Episode Transcript

Bunny : (00:00)
Hi there. I’m Bunny Terry, and you’re listening to the I Love New Mexico podcast. Whether you’re a native new Mexican, who’s lived here for your entire life, or you’re just considering a visit, this episode is for you. Join us as we share a lot of New Mexico stories, talk about all things New Mexico, and include topics like what’s magical here, where you ought to visit, what’s happening, and the things you absolutely cannot miss in the land of Enchantment. We’re excited that you’re here, and we can’t wait to show you what an amazing place New Mexico is, because let’s face it, I love New Mexico today. Um, on the, I love New Mexico podcast. We, we have one of the, um, I’m just always so fortunate to get to meet people who are moving and shaking in New Mexico and who are, are making such a difference in their communities. And today our guest is Dakota Weiss. She is, I, I’m sure you’ve heard of her. Everybody has, she is a chef. She is a force of nature. She is like me, a cancer survivor, and I am always shocked at the amount of life that you can cram into a day. Dakota, do you sleep

Dakota : (01:33)
? I, I do actually. I feel like my life consists of sleep and work right now. .

Bunny : (01:41)
Well, well, I want to just read, and I, and, and I know part of this is a bio that comes from a while ago, but it felt like it really, um, it, it really sort of captured where you came from. And I, I wanna read some of this and then, um, and ask you some questions because I know that our audience wants to know more about you. But it says, um, you, you were born in Lancaster, California, but you came to Santa Fe, New Mexico when you were 12, and, um, that you credit your mom, um, suspense novelist, char, Charmaine, am I saying this right? Ria,

Dakota : (02:19)
Cobra.

Bunny : (02:21)
Cobra, um, for introducing you to the kitchen. And while you were a student in New Mexico State, you realized you didn’t have any passion for the subjects you were taking, and you decided to pursue cooking, and you went on to hone your craft in Atlanta and South Cor California, Southern California, Philadelphia. Um, I know you were in Santa Fe and, um, and that you, you are now here, uh, not really full-time because you’re all over the place, but, um, that also that you, um, were diagnosed with cancer in 2021, at, at and at what seems to me like a really young age. You’ve survived that, and you are now, I want everybody to know, not only creating spaces where people have amazing food and amazing experiences, but you also take time to volunteer with my great, love the Cancer Foundation for New Mexico. And so that’s Dakota in a very inadequate nutshell. But Dakota, I, I wanna know what, what do you want people to know about you?

Dakota : (03:34)
Oh, boy. Um, gosh, I, that is a very large question. It’s, um, I, uh, you know, honestly, I think just my, my love and passion one for food, obviously. Um, you know, being able to share flavors, introduce people to new things is, is very exciting for me. Um, and, you know, kind of taking those, those classics things that simple like fried chicken and doing it in a new way for someone to be like, oh my gosh, I’ve never, never had fried chicken like this. And you’re like, cool. Um, so I think just ex having, having, you know, to being able to facilitate new experiences for people, that’s something I, I value greatly. Um, and you know, the other part lately, and this is kind of just as I’ve gotten older, is just, just wanna be a good human . You know, like, at the end of the day, I just want, I wanna be happy, I wanna make people happy, I wanna make people proud and, um, just be a good human and, and a, and a and a good person for the planet and, and myself and my peers. Yeah, ,

Bunny : (04:50)
I’m, I’m curious about whether that changed after your diagnosis, because I know it did for me, it was like, I, you know, I was on a path. I was, you know, just sort of surviving, um, you know, making money, trying to, you know, figure out a way to, um, you know, help my kids. That was when Johanna was in college. And, um, and, and then after my diagnosis and after I got, well, I thought, wait a second, wait a second. I don’t just wanna survive this life. I wanna, I wanna make a huge difference. I’m, I’m curious if that diagnosis made any difference for you.

Dakota : (05:30)
I, I mean, I think you hit the nail on the head, honestly. Same thing. You know, living in Los Angeles, the majority of my life, um, you know, both my partner and I, we were doing, we’re very successful. You know, I, I had several businesses there. Um, but yeah, we, we were just, we were surviving, and I don’t feel like we were, we were living and I wasn’t, um, fulfilling all the things I felt like I could fulfill. And I think once we got the diag the cancer diagnosis, both of us looked at each other and said, is, is this really what we want? Is this where we wanna be? Um, and the, the, the answer was a, a huge resounding no. And, and we didn’t know that Santa Fe was gonna be the place for us. Um, we were looking at at several different areas.

