A Chat with Michael Landrum

[LBNoble]

Ok, I've made a reservation for a week ahead-it's our 10th & I've not cooked my way-too-deserving husband enough steaks during our time together, so I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to hit a place I've been dying to visit & treat my husband to some wonderful steak-I'm a suburb-dweller & I've managed to line up a baby-sitter for the kids (cue sound of heavenly choir)-now if there's clam-chowder when I visit (I'm from Sneads Ferry, NC, home of celestial, green, seaweedy, clam chowder), I will be SO happy...Linda (who's very happy to be living here again, after a year in Kansas)

Now for the questions, Michael, how difficult is it to find & maintain a consistent staff?-I worked as a waitress for many years while I was in school, & I realize that a reliable work crew is very important to the operation-both front & back of the house, how do you recruit & keep your staff? What do you use as your primary motivation (steak as bribes?)...

[Minister of Drink]

Right. Clam chowder. Forgot about that one.

RTS is now a legit restaurant as it has a bar. How long before the apple martinis are flowing like water?

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Michael.... are there plans to expand your liquor license (to include spirits)? If so, then how about the RTS dirty martini made with steak drippings instead of olive juice?

Edited October 4, 2004 by Minister of Drink (log)

[laniloa]

I was able to get a reservation for Thursday night for a semi-celebration of a friend's promotion. Woo hoo.

Michael-- while we were chatting about the reservation I mentioned that the friends who will be joining me are a little down on the DC restaurant scene. You mentioned that it isn't what it should be (even if it has picked up in the last few years). So -- what is missing? What restaurants need to be added? How do we convince the people to demand what other cities have so that small but fabulous places like yours are in every neighborhood?

[landrumm2000]

Hopefully, I have regained my senses enough to post coherently, unlike, say...Morela.

Before I begin in earnest, I do want to post somewhat of a disclaimer:

I came up in the business from a much different path than most, and I am therefore much less beholden to certain interests, ways of doing business, and insider's clubs and cliques. I am therefore more free to speak my mind, and that is a freedom I have worked very hard to earn.

The restaurant business today is much different than the business that I fell in love with over twenty years ago. In fact there is much in the industry that I despise and fight against with a passion, and much that I would like to change.

I do not wish to abuse or dishonor the hospitality of this forum, but some things need to be said. These are things that many in the business, I believe, would agree with, but may not be in a position to speak as freely as I.

So, anyone who is easily offended by strong opinions may wish to stop reading now.

[landrumm2000]

i can tell already, this is going to be an interesting chat. 

I'll admit it, I would have never discovered your place if it weren't for the pho shop a few doors down.  ever try that place?

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I eat there about once a month, love it. In fact I ate there before I even looked at my site, and would never have found that location without Pho 75.

[mnebergall]

Chef Michael:

I doubt you could say much that would deter any of us from patronizing your establishment. One thing we have come to expect from you is your frank point of view. I believe you would in fact dishonor and abuse the hospitality of this forum if you did not speak freely. The whole reason we have these chats is to learn your perpsective; it definitely sounds like you have one. Let's have it.

[landrumm2000]

What should I say when I mention to non-eG regulars of Rays when they find out I was lucky enough to experience the steak tartar deviled eggs and they haven't?

BTW, I have been dreaming of them ever since.

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You could mention that the chef prepared a special dish as part of a special group and as part of an inside joke (Rocks, please post or link the recipe for Devilishly Good Eggs here [Here you go!]). Or you could, appreciating that, say nothing.

I'm sorry to be harsh here but the whole phenomenon of "Throw the organ grinder some pennies and the trained monkey will do a private dance for you" that is overtaking the scene (e.g. grill days at Galileo, Laboratorio, minibar, but not Eve, Maestro and Citronelle) is something that cheapens the participants and diminishes the dining scene overall by diverting attention and acclaim from the people who work hard to bring a special experience to all of their guests, Palena, Firefly, Nectar, Corduroy and others.

[landrumm2000]

Michael,

What steps have been on that long and convoluted path that have helped you create that wine list that I enjoyed so much when I was there?

Don't know how much I want other people to know, because you might raise your margin, but I, for one, am greatly appreciative of some of the bargins on your list even if I haven't taken advantage of them as much as I have wanted.

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I commit much time and a ridiculous amount of resources (my wine inventory is dollar amount larger than DC Coast's for example) to seeking out special value wines and special purchase opportunities. I know from my reps that Tom Power does this, though we've never met, and like Tom, I pass on those savings to the guests.

Wine is a particular passion for me, but more than that it is at the very heart of hospitality and the celebration of life. I always want to make sure that my list is as exciting, approachable and affordable as possible.

