Hiding a workplace romance and wanting to dish out creative food with a loved one gave birth to Babydudes.

Chef-owners Hannah Jacobs and Tali Petschek's love story began in Brooklyn, New York, where they shared a commissary kitchen. Jacobs worked for a catering company that owned the kitchen, and Petschek cooked for another caterer that rented out the space.

Soon after they began to discreetly date, Petschek called Jacobs "baby" at work.

"I very quickly tried to cover it up by calling her 'dude,'" Petschek told New Times on Aug. 22. "This was also very early into dating each other, so we weren't at the pet name level yet, and I was very embarrassed. She picked up on all of it, and she started teasing me and that's when we started calling each other 'Babydude.'"

• Photos By Bulbul Rajagopal
• QUIRKY OUTDOORS Originally based in Brooklyn, Babydudes relocated to Morro Bay in 2021 because the availability of farmers' market produce and ranch-accessible meat appealed to chef-owners Hannah Jacobs and Tali Petschek.

Friend and fellow chef Chakriya Un of Cambodian food pop-up Kreung encouraged them to name their own pop-up Babydudes, and the couple did just that. They juggled their day jobs and opened the Brooklyn-based spot in 2017. Post-pandemic, Jacobs and Petschek traveled west, bringing Babydudes with them and cementing it in Morro Bay as a funky pink and blue brick-and-mortar restaurant in 2021.

"We're trying to do something outside the [food] industry because the industry is broken," said Petschek, who uses nonbinary pronouns they/them.

Jacobs added that the way that they cook aims to fill the cracks in the industry.

"How do we think about sustainability in food, costs, how do we understand going out?" she said. "What can we expect of diners and people who work in the industry? All of this needs to be thought about and re-understood. Everybody needs to come together and create a new contract about how we exist in that space."

Sustainable sourcing is one way Jacobs and Petschek prepare the food that comes out of Babydudes. It's one of the reasons they moved to California. From Tuesday through Thursday, the duo ventures out to farmers' markets and ranches around San Luis Obispo County to gather produce and meat. Only dairy from Straus Family Creamery in Marin County arrives by truck.

For Petschek, opening the Morro Bay store gave them an opportunity they didn't have in Brooklyn: making bread.

"In Brooklyn, we sourced our bread from a very dear friend," they said. "Not being able to buy her bread, and Hannah worked in a bakery for a brief moment, really inspired us to bake our own bread."

Their favorite bread is focaccia, and it's a heavy-hitter on Babydudes' sandwich menu. Filled with airy bubbles and a pleasantly chewy texture, the focaccia makes for a delicious bite. It shines on the roast beef and peppers sandwich, which can be tweaked by adding pickled cucumbers and tomatoes in place of the marinated peppers.

• Photos By Bulbul Rajagopal
• MAINSTAY Babydudes' airy corndog with gochugaru mayo is a fixture on its frequently changing menu. Jacobs and Petschek chose it as an easy yet inspired alternative for gluten-free customers.

Babydudes' offerings are imaginative riffs on humble staples like sandwiches, tartines (open-faced sandwiches), soft serve, cookies, and other sweet treats. My favorite, so far, is the chocolate soft serve that's laced with tahini. Add the chocolate magic shell for a fun eating experience.

"I really like cooking simple food and making them really awesome," Petschek said.

Individual dishes change often—like the seasonal charred broccoli sandwich and the blink-and-you-miss-it fried chicken sandwich. In spite of the creative flow to keep switching things up, Jacobs told New Times that Babydudes' cheesecake and gluten-free corndog with gochugaru mayo are now staples for Morro Bay.

"What I do understand is that if you do put something in a fryer if it's gluten-free, it'll be pretty good," she said. "Cornstarch and rice flour fry up really beautifully. Chickpea flour fries up beautifully but if you bake it and because there's no gluten, it can be stodgy."

Jacobs and Petschek may be far from Babydudes' Brooklyn roots, but they still tap into its origins as a pop-up from time to time. It's another way for the two of them to enjoy each other's company, according to them. Most recently, Babydudes hosted its first Lamb Party and have another scheduled for Sep. 10. The event highlighted the art of whole animal cookery.

With an entire lamb sourced from Outlaw Valley Ranch in Santa Maria, a roasting box, the internet, and prior cooking stints at their disposal, Petschek and Jacobs prepared a social pop-up event similar to a block party.

Petschek used the skills they picked up from working for an Oakland-based butcher shop called Marin Sun Farms. After extrapolating from a YouTube video on butterflying a whole lamb, the pair assembled a wooden box called the La Caja China inside a metal roasting box and placed the lamb inside it. Then, they built a coal fire on top and waited out the hours-long process. Jacobs recalled to New Times that she was worried she built the fire too strong, but a friend arrived to save the day.

• Photos By Bulbul Rajagopal
• ICE CREAM SURPRISE Babydudes offers vanilla and tahini-chocolate soft serves. Get one or both, and add the chocolate magic shell for a crunchy bite.

"Her name is Ramona, she's awesome. She also happens to be 6 years old, and we were excited to show her the lamb," Jacobs said. "When I opened the box, I was all, 'It's a little early but it's ready to flip!' So, if it weren't for Ramona, we probably would have overcooked the lamb."

Once cooked, Petschek and Jacobs served that lamb Brazilian steakhouse style, meaning they walked around Babydudes' outdoor seating area and offered people different cuts of lamb. Patrons also got to pair the lamb with a plethora of sides and sauces served as a buffet. The next iteration of the Lamb Party will have more limited portion sizes. Tickets can be purchased online through Eventbrite or through the link in Babydudes' Instagram bio. Over time, Babydudes wants to launch more pop-up events with different culinary themes.

In the future, Babydudes hopes to receive its wine and beer license. It'll help Petschek and Jacobs—the only staff currently—to bring their original concept to life. That idea consists of more rotating dishes, constant bar snacks, and a dinner service with the option of indoor seating.

"We can have a plate that rotates weekly and maybe it's around for a couple of months," Jacobs said.

She already has some ideas running through her mind for ever-changing plate options. There could be sous vide chicken finished on a flat top and paired with root vegetables and a salad one week, and spaghetti and meatballs the next.

"It'll be a gathering place for a bite to eat, the food is simple-ish, hearty, and will fill your nutritional needs," Jacobs said. "There's not going to be a lot of options but will hit all the things you might need." Δ

Staff Writer Bulbul Rajagopal will spend the rest of summer cooling off with tahini-filled chocolate soft serve. Send magic shell respite to [email protected].