Chef Neill Howell shares his journey and passion for modern British cuisine

00;00;08;07 - 00;00;28;29
Rob Lee
Welcome to the truth in this art. I am your host, Rob Lee. Thanks for listening. Checking out this podcast and making us the best of Baltimore today, I am in conversation with the owner and executive chef of The Corner Pantry, a relaxed contemporary restaurant serving locally sourced modern British cuisine. Please welcome, Chef Neil Howell. Welcome to the podcast.

00;00;29;26 - 00;00;31;02
Chef Neill Howell
Hey, how you doing, man? Good morning.

00;00;31;16 - 00;00;47;03
Rob Lee
Good morning. You know, happy to have you here. I want to start off with the very base level question. What are the vital stats like? Tell us about like your start like this, your story and your first job in the kitchen.

00;00;47;03 - 00;01;28;14
Chef Neill Howell
Oh, wow. So my my first job in a kitchen, I was 14 and I started washing dishes, a restaurant in this little town I'm from in England, food, culture stuff. It was sloppy Joes and it was like an American, like Tex-Mex kind of place. Really busy, definitely. You know. You know, it was it was a crazy kitchen. I mean, I was in burned and things again thrown at me, but it was like not not an aggressive kitchen, but it was just like a these all the chefs would see it as a fun thing to like, kind of, you know, make us men, as they would call it.

00;01;29;21 - 00;01;47;07
Chef Neill Howell
But the place wasn't not the best food. But, you know, we made up our own pizza, though. And, you know, so I learned a lot of stuff that I definitely learned how to be false. Be quick the small kitchen and but it was fun definitely also fond memories that place I was it was a funny place.

00;01;48;07 - 00;02;04;20
Rob Lee
Thank you thank you. So let let's talk about how like ultimately how you came from across the pond to ultimately in Baltimore and and where we're at now with the corner pantry. So give me some of those details.

00;02;05;14 - 00;02;29;10
Chef Neill Howell
So, um, in 2004, I believe I moved to America. I had a friend of mine I worked with in London, and he got a job in New York City for a company called Soho House, which is a British company, and a bunch of high end restaurant members fly hotels and restaurant number cups around around the world. You know, they're all over the place.

00;02;29;10 - 00;02;50;27
Chef Neill Howell
It's New York. It's Istanbul. One is London, the comedy store in London. Is this place a cool place? And one day out of the blue, he called me. He said, oh, you got I got a job. You only want to come over. And, you know, I definitely jumped at the chance to take my bag game notice. And then couple of months later, I was in New York and yeah, I lived there for eight years.

00;02;50;27 - 00;03;15;10
Chef Neill Howell
And my wife, Emily, who we own a business with, she was at a hotel as well. She's a graphic designer by trade. But 911, it just happens. You struggling to get jobs this year. You had a job as the reservations manager in this hotel and yeah, we, you know, fell in love and the rest is history. Ended up in Baltimore 2011.

00;03;15;24 - 00;03;34;13
Chef Neill Howell
We moved here and yeah, so I was a chef, a restaurant down. And then it Fells Point for a couple of years. And, you know, just the life of a restaurant. And I don't know, I think as you get older, you just think to yourself, okay, what's the next step for me? How am I going to continue to somebody else?

00;03;34;23 - 00;03;57;15
Chef Neill Howell
Can I potentially own my own place? How does that look? So I have the finances to do that, and I think that's the big question always you kind of self in this industry after a number of years, you know, what do I do next? Because, you know, even though I am still at the age of 44 working the line, you know, I'm doing it for myself and somebody else, you know.

00;03;58;01 - 00;04;23;27
Chef Neill Howell
So it's it's it's been very successful. You know, we're in Oakland for nine years. Is this is this February will be nine years and it's just yeah. I don't know it's this business plan was so small. It was me, a pastry chef and a dishwasher and my wife. The Break star ended up with like 20 employees and we expanded during COVID.

00;04;23;27 - 00;04;37;01
Chef Neill Howell
And now we're going to expand again actually next year into the space, the clothing store, which they're going to move down. And we're going to take that space as well. So my son is a bit of a beast and it's a good thing, but it's a little bit overwhelming at times.

