The Dine One Six

Mecha Mucho roughly translates to “lots and lots.” For Chef and Owner Ryan Ota that means lots and lots of smiles, lots and lots of people saying, “Damn this is good!” and lots and lots of sandwiches sold.  If you haven’t discovered it, Mecha Mucho is cranking out amazing egg salad sandwiches on Shokupan (Japanese milk bread) with additional protein options from chicken katsu, to spam to sometimes even wagyu beef, out of the little street side window at Osaka-Ya on 10th street.  Ryan tells us about how he knew at a young age that his heart lied with food and after years of trying to work a corporate job he retreated to learning how to cook working at the famed Shack in east Sacramento, to cooking at Track 7 Brewery for several years to opening his own sandwich spot out of the window where he would line up as a kid in summer for a giant snow cone.  Listen to hear how Ryan took Mecha Mucho from an idea to a reality in just a few short weeks and how their success has exploded in just over 6 months.    Links:    Mecha Mucho Instagram   Visit the Dine One Six website   Dine One Six Instagram   Watch James Beard Awards here

To say Oliver Ridgeway is well traveled is a gross understatement. After getting his start washing dishes in his dad’s restaurant, at 20 years old he got a job cooking on the Queen Elizabeth II cruise liner, which traveled from England to New York city. That ship took him all over the world over two years, and taught him how to cook and how to organize.  That organization would be vital as he went on to cook for Athletes and VIP sponsors at the Olympic Games in Sydney Australia 2000 and the Winter Games in Utah in 2002. But his cooking travels didn’t stop there, New Orleans, the Caribbean, New York at one of it’s finest hotels, Santa Fe, Oliver honed his skills and his management cooking for the rich and famous in high pressure environments.  Now he is the Chef/Owner of the upscale but welcoming to all Sacramento haberdashery, Camden Spit & Larder, which serves as a place where you can have a beautiful anniversary dinner just as easily as you can grab a burger and a salad before a Kings game.  Listen to Oliver’s amazing journey across the globe and how he ended up settling down in Sacramento, making a name for himself as one of the most respected chefs in town. Visit Camden Spit & Larder's website and Instagram   Follow Dine One Six on Instagram Email us: [email protected] or [email protected] Visit our website dineonesix.com

Amanda Bridger started cooking food at home during COVID as a way to pass the time and to comfort herself, her partner Chris and friends. Little did she know that in going back to the Hawaiian flavors of her childhood evenings visiting her grandmother, she would stumble upon a new found talent and passion for cooking Hawaiian cuisine.  She and her partner Chris Tocchini moved to Sacramento and started a pop up with the recipes she developed and it was such a success that they ultimately opened Kau Kau in East Sacramento. Amanda runs the kitchen and Chris manages the front of the house.  They tell us how they got their start in the industry, what it’s like working together as a couple and the trials and triumphs of owning and running a restaurant.  Visit our website at www.dineonesix.com. Follow us on Instagram @dineonesix Email us [email protected] or [email protected]

Billy Ngo of Kru Contemporary Japanese Cuisine got his start at an old-school Japanese restaurant on Broadway in Sacramento, spending hours washing dishes and painstakingly preparing shrimp for the week’s service. After a stint at Mikuni he understood how sushi could become something that mixed his passion for creativity and attention to detail.  Billy headed to culinary school in San Francisco and came back to work at The Kitchen for a year, where he learned the importance of good ingredients and good relationships with purveyors of fish and produce.  Then, at just 23 years old, Billy opened Kru on J street, which quickly became recognized as one of the best and most creative sushi spots in town. A decade later Billy moved Kru into its current, much larger home on Folsom Blvd. and it remains one of the hottest restaurant reservations in town.  Billy fills us in on sushi eating etiquette, talks about his early attempts at a Michelin star, why he loves cooking japanese and french cuisine, how he seeks to let the ingredients speak for themselves and how a burger permanently ended up on the menu at one of Sacramento’s most acclaimed sushi restaurants.  Recently, his high level of skill and execution, matched with his creativity and drive to please his guests has garnered Billy a finalist nomination for the James Beard Awards “Best Chef in California.” Visit the podcast website at dineonesix.com Follow us on Instagram Comments, questions or suggestions? Email us at [email protected] or [email protected]

It all started when a disastrous failed potato crop led Jody Bogle’s grandfather, Warren Bogle to try planting wine grapes on the acreage he purchased on Merritt Island. In 1968 he planted 10 acres of Petite Syrah and 10 acres of Chenin Blanc. He got the Chenin Blanc clippings from a guy named Skinny in Lodi! Today, Bogle has grown to become the Bogle Family Wine Collection, a brand that stretches worldwide, which includes several different labels, styles and price points of wine. We talk to Jody about how the unexpected death of her father led her to leave her job as an English teacher to come back home to Sacramento and take on a new role with the family business, how she and her two brothers have grown the business into the massive and respected brand it is today, and how family values, small lot wine making and sustainable growing practices are the fuel that still power Bogle’s business today.  So grab a glass of one of Bogle’s award winning wines and listen to the history of one of Sacramento’s great business success stories. Visit the Bogle website Visit the podcast website at dineonesix.com Follow us on Instagram Comments, questions or suggestions? Email us at [email protected] or [email protected]