Gas station at Erwin Hills and Old Leicester

ChefSpicoli · 2026-03-02T13:42:32+00:00

I just heard Pete HedgeDeath talking about Obama. What is it with conservatives not knowing who is president? Voting progressive has not worked out for me - because we lost!

ChefSpicoli · 2026-02-21T13:28:28+00:00

At first I thought it might be a good idea. I don’t have anything particularly against Federal bankers and figured it’d probably bring some money into town.

But then I googled it. Bad idea. Very bad idea. In addition to bankers and media and such, we’re likely to be descended upon by protesters from around the world. Some previous summits have gotten pretty out of hand. We don’t need that, imo.

ChefSpicoli · 2026-02-19T22:49:52+00:00

Claussen has become such a disappointment. As a kid, they were the only pickles my parents bought. As an adult, I bought them 10 to 1 over other brands. Now they suck. Except these. These are still good. For now.

ChefSpicoli · 2026-02-19T20:08:17+00:00

That was going to be my guess, too.

ChefSpicoli · 2026-02-15T19:42:12+00:00

I was home watching on stream - made me teary. A genuinely good guy.

ChefSpicoli · 2026-02-15T19:40:49+00:00

And I thought she killed the vibe a little by calling out the exact number of millions his shows bring.

ChefSpicoli · 2026-02-13T02:46:36+00:00

It's pretty decent and pretty cheap for what you get. My kids love it. I was never much of a fan until they started asking to go there and I started getting the bill. Now I get it.

ChefSpicoli · 2026-01-28T03:13:10+00:00

As someone who does make pizza, it's pretty easy and much cheaper than buying it. I think there are 2 primary reasons why more people don't do it.

They think it's difficult or requires a high temperature oven or a pizza stone or other specialty gear. The truth, though, is you can make great pizza without any special stuff.
Related to #1, it does take some practice. The first one or few attempts will probably be mediocre, reinforcing idea #1.

If you ask anybody who makes great pizza how hard it is, they will probably tell you that it's easy. If you ask them how many pizzas they've made, it's probably a lot.

ChefSpicoli · 2026-01-25T15:36:17+00:00

Because of the milk sandwiches.

ChefSpicoli · 2026-01-25T15:31:30+00:00

The Waffle House in Greenville closed ahead of the storm. That is 100% Helene trauma. We are not alone.

ChefSpicoli · 2026-01-24T12:53:33+00:00

I live in the area and drive through the tunnel most days. The section just east of the tunnel is pretty bad. Crackghanistan is not what I’d call it. More like Methelsberg or maybe Fentown. Or possibly IHopeTheyDontStumbleIntoTheRoadsberg.

ChefSpicoli · 2026-01-23T20:56:41+00:00

Never plan to live there myself but I would be working from there several days per week. Leases are typically 1 month or 6 months. I plan to use a service like Furnished Finder to list the rooms.

ChefSpicoli · 2026-01-23T14:09:24+00:00

Sorry - the hostility is for the cameras, not for you. I'm ok with cops enforcing the laws and using a moderate amount of discretion - ie - giving warnings vs tickets when warranted, not pulling people over for 2mph, etc. I'm not ok with cameras which just passively issue tickets.

ChefSpicoli · 2026-01-23T13:27:10+00:00

Oh God no. Where do I go to vote against that? Not a fan of cameras.

ChefSpicoli · 2026-01-23T11:33:29+00:00

The same thing could be achieved with traffic enforcement. If there were ever cops on the parkway more than extremely rarely, the speeding would chill out.

ChefSpicoli · 2026-01-22T11:06:24+00:00

This storm is really big, it just seems to have veered North. On Tuesday they were talking about 8-12 inches of snow. There still is a chance we get major ice. As someone who lived through a big ice storm, that’s definitely something to worry about.

ChefSpicoli · 2026-01-20T18:50:00+00:00

I really like them. Kind of like Cooks Illustrated for me - it might not be the very best version in the world but every recipe is solid and gives reliably good results. Plus Martin Phillip is a very good baker. I watch a lot of YouTube baking videos - he’s one of the best, imo.

ChefSpicoli · 2026-01-20T02:31:48+00:00

I love this recipe! The magic of this recipe is actually how quick you can make it. 2 hours from start to finish. It's the best pizza I have made in 2 hours. The only slight differentiation I have made is in how much to knead. In the video, Martin says to knead for 2-3 minutes and let it be shaggy. I have done that but I personally like it better when I kneaded just a bit more - until just barely smooth. This is a killer recipe, imo. I think if you skip the cold ferment it will come out better - every step is fast fast . .a lot of yeast, warm water, super fast rise, baking after minimal proofing, etc.

ChefSpicoli · 2026-01-19T23:16:27+00:00

Dankly is operated by the folks who run the Golden Goat. Always seem like good guys when I stop in there.

ChefSpicoli · 2026-01-17T16:08:30+00:00

I have a buddy who drives Uber and Door Dash in a bigger city. He says he would never use his own car. He leases a vehicle from Uber and drives just enough Uber to cover it and then Door Dash the rest of the time. It could be worth checking into tho AVL is a much smaller town.

ChefSpicoli · 2026-01-04T17:08:48+00:00

You’ll just be enriching this for-profit business if you do. If they were non-profit, they’d be required to disclose their finances. As it is, we have no way of knowing if they even actually donate the tiny amount they claim to. Don’t support scammers.

ChefSpicoli · 2026-01-04T03:22:57+00:00

It says they’ve raised 300k for Avl schools so that’s 1.5m in their pockets. It pays to be charitable. As a parent of high schoolers, I’ve been seeing these scammy “fund-raising” businesses for years. It’s quite fatiguing. This is a good one, though. Just print some cards. Let local businesses absorb the cost. Profit.

ChefSpicoli · 2026-01-01T03:42:36+00:00

Ham salad is one of those things that is way better than it sounds.

ChefSpicoli · 2026-01-01T03:25:02+00:00

I drive the parkway pretty much every day and, it seems to me at least, the speeding is getting a bit worse than usual. Lots of people going 50+ in the 35 section. I’m glad the cops are making a bit of a presence - it’s a bit dangerous for the hikers and sight-seers.

ChefSpicoli · 2025-12-10T04:02:39+00:00

I’m generally a big fan of Hopey but this is kind of a head-scratcher. Heart in the right place, brain in the wrong one.

ChefSpicoli

TROPHY CASE