00;04;37;24 - 00;05;07;04
Rob Lee
I could imagine. Yeah, like like, like I said when I, when I first got to meet you, like in person, like I've seen you, I've been texting you, what have you, but being able to pop over and say, Hey, this is the guy. So what do you see me? And it's like, like, like I was touching earlier. It's it's kind of like one of those things is definitely a a calling for the quality of food, for the, the creativity there, the, the freshness of the ingredients there and the atmosphere.

00;05;07;04 - 00;05;23;14
Rob Lee
It's like a really great place and it's, it's funny. Like, my dad and brother don't live too far from there. They're like in town and they had no idea was there. So I met them over there a couple of weeks ago and I was like, Yeah, come on over. My dad, his his thing is, you know, marine or what have you.

00;05;23;14 - 00;05;36;19
Rob Lee
So this thing is like, yeah, it's pretty good. That's, that's, that's him rousing. Rousing. Like, this is amazing. That's just just his energy. And he's like, yes, I want to be going back to that corner place. That's literally what he calls it. And yeah.

00;05;37;15 - 00;05;43;02
Chef Neill Howell
So many people don't know about I mean, it's kind of kind of crazy. But yeah. I appreciate the complex. Thank you.

00;05;43;10 - 00;06;02;20
Rob Lee
Absolutely. So, you know, we're and thank you for taking the time because I know the life of a chef and it owner is very busy. So I appreciate it. And it brings me to this next question was this was the typical day look like what is your favorite time during that day? I hear some people are exhilarated by that rush.

00;06;02;20 - 00;06;06;18
Rob Lee
Some people are like, come on, too much. So so tell me about that.

00;06;07;09 - 00;06;25;26
Chef Neill Howell
So typical day. I mean, right. It's funny you ask that question because right now we have our pastry team is a four person department, Lisa, our amazing pastry chef, and then it's three other people. But so I've had one person leave in the last two weeks, one person on vacation, and the two people left. Both have COVID right now.

00;06;25;26 - 00;06;59;24
Chef Neill Howell
So we've gone from 4 to 0. So I'm now taking pastry, which, you know, like I, I don't have to worry about that, but she's way better at it than me, so I'm trying my best to hold that together right now. But in general, like a day with store five in the morning. So I get up around four, usually here at five, you know, Andrew, my breakfast chef is in here, comes in same time, come in and you know, executing any prep that needs get done and just get in touch base with the front of house.

00;06;59;24 - 00;07;20;07
Chef Neill Howell
I'm just making sure that the diner and plane of the kitchen, everyone in the kitchen is kind of working on their list. I need to get done and any questions of the day from there? I can't usually go into of walk in and just make sure we have everything we need. We change. We change a few dishes, you know, throughout the week we have a lot of staples.

00;07;20;07 - 00;07;43;22
Chef Neill Howell
But, you know, if we've got a bunch of tomatoes in there or whatever we need to use up, then we kind of try and utilize that. So I'm kind of driving the menus as well as getting involved with all the prep and everything else that needs to get done and putting out any fires, you know. So but it gives you a question about, you know, not so stargazing.

00;07;43;24 - 00;08;05;11
Chef Neill Howell
Do I get stressed out by like the daily grind? I mean, it's funny being in a pastry because it's more like it's heavily prep and there's no real service around there. I found the past few days extremely boring, to be honest, because no, like, there's, there's nothing to, like, stimulate, you know, you just, like, literally just, you know, scooping, cooking, baking, putting out the front.

00;08;05;29 - 00;08;25;21
Chef Neill Howell
So that's kind of it can be a little bit mundane, but I think kitchen work in general is mundane. I mean, you have to just do the same things over and over again and then we kind of tweak it, see if it needs to be fixed by just say get consistency, right? Just by like doing the same thing over and over again.

00;08;26;29 - 00;08;59;16
Chef Neill Howell
And I'm, I'm very lucky. Like, we have a great team. Everybody's been here for a long time, you know, two, three, four or five years. People don't don't leave. And I think that's a testament to their hard work. And then the customers that come in and lead them my tips to keep me and Emily, who, you know, we have our faults, but we try our best to treat our staff with respect, because the end of the day, I can bear as much as I want to have the team around me to get to get the food out and at the diner on set.

