WORK • Thursday Routine
ASH NARAYAN • stylist and writer • Sauced Noods
Neighborhood you live in: Beachwood Canyon
It’s Thursday morning. What’s the scene at your workplace?
I’m a freelance stylist, so unless I’m on set for a jean brand the hot girls with Longchamps wore in high school in 2015, I’m working from my mattress on the floor — terracotta tiles. But Thursdays are my leg days. I start my morning at Equinox at 530a and I finish my ab set at 8. I throw on my forest green Pizza Slime Erewhon hoodie, hop in the 3 Series I’ve rented from Sixt, and head straight to Proof Bakery in Atwater Village. My order is always the same: cardamom bun and buckwheat chocolate chip cookie. I used to hate that they put both in the same bag. But then I realized the cardamom sugar rubs off on the cookie, and by the time I sit down to eat it, I have a cardamom chocolate chip cookie.
What’s on the agenda for today?
I just got back from Proof, where today I ordered a chocolate croissant. They said they were out of the cardamom bun when I got there. They said it wasn’t ready the last time I was there. I’m determined to make them admit they don’t make it anymore.
Now, I’m in bed putting together a deck for a sportswear-but-not-sportswear brand. Twelve off-court images of Anna Kournikova. Bottega bag and lilac sweatpants, terrycloth robe and cerulean trainers, velvet track jacket and ScHoolboy Q-esque bucket hat. At 1, I’m going to get lunch with my friend Sodi. It’s either Sqirl, Joan’s, or Clark Street Diner. Today is Sqirl.
Any restaurant plans today, tonight, this weekend?
I don’t cook at home. I didn’t move from the suburbs to a city to do that kind of thing. And I like being a regular at restaurants. It’s fun. It’s social. It feels good when you know a host. A little awkward when you see them on Hinge.
Tomorrow is my birthday, so my girlfriend and I are going to Osteria Mozza. It’s one of my favorite spots in the city. I’ve never made a reservation there. And my order is always the same. Burricotta and spiced walnuts from the mozzarella bar. Grilled octopus salad. Protein for leg day. The potatoes, celery, and green onion — carbs for rowing days. Pappardelle with rabbit ragù because I like a thick, sauced noodle. And the ricotta and egg raviolo because I have an Instagram. I end with the rosemary olive oil cakes and bombolini. Elyssa knows without having to ask.
How about a little leisure or culture?
The last time I drove south of LA, Sascha Zverev got off a private jet and took me to the woodshed in front of every college coach that mattered. But my girlfriend is Balkan, and Novak Djokovic gets closer to retirement every time he slides for a backhand out wide. So we went down to Indian Wells in early March to catch him swearing at his box.
Any weekend getaways?
The only two restaurants in California worth a special journey: Harbor House Inn and Hayato. Neither has three stars, but they should. If I steam enough Field Spec Cotton Heavy Tees this month, I’ll take a trip up to Elk and spend the weekend at Harbor House Inn. Matt Kammerer cut his teeth at Saison, back when the line was a murderer’s row.
These days, most Michelin-starred restaurants have a farm or source from one. If you don’t know this when you book a table, they’ll make sure you do when you sit down. Harbor House has a farm, and you’ll see Matt picking vegetables before service.
He cooks simply. Fire, steam, smoke. His menu changes daily. It says so on the website. Stay for two nights, and you’ll see it’s true.
What was your last great vacation?
I was in Paris for Men’s Week. Just guys in jeans dyed on a rock, placing personal orders for corduroy trousers that mimic tweed before placing store orders for essentially the same zip-up fleece from Rier (for guys with a two-door G-Wagon), Mfpen (for guys who like all the Atelier September butter posts), A.Presse (for guys who print out Noah Johnson columns), and Seya (for guys who like to talk about precise seam allowances at Delicatessen Place).
What’s a recent big-ticket purchase you love?
I sold Nvidia stock to buy a pair of brushed cashmere trousers from The Row. They’re a 32, and I’m a 30, but for the price I paid, I’ll eat enough fett’unta at Mozza to make them work.
What store or service do you always recommend?
I knew nothing about clothes for a long time. And now I know a little. And it’s only because Emily Bode and Aaron Aujla of Bode took a chance on me. I’m forever grateful to them for everything, and highly recommend you check out their stores in LA or New York. The LA store has a gown embroidered with whitework floral patterns, pleats about the waist, and a long row of ivory buttons down the back. If you’ve been dating someone for over five years, and they haven’t yet proposed, I recommend you buy it with their credit card. It’s $15,000.