- I don't wanna mess this up.

(laughs) - [Yia] Do you feel like you're back in culinary school?

- (laughs) Yeah.

- And your instructor's just staring at you?

- Just watching me.

- My mom tells me how to do things, I'm like, "I'm a professional."

(Bob laughs) I'm Chef Yia Vang.

(soft upbeat music) In my restaurants I share my family's Hmong heritage through the food we serve.

Every bite tells a story and the most memorable meals not only reflect who we are, they connect us.

From field to table, mill to market.

Let's explore food from around the world (soft upbeat music) and relish the cuisine and cultures of our neighbors.

(soft upbeat music) (music concludes) (playful music) Have you ever been to one of those restaurants where the food actually looks like art?

Not exactly what you're making at home on a regular Tuesday night, right?

This fancy food became known as haute cuisine in France in the early 1900s.

Meaning high cooking, haute cuisine is known for elaborate presentations and rich sauces.

Over the last century the approach has evolved.

First to nouvelle cuisine in the 1960s, emphasizing a fresh, minimalist approach with fewer heavy sauces to new internationalism today, a fusion of French techniques with global flavors.

These dishes may look elaborate, but really, at the core, they're inspired by familiar recipes, humble flavors, and, surprisingly, modest beginnings.

Haute cuisine, nouvelle, fusion, whatever you call it, restaurants like this one are churning out some seriously elevated food and turning up the fun in the process.

Meet Bob Gerken and Mike Brown, two of the chefs behind Travail, a restaurant where diners expect the unexpected.

I'm really excited to hang out with you guys.

Travail, it's like this whole dining experience.

Do you wanna tell me a little bit more about it?

- You come to the restaurant, you don't know what you're gonna get.

It's between 12 to 20 courses of food.

- [Bob] Chef-driven, very seasonal and entertaining.

(Bob laughs) - [Mike] We're being a little bit playful with the food, a little bit playful with the experience.

Bobby and I, we've cooked together for 15 years.

We just kind of enjoy seeing how far we can take it.

- I know that you guys put together these incredible menus and they change all the time.

- One of the concepts that we did this year was built on the heritage of myself, being a Mexican-American, and Bob, who is Filipino.

(Bob chuckles) We met with our moms and we were like, "Hey, we want to put together a menu that really kind of showcases the cuisine that we grew up with."

What we're trying to put out there is just like a really cool, polished version of what we remember as kids.

- Yeah.

Well, cool.

Let's start digging in.

- Sounds good.

- I'm gonna be cutting up some fruit and kind of showing you kind of a fine dining preparation of papaya and pineapple, and I think you and Bob are gonna get in on some halo halo?

- A little halo halo, or mix mix.

- That's what halo halo means.

- Yeah, mix mix.

It's ice cream, fruit jellies, kinda anything you can get your hands on that's nice and sweet to mix together with a little bit of shaved ice and condensed milk to make this wonderful dessert.

It's normally a bunch of ingredients.

I didn't put a bunch of stuff in it.

Just six ingredients but they're full of flavor.

(jazzy upbeat music) (knife scraping) - A quick breakfast for my mom's family was cut fruit and then some pan, which was basically sweet bread and they try to sell it to us like it was donuts, but it was not donuts.

(Yia laughs) - All right, we make our ice cream a very different way, you know, we make it in the style of Dippin' Dots.

Oh, wow!

- So now this is - Oh!

- liquid nitrogen.

- So I can't touch it.

Ooh!

(rubbing hands together) (Yia laughs) - So this is some creme anglaise.

Go ahead and just drizzle it in there.

And as that drops in, (creme drips) it'll form spheres.

(creme drips) (gentle uplifting music) (air whooshing) (gentle uplifting music) (pellet ice cream clattering) - Oh!

It's so magical!

- Those look great.

Let's put this together.

(pellet ice cream clatters) We got all the ingredients.

- [Yia] Oh, oui, chef.

(gentle uplifting music) (pellet ice cream scattering) (uplifting music crescendos) (gentle music) (spoons clinking) - [Bob] I give you halo halo.