00;08;59;16 - 00;09;03;25
Chef Neill Howell
And so it made the customers happy. Then we don't have a business. Yeah, yeah.

00;09;04;13 - 00;09;34;15
Rob Lee
And I think what you were describing there is like a really almost a natural segue to this. This next question that I have. So I've read that cooking was more of a vocation for you early on, more than a passion. So could you share when that transition kind of happened where you had that shifting like not this is something I'm passionate about and I want to go deeper in almost in that sort of obsessive way because you know this sometimes when I'm doing this, like I've done work for other people and it feels like work when I'm like doing a conversation like this.

00;09;34;15 - 00;09;48;08
Rob Lee
Like you probably have not seen me close my mouth because I've been laughing or grinning the entire time, because I love talking with chefs. So, you know, this is a passion for me. This sort of conversation is a passion for me. So it when did that shift happen from being more of a vocation to more of a passion?

00;09;49;09 - 00;10;11;19
Chef Neill Howell
Well, I'm going to be totally honest. You know, like I was a disastrous school, terrible, you know, had a lot of issues learning issues and stuff like that. And I was like I said, I started working at Kitchen 14. So I, I like to I love the camaraderie. I love the hustle and bustle, the kitchen. And I felt kind of at home there.

00;10;12;24 - 00;10;33;00
Chef Neill Howell
Nobody asked me about I was, you know, ten times for Webo or any of the questions or any science questions or any, you know, anything that I on a daily basis struggle with. You know, I loved PE, which is good because I love playing football at lunchtime and playing on the cricket team that kind of stuff up a school, but everything else like kind of really didn't like it.

00;10;34;08 - 00;10;57;27
Chef Neill Howell
So I didn't really had too many choices when I left school. Finally, all my exams. So, you know, I'd be working at kitchen and you know, culinary school was an option. And I, I thought to myself, you know what? I kind of like cooking and maybe I can do something with this. I never really thought about where it would take me.

00;10;57;27 - 00;11;31;20
Chef Neill Howell
And, you know, luckily enough, it panned out for me and I'm not too bad at it. And but I find it extremely difficult. I'm not a chef that will sit here and tell you, like, oh, you know, this is extremely difficult job. Like every teacher who works and I find it very hard, I have to really concentrate 200% because, you know, the margin of error is so small in a kitchen, especially if you're really committed to, you know, cooking everything in a house and you are with gradients and really trying to do something a little bit different.

00;11;33;04 - 00;11;55;09
Chef Neill Howell
Any chef around here, you know, the ones I respect, I'm sure they would say the same thing. It's it's a difficult job and you have to commit to it. It's not anything in life. I tell my kids all the time, like, if you don't commit, it's not really going to work out. You've got to give 100%. Yeah, my son, I play soccer right now and he just thinks like if you show up, like, you know, because he thinks he's pretty good, so he's good.

00;11;55;09 - 00;12;10;28
Chef Neill Howell
But, you know, if they think they can just show up and and be good enough and it's like, no, like if you want to make the team, you got to put the fan and be a team player, maybe show early, maybe leave a little later, you know, sort of things that I've never, ever said. I'm the best chef in town.

00;12;11;00 - 00;12;31;29
Chef Neill Howell
Never. I would never say that these people are way more skilled than me. And in Baltimore, but I'm a hard worker. I workshop, I would say, like, I'll work all day if I have to do 24 hours. Doesn't matter. Whatever I need to get done to get the food out. But I'm saying that it does get a little stressful, but oh my God.

00;12;32;00 - 00;12;49;02
Chef Neill Howell
Like I need to I want to do all stuff outside of work because I'm a big believer in like, you got to have some outside of work. You know, you can't just keep it's not good for your mental health if you just constantly at work. And I'm somebody myself that needs to sit down and think about dishes and food.

00;12;49;03 - 00;12;57;24
Chef Neill Howell
It doesn't just come to me naturally. So I need the space and time just yeah, I don't even have a lot of questions.

