Q & A with Hoss Zaré of Zaré at Fly Trap, Part 2

Zaré at Fly Trap

Hoss Zaré (standing), working the dining room.

​In the first part of our Q&A, chef Hoss Zaré of Zaré at Fly Trap talked about his current favorite place in town to eat, as well as his full-circle journey to his landmark restaurant. Today, Zaré (who is hosting three nights of upscale Iranian pub grub, June 3-5) ponders ideas for future expansion and reveals how he swore off nasty junk food for good.

SFoodie: Would you ever think about opening up another restaurant?

Zaré: Yes, I'm thinking about it ― in the city, or more likely in Los Angeles.

Why L.A.? There are one million second-, third-, and fourth-generation Iranians [in L.A.]. I can also be there, from point A to Z flying, in four hours. I've timed it. I can be there in the afternoon and be back at night.

Do you have any guilty food pleasures? No, I really don't. Gosh ... I don't know. [laughs]

Really, nothing? Not some kind of candy or anything? When I had my former restaurant on Sacramento Street [Zaré], I would work in the kitchen until 1:00 in the morning, and I used to forget to eat so I would get hungry on the way home and stop at Burger King and get a Whopper with cheese for a year. That was the nastiest habit I developed. One day, I was so tired, I got home, I had a Whopper in my mouth and I passed out and slept like that. So when I woke up, there was the nastiest smell, my jaw was hurting and I just imagined the headlines in the paper: "Chef Suffocates Himself with Whopper." So to be honest, since then I haven't touched any fast food.