Chef Ron Milburn on Mystery Menus and Passion for Food

Rich Bennett 0:00
Sitting here, my lovely co-host, Michelle Hayes, because 

Ron Milburn 0:03
Because 

Rich Bennett 0:03
Michelle 

Ron Milburn 0:03
Michelle 

Rich Bennett 0:03
said 

Ron Milburn 0:03
said 

Rich Bennett 0:04
Rich. 

Ron Milburn 0:04
Rich. 

Rich Bennett 0:05
Somebody have So. 

Ron Milburn 0:06
So. 

Rich Bennett 0:08
As usual. You. Michelle. 

Joe? Anybody? 

Ron Milburn 0:13
One of my goals as rich 

Rich Bennett 0:14
You 

Ron Milburn 0:15
person was I had no problem. 

Rich Bennett 0:18
So we have. 

Ron Milburn 0:19
Ron Milburn here. 

Rich Bennett 0:20
Who is? 

Ron Milburn 0:21
Chef. 

Rich Bennett 0:21
And one 

Ron Milburn 0:22
One of the owners of. 

Rich Bennett 0:23
of. The Vineyard one. 

Ron Milburn 0:26
Why are you. Yeah. Favorite places on the planet. 

Rich Bennett 0:32
Why is it one of your favorite places? 

Michelle Hayes 0:35
Well, me and my husband had our first date there. We also got engaged there. Both times we were waited on by Ron's wife. Other owners. And then we celebrated our. Through there just not too long ago. 

Ron Milburn 0:54
Well, I didn't get any. 

Rich Bennett 0:55
Invitations to anything. 

Ron Milburn 0:57
And they got waited on by me this time. 

Michelle Hayes 1:01
And he's one of our really good friends. 

Ron Milburn 1:02
You know what? You. 

Rich Bennett 1:03
Nature 

Ron Milburn 1:03
Me? 

Rich Bennett 1:03
really are special. 

Michelle Hayes 1:06
Are. 

Rich Bennett 1:06
I mean, you did all of this there. You're the last wedding we ever. 

Ron Milburn 1:10
Ever read. 

Rich Bennett 1:11
Because we retired after yours. 

Michelle Hayes 1:13
Mm hmm. 

Rich Bennett 1:14
I mean, 

you. 

Ron Milburn 1:18
I just use that as an excuse to get out of the kitchen. 

I've got friends out there. I got to see these guys. So I got. 

Michelle Hayes 1:25
And you know, you always have a chair at our table. 

Ron Milburn 1:27
I'd. Yeah, but when I sit down, that's when I start drinking and then, you know. 

Michelle Hayes 1:31
That is over. 

Ron Milburn 1:32
Yeah, I can do that. 

Michelle Hayes 1:33
Then you have to kick us out of the restaurant. 

Ron Milburn 1:34
That's right. That's right. 

Rich Bennett 1:36
You get kicked. 

Michelle Hayes 1:37
When they close the. 

Ron Milburn 1:38
Yeah. We've never kicked her out physically. Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 1:42
Yeah. 

Ron Milburn 1:42
Yeah. I mean, there's still time. There 

Michelle Hayes 1:46
It is 

Ron Milburn 1:46
is 

Michelle Hayes 1:46
still. 

Ron Milburn 1:46
still time. 

Rich Bennett 1:47
Right. So what? 

Ron Milburn 1:47
Why a wine bar? 

So I didn't open the wine bar like 

Rich Bennett 1:53
Okay. 

Ron Milburn 1:54
it's been there for six years. Um, let's just say it was my early midlife crisis. 

Rich Bennett 2:00
Okay. 

Ron Milburn 2:01
I wanted to see if I was as good as I thought I was. And I needed somebody to give me an opportunity. Coming out of a rut. A rough patch in life. We'll call it that. And I ended up at the wine bar, fell in love with the culture and been there ever since. 

Rich Bennett 2:17
The calls. What's the difference between, say, take it you served just wine. 

Ron Milburn 2:23
Now we have wine and beer. 

Rich Bennett 2:25
You do. Oh. 

Ron Milburn 2:28
Yeah, we have a pretty good beer selection. A lot of it's out of York, Pennsylvania, South County. We're very particular about the breweries we bring in because if we're going to have, you know, a top 100 wine list in the world, we have to have a pretty good beer list to match up. 

Rich Bennett 2:44
Wait a minute. Okay, so where do 

Ron Milburn 2:46
You 

Rich Bennett 2:46
you. 

Ron Milburn 2:46
get most of your wines. Our wines come from all over Portugal. Spain. mean, Russia. Georgia. I mean, Virginia. Maryland. Oregon. Washington. 

Michelle Hayes 2:58
South Africa. 

Ron Milburn 2:59
Italy. Spain. Australia. Texas. 

Rich Bennett 3:02
All right. How do you determine what wine you want to carry? That's going to be well, I guess you got to taste it. 

Ron Milburn 3:08
Yes, that's the fun part of the job. 

No, it's. It's my business partner kind of handles the wine side of it. I mean, I'd be talking outside of the box if I wanted to sound like I know what I'm talking about. I know a little bit about a lot, Right? But there are certain varietals that we will always carry, 

wines. And true enough for us, we don't do like hybrid grapes. There's no hybrid wines in our collection. 

Rich Bennett 3:39
Really? 

Huh? 

Ron Milburn 3:44
And of course, we offer 80 by the bottle, glass and taste. And then we have another. We offer 80 by the glass, by the taste. You can buy those by the bottle, but if you don't like any of the 80 we have on the menu, you. 

Rich Bennett 3:57
80 different wines. 

Ron Milburn 3:58
Okay. 

Rich Bennett 3:58
Never mind. 

Ron Milburn 3:59
And if you don't like any of the 80 we have on the menu, you can go back and pick one of the 300 we have on the shelf. So, yes, we have a very extensive wine collection. 

Michelle Hayes 4:09
Very big. 

Ron Milburn 4:11
Do 

Rich Bennett 4:11
Do 

Ron Milburn 4:11
you? 

Rich Bennett 4:11
you have a wine cellar there as well? 

Ron Milburn 4:13
No wine cellar or. 

Rich Bennett 4:14
Are you really 

Ron Milburn 4:15
We keep a 

pretty good constant rotation along 

Rich Bennett 4:20
okay? 

Ron Milburn 4:20
coming in and out. 

Rich Bennett 4:21
Okay. Wow. 

Michelle Hayes 4:23
And they have them all organized in the bottle shop of. 

Ron Milburn 4:27
Sparkling white. 

Desert. 

Rich Bennett 4:32
I knew about white wine. Red wine. There's a dessert. Wine. 

Michelle Hayes 4:36
Oh, yes. 

Ron Milburn 4:37
So we have. 

Rich Bennett 4:37
told you before we started, I'm more. 

Ron Milburn 4:40
So we have port wines. 

Rich Bennett 4:44
Okay. 

Ron Milburn 4:44
Ice wines. 

Rich Bennett 4:47
Ice wine. 

Ron Milburn 4:48
Yeah. I'm not. God, I, I don't want to touch on that because I'm going to sound like an idiot when it comes to talking about ice wines. But there is a certain amount of they let the grapes sit on the vine until almost the freeze 

Rich Bennett 4:58
Oh, wow. 

Ron Milburn 4:58
and they almost like a raisin, and then they press it. So it's a very concentrated juice. 

Rich Bennett 5:03
Interesting. 

Michelle Hayes 5:04
It's a very different taste. 

Rich Bennett 5:06
Sweeter, I would think. 

Ron Milburn 5:09
Very sweet. 

Michelle Hayes 5:10
Very sweet, but not sugar. Sweet. 

Rich Bennett 5:14
Right. 

Michelle Hayes 5:14
It's a wine suite. It's very different. 

Rich Bennett 5:17
Not as sweet as you. The right man. 

Michelle Hayes 5:19
Of course. 

Rich Bennett 5:21
God. So. 

Ron Milburn 5:26
I'm sitting here trying to find a picture of the. Oh, that's right. No, because, I 

Rich Bennett 5:30
I mean, 

Ron Milburn 5:30
mean, 

Rich Bennett 5:30
again, 

Ron Milburn 5:30
again, not 

Rich Bennett 5:30
I always add, because 

Ron Milburn 5:32
because 

Rich Bennett 5:32
I've 

Ron Milburn 5:32
I'm. 