00;12;57;24 - 00;13;15;15
Rob Lee
About, you know, you did. You did. And and really that's what it is. I mean, it's it's authentic conversations. And I think, you know, sometimes I would do a podcast and sometimes it would be almost ranting, almost like the stream of consciousness sort of way. And I was like, There's no answer here, is it? That was just me talking.

00;13;16;12 - 00;13;37;03
Rob Lee
But I think being able to get in into what's the not only what's being produced, but what's the thinking behind being produce. I think that's a lot of what comes out of here. Like if someone is doing a making a painting, if someone is doing a sculpture or something, someone is in the kitchen coming up with like, you know, all types of wow, different things that are coming out of the kitchen.

00;13;37;14 - 00;14;05;23
Rob Lee
You want to know what the thinking is that's under it, because that I think that's where the true learning and the true like insight comes from. So I got to get a few more real questions before your show of Rapid Fire questions. So tell me about perception, and I think you were touching on it a bit there where so with perception, going into the kitchen, with a certain feeling, whatever that feeling might be, how does it reflect like how you work within the kitchen during that day?

00;14;05;23 - 00;14;10;20
Rob Lee
How does it affect the end result of getting the food out or prepping the food or what have you?

00;14;11;15 - 00;14;35;00
Chef Neill Howell
So, you know, I think a lot to have session it's a perception through like cooking shows and TV shows and the Food Network, everything else. A kitchen is this place you could just like walk in, you know, you get bored and get fat and, you know, everyone's chatting and like and that's maybe that's just like a grumpy chef point of view.

00;14;35;14 - 00;14;56;16
Chef Neill Howell
But kitchen work is very, you know, as I said, if you want to I kind of say to myself the other day and like, I don't want to sound be credible. I was like, you know, there was a few things going on I wasn't too happy with. And I'm like, let the end of day, this is the corner pantry where not just some I don't want to see some other place.

00;14;56;16 - 00;15;22;02
Chef Neill Howell
I didn't start a business, just the other cafe. I really want to try and make a point and show people that you know, there are some dishes in England that you can come here and and enjoy. Stuff I grew up with like a sausage rolls or scones or that kind of stuff. I really enjoy. But I also we call it Modern British because, you know, in England you can get great Indian food, you get great Asian food, you get a lot of different other stuff.

00;15;22;11 - 00;15;39;15
Chef Neill Howell
And I also want to utilize what we have around here. I mean, there's so many great farms around here. It's it's insane. There's so many great you can get great bass, you know, there's so many great farms around and the people can use. And when I go to directions to see that they're not really utilizing that stuff, it kind of it's a little frustrating for me.

00;15;40;29 - 00;16;04;05
Chef Neill Howell
So perception is for me. I mean, like you just got to come in and work hard and give your best and like, I'm not really a fast if someone doesn't know what they're doing, that doesn't bother me. But if they come in and they're not 100% committed to to the task at hand or mine and my wife's vision that can be a little frustrating.

00;16;05;22 - 00;16;28;01
Chef Neill Howell
But, you know, I think to some people's perception of this place that I do everything, you know, like you, don't I? I'm in the back. Okay, so maybe the people could have that perception. But, you know, like the laser, our shows great example of like somebody came in, she never she was a little bit in restaurants, but she had no real cooking, any baking experience to come in.

00;16;28;01 - 00;16;51;23
Chef Neill Howell
And she just flourished. But because me my what I really pushed for a little bit here and there. She's taken all recipes and then now she's like doing most of a lot of the on her own. So I mean, you know, it's a very rewarding industry and very rewarding job. Yeah. On the flip side, it's also like, Holy Savage, it's on you.

00;16;52;22 - 00;17;10;04
Chef Neill Howell
Yeah. What am I doing? Like, you know, but it's as you said earlier, the, the one of the first questions that that for me, the service aspect of it is what I love. I love that if we didn't have a I don't know if I would get to it. You know, I love and we're also a catering company as well.