Dakota : (06:16)
Um, but Santa Fe seemed to be the most where we, me especially needed to be because my mom, you know, was here. Um, she had terminal cancer, and, uh, you know, my, my family lived here, so, uh, or lived here. So it just kind of all made sense. Um, the career moves made sense, uh, being here, being able to spend the last, you know, year with my mom, it just all made sense. So I think, yeah, like once you get that diagnosis, you kind of really look at your life in a nutshell, and you’re like, is this, is this it ?

Bunny : (06:53)
Oh, I, I think that, um, it’s, it’s, you know, we are members of that club that nobody wants to be a member of. Um, you know, we’ve had cancer in our family, and then we’ve had it in our own lives. And, and yet, um, I was talking to somebody the, the other day about transformational moments. They asked me what a transformational moment was in my life, and I was like, I’m, I, I have to, you know, having my kids was somewhat transformational. And, but a lot of, but a lot of people do that without that changing their lives, but getting the diagnosis and then getting the privilege of surviving sort of brings you up short and you’re like, eh, is this, I mean, I, yeah, like you said, you just want to be a better human

Dakota : (07:42)
Yeah. For the space

Bunny : (07:43)
That you inhabit.

Dakota : (07:45)
A Absolutely. I feel like a, as a chef, inherently, we were workaholics. Um, you know, we, we we’re always the first in the kitchen and most of the time, the last to leave. Um, and that’s just kind of been my mo since I’ve started, you know, my career as a chef. So work has always been number one for me. Um, I bypassed having children, um, I had dogs instead, , and, uh, yes, you do. My, my career’s basically been, you know, my number one thing. And, you know, once, once we moved to Santa Fe, you know, I took on the role of executive chef at Coyote Cafe, um, which, you know, I, I absolutely adore that restaurant. And Quinn is, is amazing to work with. And I, I went in with my head saying, this is it. You’re gonna be here for many, many years.

Dakota : (08:39)
You’re gonna work your butt off. You’re gonna make it, you know, even better than it already is. And, um, and that’s gonna be that. But then, like, once I, once I started working at Coyote, I had just, we moved to Santa Fe two weeks, uh, two or three weeks after my mastectomy, and I started the job, the new job, about five weeks after. And so I hadn’t even started, you know, post surgery, um, procedures yet. So there’s still, you know, you have, you know, ca yeah, you’ve got cancer, woo, okay, now you have surgery, and then you have your procedures, or it’s the opposite. You, you have, you know, chemo or radiation, and then you have your surgery, however, but, um, so I was, I wasn’t even halfway through, you know, the whole situation, and I was thinking, I, you know, I was working really long hours, you know, because I wanted to, to, to really make that place mine and, and connect to the restaurant.

Dakota : (09:41)
But then, you know, then my mom passed, and with, with my cancer diagnosis and with her passing from cancer, it all just, I was like, this is what, what am I doing? Why am I spending so much time here at work and not with my loved ones and, and or why am I not going out and experiencing things that I feel like I should experience? So, yeah, it, it, it, it changes just your, your entire outlook on everything. And, and for me, being a workaholic and at a restaurant, I finally just, it took everything I had to tell Quinn. Like, I just don’t, I don’t think I can do this anymore. Like, I’m so sorry and I feel so bad, but it’s, it’s just not in my wheelhouse anymore. Not to, not to not work hard, but to not work hard for someone else , if that makes sense. Right.

Bunny : (10:29)
Well, I, I do Bel, you know, I’m a business coach as well, and I, and I, and I always say to my clients, um, whose empire are you building? Because at, at the end of the day, it’s either yours or somebody else’s. And, and it, and it doesn’t hurt to build somebody else’s empire because that’s where you learn and where you, um, pick up skills. But, but it sounds like, um, I mean, first of all, I can’t imagine, um, that, that you were doing all of that five weeks after your surgery, and you still needed to go through whatever post-surgical procedures. You had to,

Dakota : (11:05)
Yeah. Well, as, as you know, your life does not stop with cancer. Oh.

Bunny : (11:10)
Like, it doesn’t, it doesn’t,

Dakota : (11:11)
No, nobody stops or gives you a moment. It’s like, you gotta still go and do your stuff, .

