As a young chef, Doug Robson worked in many esteemed Valley kitchens, including Roaring Fork, Vincent’s on Camelback, Michael’s at the Citadel and La Grande Orange. He subsequently carved out a Latin-centric niche with Otro Café and Gallo Blanco, but in May, the Mexico City-born chef opened Tesota, a global comfort food eatery, in the former Southern Rail space. Along with chef Jared Porter, Robson has created a diverse menu with everything from crudo dishes to pastas to steaks. We took a peek behind the curtain.
Why a third restaurant?
I absolutely love Mexican food, but when you open a Mexican restaurant, you get put in a box. When we try different things conceptually, it doesn’t make sense because people come for the tacos… I went to culinary school and I’m a creative person. I had this real need to explore and play with new ideas.
How did you put together the menu?
We started from what we call “going down the funnel.” We worked through the format of the menu and then sat in the empty [restaurant] space for about two weeks and started writing down ideas. We narrowed it down to the core menu and then started hunting for the ingredients. We started testing recipes during construction. We were wearing hard hats and chef coats.
Are you a cookbook/recipe guy or do you wing it?
I do both. I love the America’s Test Kitchen books because they’re more logic- and science-based, and then I can wing it. I get my reference, and then bastardize it and turn it into my own.
What is your guilty pleasure food?
Anybody who knows me knows that sweets are my indulgence, from ice cream to cookies. Anything that’s high-carb, I’m down. I’ll go to Otro Cafecito and get a pan dulce and a coffee. Sometimes I’ll get huevos rancheros, a bloody Mary and a short stack of flapjacks, and then I’m out for the rest of the day.
Best cooking advice you’ve ever been given?
Keep it simple. It’s about the ingredients. Don’t overcomplicate.
