Chefs are a different breed of people. We are bizarre, and often try to convince others that there is a romance or mystique about our career. In fact, there is nothing more mysterious about us than the fact that when we’re done cooking, we still have to scrub the floor, wipe out the floor drains,… Read more »

Damn it all. I just got home from a grueling, hot and sweaty day at the Reel Inn, as I’m working the White Marlin Open again, but fret not. I love working this event, but it does wear heavy on my old and weary bones. I’m simply not the man I used to be. I… Read more »

It was difficult to watch the videos of flooding in Ellicott City last week. My wife, Julie, worked at a hospital there for a couple years, so we drove down Main Street every weekday as I would drive her to work. The picturesque scenery was always a soft spot in the terrible rush hour traffic…. Read more »

I think my buddy Jay wanted to smack me upside the head. He was helping me run some outlets at the new house, and specifically a primary one for my commercial smoker. As he is from Hawaii, he kept looking at our garden while saying “bro.” I would calmly and ignorantly say “what?” to which… Read more »

I hit the snooze button at 4:30 a.m. and it scratched me. I smacked it again 10 minutes later, hoping to get just another moment of respite, when it hissed and pounced off of my chest. Mayhap I wasn’t drumming the snooze button at all. There is nothing that will get you out of bed… Read more »

This column originally ran on July 17, 2014 As voices echo through our little street, a feeling of summer, fun and family runs through me like an electric current.  It’s a wonderful thing as a parent to have a flash of memory back to the days of my own childhood; a prevailing feeling of worth… Read more »

(July 7, 2016) With the whirlwind of moving comes the onslaught of discoveries – some good and some downright frightening. Despite the fact that we’ve only moved seven miles away, it is almost as though we are traversing continents, as we are moving into a house that has been empty for two years. Allow me… Read more »

Sometimes it just takes a good, swift kick in the arse to remind us that we may not be purging our belongings on a regular enough basis. I will admit it; I inherited my father’s garage. Needless to say, the man did not keep a clean carriage house. Quite the contrary, on most occasions it… Read more »

This column originally ran in the June 25, 2015 issue of the Gazette. It’s nice to see that most stores are carrying pickling cucumbers in the produce section. That part of the culinary world has picked up nicely.  Every site and book out there would be remiss if they were to leave out this old… Read more »

The first time that I ever ate Key lime pie was at a restaurant in Annapolis where I worked in 1984-5, a beautiful spot replete with wood-stoked fireboxes and a smoker large enough to cook 500 pounds of product with the single flip of a switch. I learned a great deal while working here. Although… Read more »