As for my pricing, what I charge is what is fair. It's that the other places are, quite frankly, ripping you off.

In fine dining, when you have a sommelier such as Mark Slater and a commitment to proper storage, presentation and service, then the expertise and intelligence of the selections and the costs involved in first-class service do warrant the cost--in fact in Mark's case it makes the wines downright cheap when you figure in the value he adds to your selection--but that is rare.

Don't worry about me raising my prices, though; I love wine and value my guests too much to ever dishonor the wines or my guests by charging too much. In fact, I would love if guests used me as a model in refusing to accept being ripped off and insulted at other restaurants.

[landrumm2000]

Michael,

1. What do you like to eat when you're home alone?

2. What do you like to eat when you're home...but not alone?

3. Where do you like to eat out in DC?

4. Breakfast in bed or her arms in your sink?

5. I am curious whether your travels, as oblique as Rocks was about them, have influenced your cooking, or contributed to your views on food, and if so, in what way?

6. What do you like about being a chef?

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Welcome to the two minute speed round, where the contestant have two minutes to answer as many questions as possible. Begin now...

1. I have always found this question, and I know you didn't mean it this way, Nadya, insulting in a tap-the fish-tank kind of way. The myth of the chef as an exalted being with tastes and powers beyond those of normal men, who wind down after work with Louis Quinze, DP, caviar, a three-hour romp on their Harley's to find obscure artisanal producers on their way to the free-fall sky-diving championship is just that, a myth and BS PR. I have seen too many careers, families and livers ruined by people trying to live up to this myth and I have witnessed too many chefs become worthless hacks by actually believing their own PR crap.

2. There's an easy way to find out.

3. No question. The single place I crave and jones for is Jerry's Seafood. I have enjoyed myself immensely at Firefly, Komi, Eve and Palena and thank everyone for the great meals. I am waiting until I get my custom-made $800 walking stick/dueling sword delivered from the Queen's own furnisher so that I can lose it at the coat check before I go to Nectar, but I'm sure I'll love it too.

4. I'm thinking actually that it's all pretty well covered by "the floor".

5. The idea above, that food is intimately and inextricably connect to a place and its people, comes from travels and other cultures. By the way, I need you to teach me "Mat" so I can go to Mother Russia and stroll the Neva.

6. I am not a chef in the way that others use the term, but as a restauranteur, my greatest satisfaction and sense of accomplishment comes from seeing guests, often young couples, receive hospitality, welcome and a special experience in a way far beyond what they have come to expect in this area, and their pleasure in that

[landrumm2000]

Chef Michael,

Thanks so much for doing this.

Could you talk about the suppliers you use for the restaurant?

Do you use produce, beef or other foods from local farmers or farmers' markets at all? 

What do you think of 'grass-fed' or 'naturally raised' or 'organic' beef? What about the practice of sustainable farming? Do you think these approaches improve the quality of the products? Are small restaurants able to use foods from these kinds of small farms, or are the prices too high? 

(Apologies if these questions are ridiculously basic or naive - I'm not in the business and I know nothing about how the restaurant supply process works.) 

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I work with breed-specific (Hereford and Angus), grain-fed, corn-finished,farm-raised beef from Iowa, Nebraska and Kansas. Unfortunately, right now with the quantities and aging cycles I work with, I need to work with larger producers.

There is a great article in the New Yorker Food Edition from a month or so ago about the merits and difficulties in sustainable meat production.

It is no exaggeration to say that the dependance on the petrochemical industries for the production and transportation of our food supply is the single greatest threat, along with the SUV, to the future of our country.

Grass-fed is great in Argentina, but American beef is grain and corn, natural and organic is always the ideal.

[landrumm2000]

Hi Michael--

I'm sure I share this dilemma with others on the board.  I want to tell all my friends who are wasting their money at places downtown to come to Ray's.  But, it is already difficult to get a reservation and I don't want to contribute to that.  So, how do you stay desperately local when you can't just say, hmmm, I'm in the mood for a steak...let's go to Ray's tomorrow night?

That said, I'm going to try to introduce a friend to your fine establishment next week.  That is, if we can get a reservation on such short notice.

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I think that this is where the word "desperate" comes into play. It may be counter-intuitive, but Ray's is actually much less profitable at the level of business I currently do than if I were to do slightly less.

However, I am desperately doing whatever I can to accommodate as many people as I can to maintain the maximal amount of neighborhood access.

Ray's is actually an easy table to get, it's that the farcically uncivilized DC lifestyle makes it hard for people to accommodate Ray's into their dining plans.