It's perfectly mixed for you.

- Yeah.

(gentle music) - Yia, did you see that over there?

- Oh, what?

(spoon clinks) Oh no!

(Bob chuckles) (gentle music) - My mom said that - So good.

- when she goes back home to the Philippines, this is the first thing she gets.

- [Yia] This is so great.

- If someone were to eat this off the street and I'd go, "This is halo halo," they'd probably say, "No, it's not."

But in our setting, I think we kind of hit the mark with this one.

- Yeah.

- It's really nice.

- I think the creativity of being a cook is to take something that's part of your life and then you are the filter for it.

- Yeah.

- You cook from who you are.

- [Bob] Mm-hmm.

- How you doing over here, Chef?

- Almost done.

These are just knifework skills, not your typical way of seeing fruit prepared.

This is just a little bit of agave.

Think honey, think like maple syrup.

Kind of drizzle this across.

- Oh!

- I got a little mixture here.

- Mm-hmm.

- Sometimes it's just sesame seed.

Sometimes it can be like little nuts and spices.

(upbeat music) You guys wanna try some fruit?

- Yes!

- Yeah.

- [Mike] Let's cleanse our palate.

- Cheers.

- Cheers.

(upbeat music) - Right where it needs to be.

- Yeah, it is.

- Delicious.

- Are we trying this one, too?

- We should try the other one.

- Oh I think should try the other one.

- I would love to have this - Pa ching!

- right when I wake up.

- [Mike] Yep.

- A lot of things that I love about this style is the plate ups.

They look fantastic!

I really love presenting in a way that you just instantly go, "Let's do this.

Let's eat something."

- Yeah.

So when you guys are putting together this menu that was inspired by your mom's, you know, like what are some of the essentials where you're like, "This has to be on here!"

- The bean and cheese burrito.

To me, you just can't get any closer to the soul.

- For you Bob?

- Yeah, pancit.

It's just one of those dishes that every time you see it, you gotta eat like a massive bowl.

(Yia chuckling) Pancit is a noodle dish.

My mom's version, it's like basic but insanely delicious.

It's just one of those dishes that's always been there every holiday, every birthday.

So this is gonna be a seafood dish.

- Oh, okay, so - So I... - you're going out.

- Yeah.

It's a little bit different.

- Wow.

- But really what I need from you is I need you to shuck some oysters for me.

- Oh boy.

I'm not the best at this.

(shell clacks) Okay.

- And we're gonna make a little bit of salad out of all these things.

(lively upbeat music) (shell clacks) (oyster splits) (lively upbeat music) (lively upbeat music continues) - Okay.

- So this is a clam stock.

Garlic, shallot, ginger, celery, and a little bit of squid ink.

So we're just gonna chuck this (pan sizzling) into a little pan and start reducing it.

- [Yia] Okay.

- [Bob] Now we're gonna cook some of the shellfish.

We obviously have oysters, some shrimp, some scallops, put a little butter in here, (pan sizzles) and we're just gonna kind of butter cook 'em.

- What are we doing here, dude?

- I am building miniature bean burritos.

So what's more silly than a bean burrito that's the size of, you know, one of your fingers almost?

These are flour tortillas (upbeat music) that we've made in-house, rolled out, and then we press them in like a press - Mm-hmm.

(Mike vocalizing) - and then to order, we cook them on the comal.

Basically taco-sized little flour tortillas.

- Okay.

- One of the biggest memories of cooking with my mom was making flour tortillas when I was like a little kid.

When you can't really do anything, you know, and all we're doing is just playing with dough balls.

(tropical upbeat music) We have these finished ones and you can feel like the elasticity.

- Yeah.

Yep.

- That has been like added to this now.

It's gonna allow us to actually make those folds in the burrito - [Yia] So it doesn't tear.

- It doesn't tear and it's like, actually has like a really nice, kind of, almost like a chew.

- Yeah.

- A little chewiness to it?

- Yep.

This one has a smiley face.

- Look at that!

(laughs) (Yia and Mike laughing) - Bob, what do we got here going?

