Meet Your Food Blogger: Billy Vasquez of The 99 Cent Chef

BV:The videos look better. But the concept has been consistent. Cheap ingredients, creative recipes, sense of humor and variety.

SI: Can you tell us about the "Restaurant Nocturnes" videos?

BV:For 10 years I did a lot of street art-photography all over town, totally random stuff. Now I'm doing the exteriors of restaurants at night. I take 200 stills and turn it into a film. I show people coming and going. And then I talk to people at the restaurant about the food, and play that audio recording over the photos. It's a video-audio-collage. I've done seven so far; they show nighttime L.A. like no one's ever shown it before.

SI: Which are the best 99 Cents Only Store locations?

BV:The La Tijera location is great for booze and veggies, and has a great deli case. The Hollywood store has lots of produce and deli items. Wilshire and Fairfax is one of the largest. I've seen Rolls Royces in the parking lot. There's a smaller one around the corner at Fairfax and 6th. Those are the ones I frequent the most.

SI: What can you tell us about 99 Cents Only Store shoppers?

BV:On Sundays, at the La Tijera store, African Americans dressed in their finest stroll the aisles, possibly just out of church. At the Wilshire/Fairfax store, I saw an older, well tended, lady loading her 99 Cents Only Store filled bags into a Rolls Royce. (Did she get her Rolls because of her thrift?) Three stylishly hip Japanese girls were on their phones and going through a cardboard bin of cantaloupes. (Were they tourists?) A young couple with Scandinavian accents pored over their shopping basket. (Were they staying at a nearby hostel?) An old man leaning heavily on his grocery cart slowly scanned rows of canned goods. (Retired and on a budget?) A 30-something well-groomed lady in a tailored suit waited in the checkout line. (Just off work from a Wilshire office tower?)

The most eclectic mix of bargain hunters is found at the Hollywood 99 Cents Only Store on La Brea and Willoughby. Rocker-tattooed types in impossibly tight black jeans. (Starving musicians?) A man wearing a yarmulke with a modestly dressed pregnant woman in a wig keeping a close eye on their two kids in the toy section. (Married a few years and now must budget for more on the way?) Young porcelain-faced actress types in loose sweats. (Broke, new to town, and between auditions?) Women with too broad shoulders and too thin hips and muscle men in tight tee shirts going through the fresh produce. (Fitness freaks?) Homeless types just wandering the aisles. An international assortment of Guatemalans, Mexicans, Armenians, Thais and more - everyone looking for a deal and trying to stretch their meager earnings.

Of course, there are some who know what kind of deals they can get, and go to supplement their regular chain grocery (Ralphs, Whole Foods, etc.) shopping. And some are just cheap, like me.

SI: What about people who don't shop at 99 Cent Only Stores?

BV:I think people who have been to other discount stores -- the 98 Cent Store or The Dollar Store -- have been turned off by the battered and dented canned goods, lack of selection, and unappetizing appearance. So they think all 99 Cents Only stores are the same - only soap, paper towels and cans of beans. I've talked to 99 Cents Only Store converts who are surprised by the selection of fresh produce. Others wouldn't be caught dead in a 99 Cents Only Store and look down their noses at me when I mention I shop there.

Billy Vasquez

the 99 Cent Chef at the Donut Summit

SI: Who is your blog intended for?

BV:I've been a struggling artist all my life. That colors everything I do, even food blogging. My frame of reference is this: Who are the students who don't have any money? Who are the struggling filmmakers? People on minimum wage? What would they eat, and how can I give them ideas? I came from a single parent-family and I know the struggling class out there. I'm never going to be too far from that. I want to show how anyone can make decent food. And most things are pretty healthy. I use a lot of fresh produce. Mostly, you work with what's in the neighborhood.

SI: What's the blog post you're most proud of?

BV:When gay marriage was legalized in 2008, there was a mass wedding in West Hollywood Park. My wife thought we should go and check it out. As a blogger, I thought, "how can I incorporate this into my blog?" I decided to make cupcakes and hand them out to people. The video starts with people in line waiting to get married. There was another cupcake purveyor there, so we did a throw-down for the comedic element. I got food, comedy, social issues, progressive politics, civil rights and real people into the video. It's pretty powerful.

SI: Can you point out some of your favorite recipes?

BV:I've done some film-themed recipes. Russ Meyer Lemon Chicken, Film Noir Ribeye steak, John Cassavetes red pepper, olive oil, garlic and pasta, and Ingmar Bergman Swedish meatballs.

Billy Vasquez

"Ingmar Bergman Swedish Meatballs"

Past "Meet Your Food Blogger" interviews:
Javier Cabral of Teenage Glutster (Feb. 1, 2010)
Pat Saperstein of EatingLA (Dec.10, 2009)
Matt Amendariz of Matt Bites (Nov. 16, 2009)
Tony Chen of Sinosoul (Oct. 29, 2009)
Chris Bostick of The Varnish (Oct. 16, 2009)
Rickmond Wong of Rameniac (Oct. 8, 2009)
Jeni Ofuso of Oishii Eats (Sep. 29, 2009)
Bill Esparza of Street Gourmet LA (Sep. 16, 2009)
Amanda Simpson of FoodPornDaily (Sep. 10, 2009)
Cathy Dahn of Gastronomy (Sep. 2, 2009)
Eddie Lin of Deep End Dining (Aug. 18, 2009)

Location Info

Venue

Map

99 Cent Store

5711 Sawtelle Blvd., Culver City, Culver City, CA

Category: General

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