925 replies to this topic

[DonRocks]

We will, beginning tonight, be serving our Butcher Burgers at Ray's: The Classics in the bar and lounge area.

<perk>

[wahoooob]

News for those who believe it is a crime to serve a hamburger without beer:

We will, beginning tonight, be serving our Butcher Burgers at Ray's: The Classics in the bar and lounge area. Not all of the toppings or cheeses at Ray's Hell will be available at The Classics, at least for now, but all the standard choices for a great steakhouse burger will be.

O
M
G
!


Crossing the river didn't keep me away from Hell Burgers, but did limit my frequency of visits. Methinks that being able to get them within a 5 minute walk will change all of that...

[bookluvingbabe]

Damn...

How late are you open? My meeting at WES ends at 10...

[hm212]

[DanielK]

So, where were you guys all tonight?

JPW: there were THREE cherries in the Shirley Temples tonight, and two empty glasses. Danielle passed the kid test.

[Mark Slater]

A friend and I had a great dinner at The Classics tonight STARTING WITH A DELICIOUS AND PERFECTLY MADE BOMBAY MARTINI. Yes, cocktails are finally available, too. The steaks were perfectly cooked. My very hard to please chef friend was very impressed. We split the steak tartare-deviled eggs and an excellent crab royale. The food is outright delicious and the atmosphere very cozy. Thanks, guys!

[collije]

<perk>

You can say that again!

We are now serving cocktails, liquor and full bar at Ray's: The Classics. I am happy to say that the factors which forced the original decision to take a hiatus from full bar have now been addressed--that and now that Redwood is open in Bethesda, the waters are a bit safer over my way, and I can breathe a sigh of relief (Thanks Jared and Elias!!!) and get back to the task of building a great Silver Spring restaurant.

Woo-hoo to this one as well, thanks Michael!

[tfbrennan]

We'd not yet been to Ray's Hell-Burgers so jumped when word came that The Classics would be serving the burgers in the bar, and we stopped in early last night. The burgers (grilled onions, sauteed garlic, Heck Sauce, Vermont cheddar on one, au poivre with blue cheese on the other) were superb. We were surprised (but then, not really) when the usual complimentary sides of spinach and mashed potatoes were delivered with the burgers. The sauce could have used more kick, and I found the blue cheese overwhelmed the meat, but my wife thought it was spot on on hers. Great burgers, draft beer, mac and cheese, Key Lime pie and chocolate cake in the comfort and superb service of RTC, at a cost probably less than that of a TGIFridays or the like...amazing. Both of the tables near us had ordered burgers as well, so the word is out.

[Bill on Capitol Hill]

OK, third visit to The Classics coming up Wednesday night. I know I want the House Special, having loved-loved-loved that the first time but been not as happy with Diablo treatment the second time. But please remind me again: Do I want rare or medium-rare? Or is there also a "recommended" as at the burger branch? I like the red center, but warm-red rather than cold-red, and definitely with a good char. Oh, but that Jeffrey Steingarten business with the melting point of fat and all, too. Sounds like I'm arguing my way to med-rare, but just want to make sure.

Also, looking for the cheapskate sweet spot on the wine list. Is there a nice Cabernet (or something more interesting) in the $40 range? I did enjoy the zweigelt, but maybe something more steak-y?

[Lydia R]

Also, looking for the cheapskate sweet spot on the wine list. Is there a nice Cabernet (or something more interesting) in the $40 range? I did enjoy the zweigelt, but maybe something more steak-y?

I need to make time to hit RTC. Are they still serving JUAN GIL MONASTRELL? Very good with charred steak.

[JPW]

I need to make time to hit RTC. Are they still serving JUAN GIL MONASTRELL? Very good with charred steak.

The Andezon Cotes de Rhone at $25 is a nice wine at a great price ($18 at MoCo retail).

[Mark Slater]

The steal on the list is the 1997 Conde de Valdemar Gran Riserva.