- All right, we're gonna try to plate up this dish here.

So... - Oh, that's cool.

That color's beautiful, man.

- Nice and black with squid ink in it.

- [Yia] Oh, look at that!

- It's really hard to do on a white plate 'cause... - I know!

With the black ink?

- You make a mistake... - You will see it.

- You're done.

(lively upbeat music) (playful upbeat music) - [Yia] Do you mix it or what do you?

- [Bob] Just dive right in.

(playful upbeat music) - Great chew.

(playful upbeat music) - [Yia] That's so delicious!

- All right, we're gonna learn how to - Mm-hmm.

- fold a bean and cheese burrito.

- Okay.

Okay.

- So what we're gonna do is just a little bit of bean, and I like to be the person who almost puts just as much cheese in there.

(Mike and Yia laugh) When I was a kid, if my dad would make me a bean burrito with cheese, he'd fold it poorly - Mm-hmm.

- and then I would say, "Dad!

Can you just have Mom fold the bean burrito?"

- Oh.

- 'Cause it'd blow out the end - Yeah.

- and it was just horrible.

So we're gonna go back to the comal.

- Okay.

- And this time we're bringing our little friend.

- Lardon?

- Manceta.

- Or lard.

- Lather, yes!

(comal sizzling) (chuckling) Lather this area here.

(tropical upbeat music) (comal sizzles) (tropical upbeat music) Before I like plate these, I'd like to do a little taste test.

Ready?

- Mmm!

- Oh.

- Ohh... - Yum.

- Yum.

- Plate job?

Super simple.

- [Yia] What?

- [Mike] Do the honors.

(tropical upbeat music) - [Yia] Oh.

- Yeah.

- Yeah.

Went to culinary school for that, huh?

(Bob laughs) (tropical upbeat music) At the end of the day, what you guys are doing is (soft jazzy music) you're kind of leaving this cooking crumb to go back to this heart of comfort.

- [Bob & Mike] Yeah.

- You know, bean burrito, with pancit, - Mm-hmm.

- it's about comfort, it's about when you feel joy, when you're happy, - Yeah.

- when you're feeling safe.

Step into my mom's hug.

Do you know what, I want to actually go to the heart of it, right?

Can I meet your moms?

- Absolutely.

- They're in town!

- Oh!

(everyone laughing) Meet Lupe Brown and Shionie Gerken.

The moms who inspired their son's love of cooking and introduced Mike and Bob to the traditions, flavors, and cultures of Mexico and the Philippines.

(bright music) First up, Bob and his mom, Shionie.

- [Bob] Mama!

(Shionie giggling) (light playful music) I brought a friend!

- (laughs) Oh, come on in.

(Yia and Shionie chuckle) - Hi, I am Yia.

- Hi.

I'm Bob's mommy.

- Oh!

- (laughs) Yeah, Shionie.

Awesome.

Great to meet you.

So I've had Bob's version of pancit.

I now want to see yours.

- Oh, very simple.

Mine is very simple.

- This is the classic that I've seen my whole life.

- Great.

Well I came here to work, so I'm gonna put my apron on and let's get going.

(upbeat percussive music) - Yeah, so I have the chicken.

- Okay.

- How do you want me to cut this chicken?

- [Shionie] Just the size of bite.

- Sliced thin?

How about like this?

- [Shionie] Oh no, not too thin.

- Not too thin.

You gotta get... - What I love about this is (Bob laughs) I experience this too, so I'm like, "I'm not alone."

(Bob laughing) - (laughs) I'm not gonna mess this up.

- Yeah.

(Bob laughs) My mom tells me how to do things, I'm like, "I'm a professional."

(Bob giggles) - You know how to the julienne style?

- Yep.

- Yeah, that's the one.

- So I, what I do...

I don't want to get in trouble.

I'm really nervous now.

(Bob laughs) I don't wanna get in trouble!

Yeah.

- You better get that approved - I slice it this way so it's thin and then turn around - Yeah.

- and julienne.

- Right.

- Okay.

- That's the right way.