With the touristic herd mentality of "We can only dine at 7:30, we might be 4 or 6, and anyone in the party can come as late or as early as he wants" and the need for diners to be "entertained" DC ends up with restaurants that are basically very expensive, 250-seat, tablecloth versions of the "Foods of the World" food court at Epcot Center and where we get treated like the Griswold family in European Vacation (sneered at and derided to our faces in several dialects and accents) in our own back yard.

Forbearance, though, I have a plan for Ray's: for two months I am going to serve really bad food, you know, coast off of my good reviews and mail it in, and then people will stop coming in and it will make it easier to get a table.

Seriously, though, if you ever need a table PM or call and ask for me. I owe a lot to e-gullet and I am not one to have my debts go unpaid.

[landrumm2000]

Michael: How late do you serve on the wkends?

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I am usually cooking until eleven or so and as long as the grill is on and I have a free seat I keep cooking as long as people keep coming.

[landrumm2000]

Hi Michael,

Any chance of ever bringing back those sirloin tip/spear appetizers you provided to Hooligan, John W. and your arms-dealer patron several months ago????

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Sure, as soon as the G-8 countries and the EU stop selling arms to both sides in racial, religious and ethnic conflicts and as soon as we stop letting fanatical murderers determine our foriegn policy because the Bush family gets rich off of them selling us oil.

[Editor's note: for the chats, all guests can have their responses stand as written even if they'd normally be subject to the pail.]

Edited October 5, 2004 by DonRocks (log)

[landrumm2000]

Chef Michael:

I would be remiss if I let your obvious evasion of stretch's question to go unchallenged.  So, I will use my 1000th post to ask his question again:

"How did you come by your obvious reverence for a good piece of beef?"

A complete answer wil include details on the thinking that went into your decision to open Ray's the Steaks, a somewhat unique concept for a steak restaurant.  Or is the answer something as simple as "I like to drink red wine and I was just looking for something good to drink it with."  Rumor has it that you worked for a time at Capitol Grill.  Did you just wake up one day and say to yourself "self, I can do this better than they can.?"

Mark

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The thinking behind Ray's is that the concept was the least likely to fail, I could get away with no decor since I didn't have money for it, and, yeah, I like to drink red wine and I wanted something to go with.

My reverence for beef is more like my reverence for great guests who keep me from going out of business by coming back again and again so they deserve a really great steak.

I will continue to ignore the rest of Stretch's prurient queries.

[landrumm2000]

From Morela:

Don't worry, Michael. I wasn't the least bit scared because I had my wings. And when all the cars started to honk at me, I retorted by flashing my chest at them.

To Morela:

Umm, that was me honking.

Edited October 5, 2004 by landrumm2000 (log)

[landrumm2000]

Damn, I must get back to RTS and quick!

Michael,

Are there any cuts of meat that you wish more people would order because they may be unfamiliar with it or think it has a bad rap?

BTW, how much coffee do you drink before you record your answering machine message?! 

Thanks.

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Our Flat Irons and Hanger are truly exceptional, but they sell sporadically and in groupings. I don't mind, let people get what they want, but a lot of prep and aging goes into those cuts and it is hard to keep in production that way. Like any steakhouse, though, I wish people wouldn't order filet because its safe. Try the strip, get the rib.

Surprisingly, I drink no coffee. About two years ago I just felt like my next cup of coffee might just kill me (7 days a week, 14 hour days) and stopped.

What you hear is that special kind of energy that comes from the insane.

[landrumm2000]

Right. Clam chowder. Forgot about that one.

RTS is now a legit restaurant as it has a bar. How long before the apple martinis are flowing like water?

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No, Firefly will always be the only place for sour apple martinis, cause the best thing about Firefly and sour apple martinis is that there's a hotel right upstairs!!!

[landrumm2000]

    Now for the questions, Michael, how difficult is it to find & maintain a consistent staff?-I worked as a waitress for many years while I was in school, & I realize that a reliable work crew is very important to the operation-both front & back of the house, how do you recruit & keep your staff? What do you use as your primary motivation (steak as bribes?)...

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It is incredibly hard but I do have an amazing staff.

Most of them were guests first or friends of a current worker.

Back of the house is even more difficult, and I am trying to hire a chef now. If I am successful I'll let you know, and if anyone knows someone...

Edited October 5, 2004 by landrumm2000 (log)

[jmc8y]

Our Flat Irons and Hanger are truly exceptional, but they sell sporadically and in groupings.  I don't mind, let people get what they want, but a lot of prep and aging goes into those cuts and it is hard to keep in production that way.  Like any steakhouse, though, I wish people wouldn't order filet because its safe.  Try the strip, get the rib.

Surprisingly, I drink no coffee.  About two years ago I just felt like my next cup of coffee might just kill me (7 days a week, 14 hour days) and stopped.