Rich Bennett 5:33
gotten into arguments about why. Mainly with my niece. She loves her. Why? But I was always a 

Ron Milburn 5:41
Holy cow. 

Rich Bennett 5:41
cow. So 

Ron Milburn 5:42
So 

Rich Bennett 5:42
those 

Ron Milburn 5:42
those. 

Rich Bennett 5:42
are. 

Ron Milburn 5:42
Are you listening? 

Rich Bennett 5:44
He showed me a picture. 

Ron Milburn 5:46
That's my wife and myself. We just did a photo shoot on Sunday to kind of get more of an intimate look at the owners of the businesses in downtown Havre de Grace. It was. 

Rich Bennett 5:55
A saw. I can never pronounce 

Ron Milburn 5:57
Sir. First name? Yes. 

Rich Bennett 5:58
Gazeta. 

Ron Milburn 5:59
Yeah, I'm that they call her Ma. 

Rich Bennett 6:02
Okay. Yeah, it's more. 

Ron Milburn 6:03
She's been in quite a few times. Absolutely. She is so happy with how the pictures turned out. 

Rich Bennett 6:08
Yeah, I was looking at them shippers 

Ron Milburn 6:12
These 

Rich Bennett 6:12
these are. 

Ron Milburn 6:12
are. 

Rich Bennett 6:14
It's funny because a lot of these businesses I never heard. 

Ron Milburn 6:17
No. And I'm actually smiling in that picture. 

Michelle Hayes 6:21
That's Sarah. 

Ron Milburn 6:23
Ice wine. What? 

Rich Bennett 6:24
What else was there? 

Ron Milburn 6:24
There. So you have. I'm drawing a blank now. 

Michelle Hayes 6:28
Sparkling red, white. 

Ron Milburn 6:31
We have sultans. 

Rich Bennett 6:32
Huh? 

Ron Milburn 6:33
Saul turns. There's another dessert. Wine. We actually have a couple of bottles of vermouth. Not like martini vermouth. Like, 

Rich Bennett 6:38
Oh. 

Ron Milburn 6:39
you can drink this vermouth. 

Rich Bennett 6:40
Really? 

Ron Milburn 6:41
Hmm. 

Rich Bennett 6:42
I didn't know there was. 

Ron Milburn 6:43
I mean, there's so many varietals of grapes. There's just you could taste. 

From now to the end of days and every bottle is going to taste different. Every character is different, and everybody perceives their palate differently. So, I mean, that's the fun part about working there. I get to pretty much do whatever I want food wise. 

Michelle Hayes 7:02
When I love. I know one thing much. And I really. 

Ron Milburn 7:04
really, really love. 

Michelle Hayes 7:05
Is that you served tastes. Now what is it? Taste. I know a glass is six ounces. 

Ron Milburn 7:12
Technically six ounces. I mean, some people want eight ounces, but six doesn't look like a full glass to a lot of people. 

Michelle Hayes 7:19
What is a taste? 

Ron Milburn 7:20
So a technical taste with wine is three sips. 

Rich Bennett 7:24
Okay. 

Ron Milburn 7:25
First sip cleanses your palate. The second sip is supposed to give you the first tasting notes, and then the third one is kind of the finishing set. So three ounces is kind of the. 

Given tastes. And that way you're going to know if you like the wine or you don't like the wine. 

Rich Bennett 7:46
Right. 

Ron Milburn 7:47
And now we just started doing tastings. We do flights on Sundays now. 

Rich Bennett 7:51
Wine flights. 

Ron Milburn 7:52
It's. 

Michelle Hayes 7:53
So that means I now need to go in on Sundays. Now, found where I'll be. 

Ron Milburn 7:57
And this last Sunday, we had we I even had a little bit more fun. So we did Angie's picks, Chef's picks, and then I did a mystery bite menu. 

So you had your choice of three bites or five bites and it was whatever I felt like cooking at that minute. 

Rich Bennett 8:15
Oh. 

Michelle Hayes 8:16
Which. 

Ron Milburn 8:16
I got to get up here. 

Michelle Hayes 8:17
For. Listening. You need to know that my 13 year old absolutely idolizes Chef Ron, and when he goes in on the weekends for lunch, he tells him to cook whatever he is feeling and my teenager eats anything Ron puts on his. Plate. It's he's an amazing chef and whatever he feels like cooking. 

Rich Bennett 8:38
I got to do that now because I I'm the type when 

Ron Milburn 8:41
Not 

Rich Bennett 8:41
I. 

Ron Milburn 8:41
go into Iraq. 

Rich Bennett 8:42
restaurant in a frustrates my wife when they come to take my order. 

Ron Milburn 8:46
So you surprised? 

Rich Bennett 8:46
Apprise me. Because my rule is if it's not going to eat me first and I'm going to eat it. 

Ron Milburn 8:52
I mean, that's I would say over all the years I've done this, say one of the. Worst things for me is people who won't taste the food because they're scared of it. I would rather you put it in your mouth, taste it and spit it out and go, That's not for me. Then just to go. I don't even want to try it. So the the mystery menu, which I might continue to do for dinners, I might pick a night during the week. I'm not going to say which night, but it's in. It's rattling around in the back of my head. 

Rich Bennett 9:21
I. 

Ron Milburn 9:22
I am just going to give you choices vegetarian beef, fish, chicken, shrimp, lobster, whatever it is. And then I'm going to do what I do. 

Michelle Hayes 9:29
Can I get a text on which tonight? That is because that's the night I there. 

Ron Milburn 9:33
No restrictions. If you have allergies, I'll obviously abide by those. But I mean, you don't know what's going to come out. 

that minute. And I think that's I think that's going to be something fun for people like you. Do you just kind of trust the chefs? Just let me do what I do. 

Rich Bennett 9:50
I love that. 

Michelle Hayes 9:50
Why? I know a while ago you did the. It was the dinner where you did. I believe it was the wines. And then you did the dinner with them, and you did the duck dinner and. Your name every time my child asks for duck. Because he's not. Well, he's not old enough to drink the wine. And he was not allowed at the event because he's not 21. However, at the time he was about, what, 11, ten. 

Ron Milburn 10:16
Probably right around that. 

Michelle Hayes 10:17
Somewhere in there. And now my now 13 year old is obsessed with duck, bacon, duck breast, duck leg, anything, Duck and. 

Ron Milburn 10:26
Ft. He loves to call Ft. 

Michelle Hayes 10:27
Gloves. I don't know how to make, Doc. He does. That's why I take him to him. 

Rich Bennett 10:33
Oh, okay. 

Michelle Hayes 10:35
He's the duck man. 

Rich Bennett 10:37
I know there are some local grocery stores where you can buy it and it's got the instructions on how to cook it. Michelle. 

Michelle Hayes 10:43
It won't taste like shit. 

And you've met my child. 

Ron Milburn 10:50
Sometimes you just got to set the bar high. Just keep them coming back. 

Michelle Hayes 10:53
Well, yeah, because I can't make duck bacon. 

Rich Bennett 10:57
Actually. So we're. 

Ron Milburn 10:57
With the menu. 

Rich Bennett 10:59
Like what duck is it? I mean, is it. Well, 

Ron Milburn 11:01
Wow. 

Rich Bennett 11:02
no. You can 

Ron Milburn 11:03
Can you. 

Rich Bennett 11:03
even get fresh duck around. 

Ron Milburn 11:04
Sure can. 

Rich Bennett 11:05
Well from hunters, I mean, but. 

Ron Milburn 11:08
I've been doing this for a lot of years, so I've developed a lot of great relationships with oddball stuff. 

Rich Bennett 11:14
Okay. 

Ron Milburn 11:14
Most of the weird stuff I get comes out of Philadelphia. I mean, I spent a lot of my career in Philadelphia area, 

these weird places like, Oh, I think I want to do pheasant. Let me call this guy. 

Rich Bennett 11:27
What's probably the weirdest thing you've made. 

Michelle Hayes 11:30
Oh, that scares 

Ron Milburn 11:31
Oh, I've done rattlesnake. I've done. 

Rich Bennett 11:32
Rattlesnakes. Awesome. 

Ron Milburn 11:33
have done EMU frog. I mean alligator. 

Michelle Hayes 11:38
At the vineyard. You've done rattlesnake at the Vineyard. 

Ron Milburn 11:41
Yeah. 

Michelle Hayes 11:42
Wait, where was I? 

Ron Milburn 11:45
It's probably about eight months ago. 

Rich Bennett 11:48
Rattlesnakes. Good. 