- (whispers) Oh my gosh.

(Bob and Shionie laugh) (cutting board taps) Tell me a little bit about your mom.

- She's a Filipino woman from Camp 6, right outside Baguio City in the mountains.

She came to the States when she met my dad when she was 22, something like that?

- How would you describe your mom's cooking?

- My mom's cooking is a fusion of Filipino cooking, a lot of American food.

I think my mom's style of cooking really just developed on the people that she's met and the places that she's been.

Always adventurous with food.

Whenever people cook with love, you remember that for a lifetime and that's the kind of thing that's what I kind of try to replicate whenever I cook as well.

- When did you make pancit in your family here in America?

- Every Sunday.

- Every holiday, every birthday it was... - Has to be.

- It's always there.

It's just kind of one of those grounding things that you have a celebration, "Oh yeah, who's gonna do this one?"

Pancit is a noodle dish.

It's kind like a lo mein, but it's more of a stir fried dish.

- [Yia] Is yours different from the way your mom makes hers?

- Oh yeah.

Actually the flavors are very similar.

(upbeat music) So there's more of a seafood flavor here.

Looks very different.

Very similar in flavor.

My sister made one.

- Yeah.

- Pancit.

- Yeah.

- What'd you think, Mama?

- It is not very good.

- [Yia] Ooh!

(Bob laughing) Ooh!

- And then the next day, what did you make?

(laughing) She made some pancit 'cause she wanted my sister to know, like, this is how it's made.

I asked for my mom for a recipe for this when I was doing some research.

Is there any like measurements?

No?

(laughing) Just whatever you want.

- Yeah, make sure that there's enough.

(Bob laughing) - I think you and I will always do that with our moms.

(light upbeat music) (knife chopping shallots) What year did you come here?

- I came here in 1975, but when I came here I start learning how to cook here.

In Philippines I don't know how to cook at all because the grandparents or the parents are the one who get up early and cook.

- I don't know if I've done a very good job of asking my mom a lot of questions about when she grows up, but whenever she starts rolling, all these stories of...

This is very different from my life so I just...

It's fascinating.

- I always tell them when they're a kid, they're so lucky because kids here had lots of toys.

Our toys there is just hoe and shovel.

- Yeah.

(everyone chuckles) - Well, that's the same thing my parents told us.

You know, even though I was born in this refugee camp growing up, - Yeah.

- my dad would be, "Oh, my toys?

Like it's like a stick and a rock outside, and then the rest was your imagination."

- Imagination, yeah.

- Yeah.

(everyone chuckles) (playful upbeat music) - There's a funny story that my mom sometimes tells when you didn't know what the middle finger was, 'cause someone gave you the middle finger.

(Bob laughing) - Yeah.

(giggles) And I thought, "Oh, that's a new sign of peace."

- Yeah.

(Yia and Bob giggling) So I told my kids to do it, too.

(laughs) So we stick our finger also and... (everyone laughs) - Yeah, there's all these things where it's like, there should have been a handbook, you know, to explain.

- Yeah.

- So what's the next step?

- Okay, when we start this, you heat the wok and then saute them and mix it all together and that's it.

(lively upbeat music) - Growing up, you know, Bob watching you cook and, you know, everything, did you know or did you have a kind of like a thought of him growing up being a professional chef?

- No.

Not at all.

(jazzy upbeat music) (wok sizzles) - I got into the restaurant business, my brother got me a job at a buffet place.

- Oh.

- It was a... Yeah, and I was a salad bar attendant and three months later a cook quit.

And he was like, "Dude, just come up to the line.

You're gonna be the next fry cook."

So I said, "Perfect."

(Yia chuckles) And it was just fast and when we were getting pummeled I was keeping up and I was 16, and it was like one of those times that I found that I was like, "Wow, I'm good at something."

- [Shionie] Yeah.

(wok sizzling) - I got some chicken stock.

(wok sizzling) - [Shionie] Pour all of it.

- [Bob] All of it?

- [Shionie] All of it and then put more.

- Put more?

- Put more.

