landrumm2000

Yeah. Don't get me started on 'fine restaurants' and coffee. I'll bet $1,000.00 that I have hands-down better coffee and espresso than ANY restaurant in the U.S., probably in the world. In that, I don't mean to hype my shops; more it is an indictment of the culinary world when it comes to coffee. At least today. People are working on changing that though. ← For some reason I don't see myself heading up the hill for a cup of coffee any time soon. Actually, I'll take that bet and use the $1,000 to take cabs to Restaurant Eve, where the coffee is as exquisite as the service, for my morning cup. I'm not sure what one does or says to earn respect in the specialty coffee world, but now I might have some kind of idea how you lose it.

Once again, the common sense and acuity of the darling, darling Morela rule the day. Occasionally we temporarily run out of the free to everyone hot chocolate (in the winter, other treats in the other seasons) and may not have a sufficient window to bring it to an isolated table or two. It gets busy in there sometimes. I'm more non-non-plussed by the poster, on Tom's chat that I "only" stopped by once and therefore must have dissed them. Perhaps they were expecting a private audience performance of my famous roller skate tap dance routine while juggling flaming knives. Sheesh. Everyone who is in the know knows that if I visit a table a second time I run the risk of having them stay for an unacceptable 91 minutes. And no hot chocolate after the 85th minute. Ever.

Just so we know what we're talking about here--and I think people both in the business and in the business of dining can find this easy to understand. Ray's has twelve tables. The first times to be reserved are 7, 7:30 and 8 o'clock. Once those times are filled and the tables committed I can not offer them for an unlimited period of time earlier in the eveningsince there is a prior claim which I must honor first. I always offer an alternative time, which will be for later in the evening. The potential guest then has the option to choose the limited, earlier time, the later unlimited time, another day farther in the future or not to make a reservation at all. It's all I can do until I learn how to bend the laws of time, space and physics to my (actually my guests') will. I can not, however, dishonor my previous commitment to another guest however much the later-reserving guest would like me to.

If it is George Romero you mean, then I might point out that dietary restrictions of any nature are not much of a concern for insatiable, rabid, brain-craving zombies, although they might not like the no substition rule at Buck's.

Actually, I am going in a whole new direction--my team of top carno-ontological technicians is working on the Ni-Burgers. Vaporized essence of meat char and other secret ingredients will be released into the HVAC system like Amyl Nitrate at Studio 54 while liveried major domos (yes, while other restaurants laughably expect you to make do with "sommeliers" and "captains," I am cutting new edges with a switch to full major domo service) randomly blurt out "Ni" "Ni." Guests must provide their own coconuts.

These “rings of light” so quickly dismissed as Vegas kitsch harbor a complexity lying outside the field of the Paris scope, reaching downward from the ceiling and serving to contract the angle of the diner’s perceived azimuth down, down, down and away from the hard-featured grizzly white ceiling tiles, at once forming an amalgam of the central balustrade of the dining room’s circular columns with the equally circular concavity buried in the courtyard outside, echoing the annular selvage of the Rios building, and expanding, expanding their wake into the four surrounding monuments, the circle of Fort Defenses, the Washington beltway, the Chesapeake watershed, the eastern seaboard, the western hemisphere, the earth itself, the exosphere, the elliptical orbit around the sun, the Milky Way, the periphery of the heliopause, our globular cluster, the spiral arms rimming our galaxy, the Local Group, the Virgo Supercluster, and perhaps even to the edge of the visible universe itself. I call on Tom Sietsema to resign as Washington Post Food Critic. It is time someone who cares about our galaxy to step in and lend a more appropriate fashion aesthetic to our expanding nebula of restaurants. Did I mention that I hate stars? Rocks. ← Space Cowboy Rockwell, Here's an idea, Why not ask the Chefs and Restaurant professionals what they think about their designation in the galaxy. ← Perhaps one day the experimental, futuristic, but closer than we think, world of nano-robotic, oeno-pharmacological technology can help us answer these and many other urgent questions. Perhaps one day there will come a man who dares to try... Perhaps one day there will be a place for such visions to be explored...

The pyramids are beautiful too, and to this day continue to amaze, inspire and delight.

The true "Native" cuisine, found here and only here--where it was born and the only locale that supports its woeful existence--is the $25 plate of bad, bad, insultingly inadequate pasta. The argument gains irrefutable support by the fact that so many here claim this as the source of our culinary patrimony and pride. Like any indigenous species, its nativity is evidenced by its genetic dominance and variance close the source--the horrible $20 plate of pasta, the shockingly bad $35 risotto, the merely miserable $22 gnocchi and the sad, defeated $18 gummy starch of no particular distinction but called "house-made"--and its extended range close to home. No other foodstuff is the source of such affected local pride, and this particular food item cannot be found elsewhere. The $25 plate of inadequate pasta does not survive elsewhere due to the ease with which it is defeated by its nemesis, the honest, soulfull $15 plate of good, solid pasta, salad included, which sadly is evinced here nowhere since it cannot survive the noxious fumes of pretense and, yes, arrogance, that pervade throughout.

I second that. You are already there.

We are happy to split any item for kids to share, since we custom-cut our steaks we are happy to cut a smaller steak (or for mnebergall's kids, a larger steak), and we never charge for sides if that's all they want.

