Woburn’s Hilton hotel houses a pleasant surprise: an excellent Spanish restaurant, Matadora. Stephen Coe is the new executive chef there, serving oysters grilled tableside, charred octopus, and spicy saffron shrimp toast. During off hours, he operates what he calls a SWAT Culinary Assault Vehicle, a retrofitted armored food truck complete with a taco cannon, from which he serves duck fat wings and cheesecake-stuffed French toast.
What’s the first restaurant you ever ate at in Boston? Let’s see — FuGaKyu in Brookline. It was my first experience eating sushi, and I went all in. The lobster was broken down in front of you; it was still moving when they brought it to your table. This was in 1998.
What’s one thing you’d like to fix about the restaurant industry here? The expectation of work ethic, the mentality that [people] think they can’t work as hard, and the sensitivity factor. They want more than they’re willing to work for. It’s Saturday night at 7 p.m.: Why are you on your phone? We’re getting crushed! I have to worry about getting my hand slapped if I tell them to put their cellphone away.
What other restaurants do you visit? I do a lot of dim sum lately — China Pearl, East Ocean City, Peach Farm. I used to love Chau Chow [City], but they closed down. Nothing crazy. It’s fast, and I love that style of service. And Moonshine [152] right on Broadway; I love that place. I go there all the time. It’s my late-night spot, where the Franklin used to be.
What’s your earliest food memory that made you think: I want to work in restaurants? Filling doughnuts at my grandfather’s place, a mom-and-pop diner, a luncheonette. They made everything there. This was in West Bridgewater. He and his friend had it. We were there every week. They taught me to be a short-order cook at 7 or 8. It was called Pomeroy’s. Back in the day, it was the neighborhood spot.
What’s the worst restaurant experience you’ve ever had? At a nice restaurant, I had two glasses of wine spilled on me. I thought, “Are you guys setting me up or something?” But nothing crazy, because I’m not going into a restaurant with expectations. I know what happens. I try not to make a scene. I just laughed. I’ve had food dumped on me, bad service, all sorts of things. I’ve had frozen food served to me. C’mon!
How could Boston become a better food city? I think the culture needs to be a little bit tighter. When I moved back to the South Shore from California, I hosted throw-downs and collaborated with chefs who were my competitors from Cape Cod and the South Shore. We’d get to know each other, visit, and know each other on a personal level, which is fun. I’m on the North Shore, doing the same thing.
Name three adjectives for Boston diners. Inviting, knowledgeable, playful.
What’s the most overdone trend right now? Shishito peppers everywhere, at restaurants where they shouldn’t be! I have them on my menu because we’re a Spanish restaurant.
What are you reading? Not a book, but I’m training to be a master chef, so I’m getting my head in the game of old-school techniques and garde manger work. It’s a two-year campaign to become a master chef, a three-day intense course at the CIA [Culinary Institute of America]. You have to be the best of the best to do it. I trained a long time ago, but now I want to get it.
How’s your commute? Not bad — I live in Plymouth. I go at off hours. I chose this, so I don’t mind it.
What’s the one food you never want to eat again? Swordfish. I broke one down and found a tumor. It was massive. The consistency of it! I don’t want to gross out people, but it was disgusting. Everything turned me off. I remember the day. The last time I ate it was in 1999, and I was doing an event for 500 people. I will never touch swordfish again.
What kind of restaurant is Boston missing right now? Reasonably priced, really good food — like Moonshine, places like that. More chef-driven, cool places to hang out. It doesn’t have to be on the map, just chefs who are crushing it, like what the Franklin used to be, back in the day.
What’s your most missed Boston restaurant? Hamersley’s. And now that L’Espalier is gone, the food scene is changing dramatically. You don’t have that caliber any more.
Who was your most memorable customer? Bobby Orr. Plates were blocking my eyes, and I saw a hand reach into my station. He grabbed a cookie, and I smacked his hand. I didn’t know who it was! I walked around, and it was him! I thought, “I’m going to be so fired!” This was at the Ridge Club. He was just walking through to say hello. He said, “Oh, you want to throw down, kid?” My mother is a big fan. She still says, “Remember that time you smacked his hand?”
If you had to eat your last meal in Boston, what would it be? No. 9 Park for foie gras and date gnocchi. Everything about that place is on point: service, food. It isn’t stuffy and they’re personable.
Kara Baskin can be reached at kara.baskin@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @kcbaskin.