick
 Any given day, someone's walking around with a knife, they may be carrying it correctly, they may not.

[01:21:37:15 - 01:21:59:10]
Erick
 Any given day, someone's walking with a hot pot of liquid. They may be using terms like behind, corner, hot, or they may miss saying that and you turn the corner and that person has to stop on a dime, the liquid doesn't stop. It comes out of the pot, right? And whoever touches it's scorches,

[01:22:00:12 - 01:22:02:14]
Erick
 hot fryers, fire,

[01:22:05:05 - 01:22:14:18]
Erick
 open hearts and extremely hot metal by way of satay pans, tongs and all these things. And so there's a attention to detail

[01:22:15:23 - 01:22:21:00]
Erick
 and attention to your surroundings that's required in restaurants that we found

[01:22:22:10 - 01:22:32:16]
Erick
 that young people who are adaptable, and when I say young, I'm talking about anybody younger than me, which is a lot of people, oh,

[01:22:33:19 - 01:22:37:20]
Erick
 that are adaptable are able to find value in their work

[01:22:39:02 - 01:22:53:03]
Erick
 and then double down on finding value in themselves. And so one of the gentlemen that comes to mind, his name's Davante Josie. He came to us a couple of years ago and has been a bright star since he's been with us.

[01:22:54:21 - 01:24:04:08]
Erick
 We have been working closely with him. He has gotten advanced in the company very quickly because he absorbs fast. And he is a hardworking, hard-nosed young man that comes in every day trying to be better than he was the day before. And he has some of those skills. He has the ability to listen. We encounter a lot of people who do more talking than they do listening. And you can't get information in if you're in a rush to get information out. And so we use very, very common principles, common sense, as a matter of fact, and we fortify those methods and those techniques to get success and to grant success to people in the community that are in need of an opportunity and in need of opportunities that they might not get in other spaces. Young people of color who want to work with chefs of color, there aren't a lot, unfortunately, of chefs of color as it relates to the percentage of chefs that are in our city.

[01:24:05:23 - 01:24:20:21]
Erick
 Young folk that want to get into cooking but may not have anything other than a sanitation certificate. How do they use their desire to be in our field or grow in our field without the stigma

[01:24:21:23 - 01:24:40:20]
Erick
 of not having the same education as someone else who may be applying for the same position? And so we offer opportunity. And you might wonder why I do it. And I can tell you, and this will be the briefest answer, I'll give, I do it because someone did it for me.

[01:24:42:00 - 01:24:43:13]
Sylvia
 Was that when you were at MK?

[01:24:45:10 - 01:25:17:17]
Erick
 Well, I received many, many opportunities at MK and all kinds of opportunities. I went through a lot of evolutions at MK and I was a challenge and they embraced that side of me and they worked with me and polished me. But my career didn't start at virtue, it just blossomed. I mean, I'm sorry, not virtue. My career didn't start at MK, but it did blossom. And those were my most formidable years.

[01:25:17:17 - 01:25:48:08]
Sylvia
 Yeah, yeah. So for people who don't know MK, it was an amazing restaurant that Chef Erick was in charge of. You did some amazing fine dining. You've taken those skills, not only learning as a person, but your culinary skills. And that's why virtue is so incredible. Okay, so you are a man who is very passionate and very serious about his work, but I wanna know what does Erick Williams do when he wants to have a good time? What do you do for fun?

[01:25:50:10 - 01:26:01:09]
Erick
 Well, there are so many things that I do fun. I just got back from a three day quick trip to New Orleans.

[01:26:02:18 - 01:26:13:07]
Erick
 Part of the fun in my life has to do with food, like most people, right? You go to a party, you're looking for the festive snacks and things of that sort.

[01:26:14:18 - 01:26:20:15]
Erick
 I'm not looking so much for festive snacks. That's actually polar opposite of the way that I like to enjoy food.

[01:26:21:23 - 01:26:24:13]
Erick
 I'm usually looking for innovative meals

[01:26:26:04 - 01:26:37:03]
Erick
 and I'm looking for them in every possible way that you can receive them. So a really great sandwich.

[01:26:40:03 - 01:26:40:22]
Erick
 Street food.

[01:26:42:09 - 01:26:51:12]
Erick
 I went to a place in New Orleans that is like a seafood buffet.

[01:26:53:03 - 01:27:00:03]
Erick
 And I'm not a big buffet guy, I gotta tell you. I don't really love food that's been sitting out in the arch,

[01:27:01:08 - 01:27:01:19]
Erick
 containers,

[01:27:03:12 - 01:27:20:06]
Erick
 and people are serving themselves. I do better if someone's serving me, but you gotta serve yourself. Not that I'm above that. I just don't think everybody has the proper manners to be serving themselves food that other people might have to eat behind them.

