I don't know about all of this hard liquor explanation stuff (nor do I think I really care), but from my 8-10 visits to RTC, Mr. Landrum runs a pretty good restaurant with good employees.
My oldest daughter (5) has severe allergies including beef, dairy, wheat, eggs and soy among other things. You would not think that a steakhouse would be a very good fit for her. However, she loves lamb, so i decided to call RTC to see if they could accomodate her dietary restrictions. The manager on duty at the time (very polite and helpful fellow, I wish I remembered his name so he could get the recognition he deserves), assured me that he could put together a menu she could eat including broiled lamb chops with no seasoning and steamed broccoli w/o butter. Upon his assurance, I decided to bring my family of four (my wife, 5 year old and 3 year old) at 6:00 PM on a Monday or Tuesday, I can't remember which, in order to avoid crowds.
I arrived and reminded the manager of our conversation and he was ready for us. He seated us immediately behind a party of 4 middle aged looking folks. My 5 year old with the allergies was excited about my promised lamb chop dinner and was acting a little exuberant. In her exuberance, when I was taking off her jacket, she accidently kicked the back of the booth. A women from the party of four behind us let out a harrumph and complained (I don't remember the exact language) about the disturbance to me directly. My wife immediately recognized that this was going to be an ongoing issue, so she asked the manager for a new table. The manager quickly responded that everything would be all right and that we should stay at our table. I may be wrong, but I am pretty sure I saw a look in his face that said, "I want you to stay there because these people behind you are being unreasonable and they don't deserve to get their own way." Of course, the fact that I was thinking that same thing may have clouded my interpretation of his look.
My wife then politely insisted that we should move to another table and after a little bit more insistence that we stay, the manager was more than happy to oblige. Our meal come out allergen free and delicious as always and RTC kept a customer with deft customer service. I have to say that I can't afford to spend $40+ on a five year old's dinner, but I don't mind doing it every so often when it comes with great service and the peace of mind that the kitchen pays attention (most don't) to allergy restrictions.
I have read this entire thread on RTC (and all of the drama and controversies), I read about the controversy between Mr. Landrum and Mr. Fisher from the WaPost, and even though I have not had any personal interactions with Mr. Landrum (which, in my opinion, seems pretty necessary before attacking someone personally, but I digress), I have to say that he has a very good staff and I have to compliment him for his staff selection skills. And when dining out, THAT is what I am looking for in a restauranteur, not a "nice guy" or a friend (For the record, Mr. Landrum may very well be a nice guy, I just believe that this determination cannot be made from simply reading an internet forum).
Just my two cents.
