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" Before Michael Symon became a household name, he was a local star in his hometown of Cleveland, Ohio. There he is considered a bit of a renegade: opening restaurants Lola and Lolita in uncharted territory, the historic Tremont neighborhood. Tapping into his chef soul, Symon conceives many restaurant recipes and concepts in his home with his wife and business partner, Liz \u2014 the most well received being their weekly pig roast, which is a menu mainstay at Lolita. Of course, when Liz and Michael Symon are not running their many restaurants, they are happily cooking, eating, and brainstorming at home. DELISH: What&amp;#039;s your favorite room? Michael Symon: The dining room. It&amp;#039;s where we gather with friends and family. [It&amp;#039;s] great for holidays and events when you can all sit at one table and enjoy a meal. DELISH: What are some memorable moments around your table? MS: You know, my most memorable moments are not even in my own home; they are probably at my Ya-Ya&amp;#039;s (my mother&amp;#039;s mom&amp;#039;s). My holiday dinners there growing up were very memorable. She&amp;#039;d get the kids involved in the cooking and taught us how to make pasta and sauce. DELISH: What&amp;#039;s an ideal day at home? MS: Wake up, have a couple espressos, make some eggs sandwiches for my wife, Liz, and I. Putz around the yard, garden a lot, and try to sneak in a round or two of golf (and maybe take a quick ride on the motorcycle). After, I&amp;#039;d cook a little dinner for Liz and myself. DELISH: When you just want to make something quick and delicious, what do you prepare? MS: I usually just do a real nice simple roasted chicken. We have a great local chicken guy [in Cleveland]. We&amp;#039;ll just take one of his birds and roast it up with a little lemon and bay leaves, olive oil, and salt and serve it with a vegetable crudo salad. Like a zucchini with some almonds, dill, olive oil, and lemon. DELISH: If you had an unlimited amount of money to spend on one kitchen item, what would it be? MS: A Molteni Island Suite. DELISH: Wow! How much would that set you back? MS: Oh, about 150 grand. DELISH: What&amp;#039;s the one kitchen item every cook should have? Something a bit more accessible? MS: A microplane. I find it really great because I&amp;#039;m Greek and Italian so I use a lot of citrus. You can get all the zest off the citrus before you juice it. You can use it to grate cheese or nutmeg or cinnamon, so it&amp;#039;s very versatile. DELISH: If you were to invite a famous person to your house, who would it be? MS: I have some favorite musicians, but I&amp;#039;ve hosted them all at the restaurant. I&amp;#039;d host Tiger Woods. I&amp;#039;d make him anything he wanted as long as he would help me with my golf swing. DELISH: Back to reality. Who are your favorite people to host at home? MS: Oh, family! Mom, Dad, grandparents, in-laws. I love entertaining with family. Get a taste of Symon&amp;#039;s recipe for Chocolate-Covered Bacon with Almonds. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.delish.com/restaurants/a1332/celeb-chef-michael-symon/>