[01:27:21:23 - 01:27:28:13]
Erick
 And so this place was phenomenal. I mean, it's the best gumbo I've had to date.

[01:27:28:13 - 01:27:33:14]
Sylvia
 I've had your gumbo, that's saying a lot, because your gumbo's amazing.

[01:27:33:14 - 01:27:58:05]
Erick
 Thank you so much and I appreciate that. But they have an advantage in New Orleans. One, they don't have the stigma of cold weather, like really cold weather. So in Chicago, gumbo needs to have more roux and needs to be thicker because Chicagoans want soup that sticks to your bones. And that's the framework that we grade a good soup.

[01:27:59:15 - 01:28:16:09]
Erick
 And in Nalins, that's not the case. It's a very flavorful broth. They have a body of water that contributes to the flavor of that broth. They make incredible sausage in Nalins like nobody else.

[01:28:17:18 - 01:28:24:02]
Erick
 And they really pour into it in a different way. And I say that with a lot of humility.

[01:28:25:12 - 01:28:30:02]
Erick
 As a Northerner who often calls New Orleans, New Orleans more often than Nalins,

[01:28:32:23 - 01:28:34:12]
Erick
 it's just a fun experience for me.

[01:28:35:14 - 01:28:55:19]
Erick
 The culture of the people by way of the exchange and not all of the parties and the festivities, but just the interaction. People are kind, they're caring. And even on the heels of the tragedy that just happened in New Orleans, you would think maybe people will be a little bit more guarded and uptight.

[01:28:57:02 - 01:29:19:06]
Erick
 No, it's still the big easy. Yeah. And I love that about that space. So I have fun going out and dining and new places, sometimes unusual places throughout the country. And that's how I seek relief and downtime. And if I'm really, really looking for a reset,

[01:29:20:20 - 01:29:24:18]
Erick
 then I go somewhere where there's water and sand.

[01:29:25:20 - 01:29:32:15]
Erick
 And I'm not a big sand person, but I love hotel rooms that overlook sand and water. So you have to get it.

[01:29:32:15 - 01:29:33:14]
 (Laughing)

[01:29:33:14 - 01:29:35:10]
Erick
 But not have to clean it.

[01:29:35:10 - 01:29:44:07]
Sylvia
 Right. Okay, I'm gonna ask you a series of questions, just quick questions that I wanna get your response from. The best restaurant you've ever eaten at anywhere.

[01:29:45:20 - 01:29:46:10]
Erick
 Oh boy.

[01:29:49:12 - 01:29:59:10]
Erick
 That's hard for me. I've eaten at some amazing restaurants. I'm gonna fail this answer. And I'm gonna offend somebody if I say one restaurant. So I'm sorry.

[01:29:59:10 - 01:30:00:02]
 (Laughing)

[01:30:02:01 - 01:30:23:21]
Sylvia
 Okay, well, let me ask you this then. Let's, since we're Chicago-centric, let's focus on Chicago. I'm not asking you your favorite restaurant in Chicago. I'm asking you your go-to comfort restaurant in Chicago that you've had a long week of work and you finally have some time and you just wanna be casual and comfortable and eat something that makes you feel good. Where are you gonna go?

[01:30:23:21 - 01:30:26:05]
Erick
 Okay, off the top.

[01:30:27:23 - 01:30:47:08]
Erick
 One of the patios, I actually think it's the best patio in the city. And I'll take the hit for this. Tony Priolo's patio is hands down a fun place to eat on a warm spring day, warm fall day and definitely throughout the summer.

[01:30:47:08 - 01:30:48:19]
Sylvia
 Pico Antonio, the best.

[01:30:48:19 - 01:30:49:18]
Erick
 Yes.

[01:30:51:17 - 01:30:56:09]
Erick
 For lunch or brunch, Lula Cafe,

[01:30:57:12 - 01:31:19:00]
Erick
 10 toes down, Jason Hamill is one of my dear friends and he has a place that's one of my favorite places to eat in the city for those two options. The other would be Zaragoza.

[01:31:20:11 - 01:31:23:22]
Erick
 Jonathan's family crushes it, hands down.

[01:31:25:08 - 01:31:26:17]
Erick
 Mexican fair,

[01:31:28:05 - 01:31:38:01]
Erick
 Frontera sits high on my list and their bar downstairs crushes. Uber inspiring, really fresh.

[01:31:39:22 - 01:31:51:21]
Sylvia
 Okay, let me ask you this. Let me give you some direction. When you and your wife, because you have a beautiful son, but when you and your wife wanna have a romantic dinner, Valentine's Day is coming up, where would you take her? In Chicago?