Bunny : (11:17)
I know, I know. It’s, um, and, and it’s weird, I don’t know if it was like this for you, but it’s really weird that when you get past surgery that you start thinking, well, I should be really thrilled except accept, I, you know, I feel like I’m behind on my life, and I feel like, you know, I’ve had my focus in all these weird places, and, and you had surgery, you went to Coyote Cafe. Your mom was in the middle of her experience, which I’m, I’m, you know, I’m so sorry that you lost her, because by all accounts, I’m also, sorry I never got to meet her personally. But, um, all of that stuff, and, and then, um, I, I mean, I, I think, I think we should have a nationally mandated 90 days after, um, treatment or, um, procedures for cancer patients where they can just breathe and, and catch up and kind of make sense of their life.

Dakota : (12:15)
Yeah, no, that, that, I, I think it’s, that should be something we should go out and petition.

Bunny : (12:21)
. I, I’ll, I’ll just add that to the adv advocacy that I love. But, so, so you, I, I’m really curious about the beginning of this story. I mean, you’re at New Mexico State. What, what were you thinking that you wanted to do with your life?

Dakota : (12:38)
I didn’t, honestly, I didn’t know. Um, I kind of just said, maybe, you know, I’ll go into, I use very generic international business. I’m like, that sounds great. I can travel, I can learn languages. That sounds like a great idea. Um, but it just, it, it didn’t ex it didn’t sound exciting. Um, and I, and I kept really, school was not actually ever my thing. I was kicked out of two high schools, um, for not being the best student . Oh,

Bunny : (13:11)
No.

Dakota : (13:12)
And, and my mom, my mom finally told me, she’s like, just get your GED and figure out what you wanna do. And I was like, all right. Well, so I got my GED at, at a younger age. I actually went to college a little bit earlier than I should have. Um, which I don’t know if that was a great thing either . Um, but yeah, I got my GED and then I’m like, all right, I’ll go to college and then let’s see what happens. But once I, once I got down to Las Cruces, I started working at this really cute little coffee shop, and then they made everything from scratch. And I found myself skipping classes to pick up extra shifts. And, um, I just loved it. And I didn’t have, when, when my, when I left to to college, my mom sent me off with a Betty Crocker.

Dakota : (13:53)
You remember the, the red and white Checkered Cookbook? Yes. She sent me off, not with the, it’s kind of like the Julia Child Store movie that they did, where she went through every recipe in that book. I kind of did the same thing, but with the Betty Betty Crocker book. And I would take that to work with me and like, make all the muffins and all the scones and all the cookies and everything. Um, and then finally my mom just like, well, clearly you don’t like traditional school. She’s like, let’s think about maybe culinary school. And I was like, that’s brilliant. I didn’t know that was really an option. Um, and, and this was many, many years ago. I, they did not, um, they did not have bachelor’s at the time when I went to culinary school. They were only doing associate degrees. So yeah, I basically left, went to Scottsdale Culinary Institute, and the first time ever in a school-like environment that I crushed it , I, I didn’t wanna miss classes. I was always the first one there, always the last one to leave. ’cause I just loved what I was learning so much. So that was kind of the, the, the light bulb going off .

Bunny : (14:58)
And, and when we, and then, and you, I mean, people can find you online and see that you’ve done, I mean, you did Top Chef, you did what, are you still doing the sushi show or is that,

Dakota : (15:10)
Um, I’ll come back as possibly a guest judge, but after, since that was kind of their first pilot season, um, a lot of the feedback was they really want, they really wanted more of Moori Moto on the show because he, he is, he is a character. Oh my gosh. He’s just awesome. Um, but when we were filming, he was having some really bad sciatica issues, so he was kind of not on as much. He’s, he’s dealt with all those issues. So now it’s gonna be primarily just him, but they’re bringing in some more like, heavy duty sushi expert experts. I call myself a fish expert, not necessarily a sushi expert. .

Bunny : (15:52)
Well, I, so I just want people to know that, um, I, I consider your method. I I just figure, I consider you to be really, really courageous because you take on these concepts that not many, um, not many people would be willing to do, especially in New Mexico, which is such a landlocked, um, um, state. I, I was thinking Santa Fe as well, but, um, about the time that you opened, um, catch Downtown in Santa Fe. Did I get that right?

Dakota : (16:25)
Yeah.

