Maria Perez started cooking as so many do, at home helping mom and dad get food on the table. That extensive experience with “prep” work led her to a job in the kitchen at Rio City cafe as a young woman who came to America to help take care of her grandmother. She took English classes and became proficient enough to move to being a server at Zocalo. After nearly a decade in restaurants she said “good riddance” and became a full time real estate agent.

But then Covid hit and being stuck at home got her cooking for her friends and neighbors, and that feeling of love and community, and the tragic loss of her brother had her reevaluating life, and pulled her back into the kitchen.

She launched Maria’s Paella at the Midtown Farmer’s Market and hasn’t looked back. People wait in a long line to get a taste of her paella and original empanadas, which she fills with the taste of her heritage, lived experience and love.

Check out Maria’s Paella at her website and instagram

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Max and Neill are back for a sit down with a bucket list guest for them in Patricio Wise from Nix Taco Mexican Kitchen and Distillery. They dig into Patricio's history in the world of high finance, starting his cooking career by preparing dishes out of the French Laundry cookbook for groups of friends in his hometown, and what brought him to Sacramento and why he left a lucrative career to start making tacos at pop ups.

As we know, those pop ups grew into two restaurants in Roseville and Folsom, a new airport location, all serving the unique and spectacular tacos and other dishes inspired by the tastes of Patricio's hometown and childhood.

Email us: max@dineonesix.com and Neill@dineonesix.com

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Nix taco website

Josh Milholm joins the Dine One Six to discuss his food upbringing, moving from Denver to Sacramento, and early restaurant work from dishwashing to making pizza dough. He recounts serving at Spaghetti Factory and spending 10 years at the Hard Rock Cafe, then attending law school before leaving because he was miserable and returning fully to hospitality, including Harlow’s, Red Rabbit and ultimately The Golden Bear. Josh describes The Golden Bear’s tiny kitchen, creative food and cocktails, its role as an inclusive neighborhood space, and his philosophy of hospitality as leadership that helps diverse people connect and feel seen.