[01:31:55:17 - 01:31:56:02]
Erick
 Okay,

[01:31:57:17 - 01:32:01:13]
Erick
 we don't go out for Valentine's Day. I don't give Valentine's Day off.

[01:32:02:15 - 01:32:02:22]
 (Laughing)

[01:32:02:22 - 01:32:08:10]
Erick
 But if we want some downtime, because every day we're together, it's romance.

[01:32:10:00 - 01:32:13:05]
Erick
 So Boca sits high on my list.

[01:32:14:11 - 01:32:28:05]
Erick
 I love what Lee Willen's team does at Boca. I often go to Monteverde with friends casually.

[01:32:30:17 - 01:32:36:08]
Erick
 It's so good. It's high on my list for your casual dinner with friends.

[01:32:37:10 - 01:32:58:22]
Sylvia
 We're so lucky, aren't we, Erick It's the fact that we have the most amazing restaurants in this town and you've just kind of covered a gamut from, you know, I mean, we haven't even mentioned yours, like Daisy's Po' Boy, which is so casual and delicious, you know, and we just have a plethora of choices. There's a reason why people call Chicago one of the best restaurant cities in the world, right?

[01:32:58:22 - 01:33:03:06]
Erick
 Yes. And you get to be a part of that. Here, I'll give you a little known fact. Okay.

[01:33:04:10 - 01:33:06:23]
Erick
 So James Beard Day,

[01:33:09:06 - 01:33:11:10]
Erick
 we've done this for a number of years.

[01:33:12:21 - 01:33:17:13]
Erick
 We rent out the restaurant,

[01:33:19:10 - 01:33:40:00]
Erick
 L.J. Okay. Before the awards, because we know it's the one hearty meal we're gonna get after bouncing around in a very long day. And both L.J. and Bracero are high on my list of places because I love John Mangan and I love what he does.

[01:33:40:00 - 01:34:09:22]
Sylvia
 I love it. So speaking of James Beard, I feel like the post-pandemic, when we didn't even get to get into what you did during the pandemic, Erick was one of the first to try to pivot and do takeout, but your main focus was making sure you kept your employees employed. And then I remember, I believe you started cutting back on the takeout and focusing on trying to feed the first responders.

[01:34:11:04 - 01:34:20:11]
Sylvia
 And so that brings you back to all these accolades, including, you were voted Chicagoan of the year because of that, because of that and many of the other things that you have done.

[01:34:21:15 - 01:34:37:06]
Sylvia
 It's incredible to go over the list. So 2020, Chicagoan of the year, 2020, Best Chef, Great Lakes, James Beard, 2021, the Mayoral Medal of Honor for working with the first responders.

[01:34:38:14 - 01:35:14:08]
Sylvia
 2023, Innovator of the Year, 2023, Power 50, Most Powerful People with Fine Dining, 2024, Who's Who in Food and Beverage. And I am just tough touching the surface. And I know how humble you are. And I know that you're honored to have all those accolades, but I wanna leave with this. Bottom line, what do you really want your legacy to be? You've got, I mean, you've made it, Erick and now you're paying back. You're helping others. And I know there are many more words to come, but I know that's not as important to you. What do you want your legacy to be?

[01:35:17:08 - 01:35:20:22]
Erick
 I don't spend a lot of time thinking about legacy

[01:35:23:02 - 01:35:23:21]
Erick
 to tell you the truth.

[01:35:25:00 - 01:35:34:14]
Erick
 So I'm a part of many communities. And I think if I had one ambition,

[01:35:37:08 - 01:35:47:16]
Erick
 in my life, it would be to leave here better than I came, and to leave my communities better than they were when I found them.

[01:35:49:03 - 01:35:54:16]
Erick
 And I want my son, when his father's name is mentioned,

[01:35:55:20 - 01:36:29:19]
Erick
 to feel with pride, knowing that his father worked hard for everything that he will receive in his life that's inherited. How much impact can I make in the lives that are adjacent to me and that mean the most to me? And if I can make an impact in those lives, those lives may make an impact in others that I'll never meet. And I guess if I just said one word in relation to legacy, it would probably be impact.

[01:36:31:01 - 01:36:58:23]
Sylvia
 Love that. Well, you're definitely doing that. Chef Erick Williams, what a pleasure. I look forward to seeing you out and about and continue to do everything that you do because you brought so many contributions to the city and I know so many more to come. So here is to a great 2025. This podcast is produced by Jane Stephens, audio engineering and original music by Donnie Cutting, social media and promotions, Magali Blasdell.