Michelle Hayes 11:49
I was in my save money starting a business type deal. 

Ron Milburn 11:52
Yes, that's right. I think you are. 

Rich Bennett 11:54
What about Camel? 

Ron Milburn 11:55
Um some things are now mind you weren't have any grace. 

Rich Bennett 11:59
Right. 

Ron Milburn 11:59
So some things are just priced too far out of the market. 

Rich Bennett 12:03
Right. 

Ron Milburn 12:04
When you start looking at kangaroo and some of the oddball meats that people might want to try, when you start getting in a 30, $40 a pound, nobody wants to pay the price on that. 

Rich Bennett 12:14
How often you do rattles. I love rattlesnake. 

Michelle Hayes 12:16
I know. 

Ron Milburn 12:17
I don't like to mess with it because it is such a time consuming task to cook. 

Rich Bennett 12:21
Yeah, just kidding. 

Michelle Hayes 12:22
You should do like a Hogwarts house themed dinner. 

Ron Milburn 12:26
But those things might show up on the mystery menu. You never know. 

Michelle Hayes 12:28
Noble like for us. 

Would love a hug. 

Ron Milburn 12:33
We're still working on the millennial crowd. 

Or so. We're still working on that crown. 

Michelle Hayes 12:40
Not. Okay. 

Rich Bennett 12:42
One. 

Ron Milburn 12:42
What was. 

Rich Bennett 12:44
You want him to cook, dog? 

Michelle Hayes 12:45
No, but the. Lose. In. 

Ron Milburn 12:49
Never tried that. But maybe. 

Rich Bennett 12:50
Good. 

Michelle Hayes 12:51
I mean, I would try it. 

Rich Bennett 12:53
Fad in Japan. 

Michelle Hayes 12:54
I would even try, Cat. 

Rich Bennett 12:57
I don't. 

Ron Milburn 12:57
So I've had that. My roommate in military school, 

Michelle Hayes 13:00
I would. 

Ron Milburn 13:00
his parents used to send it from the Philippines. 

Michelle Hayes 13:02
I would try it as long as it's none of my three. 

Rich Bennett 13:06
Lisa. I don't think I've had it. 

Ron Milburn 13:07
Chewy. 

Rich Bennett 13:07
Is it? 

Michelle Hayes 13:08
Never mind. I don't want it. It's nasty, and nobody should eat it. 

Ron Milburn 13:11
But Americans really can't get past that because it's cats and dogs are pets. 

Michelle Hayes 13:15
Right. 

Ron Milburn 13:16
And that's truly a mental block. 

Rich Bennett 13:19
So with the rattlesnake, what type of wine paired good with the. 

Ron Milburn 13:23
So I think we did, like I want to say, like a Chenin Blanc, maybe. 

Rich Bennett 13:28
Okay. 

Ron Milburn 13:29
I usually I try not to get involved with the pairings 

quite have that refined palette like. 

Rich Bennett 13:37
But I mean, the thing whoever. Have to be. I mean, how often does somebody say, oh, look, can we pair of rattlesnake? That's not a god. It's something that's not. 

Ron Milburn 13:49
So you just. 

Michelle Hayes 13:50
common question. 

Ron Milburn 13:51
You kind of have to look at the at the basic aspects of 

Rich Bennett 13:55
Yeah. 

Ron Milburn 13:55
it. Like, what's it look like? Well, it kind of looks like chicken. Kind of looks like crab meat. Depends on how you. 

Michelle Hayes 14:00
It looks like an oak rope. 

Ron Milburn 14:01
Yes. So, yeah, but we take the skin off there. You don't see that. 

Michelle Hayes 14:06
Okay, then it looks like a skin to no probe. 

Ron Milburn 14:08
But as you cook it, it becomes kind of white flaky meat. 

Rich Bennett 14:12
Yeah. 

Ron Milburn 14:12
Yeah. And you think about what goes with white while not red wine. 

Rich Bennett 14:17
Mm. 

Ron Milburn 14:17
You know, you can get away with rosé. Like rosé is kind of that because it plays both sides of the fence. So then you just start narrowing it down. What did you put in the rattlesnake? Do we need to do a sauvignon blanc, which is like grape, fruity and citrusy? Or do we need to do something like a Bouvier or a Sancerre, which is a little bit more salinity and minerality to it. So you just play with the games. 

Rich Bennett 14:41
Yeah. 

Ron Milburn 14:42
You just kind of go out there and look at the selection and go, Let's try that. But you you've narrowed it down by the basic characteristics of the grapes. 

Rich Bennett 14:51
Do you guys do? Venison? 

Ron Milburn 14:53
I have it on the menu right now. Mm hmm. venison, duck, lamb, mahi salmon. 

I do anywhere from Asian style cuisine to classic French cuisine. 

Rich Bennett 15:09
You did not go to culinary school. 

Ron Milburn 15:11
I was very fortunate in the late eighties, early nineties to get my foot in the door at some really high end restaurant. 

Rich Bennett 15:17
Right. 

Ron Milburn 15:18
I mean, I'd say that the Wilmington Country Club was probably my my best learning ground. That was in the early nineties. It was probably the best education you can get. I learned how to butcher there. 

Rich Bennett 15:33
Oh, 

Ron Milburn 15:33
I mean, it was kind of an endless budget since it's a private club. And we fed the elites and the elites wanted great food. So I got to see all the great food and I got to. 

Rich Bennett 15:43
Education and on the job training. 

Ron Milburn 15:45
That's it. I didn't get stuck with student debt. 

Rich Bennett 15:48
Exactly. 

Ron Milburn 15:49
I got paid for my education, so. 

Rich Bennett 15:51
When you're off, do you actually cook dinner at home? 

Ron Milburn 15:54
I'd be lying if I told you I did. But yes, I cooked. Last night, I made fajitas. 

Michelle Hayes 15:59
He doesn't mean cookout. 

Ron Milburn 16:00
I'm I'm very simple when it comes to eating well. 

Rich Bennett 16:03
Go away. My 

Ron Milburn 16:04
Rebecca 

Rich Bennett 16:04
back. 

Ron Milburn 16:04
Kugel. 

Rich Bennett 16:06
Like grilling. 

Ron Milburn 16:07
Yeah, I do. All right. Okay. 

Rich Bennett 16:08
Okay. 

Ron Milburn 16:09
I'll fire up a smoke. I do. All right. 

Rich Bennett 16:12
All right. 

Ron Milburn 16:12
I mean, I get a couple things right here in there. 

Michelle Hayes 16:15
Just a 

Rich Bennett 16:15
Do 

Michelle Hayes 16:15
couple. 

Rich Bennett 16:15
you have a real girl? 

Ron Milburn 16:18
So I actually have on my deck, I actually have a 36 inch Blackstone. 

Rich Bennett 16:24
Oh, nice. 

Ron Milburn 16:25
I have a smoker. I have a gas grill and I have a I have a gravity fed. 

Rich Bennett 16:33
The Master Bill? 

Ron Milburn 16:34
Yes. 

Rich Bennett 16:34
Yes. Oh, Do you see the new one they brought out? Was it the 20? I think. 

Ron Milburn 16:38
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 16:38
Oh. 

Ron Milburn 16:38
Oh, they. 

Michelle Hayes 16:40
Is it in your. 

Ron Milburn 16:42
Yet. 

Rich Bennett 16:44
Those masks are. 

Michelle Hayes 16:45
Is it on a Santa's list? 

Ron Milburn 16:47
It's not on a Santa's list because my smoker works pretty good now. And basically when I smoke meats, it's just an excuse for me to drink bourbon and smoke cigars. So that's a just call. My friends like, Hey, I got pork belly on to smoke, you guys coming over. And it's just it's just that kind of. 

Michelle Hayes 17:02
You need to start calling Mitchell when you do 

Rich Bennett 17:04
Well, 

Michelle Hayes 17:04
that. 

Rich Bennett 17:04
that's a whole idea about. 

Michelle Hayes 17:05
Or call me. Give me 

Ron Milburn 17:06
That's 

Michelle Hayes 17:07
over. 

Ron Milburn 17:07
a similar idea that. 

Rich Bennett 17:10
you start barbecuing the guys because we like. 

Ron Milburn 17:15
Just. 

Rich Bennett 17:16
Gather. 

Ron Milburn 17:16
Gathered grills were. 

Rich Bennett 17:17
Iran and all of us would spend the day. 

Ron Milburn 17:20
Yep. Yeah, I prefer the old fashioned charcoal grill. 

