New Mexico | Doogie Howser | law practice | Attorney

We're probably obligated to begin with Doogie Howser, MD. You did that at what, 14?
At 16, but I was there before that. My dad was an attorney, and he stopped his practice for a bit. We thought it was very important to live together. Once I turned 18, they moved back. Dad kept up his law practice for a while but decided that the innate morality of the legal profession was always tainted, because someone has to always be on the other side. So he left the profession. My dad is very moral and a truly just man. He was finding himself losing his cases over semantic wording by other attorneys. That sort of wore him down. So they thought they'd open a restaurant for the Rotaryclub set. And it's been successful. They're doing well.

Is that a plug?
It's a plug. Consider it a plug.

Okay, then, let's talk about New Mexico. You're not just fond of your home state, you're also practically obsessed with it.
It's one of the most untouched areas I've seen. Very grounded. I think most people think of New Mexico as one big pile of sand. Yet you can go to ridiculously amazing rockclimbing sites and white-water raft down the Rio Grande. There's a real humbleness and gravity there, and I think the Native American influence has something to do with that. There's sort of a cultural calmness that's the antithesis of Los Angeles, which is all about what's new right now.

What is the name of your parents' restaurant?
Perennials - like the flower. It's sort of a fusion of American breakfast and lunch mixed with Southwestern, so there are sandwiches and salads, but there are also turkey green-chile sandwiches. My mom's pounded-pork-tenderloin sandwiches, which she's made for forever, are on the menu, and there are omelets and pancakes and waffles and breakfast burritos. There's foliage everywhere.