I grew up in a small town in northern Arizona right alongside the Navajo and Hopi reservations. It is a unique and beautiful place full of red rock canyons, high desert flora and fauna, and the occasional coyote. It’s also home to a pretty special taco.

I first discovered this fantastically hot chicken in Nashville last year. The folks there take credit for slathering a crispy fried bird (usually marinated in something spicy) with as much cayenne pepper as you can stand.

bring on the big dudes bashing each other about over some pigskin, just pass me some freakin' wings. And a beer. Or two.

I was hanging out along the outer fringes of Washington D.C. (Vienna, VA) when I saw Bon Appétit's tweet heralding their top Hot 10 2014 restaurant picks. I immediately zoned in on #1 because who wouldn’t want to eat at the hottest restaurant in America right now?

Perfection in food may never be attainable, but I still like trying. It’s why I invested in Thomas Keller’s “Ad Hoc” cookbook and adhere to his mantra when I’m in the kitchen: “When you acknowledge, as you must, that there is no such thing as perfect food, only the idea of it, then the real purpose of striving toward perfection becomes clear: to make people happy, that is what cooking is all about.”

I told him it would be our little secret. I'd keep it to myself, if he'd just show me how he made those fantastic wings I'd leave it at that. No one else ever needed to know. I doubt he believed my solemn promises and head nodding any more than I believed he really wanted or expected me to keep this recipe a secret. If I'm wrong, the worst thing that could happen is I'd lose my job. But that wasn’t likely. Was it?

I’ve been cooking at home for a long time, and the food I’ve made — while sustaining — hasn’t always been very good. My mom gave me a great head-start, and I knew I wouldn’t be going hungry any time soon as long as I had access to heat and modest ingredients. But I always wanted to up my game in the kitchen.

I wanted my food to taste as good as it did when I visited my favorite restaurants.

Just when we thought it was safe to be dining in-house again, restaurants everywhere are going back to carry-out only or closing up shop altogether. This second round of stay-at-home orders during COVID-19 is simply crushing my dearly beloved food industry, and it’s depressing.