Bunny : (16:26)
Um, we had just been to Kauai and we ate poke the whole time we were there, and we got home and we were like, oh, so it’s too bad we can’t get,

Dakota : (16:36)
We had poke withdrawals, right?

Bunny : (16:38)
Yes. And you, we fell in love. Uh, you know, it was the first time we’d ever just made it our diet for, you know, 11 days. And then we got back and you opened this, what seemed at the time, perhaps it’s not, it’s, that was my perception, sort of a popup poke location in Santa Fe, and you had one in Albuquerque. Where did, I mean, where did that come from? Because you know, people don’t associate us with Amazing Sushi, right?

Dakota : (17:07)
Yeah, well, you know, so in, in LA I had 15 pokey restaurants. So we were kind of the, the pioneers in the big pokey movement back in 2014, 2015, when it became very big in America. Um, so it just kind of, it’s just something I, I fell into after doing Top Chef. You know, that’s a great thing about being on, on TV like that is it opens up a lot of opportunities for you, whether you win or don’t win. Um, and so we, we knew Rich and I knew, we knew that actually from the get go of moving back to Santa Fe, that we wanted to open a poke restaurant because there was no one else really doing it or doing it well. Um, mm-Hmm, . So we knew that was definitely a given. Um, we just didn’t know how or when it was gonna happen. It happened a lot faster than we thought it was gonna .

Bunny : (18:03)
Well tell people where, what, tell, let’s talk for a minute about the Albuquerque restaurants, because this obviously is not just a Santa Fe podcast, but what, what are you doing in Albuquerque?

Dakota : (18:13)
So, yeah, so in, in Albuquerque we’ve got two locations inside Sawmill Market. We’ve got the Notorious POKE, uh, and Frenchies Dips and Tots. Um, and those, let’s see, the pokey spot there has been open for a little over a year, and we opened up the French Dip restaurant in June of this year. And, and that concept kind of came about because, you know, we’re both being from living in Los Angeles, which is a huge French dip city in the two people, Philippe’s and Kohl’s both swear that they were the inventor of the French Dip. So there’s that French dip war, but, um, it’s just a great sandwich. And, and I don’t know it, when you’re trying to think of what can, what can we do? What new concept can we bring to New Mexico? That kind of just was it, was it a no brainer? Um, ’cause there’s nothing really like it.

Bunny : (19:04)
And I want folks to know that. Um, so, so we went to, and we’ll talk about the, we’ll talk about the restaurant, the new restaurant in Santa Fe, but we went there on Super Bowl Sunday because we’re not football watchers. And I wanted to try your, your, um, Frito Pie, but Toby, who loves French Dip, had one of your, um, original French Dip sandwiches, and he was like, best French dip I ever had. So excellent. So high praise for that, but who I, you know, in a, in a moment where people are doing these intricate food designs, you’ve sort of done the whole, uh, I’m sorry, the Red Check Betty Crocker with a Twist. I mean, some of those, you know, like the, the rice crispy, um, treat that I had, holy mackerel, Dakota . How much fun are you having with this food?

Dakota : (20:00)
So much fun. You know, the, the fun thing about being a chef is you, you, you’re not limited to any one type of cuisine. And if you do limit yourself, I feel very sorry for you because there’s just, you know, so many great things to play with out there. Um, yeah, so taking something as simple as a Rice Krispy treat and infusing Japanese and Filipino flavors into it, like, why not ? Um, and they’ve gone on to the, I mean, we had this lady come in yesterday and, and bought a dozen of them. She’s just like, these are the most amazing things I’ve ever had. I’ve bought a, oh,

Bunny : (20:33)
They’re amazing.

Dakota : (20:35)
Um, so yeah, we sell those now at, at Catch and The Notorious and here also. Um, but yeah, you know, the going from being a fine dining chef, you know, coyote Food, coyote Cafe, and a lot of the restaurants I’ve worked at are what I call tweezer food, where you meticulously place everything and every piece of every dish you serve is like a piece of art. And I love, I don’t get me wrong, I love that type of cooking. Um, but for me and my partner, rich, like when we go out to eat, we generally are not like, let’s go somewhere really fancy. We’re, we’re more of like, where can we get a really good sandwich, a really good burger, a really good fried chicken, um, you know, a delicious bowl of ramen. Like, we kind of, we, we generally go towards like more simple simplicity, uh, when we, when we’re going out, um, and we go, I don’t cook at home ever. So we, we know when we’re,

