The headline in last year's SF Chronicle feature on Vinny was: Tartine’s Vinny Eng was just named sommelier of the year. Why he’s leaving it all, for a new start in politics. That unexpected pairing is a fitting preamble to a friend of mine who I hadn't spoken with since my time at Duke. In our nearly hour long conversation, Vinny describes his compassion-lead drive to help those "in the shadows," in large part through his work with SF New Deal. If your curious to know more about how he thinks through all of this, read his recent editorial in Food and Wine titled: We Should All Be Empathetic to Restaurant Workers, Especially Now.

Music as always by @matthias.dewilde