Fresh Ingredients-Fresh Ideas Await
As Chef McMillan Delivers Palate-Pleasing Dishes
Chef Stephen McMillan has beenplating up culinary creations in Lake Havasu ever since he moved here in 1997, the majority of the time spent in the kitchen at Shugrue’s Restaurant and Bar. His real challenge is preparing dishes as spectacular as the views outside the restaurant—unparalleled views of the Bridgewater Channel and the world-famous London Bridge. A high-voltage shock to the senses, dining at Shugrue’s challenges and delights all of your senses— from satisfying the most sophisticated of palates to the sensory overload of the spectacular views—all surrounded by intimate seating to semiprivate dining areas.
McMillan spent his early years at Shugrue’s under the auspices of executive chef Greg Gugliotta, before being let loose in the kitchens of Shugrue’s. His mind is as fast and sharp as a chef’s blade slicing and dicing its way through condiments for a party tray. With an emphasis on keeping things fresh and hundreds of specials at his disposal from his 15 years at Shugrue’s, McM i l l a n definitely has a culinary based cranium. At Shugrue’s, much of the menu is made up of popular staple items that customers come back for time and time again. Within those confines, however, McMillan and Gugliotta have built up quite a reputation for special delectable delights.
Two mouth-watering chef specials involve special cuts of beef and pork. The Tournedos Oscar starts with hand-selected medallions of beef tenderloin, served on toast points with grilled shrimp, lump crab, fresh asparagus, and Bernaise sauce. Pork enthusiasts will enjoy the pretzel-crusted Special Reserve pork loin chops topped with orange mustard sauce and a Balsamic glaze.
Originally from Madison, Wisconsin, McMillan graduated college with a degree in anthropology and was actually thinking of entering the seminary with a focus on social work when he realized two things: his job as a cook was blossoming into a career as a chef and that he could fulfill his desire to help others within that career. “If I can train a kid without any job experience to operate well within the kitchen environment then I have given them a real skill that they can always fall back on when times get tough. That is the deeper purpose I find in my career.” Starting out, he learned the business the hard way, by working in it. “I lucked out and worked with some good Chefs who knew what they were doing and who were willing to share their experience with me even though I was just the dishwasher or the prep cook.”
McMillan says being a chef is not the glorified image from TV. Instead, he views it as 90% repetitious physical labor where one hopes that the other 10% provides a chance for learning new things or creativity. Apparently he gets the most out of that 10%. Happily married for over ten years and a father of two boys, McMillan doesn’t take his work home with him. Ultimately when asked what his favorite thing to cook at home was, he responded: whatever my wife is making!’
Fun, hip and alive, Shugrue’s restaurant features a fashionable yet relaxed atmosphere in which to enjoy wine and many other special libations. Thanks to chef McMillan and Gugliotta’s carefully prepared, one-of-a-kind creations ranging from mouth-watering seafood to steak specials, Shugrue’s restaurant elevates fine dining in a casual atmosphere as the most exciting, distinctive, and friendly restaurant destination in Lake Havasu City.
SHUGRUE’S
Restaurant
& Bar
1425 N. McCulloch Blvd.
Lake Havasu City, AZ 86403