00;17;10;04 - 00;17;40;17
Chef Neill Howell
So that's totally new, different base for me. I've never really done catering. So and we're here, we're we're busy people, you know, we're doing a lot. We have a wedding to 300 next month with the 500 plus sit down and we do sandwich 12. 20 people propose people's houses to 20. So we do with food service, Kyra. So we do everything and we do with this small little thing that we ask that so many people ask me all the time, but how do you guys do it is how could you best sit back then?

00;17;40;17 - 00;18;00;19
Chef Neill Howell
I just you got to go. I don't know. You got to push yourself. But without food being disrupted by that, you know, if the product you're putting out is not up to par and you can't do it, then you got to pull back. And sometimes that could be us cause I honesty's one of my my pitfalls. Like, sometimes I want to do too much.

00;18;01;17 - 00;18;14;23
Chef Neill Howell
Maybe it's on my I think I'll say like globally little babies. Karis I want everybody to come in here and be out, experience all these different things, and then I'll put myself in the hole by trying to get it all done. So I'm working on it. It will pick yourself out.

00;18;15;06 - 00;18;38;14
Rob Lee
Yeah. It's the thing that and I'm trying not to get caught in it myself from my perspective and in doing these podcasts and like for context, you're the first of eight that I have today and I have a day job as well. So it's like a wild thing. And, you know, knowing when I'm at capacity, knowing when I you've kind of asked that question, that's you ask a painter.

00;18;38;19 - 00;18;59;18
Rob Lee
So when you're making eggs that has nothing like those things don't go together. You're not really, really art. So being able to take that that break. But I think one of the key things, one of the key gems I think that you touched on is being able to bring in people that you're working with to kind of get the vision, because not everyone has a vision that everyone has, you know, that foresight to kind of see ahead.

00;18;59;18 - 00;19;18;03
Rob Lee
And it's like, Oh, this is what we're doing. This makes sense. And trusting in that. And you know, for the most part, this is a one man show with the exception of my producer who's English. So, you know, he's going to he's going to have a he's going to enjoy this, by the way. But it's one of those things where it's like, I know what works.

00;19;18;05 - 00;19;34;04
Rob Lee
Just just follow it. Just follow what I'm doing. And when it let's say if it doesn't work, then I'm going to be the person that finds a way to fix it, you know, and trying to having that vision in directing me being that North Star, if you will, and I think being able to work with people who get it and kind of understand it.

00;19;34;04 - 00;19;48;16
Rob Lee
So if I bring in a freelancer who's a graphics person or a freelancer who's working on a website, it's like, Here's the conversation. This is what I'm aiming for. This is what I would like to see. Based on your skills, I want you to solve the how I'm responsible for the why.

00;19;48;21 - 00;20;09;02
Chef Neill Howell
Yeah, yeah. It's yeah, I mean, you know, like I said, yeah, you can have all the vision you need, you want you can have all the vision in the world, but you need other people around you to execute it. And not everybody needs to be, you know, like the visionary. You know, everybody needs to be the rockstar. But, you know, you need like you need the generals and you need, you know, some of the soldiers.

00;20;09;02 - 00;20;30;18
Chef Neill Howell
And like so we have we have a good team here. You know, we're I have a sous chef who started on Monday, thank goodness. You know, we've been out. It's been three years, you know, so we're so busy now that we're a place where it's kind of diminishing the business by me being on the line every day. And it's also diminishing the business a little bit.

00;20;30;18 - 00;20;55;06
Chef Neill Howell
But my wife's constantly on the computer answering emails, so we think like we have to push the business forward. We really do need to fill those roles so we can, you know, run our business. I mean, I think most people own a business saying that they really own a job, you know, that's the people around you that figured it out, you know, that figured out how to run a restaurant and not be there every day.

00;20;55;06 - 00;21;17;13
Chef Neill Howell
And I look at them all like, gosh, Clay, they've me because I need that and not because I want to be sitting around to do my thumbs up. You know, when you're like constantly your head down working, you know, you're not always up looking at what's going on around you doing this next do y this doesn't taste as good as it did yesterday because they missed this.

00;21;17;13 - 00;21;35;11
Chef Neill Howell
So let me taste the avocado makes you just made but sometimes I'm so busy that I really do like it's bad I like miss those things and then a customer gets it and then they're not as satisfied as they were yesterday. And then I take it too hard, you know, but these are little things that will happen every day.