[bookluvingbabe]

Finally made it to RTC before my weekly Wednesday meeting and had the burger there.

Very good but I missed the wider range of toppings at RHB.

On the other hand I got to have a drink and chocolate mousse for dessert.

Very glad to have more options at RTC but I think when I need a burger fix I'll still head to Hell...

[Heather]

Scott gallantly attempted to get me dinner just now (I am laid out by hay fever/Benadryl) and discovered that RTC will not allow you to purchase anything to take out. How did I miss that rule?

[bookluvingbabe]

Scott gallantly attempted to get me dinner just now (I am laid out by hay fever/Benadryl) and discovered that RTC will not allow you to purchase anything to take out. How did I miss that rule?

Hmmn... I have often gotten stuff to go in addition to my order at the bar. Mr. BLB is more than willing to stay home solo in exchange for a hanger steak.

But I have never done pure carryout.

Jennifer

[sshorter]

Scott gallantly attempted to get me dinner just now (I am laid out by hay fever/Benadryl) and discovered that RTC will not allow you to purchase anything to take out. How did I miss that rule?

Since I had seen a take out order filled at the bar last week, I was unaware of the rule (indeed, I believed the converse). In their defense the other transaction took place at 10:25pm rather than 6:30pm when I went in yesterday.

[Tujague]

Bob has family coming from Portland, OR, tonight. We talked about going to RTC this weekend, but then remembered that his sister really wants to get crab cakes while she's here. I know that Ray's serves crab royale and crab bisque, but does anyone know if they also serve crab cakes?

[JPW]

Bob has family coming from Portland, OR, tonight. We talked about going to RTC this weekend, but then remembered that his sister really wants to get crab cakes while she's here. I know that Ray's serves crab royale and crab bisque, but does anyone know if they also serve crab cakes?

No crab cakes that I've seen. For SS, call Nicaro and see if they still have the crab cakes on the menu or drive out to Rockville.

[u-bet!]

Bob has family coming from Portland, OR, tonight. We talked about going to RTC this weekend, but then remembered that his sister really wants to get crab cakes while she's here. I know that Ray's serves crab royale and crab bisque, but does anyone know if they also serve crab cakes?

Depending on your definition of a crab cake, I think the Crab Royale might qualify. Regardless, I think she would like it. I had it as part of the Bistro Special a couple of weeks ago, and it was delicious.

[DanielK]

Depending on your definition of a crab cake, I think the Crab Royale might qualify. Regardless, I think she would like it. I had it as part of the Bistro Special a couple of weeks ago, and it was delicious.

I love the Crab Royale, but it's not a crabcake. If someone coming in from out of town wants a real Maryland crabcake, send em to Bobby's in Rockville.

[Tujague]

Bob's mother Salve (88-yr-old Filipina) pronounced her dinner (clam chowder/crab royale) at RTC "excellent." In Salve World, NOTHING is ever excellent (she called Jaleo "crummy"), so you know it must've been good. Sis went for the scallops and loved them (maybe crab cakes elsewhere next week), the men pursued meat (12 oz. NY strip just the right size). Only oddity was omitting olives from my martini (yay for bar service otherwise!). A good evening. Thanks, Michael!

[JPW]

To continue my 100% subjective and biased take on RtC...

The burgers have translated well to SS. Nice little side of mac and cheese.

[Banco]

I'd like to come to the Classics this evening (first time since the previews for the DR crowd) and eat at the bar. Any advice from you fanatics? Can I expect to get a spot right after they open, at around 5:30?

[JPW]

I'd like to come to the Classics this evening (first time since the previews for the DR crowd) and eat at the bar. Any advice from you fanatics? Can I expect to get a spot right after they open, at around 5:30?

Getting a bar stool shouldn't be too much of a problem. I eat the hangar steak so often that they may just start calling me "hangar, medium-rare"

Caveat -- the beer taps are down, so only beer in bottles.