Rich Bennett 17:24
Oh, yeah. 

Michelle Hayes 17:24
You guys are making me hungry. 

Ron Milburn 17:25
My wife and children don't like the taste of the charcoal. I think it's more of a purist aspect of cooking. 

Rich Bennett 17:32
Then I. 

Ron Milburn 17:34
She doesn't like smoke. It is what it is. Smoke. Charcoal taste. 

Rich Bennett 17:38
My wife hate. She doesn't like the taste of smoke either. But when I did a brisket and she will not eat leftover meat, but me and 

Michelle Hayes 17:47
My 

Rich Bennett 17:47
my 

Michelle Hayes 17:47
brother 

Rich Bennett 17:47
brother 

Michelle Hayes 17:47
was. 

Rich Bennett 17:47
went to. 

Ron Milburn 17:48
Mm hmm. 

Rich Bennett 17:49
brought the brisket home. She loved it. 

A 

Ron Milburn 17:54
And 

Rich Bennett 17:54
native 

Ron Milburn 17:54
David, 

Rich Bennett 17:54
to. 

Ron Milburn 17:54
the next day is. 

Rich Bennett 17:55
As well. 

Ron Milburn 17:55
See, that's a good thing. 

Rich Bennett 17:57
Yeah. 

Ron Milburn 17:57
Yeah. 

Michelle Hayes 17:57
My. My husband's wife. 

Ron Milburn 18:00
She's anything 

Michelle Hayes 18:00
Anything. 

Ron Milburn 18:02
to. 

Rich Bennett 18:05
First. 

Michelle Hayes 18:06
Pretty much. 

Rich Bennett 18:07
All right. So very important. Tell everybody the website because 

Ron Milburn 18:10
Or 

Rich Bennett 18:10
you. 

Ron Milburn 18:10
you don't put it in 

Rich Bennett 18:11
mystery 

Ron Milburn 18:11
the. 

Rich Bennett 18:11
dinners on the. 

Ron Milburn 18:13
So since we're such a small venue, I will we'll throw it on our Facebook page. 

Rich Bennett 18:18
Okay. 

Ron Milburn 18:19
And then I shared personally in my Facebook, 

Rich Bennett 18:22
Okay. 

Ron Milburn 18:22
okay, over my wife's Facebook, because when I do the special events, I can only do about 15 or 20 people. 

So first come first serve wine bar. 

Rich Bennett 18:33
It makes it easy. I got to do this. 

Ron Milburn 18:38
You'll get a quick announcement. I mean, it's like we just did Beaujolais. 

So 

Beaujolais is like a. 

Michelle Hayes 18:47
Right. 

Ron Milburn 18:48
It's like a French party, basically. Oh. So for the last four years, we've been unable to get Beaujolais Nouveau in the restaurant. So we haven't done a Beaujolais dinner. So I did one. 

I want to say the last. Not Thanksgiving, Thursday, the one before that. And when we announced that that dinner was I think I did 50 some people was full house. But that's like basic roots of cooking. I go right back to classic French cooking. We're doing creme brulee and chicken cook. Yvonne And it's just a lot of fun to do that dinner. 

And I actually make two desserts for that. So, yeah, you missed a good one. Have you been on Food Network yet? Um. 

Rich Bennett 19:34
Don't want headaches. 

Ron Milburn 19:36
I don't. It's not really my cup of tea. I just kind of like to be the quiet guy in the corner. When you come in, you go. I never expected that. 

Rich Bennett 19:43
Right. 

Ron Milburn 19:44
I don't like to really put myself in the spotlight. I mean, most chefs are under so much stress now. 

Rich Bennett 19:49
Mm. 

Ron Milburn 19:49
That's just not my environment. And I feel like a small place like ours. If they put me on TV and you place in the top three, it's just a mob scene for your restaurant. And I think you're just setting yourself up for failure at that point. 

Rich Bennett 20:01
Good point. 

Ron Milburn 20:03
I mean, that's just my personal opinion. Like, some guys love that competition stuff. I, I don't look at food as a competition. I look at food as more of the Hey, let's put your phone down. Let's not worry about politics, religion, let's not worry about life. Let's just sit down and enjoy a meal with whoever you're with. Grab a glass of wine and talk. Oh, yes. 

Rich Bennett 20:24
Good old family dinner, 

Ron Milburn 20:25
And that's I mean, I do some pop up dinners when you only have like a three day notice and it's my choice and, you know, a bottle per person, per couple kind of thing. And then I'll do three courses for courses. I might do a family style meal, but I remember the first one I did, I asked her about put your cell phones away because I sit at a long table. 

Rich Bennett 20:44
right? 

Ron Milburn 20:44
I set you with different couples and I want you to enjoy that. Instead of staring at a phone all day, just eat some food, enjoy the company. That's kind of why I got into food. It was just it was always that common ground where people never. You never argued over a great meal. 

Michelle Hayes 20:59
Right. 

Ron Milburn 21:00
You just you're eating a meal. And I mean, most great experiences in your life, whether it's on vacation or at home or with your friends. There's usually food involved. 

Rich Bennett 21:09
Yeah. 

Ron Milburn 21:10
So I guess it's 

guess it's that deep down, weird passion I have about food. Like, I just want to make you happy. I just want you to forget about everything. 

Rich Bennett 21:18
A good passion to have. I mean, and it's it's funny because my wife and I tried. 

Ron Milburn 21:25
Try to go to a new place in the county once. 

Rich Bennett 21:28
It's a month to try. 

Ron Milburn 21:29
So I'll see you next week. 

Michelle Hayes 21:32
Call me when you want to go 

Ron Milburn 21:33
Probably. 

Michelle Hayes 21:33
virtual. I'll go. 

Rich Bennett 21:34
Well, probably a. 

Ron Milburn 21:35
After done. 

Rich Bennett 21:36
Santa Claus stuff is done. 

Michelle Hayes 21:39
I mean, if you need a Santa Claus belly, if you need to, you know. 

Rich Bennett 21:43
No, I. 

Michelle Hayes 21:44
Irwin. 

Rich Bennett 21:44
Look, I've lost too much. 

Ron Milburn 21:46
I'll 

Rich Bennett 21:46
Stick 

Ron Milburn 21:46
stick 

Rich Bennett 21:46
with 

Ron Milburn 21:46
with the 

Rich Bennett 21:46
the 

Ron Milburn 21:46
fake 

Rich Bennett 21:46
fake belly. 

Ron Milburn 21:46
Billy. Tell me 

Michelle Hayes 21:48
Sure. 

Ron Milburn 21:48
I could be de conscience. You know. 

Michelle Hayes 21:52
How may. 

Ron Milburn 21:52
No. 

Rich Bennett 21:53
I'm going to schedule a tree day to come up there. 

Ron Milburn 21:56
It needs to be a treaty. 

Rich Bennett 21:57
Oh, yeah. 

Ron Milburn 21:58
Because I do old school cooking. We're still using cream. We're still using butter. I'll use animal fat. 

Michelle Hayes 22:03
Oh, it's great. We'll do a double date, Rich. 

Rich Bennett 22:05
I'm fine. 

Michelle Hayes 22:06
I've never met your wife. 

Rich Bennett 22:08
Oh, I thought you meant like me. 

Ron Milburn 22:12
Lady Lisa. 

Rich Bennett 22:13
You're coming up against 

a. 

Michelle Hayes 22:20
Lisa doesn't know Ron like I do. 

Rich Bennett 22:22
I just got to make sure that. 

Ron Milburn 22:23
It's. 

Rich Bennett 22:24
A day that she my wife, and we will go out in public with me once a month. 

Michelle Hayes 22:31
Well, tell her I'll be her date. 

You can be Mitchell's. 

Ron Milburn 22:35
She 

Rich Bennett 22:35
She 

Ron Milburn 22:35
starts 

Rich Bennett 22:35
says. 

Ron Milburn 22:36
to drive with. 

Michelle Hayes 22:37
I'll pick her up. I'll wash my car first. Do. So, Ron. Because of my marketing brain. I know you and I have had conversations about my lovely marketing. Would you? Or are you open to it? The vineyard of hosting gatherings. Maybe not a dinner, but like a marketing get together or like a mingle over in that second room? 

Ron Milburn 23:02
As long as space permits. I mean, unfortunately, I can only handle about 20 people. 

Michelle Hayes 23:07
Yeah. 

