We’re on City Island, the Bronx’s breezy backyard, kicking it at Johnny’s Reef. This is a no-frills seafood shack that’s been holding it down for decades. Good stuff right here. We call it the office.

I linked up with Ted for a talk. Johnny’s Reef was started by his father and uncle, and it’s been in the family ever since. On the menu is fried shrimp and lobster tails, the famous cognac colada.

As a kid I used to order garlic linguini with red snapper and salad. Everyone would be like, what the hell you eating? But it never missed. I recognize a lot of the staff from when I was a kid, people who have been working there for 15+ years. You see the same faces. There’s something comforting about that kind of consistency, especially in a city where everything else changes so fast.

The menu used to be mostly fried shrimp but it’s expanded a little to other seafood specialties. A sleeper menu item you’ll want to try is fried lobster tails.