[Mark Slater]

Getting a bar stool shouldn't be too much of a problem. I eat the hangar steak so often that they may just start calling me "hangar, medium-rare"

Caveat -- the beer taps are down, so only beer in bottles.

..... and liquor

[gnatharobed]

I love watching movies at AFI- really it's just an excuse to go to Ray's and take advantage of the bar menu. Three courses for $23.95- I don't know how they do it. Michael's Freebird was amazing. Crispy, juicy, tender and an enormous portion. Last night's coconut cream pie had great texture and wasn't overly sweet- yeah! Can't stand when coconut desserts are sickly sweet and fake tasting. I think I'd love it even more if the coconut on top was more toasted and if the crust was as crisp as the one on my friend's key lime pie. That's just a personal preference though.

[Marks]

Took my family + inlaws Friday night. Amazing as usual.

Had a Gigonda which was a great wine for the price,

Everyone loved the steaks. My 18 year old son back from college inhaled his. I swear I have never seen a 16oz vanish.

Deserts were great as well.

Michael was absent so I couldn't toast him!!

[abby7ophelia]

Has any one sat at the bar for dinner lately? I’m planning to see a movie at the AFI next week and was wondering if there is anything new on the bar menu.

[xcanuck]

Has any one sat at the bar for dinner lately? I’m planning to see a movie at the AFI next week and was wondering if there is anything new on the bar menu.

I was there last night. Is there anything new...........since when? Nothing new since the last time I was there (which was about a month ago).

There IS a TV above the bar now and Elliott has ensured that the most premium sports channels are available. No sound (thankfully) but I'll be dropping in more often to watch Caps games and have a most excellent burger.

[abby7ophelia]

I was there last night. Is there anything new...........since when? Nothing new since the last time I was there (which was about a month ago).

Ok, I should have asked what's on the bar menu?

[u-bet!]

Ok, I should have asked what's on the bar menu?

I was there a couple of months ago. I really liked the Wedge Salad, which I had not seen on the menu before. I know it doesn't sound like much, but the bleu cheese and bacon dressing was to die for.

[tfbrennan]

We ate in the bar a month ago and would not recommend the sliced NY strip entrees. Perhaps we were unlucky but the cuts were below par for Ray's. The hanger looked as good as always, however, and our 15yo really enjoyed it. Another time we had burgers -- can't go wrong there.

[LaShanta]

I finally visited RTC this past week that I was home for the holidays. I was planning on sitting in the dining room (had reservations and everything!) but when I took one look at that Bistro menu......... Wow!!! I mean who can pass up the choice of a $7.95 burger (which rumor has it is the best in town) or a $23.95 3-course prix fix menu???? I mean, who???? I cannot imagine wanting to sit in a booth that bad. Here goes.......

APPETIZER - On the trusted reviews of the reliable DR folks here, I got the iceberg lettuce wedge. (Which was a stretch for me, because I hate iceberg lettuce). But when I realized that the lettuce was only an excuse to eat blue cheese dressing and bacon, I became a believer. The wedge was just, OK. Not great. The in-house made blue cheese dressing was probably the best I’ve ever had. But the bacon bits (though large and chunky) were a bit too hard and chewy for me to really enjoy. On a second visit, I would probably go with the crab bisque that my friend got. She said it was wonderful.

MAIN COURSE - On Nick the Bartender’s suggestion, I got the Delmonico steak (I had already gotten the hanger steak at RTS before). It was superb!!! Sooooo flavorful. I ordered it medium (also after a very helpful discussion with Nick) and it was just right. With just enough spicy punch to it. And I loved the complementing sweetness of the caramelized onions on the side. And the portion was HUGE!!! I had enough for a full dinner the nest day. I highly, highly recommend this steak. Now, I will say that all the flavoring masked some of the greatness of the steak. But I like my food extra-seasoned, so I didn’t mind. But carnivores and true steak purists might be disappointed because the marinade was such a strong flavor.

DESSERT – key lime pie. It was perfect! Light, but a generous piece. It was very smooth and velvety. Not grainy at all. I loved it!!!

