Welcome to The Moth.
I'm Chloe Salmon.
It's restaurant week here in New York City, and that's got us reflecting on dining out.
A true forte of mine.
I'm thinking about all of the incredible meals I've shared with family and friends,
about the neighborhood spots that feel almost like home,
and about all the hard-working chefs and servers who make a space come alive.
It takes a lot to make a restaurant run.
So to honor the hustle, we've got two stories for you from behind the scenes and inside the kitchen.
Our first one is from Trevor Craig,
who told this at a Pittsburgh story slam where the theme was bold.
Here's Trevor, live with the mom.
The sophomore year between my sophomore and junior year of college,
I told my parents I had a job in Des Moines, Iowa, and I wasn't going to stay home.
I lied.
There was anything I could do to not live at home with my non-drinking Mormon parents when I was secretly gay except for it wasn't so secret.
I moved to Iowa and I stayed with a friend and I stayed on her couch even
though she promised me a bed.
I stayed on the couch, no air conditioning because I could not live at home.
And I talked her into getting me a job at a restaurant.