Ron Milburn 23:08
As as a meet and greet. Yeah, we're actually split in two sides. There's a bar side with her which has tables. 

Rich Bennett 23:13
Okay. 

Ron Milburn 23:13
And then it used to be the lounge. So years back when I started there, there were actually three couches set up in the back where you can sit down and grab a bottle of wine, have some shaker and hang out with your friends. But let's just say the demand couldn't keep up with the supply. 

Rich Bennett 23:29
was going to say, I would think. 

Ron Milburn 23:30
Because we got popular. 

Rich Bennett 23:32
Yeah. Put tables in there. You could put more. 

Ron Milburn 23:34
So we took couches out. We still have one left, sits in front of the fireplace. It's usually gets like Hartford's most romantic spot because, I mean, it's kind of nice to hang out with your friends. 

Rich Bennett 23:44
That's your spot. When you close, enjoy a cigar and a bourbon. 

Michelle Hayes 23:47
Or I get proposed to. 

Rich Bennett 23:49
Oh. 

Ron Milburn 23:49
Hence smoke. 

Rich Bennett 23:50
That's your after hours to enjoy a bourbon. 

Ron Milburn 23:54
So unfortunately, there's no bourbon in the building. But I. Me personally, I usually enjoy a bottle of Prosecco. 

Rich Bennett 24:00
Okay. 

Ron Milburn 24:00
Do you see where I like to go or read? Depends on how cold it is outside. 

Rich Bennett 24:04
Right, man. 

Ron Milburn 24:07
But yes, I'd be more than willing to entertain any kind of meet and greet. Mingles small businesses getting together. They used to. There used to be a big I don't know what the word I'm looking for. 

Rich Bennett 24:20
Networking group. 

Ron Milburn 24:21
Yes. It was like networking. 

Rich Bennett 24:24
Like being. 

Ron Milburn 24:24
Or whatever. When I had my three company, I used to go to one at Porky Oliver's. 

Rich Bennett 24:30
Huh? 

Ron Milburn 24:31
At Porky Oliver's golf course. 

Rich Bennett 24:33
Where's that? That. 

Ron Milburn 24:34
It's in Wilmington. 

Rich Bennett 24:36
Okay. Porky Oliver's. 

Ron Milburn 24:38
Yeah. They used to be a club. So they used to host this at whatever business you owned. They only allowed two of those businesses there. So it would only be two restaurant owners, two driveway pavers, two tree companies, two. So you network. So when when you needed a tree cut down, you called one of the two guys and. 

Rich Bennett 24:57
That's uncommon because usually it's one. 

Ron Milburn 25:00
Yeah, so they did too. But it I mean, at that point I owned a tree company, not a restaurant, but that jumped in my business from like $0 to a lot of dollars very fast. And I would like to do something like that again. Like, I mean, we're very unique in what we do. 

Rich Bennett 25:16
Mhm. 

Ron Milburn 25:16
We are wine focused and most people are, in my experience, are more intimidated by wine than anything else. 

Rich Bennett 25:25
Mhm. 

Ron Milburn 25:25
Mhm. And that's when I joked about the millennials. We're working on the Millennials. Right. 

Rich Bennett 25:28
Right. 

Ron Milburn 25:29
But they, they, there's kind of a certain aura of, of pretentiousness behind wine and people are scared to approach it. But once we get you in the door, if you just get into the restaurant, if you come down to the wine bar, I promise you we will take the pretentiousness out, the snobby ness out, and you will start to understand wine because that's kind of our whole culture is education, right? It's not there to sell you $1,000 bottle of wine. We Hey, there's a $10 bottle back here. That is awesome. You got to try this. And then what you I mean, you've had Angie as your server. She will what are you in the mood for? And then she'll rattle off 15 bottles if you want to take all 15 home. Or do you just want to try eight tastes and then you just taste down the line. But once you get there it's it's not, it's not stuffy. We're fun Like I'm. 

Michelle Hayes 26:19
Something you might not know. When Mitchell and I had our first date there and Anji waited on us, we knew the exact table as it moved. He knew I liked wine and he asked me my favorite place to be. And I said, The vineyard. And so that's why he chose that for a first date. He did not know very much about wine, and I knew a lot more. I don't know if he's told anyone this story, so I'm really sorry, honey. If you hear this and you didn't want it to be out there. But he was told, okay. If you don't know anything about wine, ask for a. I'm from New Zealand and that is what he did. And he had me fooled. He knew really nothing else about why. But he knew I did. So he knew what when to order and from what region. And that's what he and you got him. And then he, like, had a taste of something else. And that's how his wine palate grew. 

Rich Bennett 27:15
Really? 

Ron Milburn 27:16
Yeah. So so normally we like I was telling you earlier with the bottles of 606, which is our label, that is probably the best approach in the red wine. Most people are intimidated by red wine, so our 606 red does grow in China. It's got a it's more like a lambrusco it's got a slight effervescence to it, which means I like a little bubble, a little tingle on your tongue. It's not too dry, it's not too sweet. It's kind of right in the middle. But once we get you on the 606, we know that we can broaden your palate in your next few visits. We'll try this one and try this one. And, you know, sometimes you'll move Merlot, a Pinot noir, and once you start getting into your tempranillo, your petite Shiraz and your Malbec, that now you're you're a big boy wine drinker now. 

Rich Bennett 28:02
Why do you think people are intimidated by. 

Ron Milburn 28:05
Because you could immerse yourself in wine. And still not know anything. 

Michelle Hayes 28:12
And I think when you think about beer, millennials are more focused on beer because you can go into the liquor store and there is literally a beer called the regular beer. You can go in and grab it. You hear of these big beer companies and you can go in and grab it. But why? There's so much there and it's so easy to grab a bottle that you would not like. 

Ron Milburn 28:37
Yeah. There's there's a ton of complexities behind. 

Rich Bennett 28:40
Yeah. 

Ron Milburn 28:41
I mean, you could go from. Okay, I like this Pinot Noir. Well, there's a difference. From California to Washington to Oregon to some of the Pinot noir that are done in Portugal or Spain or Italy. It really depends how you look at the environment. You look at the growing season. Was it hot? Was it dry? Was a humid and you could get the same Pinot noir from the same winemaker five years in a row and five years in a row, it's going to taste different. 

Michelle Hayes 29:09
Like in Hawaii. We found them. 

Ron Milburn 29:11
The volcanic. 

Michelle Hayes 29:12
The volcanic and it was like we haven't had our wine taste. Exactly. 

Ron Milburn 29:16
Exactly the same. 

Michelle Hayes 29:17
In forever because the volcano went from being very active to not so active to basically going on pause to that and being active again later this year. And it's just so cool how all those things, the volcanic ash where it settles things like that can change the same, you know, growing and 

like techniques and everything else can stay the same. But the wind changes so much because of what? 

Ron Milburn 29:45
And the winemaker changes it. 

Rich Bennett 29:46
Yeah. 

Ron Milburn 29:47
I mean, it depends on on. It's kind of like going from one restaurant to the next. Each chef has their own. 

Rich Bennett 29:53
Right. 

Ron Milburn 29:54
Way of presenting it, and each winemaker has their own way of making it. And it's I mean, that's why it's intimidating. Like if you walked into our back room and went, I don't know what I want, and you're going to look at 300 bottles back there with 300 different labels. No, I have no idea. And then you. Most people gravitate to what they see. The most of Chardonnay. Savvy on Black Cab Sav from California. That's just kind of where people go and. 

Rich Bennett 30:23
Do you find more people are afraid to? You keep saying, Angie, right? Like to ask Angie for suggestion. 

Ron Milburn 30:31
No, I mean, once we get you in. That's what. That's what my wife, my business partner, is the rest of our servers. That's what they do best. 

Rich Bennett 30:38
Okay. 

Ron Milburn 30:39
But it's it. 

Michelle Hayes 30:40
They're all very. 

Ron Milburn 30:41
You have to look at the at the at the price is is what I would say is very intimidating. I can go I can go to the bar and I can get a draft board, light, a Budweiser or a Yingling. And now I'm spending $2. I'm looking at a wine menu going, Wow, this is six ounces for $16. Mhm. I don't know if I want to try it 

because it's very intimidating. What if I don't like that now I have to taste something else and now I have $14, $16, whatever it is. And then I tasted two glasses of wine that I don't like and I just spent $30 and I'm unhappy. So, so that's where we come into play. Education is what do you like, what flavor do you like? Fruity? Do you like sweet? Do you like jammy? Do you like earthy? Do you like oak on oaked? Like there's so many characteristics to it. 

