[DonRocks]

DC Chefs Heat Up Iceland

I wonder if Jeff Tunks judged Cliff Wharton harshly.

[youngfood]

Metrocurean offers some more details and insight on the new Jean-Georges spot (another steakhouse) slated to open at the soon-to-be W hotel downtown.

I've long been a regular reader of hers, but Amanda seems to have really come into her own the past few months. If you don't already follow her, you should. I think she is an absolute must-read for DC dining information.

[Michael Landrum]

youngfood, on Apr 8 2009, 01:53 PM, said:

Metrocurean offers some more details and insight on the new Jean-Georges spot (another steakhouse) slated to open at the soon-to-be W hotel downtown.

I've long been a regular reader of hers, but Amanda seems to have really come into her own the past few months. If you don't already follow her, you should. I think she is an absolute must-read for DC dining information.

From the post:

"We're not alone. In a blog post titled "Why the steakhouse trend passed by San Francisco," San Francisco Chronicle critic Michael Bauer wrote this: "Just about every big-name, chef including Charlie Palmer, Tom Colicchio, Michael Mina and Jean-Georges Vongerichten has gone into the steakhouse business. Steakhouses appeal to a broad range of tastes, and top-flight chefs like to open steakhouses because labor costs are generally lower and it's easier to make a profit."

Fine, it's an economic decision. But give us a more ambitious concept, and I promise we'll come spend our hard-earned money. Pretty please with a porterhouse on top?"

If doing steaks is so easy, I find it interesting why so many of these big name celebrities--excluding Kraftsteak--fail to produce an outstanding steak in a so-called "steakhouse" (even if the restaurant is otherwise a success).

Did anyone ever eat at V.? "An embarrassment" would be the kindest phrase that would come to mind.

In my opinion, even more disturbing (sad, really) than the proliferation of steakhouses is the continued fixation and slavish, unquestioning adulation in the local media on absentee chefs who sell-out their names in what basically amounts to a licensing scheme that funnels profits out of the local economy.

Haven't they grown tired of being duped yet, just hoping for Eric Ripert to send a pout in their direction? Or worse, aren't they tired of serving as the agents of said duping?

(By the way, the above comment was in no way intended specifically as a criticism of Metrocurean whose work is admirable and impressive and who, since she does it for no pay but rather as a labor of love, should be allowed to enjoy the thrill of communing with those she admires and who in their own rights are great talents--just maybe not when it comes to steaks).