CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Noah Miller's culinary career path was set at age 13. That's when he started working in the kitchens at the Governor's Mansion, learning at the side of renowned chef Otis Laury. During high school, he left the classrooms of Capitol High School at 1 p.m. every day to work at the Tarragon Room.

"Tarragon Room was the best in Charleston. My philosophy was that I wanted to work in the best places I could," he said.

After a steady climb through the kitchens of fine restaurants in New York and Florida, he returned home to pursue his dream. Miller opened Noah's Eclectic Bistro on McFarland Street in March where he's preparing and serving the intriguing fusion dishes he loves to create.

"I probably wouldn't have this restaurant now if it wasn't for my time at the Tarragon Room. I experienced everything there, from costing to creating specials to running the kitchen on some Mondays," Miller said. "The wait staff really sold me. People were really interested that they were getting great food made by a 17-year-old.

Miller hesitates to claim any label for his cuisine.

"I just want to cook my food, which is world fusion, and not have limits on what I do," he said. What he's been doing recently for dinner are entrees such as Shrimp and Grits, an offering of seared gulf shrimp, fried green tomato, aged cheddar grits, green beans and tomato jam for $27. Patrons of the Tarragon Room might experience a perceived blast from the past in Seared Beef Tenderloin in mushroom Marsala sauce, Dauphinoise potatoes and grilled asparagus for $30, based on the former restaurant's signature dish.

He makes everything he serves from scratch, right down to the tomato jam on the shrimp and grits. He doesn't offer bread before the meals, both because he wants diners to fully enjoy the food and because he doesn't have time to make it himself.

The bistro's six-entrée menu changes as Miller rotates favorites with seasonal offerings. Honey Roasted Duck Breast, Wild Striped Sea Bass, Moroccan Braised Lamb and Portabella Tower were also featured last week.

If a dish isn't on the menu, but the ingredients are listed in other dishes, Miller welcomes the challenge to create special requests. For example, he'll whip up a specific vegetarian dish as requested, unless the diner asks to be surprised.

A lunch menu features three soups, sandwiches and salads. The shaved turkey, bacon, avocado aioli, arugula and roasted tomatoes on the club sandwich exceeds the capacity of the toasted wheatberry bread on which it's made and comes with a mixed green salad for $11. Other sandwiches are Cubano Panino and The Italian, crammed with ham, salami and capicola and a grilled portabella panini.

Salads include a Roasted Chicken, Apple and Endive, Grilled New York Strip, Herb Seared Atlantic Salmon and Grilled Shrimp Romaine, ranging from $10 to $14. The three soups offered daily feature a seasonal variety, hearty and chef's choice.

Soup and salad or half-sandwich combinations are popular with customers.

His menu reflects experience gained in wide-ranging restaurants, rather than training received in formal culinary school. Miller was accepted in the Culinary Institute of America at Hyde Park when he was 16 and arrived in New York two weeks after he graduated from high school, but he left the program after six months of instruction. He'd long ago honed in the skills and techniques offered by the school in Charleston's kitchens. Miller decided the program's cost wasn't worth the benefit.

He faxed his resume to Café Boulud in Palm Beach, Fla., and 45 minutes later, he received a phone call with a job offer. Miller worked for the famously demanding chef de cuisine Zach Bell for 18 months. "If you made a mistake, he would tell you he had a stack of applications this thick," Miller said.

After his time in Florida, Miller moved back to the Kanawha Valley where he ran the Bridge Road Bistro for Chef Robert Wong. Later he went to The Pines Country Club in Morgantown, but found the country club menu uninspiring. The nouvelle world fusion menu at Sargasso, Morgantown's fine dining restaurant on the Waterfront, attracted him. At first, he ran the front of the house, where he gained experience and perspective on that end of the restaurant business. "A lot of what I leaned has helped me in this venture," he said.

He moved into the kitchen, planning and preparing foods that evolved and changed every three months. Late in his three years at Sargasso, his wife, Shonna, who served in the National Guard, was deployed to Kuwait City.

"I attempted to continue to work a 50- to 60-hour week. I handed off my daughter Emma to daycare and sitters. I just couldn't do that any more," he said. Father and daughter moved back to Charleston.

Shonna returned in September. They opened the bistro early in March, an opening they pushed a bit. They still haven't received their liquor license, but patrons may bring their own wine, beer and spirits, and save on a bar tab.

Miller considered buying the site of the former Chinese restaurant that stands of the corner of East Washington and Elizabeth streets on the East End, but settled on the McFarland site. The Millers renovated, painted, tiled and decorated the space in a contemporary design that reflects their own tastes. Coincidentally, three of the paint colors they chose are named for foods: sun-dried tomato, caramelized onion and maple.

Because the space seats only 30, dinner reservations are strongly recommended. They reluctantly turn away customers who arrive without reservations on busy evenings.

"This is just a little bit different from what Charleston's had before," he said. "We provide an experience, not just a meal."

Visit noahseclectic.com or call 304-343-6558 for detailed and current menu. Noah's Eclectic Bistro, 110 McFarland St., is open from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. for lunch on Tuesday through Friday and from 5 to 9:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday for dinner.

Reach Julie Robinson at jul...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-1230.