Bunny : (21:34)
We’re not out either, so

Dakota : (21:35)
Yeah. When we’re not at work, we’re out eating. Um, and I just feel like Santa Fe in general is kind of lacking some of that. Um, so that was kind of the whole idea of opening up this new concept. But, but , you know, it does, when you do, um, what I like to call, it’s, it’s fast casual food that we’re doing, right. Um, but everything being made from scratch, it makes it that much better. Um, but at the same time, I’m definitely already starting to feel those pings of missing, um, that fine dining experience and putting together those flavors and those plates. So restaurant number five is on the brink, , what . Yeah. Uh, which we’re really excited about. And, and, and again, we kind of went over this concept because it’s something that Santa Fe or even New Mexico in general, I don’t think has, but it’s, it’s gonna be called Kai Zuna, which means exceptional bonds or bonding. Um, so that the, the meaning of it is, is very special and significant for both of us. Um, and it’s gonna be a Japanese French Brassie

Bunny : (22:51)
Wow.

Dakota : (22:52)
. And I’m so excited about it. But it, and, and again, it’s just because I, I feel like there, I just have more to offer and I wanna offer more to Santa Fe also. Um, you know, we don’t have all the details yet. We do know it’ll most likely be downtown Santa Fe. Very, very possible it’ll be inside a hotel. Um, yeah, that’s, that’s kind of the new thing. And we’re excited to bring some new flavors. Japanese cuisine being probably one of my absolute favorite French techniques. Again, absolute favorite thing to, to work with. So just kind of made sense.

Bunny : (23:31)
I love it because we’re, I, you know, people who, I mean, we’re talking to people here who ha who may are, are, we have an international audience. We have people who have never been to New Mexico, but if they’ve done any research, they’re probably thinking, wow, I’m gonna have to eat a lot of enchiladas and green chili and cheesy burritos. And that’s not the case in Santa Fe and especially, um, with you at the helm of a couple of different restaurants. So I’m pre I’m excited about Kauna. I love that.

Dakota : (24:02)
Yeah, we’re excited too.

Bunny : (24:05)
And, and tell people, because we haven’t really been specific. Tell people about the new place you are, where is in the old Zia Diner building. Yeah,

Dakota : (24:14)
So, so this place is called Capital Coal Neighborhood Eatery. And, and the whole idea is of a micro food hall. Um, I think when people think of food Hall that, you know, you think of what you see in Sawmill or Los Angeles has a ton, Denver has a ton of food halls, um, you know, where it’s individual, uh, little stations. And, and each place is different. What I, what I wanted to do is to be able to offer people several different concepts and order and, and really simplify the ordering process, make it easier for everyone. ’cause when you go to Sawmill, you, if you want a French dip, you gotta go to the French dip place. If you want a bowl of pasta, you gotta go to the pasta place. If you want a beer, you gotta go to the beer place. So you’re, you’re dropping your credit card at all these different places.

Dakota : (24:56)
Um, the idea is for us was to kind of streamline that. And you can get a bi and bat bowl, a French dip, and a fried chicken, and it’s just, you use your card once it’s just all located. The kitchen works just like a regular kitchen, just like a coyote in its stations. Um, so it just, I don’t know, kind of made it made sense. We didn’t know if it was gonna work. Fortunately it’s, it’s working. But we came up with Capital Coal ’cause the Zia Diner space is an amazing, I mean, this, this is a, it’s a historic building. The bones of this restaurant are just incredibly stunning. Um, you know, with the huge high pitched roof in, in the main room and the cozy little back bar room and the beautiful patio. Um, the building was built in 1880, um, and it was called Capital Coal Yard.

Dakota : (25:44)
And so they sold coal to the rail yard. And, um, we have a picture we’re waiting to get blown up of the building from 1880. It’s so cool. And you can see like Guadalupe, the Dirt Road, Guadalupe right in front of it. And, and, and just the structures is pretty unchanged for the most part. Um, and I, I feel like it would be such a huge, it’s a blessing that this place has a massive kitchen and we are allowed to do all these different concepts. ’cause it does take up a lot of space. It’s a lot of Mis and Flo. Um, and it just kind of seemed to fit for this building. It’s, it’s what called out to both Rich and I and, and, um, it’s, it’s working so far. So yeah, capital, Cole Neighborhood Eatery.