- Because I'm concentrating too much, I don't wanna mess this up.

(laughing) I don't wanna mess this up.

- Do you feel like you're back in culinary school?

- (laughs) Yeah.

- [Yia] And your instructor's just staring?

- Just watching me.

(lively upbeat music) So we're separating some of these vegetables and proteins and leaving the liquid that has all that flavor of everything.

(playful upbeat music) Right on top and these are - Yes.

- just gonna soak in all this stuff, right?

- Right.

- Yeah.

(playful upbeat music) Two tablespoons?

- [Shionie] Two tablespoons.

- One, two... (Bob vocalizes) - [Shionie] That's too little.

- Sorry.

- Yeah, man!

- My apologies.

(Shionie laughs) Just that's why I'm showing you.

- [Shionie] Some more.

Pour some more.

Okay.

That's good.

- You got it, that's like - And then taste - a quarter cup.

- and then soy sauce.

(Bob laughing) - [Yia] Two tablespoons!

- [Bob] It was two tablespoons.

(bright music) (bright music) Well done.

Look at that.

Look at that sucker!

(Shionie laughing) That's a big plate of that.

- Yeah.

(Bob laughs) - We had a great coach today.

- Great coach, yeah.

(Shionie giggles) All this work?

Let's eat.

- Perfect.

(jazzy upbeat music) - Yummy!

(people chattering) - Super good!

(fork scrapes) - So, first of all, Shionie this is delicious.

This is so great.

I think what's so cool about pancit is how you guys are saying this is a dish made when there's a family gathering and look at us, we're - Yeah.

- eating this around a group of people.

- Gatherings, absolutely.

- Yeah.

What does it mean for you to be able to do this and then pass it down to your son, Rhys?

- When he gets a little bit older, he'll be able to look at this dish, which he's gonna learn by heart, the original.

- "The original."

(giggles) - and he's gonna think of me, and he's gonna think of my mom, and he is gonna think about these moments and he is gonna reflect back and go, "Yeah, I'm gonna pass this down."

I think that's always been the goal.

A lot of things I do with Rhys so... - Thank you for welcoming me into your house, your family gathering, eating together, and Shionie, thank you so much for sharing this dish with me.

- You're welcome.

- Yeah, and so since we're here meeting your mom, I'm gonna go meet up with Mike and his mom and see what they have for me.

- You're gonna have a good time.

(laughs) - Later, dude.

Thank you.

(upbeat music) (door knocks) - Come on in!

My mom's making tortillas - Ooh!

- and beans.

Hey Mom, you wanna meet a new friend?

- Sure!

- I'm Yia.

- Hi!

I'm Lupe.

- Nice to meet you.

- Nice to meet you.

Mucho gusto.

We're making Mexican refried beans.

- So Lupe, is there a certain kind of beans we're using when we're doing this?

- Yes, pinto.

- Okay, always pinto?

- Mexicans use pinto beans.

- Okay.

- Yes, for sure.

- [Yia] Well, what are pinto beans?

- They're, they're not those.

- Those aren't pinto beans?

- No, those are not pinto beans.

- Grab 'em.

I swear to... Those are pinto beans, no?

- Yeah, those are, I think those are red beans.

- No, look.

They got the marking on 'em, no?

- Oh, let's all look.

- [Mike] That's a pinto, no?

- Not the ones I use.

(laughs) - Ooh.

(Mike inhales sharply) - But it's okay.

It's okay.

They're gonna be just as good.

- So what's the process?

How did we get here?

- You soak 'em overnight, (beans bubbling) then you just cook 'em the next day.

I don't usually do a carrot and a celery, but that's his little added... Mm.

- [Yia] Where did you learn how to make this dish?

- [Lupe] From my grandma.

- Okay.

- Yes.

'Cause she had restaurants, Mexican restaurants.

- So my food influence is definitely inspired by both sides of my family.

My mom's side, they had restaurants.

They had owned these restaurants since like the 1930s or something like that.

Full service Mexican restaurants.

My mom's beginnings in like, just having a job was serving food and making, you know, this Mexican cuisine that became prominent and real in southern California somewhere in like the, 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, right?

