A Simple Transmission

The Best or The Favorite

There has been much ado about the recent New York Times 100 Best Restaurants list, with plenty of discourse on Substack about which restaurants were absent (and why), which restaurants may not have deserved a nod, and plenty of ruminating about what even is a restaurant?

I read these lists, but I take them with a grain of salt. There have been some absolutely rubbish "Best of Charleston” lists over the years, and even though my restaurants are usually peppered in the mix, I remain skeptical. From day one, I’ve always said the mission of our restaurants is to be the favorite, not the best.

By gunning to be the favorite, we focus on the customer experience; when gunning to be the best, we focus too much on someone else’s (usually a journalist’s) idea of what is good.

Linoleum Floors

We are in the midst of a home addition and renovation, and as you might imagine, are carefully considering the kitchen. My wife and I agreed we wanted to have linoleum floors, a humble material I’ve always admired. (We will have stainless steel countertops, as always.) In looking for vendors, I came across this great photo of the late Paul Fortune, the last man in America to have good taste. His choice of linoleum confirmed for me that we were on the right track:

I can’t help but notice that kitchens have become sickly over-designed - far too many floating shelves and fancy tiles. We are designing a simple, humble space made for cooking meals. I often think about this straightforward, gimmick-free kitchen designed by Steven Scarloff (an unsung genius and one of my favorite designers) for Andy and Kate Spade, below.

Open Tabs

Manoucher Yektai

i-D Creative Writing Competition

stainless steel garbage can

rubber flooring