What you hear is that special kind of energy that comes from the insane.

So i'm disappointed. Michael has taken the gloves off. Where are the contraversial questions?

by the way michael, my dad says that back when that pho shop first opened, there was a strip club where your restaurant is now. just fyi.

Edited October 5, 2004 by jmc8y (log)

[DonRocks]

Michael,

This chat is a great read over the mourning coffee.

What do you think of the Celebrity Chef now that you're in the process of becoming one yourself?

Congratulations on your Zagat score. Are you going to use all this notoriety to leverage some office space down the street in Rosslyn and run the restaurant by video camera?

[The Doctor]

Well, Michael, thanks for your time and effort. I'll be paying my maiden visit Friday evening with the parents in tow and we're all really looking forward to it.

Some questions (which should hopefully be applicable to other potential visitors):

With filet being the "safe" choice you'd encourage people to branch out from, are there any cuts or preparations that catch conservative diners off guard? You know, a steak where afterwards the person says "Wow, I normally wouldn't have ordered this, but I had no idea it could taste this good!"

Also, any non-steak items you're particularly proud of this season? The clam chowder mentioned above seemed to get high praise.

Thanks for your attention,

Todd

[JennyUptown]

With filet being the "safe" choice you'd encourage people to branch out from, are there any cuts or preparations that catch conservative diners off guard? You know, a steak where afterwards the person says "Wow, I normally wouldn't have ordered this, but I had no idea it could taste this good!"

This applies to me 100%. My mother used to serve us NY Strips that bear no resemblance to the thing of beauty Michael serves. Thin as if it had been pounded, with a chunk of gristle on each end. Texture like a shoe. <shudder> Sorry Mom.

I felt like I was taking a big risk ( ) trying the strip instead of, say, a rib eye, but man...it was wonderful. I will avoid filet mignon from here forward.

I can't wait to try the Ray's hangar steak as it's one of my favorite cuts.

[Nadya]

Michael,

I will get to your other replies in a bit, but thought I'd throw this one out:

Why don't you do lunch?

Seeing as I work but a few minutes away, I could bring in hordes of my (female) coworkers to eat your steaks. Because our choices at Courthouse, frankly are pathetic: either hideous Thai or vile Greek (or Lean Cuisine, if door to own office is locked and no one can see.)

[landrumm2000]

Michael,

This chat is a great read over the mourning coffee. 

What do you think of the Celebrity Chef now that you're in the process of becoming one yourself?

Congratulations on your Zagat score.  Are you going to use all this notoriety to leverage some office space down the street in Rosslyn and run the restaurant by video camera?

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Why is your coffee mourning? Over what might have bean?

Celebrity Chef? Hmmm. Well I don't own a TV, so I can't say. To me, though, chef is a title that once you append another title to it, it stops being both things. A celebrity chef really isn't a celebrity and really isn't a chef so it is kind of sad that anyone would aspire to that.

Thanks. The recognition from Zagat's, whatever you think about those type of rankings, is immensely gratifying to me and my staff. However, it is a fearsome accomplishment at the same time. Diners forgive you a lot and are happy to champion you when you are the little guy. Now, however, I have a whole other set of expectations to live up to and perhaps without the same degree of goodwill walking in the door.

Anyone who knows me over the course of the past three years know that I respond to any measure of success or recognition, the Post review (which came a year and ahalf after I opened and nearly failed), Washingtonian Top 100, Best Bets, etc., with an equal or greater measure of increased commitment to quality and to find a way to use that recognition as a means of improving the total restaurant experience. I am not sure what else I can do, but I'm trying to come up with something.

A side note about Zagat's: recently Tom Sietsema dismissed its value, saying that he and his friends only use it for addresses, on the grounds that it is based on individual surveys. What a sad commentary, if you think about it, on the DC dining scene when the person whose job it is to inform the public, and who does a fantastic job of that, says that the public is too uninformed and not trustworthy enough to express its preferences and tastes. It also says a lot that the tastes of the dining public are not considered valid by the taste-makers and trendsetters. Maybe that is why there are so few restaurants that people actually enjoy going to.

With the question of whether or not DC is a first-rate dining town or not, I would say that you can not claim to have first-rate restaurants or to be a first-rate dining town if you do not have a first-rate dining public. No one, not even food critics, dismisses Zagat's in NYC, SF or even Boston, where people are savvy enough to know what is good and what they want, so maybe that's the answer right there.

That is also where the value and service of this forum comes into play so vitally in the improvement of the DC scene.

[landrumm2000]

Michael,

I will get to your other replies in a bit, but thought I'd throw this one out:

Why don't you do lunch?

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Nadya, see my response to Question #2 of your previous round. Grrrowl!