The criticism voiced by me in this chat has been a condemnation of business practices that are shamefully too common in the industry and that go unchallenged far too often by those who are in a position to know better. I have mentioned and lauded many positive aspects of the heart and soul of this business--the people who care--and that is what I want to have stand as the result of this chat. The debt of gratitude is mine for allowing me this forum and inviting me into your "house" for the chance to interact with the community in a much more direct fashion.

To me, there is no threat of anything in being honest, fair and commited. Let the guest decide where he wants to eat and let the owner worry about how to run his house, for how ever long he has one. My concern is not for FOH empty suits, but rather for front-line workers who bear the brunt and costs of exploitation.

Man reserves his greatest cruelties, and a special type of inhumanity, for those of his kind. Second only to these crimes is the wanton pleasure he takes in the destruction of nature. A coward fights battles where they are easiest, or sends others in his place.

Asked and answered, counselor. See above. My reverence is for the guests who keep my business alive by their presence. If my guests came to me for possum, then you would find in my house a reverence for possum.

I'll be back tomorrow to reply in depth and pith to these fascinating questions and others to come, I hope. Still some hornets undisturbed in their nest it seems.

I did. That is until I needed to come up with an extra special amuse for the eGullet dinner.

It would be rude of me in this forum, where I am a guest, to mention by name those of whom I speak. You can, though. Why don't you since it is obvious anyway?

Ouch! Hit me where it hurts. I mentioned above that our dependance on the petrochemical industries for our food supply is the single greatest threat to our continued existence. And what you mention are only symptons of that problem.

Actually, I am surprised that my reponses were not challenged more. What do I have to do to get a rise out of you guys, call my next restaurant DaSteaks??? The one thing I would like to change is this: Ownership and management are now so far removed from the people doing the work and the guests they serve. This denies the guest the real experience of hospitality and prevents the guest from sharing and enjoying the fruits of the passion and dedication of those creating his meal and the service that frames and enhances it. In fact, that passion and dedication themselves are denied a place. At the same time, dedicated, talented and passionate restaurant professionals are denied the opportunity to have their work count for something. Anything, really. John W., Jared and Jaime, Mark S. and others (apologies for not mentioning you by name, I know you're out there) pull this off, god knows how, though. Houses like Jerry's Seafood, Restaurant Eve, Corduroy, Palena, 2941, Colorado Kitchen, SBC, Ray's and others (again, apologies to those I overlooked) stand in stark contrast to this norm, and the beauty of these houses is that every member of the house counts for something, as does the guest, which is perhaps why they are so well-liked by this forum. The restaurant business throughout American history has always been an engine for economic empowerment, especially for immigrants and minorities, and has served as the portal of entry into the middle class for countless families and even entire communities. Today the corporate restaurant is a plantation system specifically designed to deny that opportunity and prevent that advancement. This fact, and its purveyors, sicken me. If I do have a mission in what I do it is to deny the exploiters who run rampant in the industry today the ability to do business as usual and to bring back a sense of community, purpose and opportunity to the hospitality business by making ownership closer to those served and those who serve. Oh, and more cowbell. I'd like a lot more cowbell.

At home, get your basic Weber grill and real hardwood charcoal, and then use it, rain or shine, winter or summer. It's worth the time and the frostbite, and the Weber is the best. If that is not possible get a Lodge cast iron grill pan, not calphalon, Lodge, and season it right. Get it so hot it sets off your smoke detectors. When you can't stand the smoke alarm any more, the steaks are done.

Honestly, I still have no idea what I am doing. I am still making it up as I go. I just try to do best by the guest and by the house and I let the guest lead me to what that is. If I have an operating philosophy it would have to be: Every plate, every guest, every table, every night, the restaurant stands or falls on that one thing. And each day you have to build it all from scratch. And I cook each steak like my life depends on it because it does.

The best time to get a reservation is when I'm not cooking. Or you can call the answering machine for our availability up-dates. It may not help you with your table but it is good for a laugh. Seriously, though, an insider's tip only for e-gulleteers: if you are interested in a day that the machine says we are full, go ahead and leave a message asking that we call you in case of a cancellation. Be flexible and your chances are decent. Mnembergal has worked out a good strategy that he has shared with others, but be advised, his strategy works because we love his kids.

I work with Hereford for the cuts where the priority is a rich, robust, intense flavor and a meatier bite--strip and hanger, and with Angus where tenderness is a premium--rib, tenderloin and flat iron. Were I to do Prime Rib I would choose Hereford for it's texture and roast-ability. I age as long as I can, and we'll just leave it at that.

I don't eat out much, so the latest trends are lost on me. Either the food is good or it isn't, and nothing much can change that. Industry trends that belong in the trash are: Chefs and owners who do not pay their employees, and even steal their gratuities outright, and piggishly enrich themselves in an obscene gluttonous orgy of stolen wages and livelihoods. Critics and the community continuing to support those vile thieves. Chefs who claim that title over more than two establishments and reap the acclaim that comes from others' work without giving the proper credit or fairly sharing the rewards. The misappropiation and cynical cheapening of other cultures' heritages and cuisines. Restaurants that treat any one group of guests differently at the expense of another group of guests. Critics and the community continuing to cheer those above-mentioned trends.

Come back into the kitchen, you can have your chowder there. It's too cold on the porch.