- So you know the beans are cooked when you just kind of push 'em up to the side and they mash easily.

Then you can go ahead and add oil and mash.

- First things first, pig fat.

Lard.

So we put it right inside here (pot sizzles) and we're just gonna heat it up.

- And this is the refried part.

You know, you refried beans, this is why, 'cause you're adding fat - Yeah.

- and letting it simmer.

- I like to just put a little bit of peppers in there and a little bit of garlic just in the pork fat.

Right, you'll see it sizzle and then we'll pour it right into the beans - Yep.

- and it just adds a little of that extra like, just a little of that extra flavor, that little vegetable flavor.

- Mm-hmm.

(peppers and garlic sizzling) - Ouch.

- Start mashing.

- Oh man.

Here we go.

- Start mashing.

- [Lupe] And then scrape the bottom piece so it doesn't burn.

- Yeah.

As you mash, you're like, you are using the flat - Scraping.

- [Mike] to kind of like move everything on the bottom.

(upbeat music) - Was this also a dish that was done every day in the house?

- Or was this just restaurant?

- Yeah, always beans.

Just like in your house is probably always rice.

- Yep.

- Yeah, we always had beans.

- You can smell 'em when you come home.

- Mm-hmm.

- Like, (sniffs) "Beans."

To me, Mexican cuisine, it was always built off the idea of how good they can make beans, how well they could do like salsa, how well they could, you know, do some of these things that like actually involve some like serious like cooking time and like building of flavors into something.

And beans are like the best cue to take.

You're like, "All right, this is legit."

We're gonna go straight perfectly made beans with house-made tortillas and chihuahua cheese.

(spoon tapping) (soft upbeat music) - Good?

- Mm-hmm.

- Mm-hmm.

- So... - It's delicious.

- This is where we're gonna have a battle on salt content.

- [Yia] You and your mom?

- Little bit.

Mom, after tasting the beans, do you think it needs a little more salt?

I have my opinion right now.

What is your opinion?

- I think a little bit more, yes.

- I think it needs a little more salt.

Okay.

Ready?

- Yep.

- Ready.

- Tell me when to stop.

- Okay.

(soft upbeat music) Want more?

- More than that.

- Well, okay, I was...

I don't wanna get in trouble!

- Ah, ah!

No, no, no.

(soft upbeat music) - Let's taste.

(Lupe tuts) Taste.

(Mike laughs) - Bro.

(Mike laughs and claps) - And there's something about good beans and cheese (laughs) that make your...

It's just like eating good soup.

Like you just can't get any closer to the soul with certain types of food, right?

My brother and I lived on bean burritos, like hardcore, we are really into into 'em and we've told people in our lives that we are legitimately, one quarter of our being has been built and sustained by bean and cheese burritos.

(Mike laughs) So like what you're looking at right now is one quarter bean and cheese burrito.

(tropical upbeat music) - So we have the tortilla here and first we're starting with the dough.

What's in the dough?

- [Lupe] Flour, water, salt, and a little bit of oil.

- [Mike] And when she says oil, she means lard.

- [Yia] So what's the trick here to rolling out tortillas?

- Sort of start in the middle and work your way out, okay?

- Okay.

Yep.

Quick question.

How do you know the thickness?

- Oh, you can go as thin or thick as you want.

I like 'em thin.

(dough flops) - Okay.

- Yeah, we're thin to win.

- We're the thin tortilla family.

- Thin to win.

Ever since the beginning of Travail, I have always preached that it's just connection.

It's connection to the food, connection to the staff, to the cooks, and then cutting out everything that's in between you and us.

We started our restaurant basically like a family restaurant.

We came from competitive like fine dining backgrounds and we were putting a lot of that into our food and a lot of that into like, the standard of how we were cooking.

But like the whole structure of how the actual business ran was like a mom and pop shop.

- Your turn.

- Okay, I'm a little scared.

- Sprinkle a little flour here.

- Yes ma'am.

(percussive upbeat music) - Do this.