Michelle Hayes 31:32
And I think. 

Ron Milburn 31:32
And then they know where to go. 

Michelle Hayes 31:33
And wine's not about getting drunk, like going to the bar, having a beer, watching a football game. It's about the experience of drinking 

Ron Milburn 31:42
Yes. 

Michelle Hayes 31:43
the wine. It's relaxing. It's. It's an experience. 

Rich Bennett 31:47
In all honesty, that's what drinking should be about anyway. 

Michelle Hayes 31:49
I agree. 

Rich Bennett 31:50
Yeah, when I was 

Michelle Hayes 31:51
Lately a agree. 

Rich Bennett 31:52
Get drunk. 

Ron Milburn 31:52
Now that I learn how to. Don't get me wrong, you can still get drunk drinking wine. I promise. I promise. 

Rich Bennett 31:58
Yeah. 

Michelle Hayes 31:59
And you don't realize. 

Rich Bennett 32:00
It's a rough day. The night. 

Michelle Hayes 32:01
Only if it's. 

Ron Milburn 32:02
So I would say that's the beauty of fine wines. 

Rich Bennett 32:06
Yeah. 

Ron Milburn 32:07
Is, is there not made with all the additives and sulfites that a lot of winemakers use to that hangover wine? 

Rich Bennett 32:16
Yeah. 

Ron Milburn 32:17
Yeah. You know, you go drink Boone's Farm. We all know Boone's Farm. 

Rich Bennett 32:20
Tickled pink, baby. 

Ron Milburn 32:22
You got to drink a bottle of that. 

Michelle Hayes 32:23
For the record, my mother still drinks Boone's Farm. 

Rich Bennett 32:25
They still make. 

Michelle Hayes 32:27
And she brought it out at Thanksgiving. 

Rich Bennett 32:31
I'll. 

Ron Milburn 32:31
I'll never forget 

Rich Bennett 32:31
Get the one year. My parents told me to bring wine 

Ron Milburn 32:33
one of the 

Rich Bennett 32:34
to Thanksgiving. 

Ron Milburn 32:34
things. 

Rich Bennett 32:35
So me being the smart ass, I did. Mad Dog 2020. 

Ron Milburn 32:42
Those are all the things we grew up drinking. 

Rich Bennett 32:44
Yeah, that. 

Ron Milburn 32:44
Now we. 

Michelle Hayes 32:45
Never. 

Ron Milburn 32:45
God 

Michelle Hayes 32:46
I. 

Ron Milburn 32:46
never asked for. 

Michelle Hayes 32:47
Bring wine to my mother's for Thanksgiving because she knows she won't like it. 

Ron Milburn 32:52
But wine is an experience and so is food. And that's kind of what we do. That's don't come to the wine bar if you want to be in and out in 30 minutes because you're not going to get the experience you deserve. You 

Rich Bennett 33:03
You 

Ron Milburn 33:03
should. 

Rich Bennett 33:03
said it right there. You you're it's an experience. And I love that. I mean, how many place restaurants can you go to? Where? 

Ron Milburn 33:11
Where. 

Rich Bennett 33:12
Experience. 

Ron Milburn 33:15
that's what we pride ourselves on, an education. 

Rich Bennett 33:18
Well, where else can you go and get a mystery meat? As insane, right? 

Michelle Hayes 33:22
That sounded 

Ron Milburn 33:22
A 

Michelle Hayes 33:22
like. 

Ron Milburn 33:22
mystery meal. 

Rich Bennett 33:23
Mr.. 

Michelle Hayes 33:24
Lunch. 

Rich Bennett 33:24
MIELE Yeah. Mr.. 

Ron Milburn 33:25
Mr. Neil. 

Rich Bennett 33:26
I got. God, I really. You know. 

Ron Milburn 33:30
I do it quite a bit. There's a I can't do it on Friday nights. I'm just too busy. But I like Wednesday nights, Thursday nights when it's kind of offbeat. I mean, I have friends and couples that come in and I will joke with them and go, Are we doing one course, three courses or five? No. Let's do three. They don't question price. They don't question what I'm going to do. And I just start bringing food out. And it's I would say that's one of the things. 

Michelle Hayes 33:54
Lucky for you, it's awesome. 

Ron Milburn 33:56
I love the most about it because it's like, finally I have somebody who just wants to eat food for what it is and do I get crazy all the time? No, I don't think there's really a need for that. And I've also learned over the years, I know my limitations. Yeah, I'm not James Beard, I'm not Michelin star. I'm not that crazy. But if you want a quality meal with a little pizzazz, I'm your guy. 

Rich Bennett 34:18
Well, it's also got to be good for you, too, because. You're not cooking the same thing day after day. 

Ron Milburn 34:23
Well, that's why I liked it. 

Rich Bennett 34:24
Yeah. 

Ron Milburn 34:25
Because he gets it. 

Rich Bennett 34:25
Change it up. 

Ron Milburn 34:26
Kind of monotony of, Oh, here's the menu I've been doing for the last two months. Let me do this over again. 

Rich Bennett 34:30
Right. 

Ron Milburn 34:31
And this is just like, Oh, well, I got a few new ideas. I want to try out on somebody who wants to be a guinea pig and. 

Rich Bennett 34:37
I suggest you put on the menu. Just put 

Ron Milburn 34:38
Put 

Rich Bennett 34:38
a 

Ron Milburn 34:38
a 

Rich Bennett 34:38
question. 

Ron Milburn 34:38
question mark. 

Michelle Hayes 34:40
Do you want to 

Rich Bennett 34:41
What 

Michelle Hayes 34:41
be 

Rich Bennett 34:41
is 

Michelle Hayes 34:41
a 

Rich Bennett 34:41
the 

Michelle Hayes 34:41
guinea 

Rich Bennett 34:41
question 

Michelle Hayes 34:42
pig? 

Rich Bennett 34:42
mark? It's a surprise. We don't know. 

Ron Milburn 34:44
If I see somebody, I will ask people that. Who wants to be a guinea pig? Especially when I'm playing with the new menus. 

Rich Bennett 34:49
I'll be a guinea pig any day, man. 

Ron Milburn 34:51
Bring out like. 

Michelle Hayes 34:52
Cautious guinea pig. We're working on it. We're working. 

Rich Bennett 34:56
That the. 

Ron Milburn 34:57
Yeah. You can't do that with me. I mean, I will ask if you have anything you totally dislike or not willing to try. That's about the best you'll get out of me. And then after that, you're eating while I put in front of you. 

Rich Bennett 35:10
I 

Ron Milburn 35:10
I mean, 

Rich Bennett 35:10
think that the only thing I 

Ron Milburn 35:11
I 

Rich Bennett 35:11
really 

Ron Milburn 35:11
reason. 

Rich Bennett 35:12
don't like is like liver 

Ron Milburn 35:14
reason. 

Rich Bennett 35:14
pees and a lot of. But. 

Michelle Hayes 35:16
What is it with? 

Rich Bennett 35:17
But I would still try. 

Ron Milburn 35:19
You haven't had a piece done the right way yet. 

Michelle Hayes 35:20
Exactly. 

Ron Milburn 35:22
Again. Again, the Soviet piece, I mean. Oh, they're delicious. I like those are crunchy. Spicy. 

Rich Bennett 35:28
But I would still try some. 

Ron Milburn 35:29
Somebody get 

Rich Bennett 35:30
Because like you said before, you 

Ron Milburn 35:31
you 

Rich Bennett 35:31
don't 

Ron Milburn 35:31
don't. 

Rich Bennett 35:31
know if you're going to like it unless 

Ron Milburn 35:32
Unless 

Rich Bennett 35:33
you 

Ron Milburn 35:33
you 

Rich Bennett 35:33
try. 

Ron Milburn 35:33
try it. 

Chevron can make a completely different. 

Rich Bennett 35:37
What I do. 

Michelle Hayes 35:38
Absolutely. 

Rich Bennett 35:39
It was just like. 

Ron Milburn 35:40
You're. 

Rich Bennett 35:41
Beers each. They all taste different. Oh, I'm hungry now. 

Michelle Hayes 35:46
I know. I'm so hungry now. 

Ron Milburn 35:49
So I'll see you guys for lunch. 

Rich Bennett 35:52
Funny her so much. I think about having the lions go there for a meeting. I. 

Ron Milburn 35:57
Actually. 

