Just peachy
HAROLD VILLAROSA • The Peach & Peach at Night
WORK • Wednesday Routine
HAROLD VILLAROSA • head chef • The Peach & Peach at Night
Neighborhood you work in: Lakeshore, Oakland
It’s Wednesday morning. What’s the scene at your workplace?
Wednesday mornings are pretty mellow at The Peach, but there’s still a lot of activity during our daily brunch service. Everyone just got back from their days off, so there’s a real hustle and bustle of prep for the day and week ahead. Servers are taking orders and our baristas are making lattes. In the back of the house, we’re roasting lamb necks for our Peach at Night menu. Smells of bacon cooking, coffee brewing, and biscuits baking waft from the kitchen.
What’s on the agenda for today?
We’re planning for a huge festival this Saturday as part of Super Bowl weekend. It’s a family-style event with music and food at the old A’s and Warriors’ parking lot in Oakland. We’re expecting 15,000 people, so there are a lot of moving parts that have to be finalized.
Any restaurant plans today, tonight, this weekend?
Sunday and Monday nights are usually our family time, so we try new restaurants or go out to eat at our favorite places. Some of our go-tos are Fogo de Chão for picanha steaks and roasted lamb, and Danville Wood Fired Pizza for the margarita pizza and cheese sticks.
How about a little leisure or culture?
My partner tries to get me going on hikes. We like to pair our outdoorsy adventures in Marin with visits to bakeries, cafes, and small-town diners in the same area. There are so many unique places to explore up in Tomales Bay or Point Reyes. Hog Island is one of our faves for oysters.
What was your last great vacation?
Our last getaway was a trip to San Antonio. We stayed at a cool place called Hotel Emma in the city’s historic Pearl District. It used to be a 19th-century brewhouse and has been transformed into a beautiful riverfront destination. We went to Nicosi Dessert Bar at the Pullman Market and checked out a bunch of farmers’ markets. I was also able to link up with an old chef friend of mine, whom I haven’t seen since 2016.
What’s a recent big-ticket purchase you love?
I bought glasses from Jacques Marie Mage, a boutique eyewear shop based in LA and Japan. I found out about the eyewear brand from a guest at a restaurant I opened in Phoenix a few years back. I loved his glasses and asked where he got them. Every pair is a handcrafted limited edition, so each comes with a unique serial number and includes the name of the person who made the glasses.
What store or service do you always recommend?
As someone who spends a lot of time on my feet, I always recommend a good foot massage. Russamee Traditional Thai Massage in Rockridge is my go-to place.
Where are you donating your time or money?
I run a nonprofit called Insurgo Project, which teaches youth in low-income neighborhoods about food justice and provides them with firsthand experience of what it takes to succeed in the restaurant industry. At The Peach and our sister restaurant, Jo’s Modern Thai, we try to donate to local businesses and nonprofits as much as possible. We just made a food donation to PACE Elderly Home here in Oakland.