Resy Questionnaire Los Angeles
20 Questions with Antonia Lofaso of DAMA, Scopa Italian Roots, and More
In the Resy Questionnaire, we play a game of 20 questions with the industry folks behind some of our favorite restaurants. What’s your most memorable restaurant experience? Your favorite food movie? What restaurant would you want to time-travel for?
In Los Angeles’ very first edition, we talk to Antonia Lofaso, the celebrity chef and owner behind Black Market Liquor Bar, DAMA, and Scopa Italian Roots.
The Resy Questionnaire
1. Favorite thing you’ve ever cooked?
There’s too many to choose from!
2. Kitchen tool or equipment you couldn’t live without?
A Japanese mandoline.
3. What pantry items would you bring on a desert island?
Cornichons, mustard, mayo, vinegar, and chili flakes.
4. What’s your favorite place to get tacos in Los Angeles?
Street tacos on the corner of California Street and Lincoln Boulevard in Venice.
5. Favorite cookbook?
Mastering the Art of French Cooking, by Julia Child.
6. Your drink of choice?
Tequila, one large rock, and an orange slice.
7. Favorite food movie?
Spanglish, with Adam Sandler.
8. Your ideal dinner party guest, dead or alive?
Julia Child.
9. What restaurant industry person do you admire the most?
Lee Hefter, the executive chef from Spago. He taught both character and integrity for our industry.
10. The greatest restaurant experience of your life so far?
A 14-course dinner with my daughter, Xea, at Guy Savoy.
11. Your greatest professional achievement?
Being a role model for my daughter and believing anything is possible!
12. What single dish best describes your personality?
Penne with chili flake, tomato, burrata, and arugula.
13. If you could go back in time, which restaurant would you dine at?
I’d dine at an old soda fountain counter inside a pharmacy.
14. Your favorite meal from childhood?
I have two: Jello molds and fajitas.
15. Your wish for the restaurant industry?
That we can continue to inspire the next generation.
16. What do you wish you did better? What do you do well?
Better: Pastry. Well: I love to cook large proteins!
17. If you could eat through a city for a day, where would you go?
New Orleans.
18. The one thing you can’t resist splurging on when you go out?
Caviar service.
19. What do you value most in restaurants?
All of the people that work with me.
20. It’s your last meal on earth, what are you eating?
Charcuterie, bread, olive oil, cheese, and spaghetti with meatballs with tons of Parm!