Rich Bennett 35:58
Reservations. 

Ron Milburn 35:59
Absolutely. 

Rich Bennett 36:00
Okay. 

Ron Milburn 36:00
I highly recommend, especially this month. 

Rich Bennett 36:02
Right. 

Ron Milburn 36:02
Right. I mean, we're fortunate to have Christmas parties and office parties and and again, we're only 53 seats. 

Rich Bennett 36:12
Watt hours and hours and days. Are you open? 

Ron Milburn 36:15
So we're open to all of the nine. 

Rich Bennett 36:17
Okay. 

Ron Milburn 36:19
Wednesday through Saturday and then 12 to 7 on Sundays. 

Rich Bennett 36:25
So you guys do anything special for Saint Pat? Why am I looking around? You guys do anything special for St Patrick's Day? 

Ron Milburn 36:31
So Coakley's is right down the street, so I don't like to compete. But I've been known to do some Irish nachos, some brisket, some corned beef. So I will do some. 

Michelle Hayes 36:43
But then again, it's about the experience, not the getting drunk. 

Rich Bennett 36:46
Right. 

Ron Milburn 36:47
Yeah. We're not that come down there. I'm not serving green beer, 

Michelle Hayes 36:50
No, 

Ron Milburn 36:50
but. 

Michelle Hayes 36:50
I'm going to go get crazy. 

Ron Milburn 36:51
That's right. I will serve a mean shepherd's pie, though. Shepherd's pie. Corned beef, cabbage, potatoes. 

Rich Bennett 36:57
don't like the idea that and I ain't going to mention any names, but like last year we all went to a place and so that night. 

Ron Milburn 37:07
More. 

Rich Bennett 37:07
My neighbors. 

Ron Milburn 37:08
It was a night like all 

Rich Bennett 37:09
Do 

Ron Milburn 37:09
the. 

Rich Bennett 37:09
Thanksgiving. 

Ron Milburn 37:10
Giving even drinks. 

Rich Bennett 37:11
Patrick's Day. Eve drink. 

Ron Milburn 37:12
Green Christmas. 

Rich Bennett 37:12
Christmas Eve drink. So I made a. 

Ron Milburn 37:15
Fashion's. 

Rich Bennett 37:17
So 

Ron Milburn 37:18
St Patrick's 

Rich Bennett 37:19
today 

Ron Milburn 37:19
Day. 

Rich Bennett 37:19
we 

Ron Milburn 37:19
We 

Rich Bennett 37:19
wanted 

Ron Milburn 37:20
went 

Rich Bennett 37:20
to. 

Ron Milburn 37:20
to a place and I saw an Irish. 

Rich Bennett 37:22
Old fashioned. And the bartender asked me, What's that? I told him, he said, I don't know if we have that kind of Amiga. This is like, I said, If you have it, I'll tell you how. I should not have to tell the bartender how to make. But I did. It wasn't as good as my was. So. 

Michelle Hayes 37:44
Chef Ron can. Sure you have the good. With the the wine. 

Rich Bennett 37:49
So we go up the. 

Ron Milburn 37:50
I can wing it. 

Rich Bennett 37:51
The rest of the family go to their places. And I 

Ron Milburn 37:54
don't 

Rich Bennett 37:54
don't like 

Ron Milburn 37:54
like 

Rich Bennett 37:54
to 

Ron Milburn 37:54
the 

Rich Bennett 37:54
hang out in 

Ron Milburn 37:55
bars. 

Rich Bennett 37:55
bars where people are getting drunk. I'd 

Ron Milburn 37:58
I'd rather. 

Rich Bennett 37:58
rather go for an experience like wine bar. 

Ron Milburn 38:01
And that's kind of. That's kind of who we'd like to see come in there. 

Rich Bennett 38:06
Yeah, 

Ron Milburn 38:06
Like, I don't. I don't want you to feel rushed. I don't want you to feel like we're kicking you out of the restaurant. 

Rich Bennett 38:11
right. 

Ron Milburn 38:11
You know, I want you to experience wine. I want you to experience food. I want you to eat multiple plates. I mean, don't rush yourself. 

Rich Bennett 38:18
Enjoy it. 

Ron Milburn 38:19
Yeah. I mean, 

no tank tops, no hats. 

Rich Bennett 38:23
Okay, 

Ron Milburn 38:24
Casual. 

Rich Bennett 38:25
look, 

Ron Milburn 38:25
Look, I take my hat off 

Rich Bennett 38:26
people are going. 

Ron Milburn 38:27
blind. I'm getting there. I'm getting there. I understand. Michelle, you have any more questions? What do you do? 

Michelle Hayes 38:37
You and your free time. 

Rich Bennett 38:38
Cooks grills. 

Ron Milburn 38:42
Fondue 

Michelle Hayes 38:43
So like, decompress. What does Chef Ron do for Ron? 

Ron Milburn 38:49
Not much. I like to go fishing. 

usually my days off are. 

Revolved around thinking about food. What's the. As a chef owner of your. Your life kind of changes because it's not about being a chef anymore. You have to understand your market, and it's always constantly thinking about what's the next best thing. As a chef working for somebody, I just have to show up and cook and write menus and make sure my food costs are good. That's kind of where my mindset was. And as a chef, when somebody else is paying you, you have a certain amount of ego and arrogance in there that's like, Well, I'm going to do this food because I want to be the best. And then when you're the owner, it's a different ball game. You're. Okay, well, I want to do the best and keep it at a price point where the market can handle it and people will come in and fill the seats and the business is profitable. Yes. Occasionally when I do my special thing, that's when I kind of let the ego and the things let loose. But we price accordingly for that. 

Rich Bennett 39:51
Yeah. 

Ron Milburn 39:52
I've had this big transition over the last. Several years. Just go and it's you can't do that because business won't allow it or the market won't allow it. I mean, you really ask a lot of people to come out and say, hey, a couple of to you're probably going to spend 70, 80, $90 to come out and eat. And it's like, wow, well, I'm only going there once this year. So I try and give you that. Fine dining upscale experience for 3540 bucks a person. 

Rich Bennett 40:23
Right. 

Ron Milburn 40:24
And that's that's where it's. So on my days off, that's what I think about how can I get a younger generation in here? How can we still have fun? How can we I'll joke and say, how can we get them out of the chicken tender era and just try something a little bit different, try something a little bit more pizzazz. Like not everything has to be a burger or a pizza. 

Rich Bennett 40:43
do love their. 

Ron Milburn 40:46
to lie. I like some chicken tenders. 

Michelle Hayes 40:49
You know, I have good ones. 

Ron Milburn 40:53
I don't know. 

Michelle Hayes 40:54
It's an issue. I 

Ron Milburn 40:56
I 

Michelle Hayes 40:56
know, 

Ron Milburn 40:56
know I make 

Michelle Hayes 40:57
but. 

Ron Milburn 40:57
some pretty good runs at work when I get bored. 

Michelle Hayes 40:59
You can always serve. 

Ron Milburn 40:59
Chicken tenders. 

Michelle Hayes 41:02
But. 

Ron Milburn 41:03
I actually surprised a customer. One day she she came in and she said, Chevron surprised me. And I did. I made a really nice meal. And right underneath one of the pieces of I can't remember if it was potato or rice, I stuck to chicken tenders and I just laid. She opens it up, she says, Did you really serve me chicken fingers? And I was like, Yes, for something special. I was. 

I mean, she she got a big kick out of it. And it was that's what the wine bar is about. It's about having fun. I mean, people joke and say it's it's like the cheers and have Eddie Grace. 

Rich Bennett 41:38
Yeah. 

Ron Milburn 41:39
We all know your name, especially if you comment on and we'll treat you like your family. 

Michelle Hayes 41:44
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 41:44
There, how you get all these different places to test the wine. 

Ron Milburn 41:48
No, they actually bring them to us. 

Rich Bennett 41:49
They bring them to you. 

Ron Milburn 41:50
Yeah, that's the beauty of it. I 

Rich Bennett 41:51
I thought 

Ron Milburn 41:51
thought 

Rich Bennett 41:52
you 

Ron Milburn 41:52
you 

Rich Bennett 41:52
said 

Ron Milburn 41:52
should. 

Rich Bennett 41:52
you. 

Ron Milburn 41:52
So we have wine reps that come in and some of them are Christina and Marco. He lives in Italy. They're a very small company. So it's very hey, we only have 35 cases of this. That's all the winemaker made. 

Rich Bennett 42:07
Right. 