Nick suggested a glass of red wine to go with my steak (I am still utterly clueless about wine pairings other than the basic red with red meat and white with almost everything else.) I can’t remember what it was but it was wonderful. It matched perfectly. In other words, trust Nick. He knows what he is doing. Oh, and we did get the side of macaroni and cheese. The cheese was great, but I wasn’t keen on the use of spiral pasta. I would have preferred elbow or Orecchiette pasta. The spinach and mashed potatoes were (as usual) superb!

I had a wonderful, wonderful experience!! Nick and Elliot were very nice and patient with me and my 3 million questions. I can’t WAIT to go back!!!

[soapy]

I have finally had a Ray's Burger and I feel like dancing on the tables and shouting from the rooftops becuase wow is that not the the perfect burger. I had it diablo style with swiss cheeese, onions, mushrooms and garlic. Probably too many topings because i could barely pick it up and bring it to my mouth but each component tasted delicious. My husband had a blackened burger with cheddar cheese and raw onions, which tasted pretty good too. Next time I'm going for blue cheese and bacon. Mmm.

Instead of spinach and mashed potatoes they served us little potato puffs. They were delicious, a far more refined tater tot. I wish we had been given a few more but then again I couldn't finish my burger so I don't know why I wanted to eat more. Although I was pretty close to full I still shared a slice of key lime pie with my husband, it was tangy, creamy and served with realy whipped cream. They also served us little demitass cups of the best hot chocolate I've had outside of Angelina's in Paris.

Husband and I had plans to see a movie at AFI after dinner, sadly we missed our movie but our dinner was so darn good we didn't really care.

[soapy]

Well I returned to Ray's and once again, perfect burger. I tried with blackened with bacon and blue chese, oh my lords was that perfect. I took my ssiter and kept explaiming how this was the best burger ever. She took one bite of my burger said "well I understand that now"

One thing kind of bothered me. I ordered a Diet coke. When I got it, it was flat and it tasted funny. I complained to the waiter that maybe their soda fountain was off and he said "no I poured it from a bottle, it must taste funny to you becuase we use Coke Zero, not diet coke." He replaced my diet coke with a regular which also tasted a bit odd, but I wasn't going to make annother fus about it on a busy Saturday night. I come to find out when I get the bill that it was in fact Diet Rite.

I'm just a little put off about the waiter lying to me. Or maybe he was teling the truth but the computer system was off? The whole situation has been bugging me.

[dcandohio]

My recent experience at RTC in the bar was my first, and while I loved the food and was amazed at what a good value we had with the fixed price portion of the menu, we were aggressively rushed. We arrived right as the doors opened, and the bar area did fill up, with perhaps one couple waiting...but we still had wine in our bottle. The waiter suggested "bagging" our wine so we didn't have to finish it at the table. We weren't lollygagging around. We had dutifully worked though each course in an efficient fashion, but one bottle of wine and two people means that you're probably going to run out of food before wine. I don't think we had even been occupying our seats for 50 minutes when the check arrived. I understand the need to be polite to waiting diners, and also to be fair to an owner who is trying to turn tables in a reasonable fashion. But suggesting that we bag our wine is perhaps taking a teensy step over the line.

[jfw]

Saturday night's dinner was at Ray's The Classics and things were good. Our server was Greg and he was a fine balance of casual, calm, and helpful.

I had the salmon and the kitchen heeded my request for med. rare. There was something very special about that salmon. Amazing richness and a milky/creamy flavor and texture. The sauce was a surprise. Spiked with cinnamon, it seemed. Something akin to a mole. Unexpected, but a great counter to the fish's richness. Also, the grapes were a different sorta accompaniment. I was actually glad to see them on the plate, as earlier in the day I listened to 'The Splendid Table' discuss some even stranger uses for grapes in savory dishes (they recommended grapes as pizza topping).

My companion had the Onglet and it was also superb.

