Joan of JOAN'S ON THIRD on Thanksgiving!
Joan's on Third has been one of our favorite spots for lunch in West Hollywood for ages. We love that they are expanding the business-- the brand new outpost in Studio City is glorious-- as we hope it means that the rumors are true and Joan will come West and open a much needed Joan's on Third in Santa Monica!! Come West, Joan!
We were so inspired by our lunch in Studio City and learning that Joan works with her daughters (we love a female family business!) that we wanted to ask Joan a few questions as we head into Thanksgiving, a holiday that delightfully revolves around eating and drinking!
Firestone Sisters: 1. As two sisters who work together, we love that you work with your two daughters! How did you involve the two of them in the business? Does everyone oversee a particular area or do you all overlap?
Joan: I love working with my daughters! We all bring our own, individual strengths and different viewpoints to the business. Susie oversees the marketplace, the daily operations and our marketing; she’s extremely organized and has such a creative eye. Carol oversees our entire catering operation; she creates each party from start to finish and does a wonderful job handling every detail that goes into planning a successful party. As you know, there are so many different elements to catering events both intimate and grand - - Carol is superb at making sure each element comes together seamlessly. I enjoy every element of our increasingly complex business. I oversee the company’s growth plan, the kitchen operations (with a strong focus on the food being delicious) and every design and creative detail that you see. We each focus on our own areas of expertise but actually work closely together throughout each day. We’ve been doing this for so many years…and it still works really well! We love what we do.
2. With Thanksgiving around the corner, do you all have any special Thanksgiving rituals?
We spend the day together cooking and preparing for a big Thanksgiving feast with our immediate family and our closest family friends (that we call family!). These days, my two grandchildren, Henry (age 7) and Molly (age 4), make the stuffing with me and then we stuff the turkey. We have been doing this every year and we all love it. Sometimes we bake pies together and the best party is snacking all day long leading up to the dinner.
3. If we're to cheat and order one dish for our Thanksgiving dinner from Joan's on Third, what do you recommend?
Hard to choose one! Some of my favorite Thanksgiving dishes are the maple brown sugar yams, grandma’s old fashioned stuffing (my mother’s special recipe - - my daughters named the dish on our menu after their grandmother) and the traditional turkey gravy. We prepare our entire traditional family Thanksgiving menu at Joan’s on Third. Our customers and their families eat the same dishes prepared the same way I learned from my mother when I was growing up. One secret is…we use a lot of butter!
4. What are your top 3 must have items for any kitchen?
A good wooden spoon, salt and a sauté pan.
5. Your favorite holiday destination and best meal while there? Your fave LA local spot for dinner with your girls?
a. Favorite holiday destination…we are so busy at Joan’s on Third that we do not usually travel at the holidays. But other times during the year we love to be in Paris, London or New York.
b. Recently in Los Angeles, we have all been enjoying République (we are going there tonight). We also enjoy Bestia, sushi at our favorite neighborhood spot, and cheeseburgers at Golden State.
Thanks, Joan!