00;21;35;11 - 00;21;42;20
Chef Neill Howell
I mean, no one's perfect going to make mistakes, but as long as we can catch them and fix it, I mean, that's kind of what so about.

00;21;43;10 - 00;22;04;20
Rob Lee
Yeah. So this is the last real question I have for you. And there was a opportunity is very near and dear to me. So I think one of our mutual acquaintances, Chef Amendola, forged one of his. And he has he answered the same question I had the opportunity to and it's on film somewhere. I'll find it to work with him.

00;22;04;20 - 00;22;18;03
Rob Lee
And he made his very famous mushroom stew. And that is like my favorite thing on the menu there. And I was able to make it with him. So I'm just like, okay, this is great. And we're going through the process. He's like, What does this need? Was then he was like, This is amazing. You know, let's balance this out.

00;22;18;03 - 00;22;28;00
Rob Lee
You know, here's this all his ass with all of that good stuff. So I think he said that's like the signature dish that represents him as a as a chef. What would your signature dish be that represents you as a chef?

00;22;29;06 - 00;22;55;24
Chef Neill Howell
Oh, wow. So that's a big question. You know, I mean, on the menu right now, I mean, we change things so, like so much that I don't know. Yeah. That that that mushroom stew that Chris makes is amazing. And he's someone that is so committed to sourcing locally and doing, you know, I like I like Chris the person I definitely like his food is amazing.

00;22;55;24 - 00;23;16;02
Chef Neill Howell
Oh, I don't know. That's a hard question. I don't know. I don't think I've yeah, I've been asked that before. I really have. I would say dish, you know I think we've had some great carries on the menu. I really enjoyed doing that just because I just love the Indian influence on the breakfast menu. Right now we have cured Sam, which is amazing.

00;23;16;10 - 00;23;36;18
Chef Neill Howell
I make that in-house, but I don't think we have cooked. One dish stands out. I'm sure somebody came in here. They're going to tell you all the smoked turkey sandwich or the and I but you know, I'm one of those people that I just like I love doing. If I'm going to make a sandwich, I'm going to put 100% love into it.

00;23;36;18 - 00;23;55;17
Chef Neill Howell
If I'm making a praying, I'm going to put the same love into it. So I don't know behalf and may sell you one. You know, all I know all I can tell you is whatever we're doing here, we try our best to make it with love and with passion. And I think that people get that when they eat it.

00;23;56;01 - 00;24;16;08
Rob Lee
Absolutely. Absolutely. That's that's very fair. And thank you for sharing that. So in the last few moments here on hit you with some rapid fire questions. Don't overthink it. Don't overthink it. Always at the preface it don't overthink. Go. All right. So what is a word or phrase that you use way too much that you just overuse?

00;24;17;12 - 00;24;27;09
Chef Neill Howell
Well, I might say my I will swear words, but I'll leave them off the podcast.

00;24;27;09 - 00;24;46;02
Rob Lee
That's what we do. Well, you already touched on this, so I'm going to skip it. What is the key to the perfect scrambled egg? And that is something that I really enjoy for your place. I always remark upon like, Yeah, these are like the best scrambled eggs I've actually had and I'm a person has proposed to food before.

00;24;46;02 - 00;24;55;27
Rob Lee
I've proposed to a lobster bisque in Nashville once. So, you know, the eggs are there. The eggs might be my my side. So so what is the key to a perfect scrambled egg.

00;24;57;10 - 00;25;17;28
Chef Neill Howell
Fluffy scrambled eggs? Best of your to use the right pot, you got to use a really good pot, a heavy base one. You're using a spatula, you need to cook it. Not too high of cook it nice and slow. And you got to have butter. I mean, you got to have a little bit butter in there. We had eggs 2 hours, but slow.

00;25;17;28 - 00;25;31;17
Chef Neill Howell
Do not cook it too hard. Do not have the today's size and then seize it properly. I You don't like any black pepper now. Just you, so. But yeah, I think that that's it. Yeah.