I just do it that way.

♪ All eyes on us ♪ ♪ Everywhere we walk in ♪ There you go and then start rolling.

Thin.

So go up and then go down.

Go back to the middle, down, flip.

Are you sure you haven't - You're near the - done this before?

- finish line here, though.

- No, but I've done this - It's easy.

- with like a mom over me, so I'm always like... (panting) (Mike and Lupe laughing) (everyone laughing) Yeah, one thing I'm learning right now - Mm-hmm.

- is like making tortillas is no joke.

- Oh?

Yeah.

(tortilla flops) - So now we wait?

- Mm-hmm.

- Okay.

- [Mike & Lupe] Wait for the bubbles.

- Oh!

Flip?

- Yeah, flip.

(tropical upbeat music) (tortilla flips) There you go.

- That's good.

- That's good?

- That's good.

Yeah.

- Mm-hmm.

- Throw it on the pile.

- Ooh!

Do you know this my first - Yay!

(clapping) - flour tortilla that I've ever made?

- I love it!

- You did awesome!

- Don't eat it!

Put it on the pile.

It's essential so that they steam out together.

- [Yia] Okay.

- And then we can make the salsa.

(upbeat music) (knife chopping) (canned tomatoes pouring) (lime juice squirting) (knife blade scrapes) (blender whirring) (mixture pours) (upbeat music) Yeah, that's gordito salsa.

(spoon stirring) Let's start making burritos.

- Oui, chef.

(lively upbeat music) Okay.

- Flame it.

So we're toasting away.

- [Lupe] Just let it sit for a little bit and then turn it.

- Flip it.

(lively upbeat music) Just heating it up.

- Yeah.

- There?

- Right here, flat.

- Put however much you want.

- More?

- That's good.

(refried beans plop) (lively upbeat music) You can add cheese.

- Cheese it up.

- So what kind of cheese is this?

- [Mike] Chihuahua.

- [Yia] Okay, so that's it?

- Yeah, you gotta fold it.

Mom, you gotta show - Okay.

- how to fold 'cause this is the biggest deal.

- When you - This is where the gringos - kinda tuck it in, - get real like confused.

- like you're putting the burrito to bed.

- [Yia] Oh.

(Lupe sighs) - See?

And then you roll it.

There see how nice that is?

- And then you just pour it inside.

- It's tucked in there nicely.

That's it.

(mariachi trumpet playing) - Well this is awesome!

Should we just all dig in or?

- [Mike] Yeah, I think I'm hungry.

(child shouts) Here, try this one.

Delicious!

- So Mike, what's your way of eating it compared to your mom's way of eating it?

- My mom made certain ones that have everything inside.

I like it just bean and cheese, and then I put everything on the outside.

- So boys, do you like helping your dad in the kitchen when he's cooking?

- Oh yes!

- Yes!

- Yeah.

- Very much!

- [Yia] Yeah - They're my little prep cooks.

- Lupe, is it amazing to be able to watch your grandsons talk about this like a legacy that started from your grandmother, goes down to your mom, to you and it's passed to Mike - Mm-hmm.

- and then, I mean, think of all the generations, right?

So how does that make you feel when you're hearing this?

- It's awesome.

It reminds me of me when I was a kid.

They're just used to it, it's part of their life, the restaurant, being a part of the restaurant, helping dad cook, eating what dad cooks.

It's just really cool.

(soft jazzy music) - It's so cool, man.

I thank you so much for opening up your house to me.

Lupe, thank you so much for teaching me how to make my first tortilla.

- Yeah?

- Make my first bean burrito - Now, you know!

- Yeah, now I don't have to go through this late night drive through, you know?

(everyone laughs) You know.

- Eww.

- We had fun, man.

- Yeah.

- This was fun.

- [Lupe] Now we're going to eat all the burritos.

(chuckles) (soft jazzy music) - At the end of the day, it doesn't matter how fancy the food is or what it looks like on the plate or what you call it.

Well, I guess it does matter what you call it because what I call it is love on a plate.

(soft upbeat music) (gentle melody plays)