Sides? Excellent. The lumps in the mashed potatoes were the right sort of reminder that the dish is born from a tuber, not a flour. And the spinach was just creamy and garlicky enough to make me want more. It's always the right balance of not too heavy and not too much of a bland, steamed mess.

No room for dessert.

[fuzzy510]

Had my first RTC experience tonight, and I was thoroughly impressed. Went with a friend for Butcher Burgers in the Bistro, and I finally see what all the fuss is about. Got mine au poivre, and it was fantastic, cooked just how I like it and, most importantly, tasted like meat. It's refreshing to get a good burger (especially at that price) which is that tasty, and to see such care put into it instead of just treating it as if it's a lower-class alternative to a "real" meal.

The two of us decided to splurge for dessert since we paid so damn little for our meals. I loved my key lime pie, and my friend, who is picky about his chocolate mousse, was also happy. They didn't end up on the check, though, and after we pointed this out to our server, he came back and told us dessert was on the house. Sweet!

Bravo, Michael, for bringing an outstanding, affordable alternative to the chain-restaurant hell that Downtown Silver Spring has become.

[Marks]

Does anyone know if there are age restrictions in the bar/lounge. I'd like to stop in with my 16 year old next Saturday.

Mark

[xcanuck]

Does anyone know if there are age restrictions in the bar/lounge. I'd like to stop in with my 16 year old next Saturday.

Mark

I've seen kids in there several times. You'll be fine.

[tfbrennan]

We've had dinner there with our 15 year old.

[JPW]

Peanut (age 4) enjoys dining at the bar.

[JPW]

Heard at the bar
"he's really fanatical about offering good steaks at a reasonable price. His name's Ray and he's got a bunch of places; all of them bad puns on his name...

[jandres374]

Heading here for dinner on Friday with some out of towners. Any new interesting wines since the takeover by Slater.

[porcupine]

Heading here for dinner on Friday with some out of towners. Any new interesting wines since the takeover by Slater.

There's a red Austrian on the by-the-glass list that is... unusual. With a Fanta-like nose. Don't know if that predates M Slater or not.

[Heather]

A rare off night in the kitchen...burgers and steak extremely overcooked* (charred, in the case of the steak). We couldn't send the burgers back because Ian was already getting antsy, so he and I ate and left while Scott and Emma waited for a new steak. Nick was gracious, as always, and comped Scott's beer. Sides were delicious, as usual, and Emma tried a Shirley Temple for the first time.

ETA: *made me wonder if there was someone new on the grill.

[Anna Blume]

A rare off night...

I was across the street the night before, thinking of heading over after the black and white Italian film (Comencini; not superior to Scorsese, just different). However, it looked closed. Dark except for the bright red neon sign, so we ended up at Palena for a late bite instead. Was it open? Should have walked to the corner and crossed....

(Since I knew there's no web site, I didn't bother checking in advance.)

[JPW]

I was across the street the night before, thinking of heading over after the black and white Italian film (Comencini; not superior to Scorsese, just different). However, it looked closed. Dark except for the bright red neon sign, so we ended up at Palena for a late bite instead. Was it open? Should have walked to the corner and crossed....

(Since I knew there's no web site, I didn't bother checking in advance.)

It's not open on Monday.

[wysguymd]

I can't seem to find a working website for Rays The Classics. I'm thinking of going there with some friends, but would like to know about the menu. Is there a vegetarian option? Are there any chicken or veal dishes? Also, is the burger available in the main dining room?

Thanks

[JPW]

I can't seem to find a working website for Rays The Classics.

Probably because there isn't one.

I'm thinking of going there with some friends, but would like to know about the menu. Is there a vegetarian option?

Yes

Are there any chicken or veal dishes?

Not sure if the fried chicken is on the bar menu right now or not. No chicken in dining room, but good seafood if the idea is to avoid red meat. Pretty sure no veal.

Also, is the burger available in the main dining room?

No.

Thanks

You're welcome.