you were called to a film set to counsel somebody and you bump into, of all the people in the world, edward bunker. danny: eddie bunker. anthony: he s a legendary ex-con turned writer, and i guess screenwriter as well. danny: i knew eddie in prison, you see, so when he saw me, what re you doing here? i said, i m working with this kid. he asked me, are you still boxing? because i held a lightweight and welterweight champion in every joint. i said, i m training. i still train, but i don t get hit in the face anymore. and he said, we need somebody to train one of the actors how to box. anthony: the movie was the awesome runaway train. trejo trained and fought against the actor eric roberts, who along with jon voight, earned academy award nominations for the film. for danny, it was that start of a long and glorious career. he never looked back. danny: i ll never forget andrei konchalovsky the director, russian aristocrat, right? he says, you fight eric in movie.
are childhood friends who opened up the wonderful, but short-lived alta californian gastropub, corazon y miel, which put them both on the map in l.a. s bourgeoning modern mexican dining scene. anthony: i absolutely believe that the next big thing is the re-evaluation of mexican flavors and ingredients and a re-evaluation of how much you should pay. i mean, people love it, but they re expectation is mexican food should be cheap. and the fact ithere s always going to be new arrivals from mexico who are perfectly willing to sell you, unfortunately or fortunately, really good mexican food for very cheap, but not the kind of deep flavors that, you know, that you find or i found in my travels there. eddie: well, sometimes in the mexican world the only thing that s passed down, it s not a home, it s not a necklace. what it is, is a recipe passed down from generation to generation. it all comes from these rustic dishes that our grandmothers and
the actor eric roberts, who along with jon voight, earned academy award nominations for the film. for danny, it was that start of a long and glorious career. he never looked back. danny: i ll never forget andrei konchalovsky the director, russian aristocrat, right? he says, you fight eric in movie. you be my friend. now if you come out of the penitentiary and somebody says, you be my friend, it s kind of a red flag. anthony: right. and how many films since then? a whole hell of a lot. danny: about 320 or something, you know what i mean? anthony: you moved from there to serious bad guys. danny: yeah. anthony: to now action hero franchise. how do you stay nice in a business basically full of [ bleep ]? danny: eddie bunker, the first time i started to get like a little recognition, he told me something. he said, try to remember that the whole world can think you re a movie star, but you can t.
anthony: i ve worked in french and italian restaurants my whole career, but, i mean, really if i think about it, they were mexican restaurants and ecuadorian restaurants, because the majority of the cooks and the people working with me were from those countries. that s who picked me up when i fell down, who showed me what to do when i walked in and didn t know anything and nobody knew my name. eddie: right, it s just the way our culture is. we re so family-oriented that that s what matters to us. at the same time, i feel like our jobs as chefs is to bring in our unique latin american experience to dining, family, tradition, food, culture. and l.a. is the heart of that. it really is. and hopefully that resonates throughout the rest of the country.
oaxaco. camote, an okinawan sweet potato with pork. the ears, tail and snout, topped with a drizzle of pilancillo syrup. chef ray: i ve got one more present for you guys here. a little pre-dessert. eddie, i know it s your favorite, eddie. eddie: it s my favorite. chef ray: we have the foie gras rebanada here, so it s sort of like a pre-dessert. it s sort of my take on a very traditional and simple mexican pan dulce, which is like a brioche with butter and sugar, which is the basic pan dulce. this one we ve got foie gras in our butter. we ve kind of upped the ante a little bit. and then some piloncillo. anthony: great, thank you. man, i am loving this meal big time. chef ray: thank you so much. thank you. eddie: this is the most nostalgic dish i ve ever had at a restaurant in los angeles. in mexican panaderias, this is called areva nada. nothing says my childhood like this dish right here.