When you walk into Auntie Em’s Kitchen, the rustic home-style Eagle Rock, CA restaurant, you get the feeling this place was created with a deep love for the community. Owner Terri Wahl has been cooking from her heart, creating delicious comfort food from farmer’s market fare. Each day in their kitchen, they bake Cupcake Wars-worthy desserts – (yes, they’ve competed on the show!)

We chatted with Restaurant Manager Cindy Larimore about how Terri traded punk rock for locavore living and a restaurant that sings the community’s song. Auntie Em’s owner has quite the story! Can you tell us about it?

Terri used to be in a punk rock band called the Red Aunts, and after a decade of world tours, she decided it was time for a career change. A friend got her a catering gig on a video shoot which led to more catering music videos, commercial shoots, and photo shoots. In her 18 years of catering, she has fed celebrities from Cindy Crawford, Alec Baldwin, J-LO, Elton John, and more.

She was running her catering business out of her small rental house until 14 years ago when she came across this space, and when she noticed her band name, “Red Aunts”, completely aligned with the restaurant name, “Auntie Em’s”—she knew it was meant to be!

What was it like being on Cupcake Wars?

Oh my gosh, I’m so sad I wasn’t there! Terri made a salted chocolate chip cookie, and came in second place! She said the whole experience was stressful but super fun. She normally doesn’t do the baking, so it was an eye opener for her, having to make so many cookies in a short amount of time. Auntie Em’s also got to do a red velvet throw down with Sprinkles on Bobby Flay. He even came to the restaurant the next day! I’ve been waiting for him to come back ever since.

What kind of feeling did Terri want to create for Auntie Em’s diners?

She wanted to create a homey place that focused on American comfort food—where she could play cool music, work with her friends, and serve decadent desserts. She wanted to craft a restaurant that people could belong to—one that cared about what people ate and offered a fun work environment that made employees look forward to coming to work.

Auntie Em’s was just a counter service back then, only serving breakfast. It’s been fun to watch it go from a breakfast stand to a thriving full-service restaurant with a full catering, restaurant, and baking team.

Your desserts are heavenly – what else should we try?

Definitely our biscuits and gravy, which we only serve on weekends. When I first started, people would order them and tell me they were from the south so if they weren’t good they were going to be really disappointed. I was worried—until I peered over and saw these customers licking their plates. I don’t worry anymore. Customers also love our honey orange French toast—it’s deep fried and served with fresh fruit and powdered sugar.

Our sweet potato breakfast tacos are also very popular—served with eggs, pico de gallo, mole, pepitas, avocado, and cilantro on corn tortillas. They’re naturally gluten-free and can easily be made vegan.

Our turkey bacon and fig hot pressed sandwich with havarti cheese is number one seller for lunch. We also have lots of fresh side salads and other healthy options.

Do you have any recipes you can share?

Yes! You’ll love our thin and crispy chocolate chip cookies–they’re our most popular cookie.

Auntie Em’s Thin and Crispy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 3 tablespoons water
• 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 1/3 cups flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups chopped semi sweet baking bar or 64% chocolate pistoles

Directions:

1. Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars together until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes, occasionally scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Reduce to low speed and add the eggs one at a time, scraping down the bowl between each. Pour in water and vanilla, and mix well.
2. Mix flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl, then add the butter mixture. Mix until incorporated.
3. Fold in the chocolate pieces.
4. Scoop heaped tablespoons of cookie batter onto a sheet tray, side-by-side, and freeze for 1 hour, or refrigerate for 2 to 3 hours.
5. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
6. Place chilled cookie dough on a parchment lined baking sheet about 5 inches apart, no more than 6 cookies per tray. Gently press the tops of cookies to slightly flatten.
7. Bake for 12 to 16 minutes, rotating halfway through. Cookies are done when the center is golden brown and edges are set. Let them cool on the baking sheet for 15 to 20 minutes. They’ll crisp while they cool.
8. The last step is to devour. Our bakers never make enough samples for us.

What keeps your customers coming back?

We play music that represents the people in our community—everyone loves our small neighborhood vibe. We have tons of regular customers; some have been eating here since we opened.

Do you have advice for restaurant owners?

Don’t try to do too much all at once—stay the course until you’re great at one thing before trying anything else. Do it well, do it right, then move on.

As an artist, what drives Terri’s creativity?

Terri gleans a lot of her inspiration from music. Take our musically-inspired coffee menu for instance:

• Cinnamon Girl, from a Neil Young song, is espresso sweetened with honey and cinnamon
• Brown Sugar, from the Rolling Stones, is a sweetened cappuccino
• Carmel Chameleon, a spin on the Culture Club song, is a salted espresso

Our menu changes seasonally—as Terri shops the local farmer’s markets and sees what’s abundant, she’ll craft meals around the local bounty and create new menus. I’m in constant awe of her creativity.

Thanks Cindy for sharing your love for Auntie Em’s Kitchen. To rock your home kitchen, check out The Auntie Em’s Cookbook: A Musician’s Guide to Breakfast and Brunch on Amazon.