Bunny : (26:29)
I love it. And it is for people who haven’t been there yet, especially locals, um, you did that great thing in the center space where you, where you created seating areas where, you know, families or groups of friends could come and hang out and still notch and eat, but be seated at, you know, chairs and couches and what looks like coffee tables. Um, it, that’s really communal dining, I think. I love it.

Dakota : (26:56)
Yeah. Well, we felt that’s also something that Santa Fe lacked was just relaxed lounge seating. And I know, you know, we tend, like I said, we tend to be more on the casual side when, when I, when Rich and I go out to eat. So we, we prefer to sit back at a chair at a low, low coffee table and eat that way. So we wanted to give options.

Bunny : (27:18)
And so, um, I want peop I, you know, I want folks to know that I’ve tried a lot of that stuff. You did that great, um, volunteer luncheon for the Cancer Foundation, where we just all had these, we had this sort of buffet style, um, everything that you just talked about that you have on the menu. Um, yeah. And, um, and I, I have, I, I have yet to have anything that I didn’t wanna go back and have. I, I mean, after we ate there, Toby was like, well, we, I mean, like the next day on Monday, he says, let’s go back. And I said, we can’t go back. You’re, you’re open Wednesday through Sunday, right? Wednesday

Dakota : (27:58)
Through Sunday for now. Yeah.

Bunny : (28:00)
And what are your hours?

Dakota : (28:02)
Uh, yeah, so Wednesday through Saturday it’s 11 to eight, and Sundays it’s 11 to six. And these hours will most likely evolve as spring and summer come into play.

Bunny : (28:16)
Well, I’m, I’m excited about that. I’m really, really ex excited, excited about the new space. What is your, do you have a, I don’t know, kind of a projected date?

Dakota : (28:29)
Um, it, it, it all goes well, exactly. About a year from now. We should be up and running.

Bunny : (28:36)
Nice, nice. Well, and, and as I said before in the intro, you, you also take a moment, and it’s not a moment, excuse me, it’s like two hours outta your week and you go to the chemo room, tell, talk. I want people to know what that’s about.

Dakota : (28:54)
Yeah. So, so that was basically, uh, it was something to do, one for myself and two for my mom. I, I wasn’t treated in, in New Mexico. I, I did all my treatment. I, I flew back every month, you know, to see all the doctors, um, to Los Angeles. So, um, I didn’t necessarily have a connection with St. Vincent’s or, or Nexus or Christus or anything. Um, but my mom was treated for the majority of her latter years, um, at Christus, um, at the cancer center. And I mean, every week getting a text, all right, I’m going in for, you know, this round of chemo and, and this radiation and this new, um, I mean, she just had, you know, blood transfusions all the time. And like, it, they, they just, she had a lot of stuff going on there, . And, um, I remember her always mentioning how wonderful all the volunteers were.

Dakota : (29:51)
And like, she, my mom was a talker, like, like she could talk the ear off of anyone. And, uh, she, she loved that there were people in there that would just sit and listen. Um, and so part of it was, you know, for me to give back, but mainly I wanted to honor her and, um, just kind of ex, you know, experience it. And it’s just, I don’t know, every time I lead, it’s, it is, it’s kind of sad work, but it’s also really, um, it just, I don’t, it makes me feel good inside to, to do a small thing as bring a chemo patient, a glass of orange juice. Like if that’s the least I can do for them, it just makes me feel better.

Bunny : (30:35)
That now it gives me goosebumps when you talk about that, because I was, um, also a patient at the cancer center and, um, I, I felt the same way. I was really surprised. You know, they don’t tell you, you know, the doctors, I’m just gonna say the doctors are great, but they don’t prepare you for the process very well. Yeah. And, um, the first time you go and sit in that chemo room and you, it’s, you know, they’re hooking you up and they’re taking your blood pressure and they’re telling you if it’s not right, you can’t get treatment. And they’re, um, the, the nurses in the, in the chemo suites are amazing, but the volunteers are just, I mean, they’re people who have mostly already been through a cancer experience. And that was, um, that, that was part of what I, I mean, there’s not much to look forward to when you’re going to chemo. And, um, part of what I looked forward to was that I knew, um, which volunteers had the days that I got hooked up, which ones had the days that I got disconnected. There was just a huge level of comfort in knowing that those people who knew how I felt were gonna be there to greet me every time. So hats off to you for taking the time to do that and to honor your mom in that way. I’m,

Bunny : (32:01)
I just, I gotta tell you, I’m really proud to know you. I’ve, I, I just, I’m, I’m so excited about what you’re doing and, um, and, and about what you give away.

