Bali, La Jolla (1995–1996) I started at Bali in 1995, about a week before it opened. At the time I was still in culinary school took a job because I needed the money. I say “I,” but really it was we, there was a whole life happening alongside that decision, but that’s another story. What I remember most from that first week is the feeling that something big might be happening. The place looked beautiful, almost finished, filled with intention. It wasn’t just another restaurant. It had a concept, a personality. Dutch‑Indonesian, centered around rijsttafel, something most people in San Diego hadn’t experienced or heard of before. The menu was already completed by a consultant, and it was incredible, layered, bold, full of flavor. You could tell there was real thought behind it. It felt like an opportunity. Like the kind of place that could go somewhere. Then opening day. No soft opening or staggered seating to start, from the beginning, it was intense. Not just the normal opening chaos, ...
