As I sit here wracked with pain; in my legs, my back, my head, shoulders, forearms, even my eyeballs and my temples, I feel equal parts relief and dread. Kristin and I just ran the gauntlet, bouncing back and forth between a crush of eager … [Read more...] about Running Away From Home (Ciao Trattoria and Wine Bar)
About Spencer McMillin
Dining During the Apocalypse: THE ORDINARY, Charleston, South Carolina
According to the Andy Ticer and Michael Hudman, the dynamic duo responsible for some of the best restaurants in Memphis, Sean Brock, famed chef of Husk in Charleston, was—at least in 2015—not the best chef in the South. Ok. They didn’t say … [Read more...] about Dining During the Apocalypse: THE ORDINARY, Charleston, South Carolina
DINING DURING THE APOCALYPSE
One day you’re going to say fuck it and travel again. Mark my words, it’ll happen. Especially if you’re a foodie. One day you’ll wake up tired of riding the Habitrial between the bathroom and the living room or the cubicle and car and you’ll start … [Read more...] about DINING DURING THE APOCALYPSE
Running Away From Home Week 6
Listening to Peyton interact with her fourth-grade class at Newmarket Elementary on a Zoom call is pure delight for my weary soul. As I sit on the sofa nursing aching legs, Peyton’s teacher is forging through with a spirited lecture on muscle memory … [Read more...] about Running Away From Home Week 6
So You Think You’re a Chef (Part 5)
To be a chef, one should… …be able to think on a dime and remain flexible. You have 400 people coming to your banquet facility for a wedding today. It’s 2:30pm, the guests will be there at 6 and you’re cutting it close. Like … [Read more...] about So You Think You’re a Chef (Part 5)
Running Away From Home Week 5
You should know, chefs teetering on the edge of following me north, that New Hampshire is in the midst of a gluten-free renaissance (or civil war, depending on one’s perspective). Every fifth customer we get at Ciao asks for their cream-massacred … [Read more...] about Running Away From Home Week 5
So You Think You’re a Chef (Part 4)
To be a chef one should… …know the financial health of one's restaurant better than the owner. You can cook like Ferran Adria, great. That smug sense of self-worth you have when your legion of Facebook sycophants calls you brilliant is all the … [Read more...] about So You Think You’re a Chef (Part 4)
Running Away From Home Week 4
The callouses on my knife fingers are still bleeding. Every once in a while in the course of my work day--and always at the worst possible time--I have to re-bandage and re-glove. It’ll be a couple more weeks until they scab over and create the … [Read more...] about Running Away From Home Week 4
So You Think You’re A Chef (Part 3)
Continued To be a chef one should… …not be an asshole. I struggle with this. When I’m in the middle of a bad service and the waiters seem like terrorists, I often times feel like saying something cutting to brush them back. Waiter X forgets … [Read more...] about So You Think You’re A Chef (Part 3)
So You Think You’re a Chef (Getting Down to Brass Tacks)
Again, much has been written on this subject. If you’ve spent any time on Facebook, then you know that Cheffing Ain’t Easy. Hopefully, you scroll right by anything that bemoans The Life. They’re old and tired, the overly romanticized ten worst parts … [Read more...] about So You Think You’re a Chef (Getting Down to Brass Tacks)