00;25;31;17 - 00;25;41;04
Rob Lee
Okay. Simple simplicity. Simplicity, but done. Well, could you recommend any book that you that has had an influence in your career?

00;25;41;04 - 00;25;59;13
Chef Neill Howell
Amen. Tonya I think for me, I always will. The reason one of the one of our is price for this place as a chef for Yotam Ottolenghi. There's a bunch of place in London. He's an Israeli guy. And I remember me and my wife the first time we kind of went to London together. We went to one of his bakeries.

00;25;59;13 - 00;26;26;25
Chef Neill Howell
He has a tunnel over London and his folks, Ottolenghi has lots different cookbooks. That one right. You know, all different varieties of cookbooks. They're great recipes, really. You know something? You give a cookbook and you try a recipe and it doesn't work. So like about spices, just giving you some bullshit recipe. All these recipes what I actually so my source, he did a talk in DC not too long ago.

00;26;26;25 - 00;26;51;23
Chef Neill Howell
We actually took me to the store and we went that to to, to, to sit down listen to his thought process around foods. He's a big inspiration. And then I have a bunch of I have a bunch of Jamie Oliver recipe books. So I like him as well. And I've seen a couple of times just walking in New York and so, so house that's the big one and yeah so that that two ones I would say.

00;26;52;12 - 00;27;11;29
Rob Lee
Okay here's here's the last question. This is the, the, the kind of end of the interview sort of question. So obviously, Indian food is a thing that you're you're a fan of Indian food and you like to even work it into, you know, influences within your menu. So let's say you're not working on one a day and you're going to order some some takeout or, you know, order some Indian food.

00;27;12;13 - 00;27;13;23
Rob Lee
What are your go tos? What are you ordering?

00;27;15;10 - 00;27;39;21
Chef Neill Howell
Oh, my God. I'm going to get it. It's a masala. I just love that. Got to get that garlic naan got to get garlic on and the dishwasher in on you got to get that. I really like that and you have to get if they have it is on your barges a lot of Indian restaurants they don't really do it on your so we stay in every place in London and England they have it.

00;27;39;29 - 00;27;45;15
Chef Neill Howell
And then Bombay potatoes, which is potatoes just cooked in a bunch of different spices. That's really, really good.

00;27;46;04 - 00;27;55;11
Rob Lee
That's that sounds amazing. That's very close to what my go to is or what have you. If I'm ordering from, like, Mama's Stay or the Kumari restaurant or what have you, those are like pretty much two staples for me.

00;27;56;00 - 00;28;15;07
Chef Neill Howell
Yeah. So I can go back to the cookbook thing. I got to make one more plug. Bugs Henderson, these one, another great book. He's not a very inspirational English chef, so I actually feel a privilege to work with him in New York for two weeks. And I saw my cookbook and he actually even helped me get my green dots.

00;28;16;00 - 00;28;23;19
Chef Neill Howell
He did a part for me, so he's another guy. This is for any kind of reason why we saw to order on butcher and house as well.

00;28;24;11 - 00;28;43;06
Rob Lee
Well, thank you. This is this has been enlightening. This is a good start to my day for that. You know, I got a sandwich. I'm over here talking to you. This is great. So with that being said, I want to thank you for being on this podcast to I want to invite and encourage you to tell the fine folks where to come visit you, get some food and website, all that good information.

00;28;43;09 - 00;28;44;18
Rob Lee
The floor is is yours.

00;28;45;11 - 00;29;08;26
Chef Neill Howell
Oh, great. Yeah. So obviously we're located on Lake Avenue at the bottom of those road, right the front there. Three, one, two, one. You can follow us on Instagram, the corner pantry, you follow me on Instagram and our website is the corner dot pantry. And yeah, you know, we're open Monday to Saturday. We do brunch inside, you have donuts, you have a great lots of great stuff.

00;29;09;07 - 00;29;12;27
Chef Neill Howell
So come in and enjoy yourself. And if you look pretty catering, you can hit some of that.

00;29;13;01 - 00;29;31;11
Rob Lee
So there you have it, folks. I want to again, thank chef Neil Howell from the corner pantry. I am Rob Lee saying that there is food in and around Baltimore. He's got look for it.