Dakota : (32:13)
Yeah. I mean, I, I, you know, like you, like you said, your, your, your perspective on life changes, you know, after such a, a traumatic thing happens. And, um, I have to say, like, you know, there’s, there’s two things I say about cancer. I think actually going through cancer was easier for me than, than the aftermath now. Like, you know, the, the years and years and years of all the medications now that I have to have to take is actually more traumatic on my body and my mental, you know, space as well than it was when you, when you’re dealing with cancer. ’cause when you’re, when you’re going through all the treatments and with your doctors, it’s like, it’s just regimented and very, you know, there’s lots of people there to kind of help guide you, but then they’re like, okay, here you go. Here are the pills you take now to hopefully prevent it again from happening. And then you’re kind of on your own and you’re like, ah. Um, so I, I feel like, you know, the whole cancer thing in the beginning is easier and kind of as it goes on is a little more difficult, which is interesting. And the second thing is, um, cancer in a, in an odd way, made my life better. .

Bunny : (33:26)
Oh, it’s not odd. I mean, I, I hear it. I, I agree.

Dakota : (33:29)
Do you feel that way?

Bunny : (33:30)
Oh, absolutely. And it, and it’s, you know, the moment that you’re diagnosed, you’re like, this is the end. I mean, my life will never be okay again. Never. And, and, and it’s, it’s, that’s not necessarily the truth. It, it made my life. I mean, I would not be where I am right now. I wouldn’t be married to Toby. I wouldn’t be in this amazing life, life if I hadn’t got cancer. And I know everybody thinks that’s crazy, but you get it, right?

Dakota : (34:00)
I, I a hundred percent get it. I, I made that statement about a, a year ago to a friend, and she’s like, that’s the craziest thing I’ve ever heard. And I’m like, I, it’s, it’s true. . Oh, it’s honestly like, I would like, like, like you, I would not be where I am right now had it not been for cancer diagnosis. Yeah.

Bunny : (34:18)
That,

Dakota : (34:18)
That was, that was the ultimate change of everything. . Wow. And it, in a good way.

Bunny : (34:25)
And yet we lose a, we, we lose a million people. We love to it. It’s so he, yeah. It’s so awful in some ways. And so, and, and, and I, I mean, I hate to use this term, but to me it was a gift in a lot of ways. Yeah. It made me wake up.

Dakota : (34:41)
Absolutely. Well, it, it brought me back to New Mexico. Yes. Which, you know, I think is, is pretty cool. I’m not gonna say that New Mexico will be our forever home, but it’s where we need to be right now. And it, and it makes very, it’s very evident that that’s the case.

Bunny : (34:58)
Wow. This, this has been so much fun. I think we could talk for another hour. Um, easily

Dakota : (35:03)
.

Bunny : (35:04)
So we’ll just do it again. Um, , once you get ready to open up the new space, I wanna hear about that. And yeah, definitely. Um, I wanna tell folks that are listening that if you go to the show notes, you’ll find links to, um, all of Dakota’s restaurants. Um, if you’re in Albuquerque, get to Sawmill and try both the French Dips and Tots and the Notorious POKE. And if you’re in Santa Fe, get to Capital Cole or the catch on Marcy Street. And, um, and, and just, I’m, I’m just gonna say pay attention. The world is pretty amazing, isn’t it?

Dakota : (35:43)
It’s pretty awesome.

Bunny : (35:44)
. It is. Thank you so much, Dakota. I love

Dakota : (35:47)
This. Oh, thank you buddy.

Bunny : (35:50)
Thanks to all of you for taking the time to listen to the I Love New Mexico podcast. If you’ve enjoyed this episode, please feel free to share it with your friends on social media or by texting or messaging or emailing them a copy of the podcast. If you have a New Mexico story that you’d like to share with us, don’t hesitate to reach out. Our email address is I love New Mexico blog@gmail.com and we are always, always looking for interesting stories about New Mexico. Subscribe, share, and write a review so that we can continue to bring you these stories about the Land of Enchantment. Thank you so much.