Nate “Uncle NeNe” Ares and Brian “B Mo” Morris, are the operations arm of the restaurant group that brought us Prep & Pastry and, more recently, Commoner & Co.
The duo met while working at NoRth Italia and both went on to work at Metzger Family Restaurants. The good friends also made a journey to Las Vegas together where Morris worked at Spago and with the Light Group while Ares worked at Sushi Samba. They are currently running the aforementioned restaurants as well as working on a second Prep & Pastry to open on the eastside.
What was the first dish you had that changed your perspective on food?
Nate: For me it wasn’t a dish. It was when I walked into Bistro Zin. That was the first time I realized how awesome a non-corporate restaurant can be. It was the ambiance, the dim lighting, the music, it all came together perfectly.
Brian: Mine has to do with Bistro Zin as well. That was my first Tucson restaurant job. I was able to experience a high level of service, really learn about wines for the first time, and try new menu items. As far as the dish that really changed my perspective, I would say beef carpaccio. It is something I would not have tried when I was younger, and I loved it. To this day if there is a beef carpaccio on the menu, I am ordering it.
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What are you eating these days?
Nate: My girlfriend is out of town right now, so I am eating anything out of a fryer! All the unhealthy stuff that she will not eat.
Brian: I am on an Asian kick right now. We have this sauce we are working on at Commoner & Co., with hoisin, mae ploy and sriracha, I put that ish on everything!
What was the first dish you remember cooking?
Nate: I am going to let you in on a secret recipe of mine. Drunken slop. You start with some Fritos in a sautee pan, whip some eggs and put those in the pan, add oregano, salt and pepper, and shredded Mexican four cheese, and this is the key – Old El Paso salsa. It has to be Old El Paso or it will not be the same. It is perfect between the hours of 2am and 5am. You’re welcome.
Brian: I have experimented with every kind of grilled cheese possible, but I would say the dish I first perfected was my mac & cheese. You have to get the right noodles, cheese sauce and then you have to bake it with the breadcrumbs on top.
What concept, ingredient or food trend does everyone seem to love, but you just can’t stomach?
Nate: I am going to piggy back off of Brandon Dillion’s answer, when he mentioned tweezer chefs. From a front of house perspective when we are doing 200 covers in reservations and 80 walk-ins and ticket times are crazy long, that piece of micro cilantro will not taste any different if it is placed perfectly with tweezers as it will if you throw it on there and get the food out. If you do this in my restaurant, bye Felicia! Shout out to Tucson tweezer chefs though, and the French Laundry.
Brian: (jokingly) Trendy brunch spots! No, really, I am sorry, but I am over pork belly! We have it in our restaurants, so I get it, but pork belly is everywhere.
What chef, with us or passed on, would you most like to cook or eat dinner with?
Nate: Jose Mendin. I worked with him briefly at Sushi Samba in Vegas. He is murdering it in Miami now. I think in the next five years, he will be the next big celebrity chef.
Brian: Carl Schroder, was the chef at Market in Del Mar when I worked there. All he does is put out killer food. Also, as a disclaimer, if anything happens to my restaurant career here, I want my job back, chef.
What city, other than Tucson, is your favorite place to eat?
Nate: Portland, Oregon. I love Tasty N Sons and OX
Brian: I’m going the other Portland – Maine. I go every summer and have my spots that I have to hit when I am there. Gilbert Chowder House, Street & Co., and The Lobster Shack at Two Lights.
Speaking in junk food terms, what is your favorite guilty pleasure?
Nate: Does BK count? Cause I make it rain with sonoran dogs.
Brian: Whataburger – Green Chili Cheese Burger, I gotta stop when I see one.
Top three Tucson restaurants?
Nate: Agustin Kitchen, Renee’s Organic Oven, and Parish.
Brian: Zin Burger – The Larissa one, Vivace, 47 Scott.
Nate & Brian: Shout out to Obon too, and RIP Nox.
With a figurative electric chair in your immediate future, what is your last meal?
Nate: Thai curry pizza from Renee’s, 30 pack of Tecate and a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup Blizzard.
Brian: I’d start with a steak tartare, and baked brie in puff pastry and a bottle of a super old Bordeaux, any first growth. Then I am going surf & turf. An ugly steak from Dickman’s and Lobster Roll from the Lobster Shack. For dessert I want a cherry Slurpee.
BONUS QUESTION: Where does the name Commoner & Co. come from?
Brian: Commoner was the name of Nate’s first teddy bear and the “company” refers to the rest of his stuffed animals, it’s a tribute to them. Either that or it came from “hipster name generator” app. Really, we wanted to make simple dishes exceptional. So we got Commoner from the common dishes. The ‘Co.’ refers to the community around us. The great company that patronizes us.