Ron Milburn 42:07
And they will bring out exclusive wines. So her brother lives in Italy, so he goes to all these micro wineries, not mass producers like 

Rich Bennett 42:16
Right. 

Ron Milburn 42:16
these places aren't making 10,000 cases a year. They might do a thousand cases. Wow. So he goes to taste. They put up a lineup, then they come out to us because we'll ask, Hey, can you bring me a montepulciano or can you bring me this? And they'll bring out four or five from four or five different winemakers. And then you taste from there like we already know the wines we need to put on the shelf. 

Rich Bennett 42:37
Right. 

Ron Milburn 42:37
So, so go into. Is it fun to go to vineyards? Yes. But there are laws in getting wines in here. I might go to a winery in California, but they don't have an import license to get into Maryland. So it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter what I taste. I can't get it and sell it. 

Rich Bennett 42:53
Okay. 

Ron Milburn 42:54
So we're kind of restricted to what Maryland's liquor laws allow us to have in the wine bar. 

Rich Bennett 43:01
Hmm. 

Ron Milburn 43:02
But there are so many wines out there. I mean, you could taste a bottle a day for the rest of your life and not even put a dent 

Rich Bennett 43:08
Oh, yeah. 

Ron Milburn 43:08
into what's out on the market. 

Michelle Hayes 43:10
I volunteer as tribute. 

Ron Milburn 43:11
I've been trying like a child. 

Michelle Hayes 43:13
You've been doing your part. 

Ron Milburn 43:14
Yes, I do my part. 

Michelle Hayes 43:16
If you need a team. I 

Ron Milburn 43:18
I. 

Michelle Hayes 43:18
did have one more question. Going back to like looking at yourself, I know, especially for December, I said clever cat. We are really looking at mental health 

because I know especially starting a business this year, that something that was lacking in our world was we needed to make sure starting a business as a husband wife, we needed to make sure we were good, we were good together. We were good personally in ourselves. 

How have you and your wife? Because that's a dynamic. I tell people, don't start a business with your spouse. It will test you constantly. 

Ron Milburn 43:58
Are there tests? 

Michelle Hayes 43:58
How. 

Rich Bennett 43:59
It's hard. 

Michelle Hayes 44:00
How do you look after your your marriage, your wife and yourself mentally 

outside of work and at work to keep that mental health there? 

Ron Milburn 44:12
So first of all, there's no mental sanity with chefs. We're all crazy all the time, so. 

So that would probably be a question better for my wife. How does she put up with me on a regular basis? 

Michelle Hayes 44:23
Well, next time, bring her. 

Ron Milburn 44:27
Outside of that, I love being with my wife and she's probably the best motivating factor for me. And it's yes, am I very difficult to deal with? Yes, most of us are, because it's kind of we have this vision and sometimes we just can't 

words or direct people. We just do it. And like, I need you to do this, this and this. And I can tell you, she has been a trooper for the last seven years. She will run down any road. I ask her to run down. And you know, when she's having a bad day, it's my turn to run down the road for her and if I'm stressed out, she knows it's I'm just going to do whatever it takes to keep the stress off his plate. I it's been seven years. 

obviously we sleep together. We live together and we work 50, 60 hours a week together. 

Rich Bennett 45:12
Yeah. 

Ron Milburn 45:13
Our days off we go. Run our errands and clean our house. We are with each other around the clock, and we've really never had a major blowout fight. I mean, yes, when you're in the heat of battle at work and things get a little hectic. She's just an employee at that point. And we know that. We know that she needs to talk to me like I'm an employee and some things. You have to set your wife's title aside in your husband's title side said, This is what the business needs now. And we both know when we walk through those doors, it's strictly business. 

Michelle Hayes 45:43
Completely agree. 

Ron Milburn 45:43
And then on the ride home, it's like, Hey, babe, I'm sorry I yelled at you, or I didn't see that. Or, you know, I apologize. And it's just kind of you walk it off. 

But she's the one who forced me to pull myself out. That's where my mental health comes into play. She knows just the right moments. Hey, you're a little too anxious. You're too stressed right now. I think it's time to take a Sunday, Monday, Tuesday off. And it's, you know, that's my trip to the Finger Lakes this weekend. And then in February, we have another trip. We're going to go away for a week because I do need to shut down occasionally because I just get jittery. Everybody's. On my nerves at every turn. And it's just it's it's different. I can relate to the chef side of it because stress stress is real in the kitchen. 

Rich Bennett 46:32
Yeah. 

Ron Milburn 46:32
And chefs are under so much stress all the time. And it's we're constantly. Just because you don't know my face, my plates are in the media all the time. We're under scrutiny all the time. I mean, I love to hate social media because anybody who had they could have had a bad day. I could be having a bad day and I could have missed the mark. I could have dropped the ball. I try not to, but it is open. It is open season. When you make a mistake. 

Rich Bennett 47:00
Yeah. 

Ron Milburn 47:01
And that mentally beats a lot of chefs up. I mean, it's like I did my best today. That was the best I could do. Why are these people saying this? And it's like. Wow. I've I've dealt with that for 35 years, and I used to let it beat me up a lot. It used to keep me up at night. I might get angry about it. I would yell about it like, I don't understand what I did wrong. And now you're just as I've gotten older, I look at it and I go, If I get 95% happy, I'm good with that. Yeah, because there's always going to be somebody in there. You're not going to be able to make everybody happy. And that's the hardest part for a chef. That's where a lot of that mental stress comes from is is trying to make everybody happy all the time. Not to mention we're on our feet 12, 14 hours a day. We get a little cranky. 

Michelle Hayes 47:45
And for those listening who can't see Sharon's face right now, he looks like he's tearing up a little bit. 

Ron Milburn 47:50
Absolutely not. There's. 

Michelle Hayes 47:50
And he's he's he's such a. 

Ron Milburn 47:54
Had. 

Michelle Hayes 47:55
Who I've gotten to know. 

Ron Milburn 47:56
Personally. 

Michelle Hayes 47:57
And that's been such a wonderful thing. But watching him sitting here, tearing up, talking about his wife and his passion for being a chef, this man cooks with such passion. And I just I'm in all of him and his wife, they are amazing. And did you have anything you wanted to add, Chef Ron? Chevron. You've in your name. 

Ron Milburn 48:20
Chevron. Here it is. 

Don't forget to come out and support local businesses on 42 North Washington Street Venue Wine Bar. 

Michelle Hayes 48:29
Cool. So Rich, This is the first episode I would like to actually Ron offer you and the Vineyard Club. 

Ron Milburn 48:38
Cats. 

Michelle Hayes 48:39
Agreement with. Conversations with Rich Bennett, the guest of the show. We offer a 30 minute. 

Ron Milburn 48:45
When it comes. 

Michelle Hayes 48:46
Evaluation. Your social media so you and I can get together after the show. 

Ron Milburn 48:51
Joe. 

Michelle Hayes 48:51
And we will get all this sorted out. 

Ron Milburn 48:54
Sounds good. I appreciate the opportunity to come out and speak with you guys. And it's been a blast. 

Rich Bennett 48:58
Actually. All you listening when you go. When. 

Ron Milburn 49:01
When you 

Rich Bennett 49:02
You go 

Ron Milburn 49:02
go. 

Rich Bennett 49:02
to the. Why? 

Ron Milburn 49:04
More. 

Rich Bennett 49:06
After you're finish going to Google, go on Facebook. 

Ron Milburn 49:11
A 

Rich Bennett 49:11
A 

Ron Milburn 49:11
review. 

Rich Bennett 49:11
review talking about it. Not just don't you silly five stars. Put on there. Why you're leaving five stars talking about how good that mystery meal was with that man. I want to get that. 

Michelle Hayes 49:23
And a picture. 

Rich Bennett 49:24
Yeah, he got it for. 

Michelle Hayes 49:26
God. Take photos. Take photos of your food, people. I know it's 

Rich Bennett 49:28
Don't 

Michelle Hayes 49:28
weird. 

Rich Bennett 49:29
make. 

Ron Milburn 49:29
Make the mistake like I make. 

Rich Bennett 49:31
Yo, you don't want to take a photo of it after you wait a. 

Ron Milburn 49:35
Yeah, we get that a lot. 

Rich Bennett 49:36
Damn, I forgot to take a picture of it. Okay, let me take a picture of the empty plate. Chef Rod, thanks a lot. 

Ron Milburn 49:43
Absolutely. Thanks for having me.