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Michael Landrum

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Everything posted by Michael Landrum

  1. To Wilma Roumel, my original landlord at Colonial Village, who took a chance on me (in the dark shadows of 9/11) just over twelve years ago, when no one else would, and who remained a growing friend throughout her long illness--and to whom I hope I remained a source of pride and support in return as long as her diminishing awareness allowed (while hoping she was never aware of what her legacy had become).
  2. Despite the name confusion, and perhaps the format confusion, Ray's To The Third serves all of the original Ray's Hell Burger menu--with perhaps the absence of Epoisse as a cheese option. I know it may seem lesser due to all of the additional options, but trust me, it is the same product and the same original staff producing the same burger. That being said, I know it is not the same. It is not the same, it will never be the same, and it breaks my heart too. On a positive note, we continue to, as we always have, offer a significant discount to all military, police and first responders while seated at a table. And without change since 2007, we offer a $5 grab and go to all uniformed personnel--Burger of choice, side and drink. I agree, Kibbee Nayee, that we can do better, and I strive 14 hours a day to do so. As to your son, I can not imagine a greater source of pride for any man or family, and he does us all an honor which we neither can imagine nor do we deserve. An officer in The Marine Corps is the greatest any American can be. A rifleman or a non-com even better.
  3. Well, truth be told, my coinage of "pas de folie a deux" alone should make the post un-deletable...
  4. Great news! (Well, for me at least...): We can finally move forward and complete the long-stalled project on K Street--which some of you may or may not have been aware of--which has been in a weird sort of limbo for some time now. You see, back in November/December 2012 we were about 90% done with the project--everything but the cosmetics and furniture and cooking equipment pretty much--when during our inspections for the mechanical, electrical, and plumbing phase of the construction (the heavy-lifting, heavy-duty infrastructure stuff) it was discovered the landlord had not obtained permits or inspections for the construction of the twelve story Fire-Smoke-and Grease Safety-Rated Duct which runs through the residential complex above us. This had the unfortunate consequence, unintended, I am sure, of rendering our work un-inspectable and un-finishable. On the subject of potential consequences, however, I can assure you that this was nowhere near the first of my concerns... I think, if I remembered or understood their explanation correctly (although I am no legal expert), it turns out they either forgot to check if permits were required before they built it or didn't think they were so went ahead and built it without them. An innocent mistake, I am sure, if it can even be called a mistake at all. In any case, that prevented our completed work at that stage from even being inspected (as I mentioned above), let alone approved, which made any further work on our end either impossible or unfeasible to the point of impossibility. The great news is that just recently, they have generously agreed to install a vertical duct which meets all the code and engineering requirements and specifications, after which in no time flat we should be able to knock out all the finish and decor work--and best of all, with no threat or danger to the residents above!!! Another big plus for me, is that all of that construction was paid for in advance, in cash, and oodles of money to the landlord too in leasehold costs that did not foresee this pas de folie a deux--over a half a million dollars all told, just rotting away in the meantime, which can now finally be put to productive use. I wish I could say more about the final concept, ...errr, menu, but until I know what volume the engineering specs of the built-out duct will allow, code-wise, I can not commit to an exact concept, ...errr, menu. I'll know by whether Don let's this thread stand or not whether there is interest here in further updates on this project as they occur--and if not, well then, see you soon on K!
  5. I could not be happier for Elliot and Nick, and I could not be happier for any legacy to be passed into better hands (comma splice and dangling participle for all you prescriptive grammarians arguing on other threads), but still: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZcA3kiaQb0
  6. If ever a time cried out for a hero, that time is now. Where, oh where, is this brave jongleur to weave his magic healing of song and bring nature back into it's sweet harmony? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlAoHaQbJkI I think we can safely say that the debate between who the more prophetic of folk singers was, Donovan or Dylan, is now unequivocally settled.
  7. Sorry Don, I guess I just assumed that more people would automatically make the connection to this, musically: Maybe I just grew up with too many Gulag stories in my head.
  8. "People Obsessed With The Piano" for 500, Alex: As an added bonus, and to tie into another thread, a $100 GC to anyone who comes up with a passable translation.[Editor's Note: Six incomprehensible posts merged together, and three apparently completely erroneous attempts at using Google Translate deleted - ML, for those of us Nasty Goys, could you at least tell us what this is so we can have some sort of clue? Piano-obsessed, yes, but it is my musical medium and it's possible for someone to have a stab at comprehending it without having attended Hebrew School for ten years. This, despite Gould, Heifitz, and Horowitz all having been Jewish. To an average reader (at least without further guidance), some of these videos are akin to watching a 1950s Israeli version of Hee Haw. The following paragraph is a start, but what in the name of Elohim *is* all this stuff - how about a one-paragraph footnote for each, preferably not written under the influence of psilocybin mushrooms? DR] And for any one interested in cultural history, the Banai's are kinda like the Andrew Sisters, but like over three generations. In fact, I think there was a great documentary from a while back called "All My Banai'm" which is a great play on words between bnai'im, which means "builders" and bna'im, which means "sons" or "offspring". Believe it or not, "Lehakat Zahal" is one of the hardest units to get into, and seeing one of their shows is just one of the interminable tortures one must endure as a soldier. Check that, probably THE most interminable torture... The girls being so hot just made it worse... For example: Or: Wait, what is Ashton Kutchner doing there? Now I think I am in love. How did they get Eric Rohmer to direct this? He does do a great song, Fathers and Sons (Credit to Turgenov): Poor girl, doesn't know she is singing about something horrible happening to her.
  9. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAa0e7apG20 I am so sad to realize that what I always thought was the most beautiful line in this song: "Hetzi olam b'tochak mitkayam (Inside of you half of the world exists, or Half of the whole world is there inside you)" is really "Hetzi olam b'dochek mitkayam (Half the world is pushed up on itself, or Half the world lives crammed together)". I will go back to believing the first version in my mind, a love song from father and son to a mother who is not there, as shown in the video.
  10. I am so going to such a special hell for this, but... Man do I wish my girlfriend's hands were that small!
  11. And if it helps to convince you Don, just think of it as something you are already comfortable with--simply put, you could be the youporn of food, wine and dining.
  12. Don Rockwell, the individual, DonRockwell.com, the (relatively) open discourse forum, and the incipient dcdining.com are, collectively, the single most valuable food, dining, culture and community resource this town has ever--or will ever--see. However, it has lost its ability to revolutionize, democratize, innovate, stimulate, and engage the passionate dining, committed farmer and producer, foodways explorer, superlative home cook, wine and drink enthusiast (at all levels), and quality restaurant professional communities, having lost out to the "reach" of Yelp and Eater, the shamelessness of PoP Harvard comma and the unbreakable hegemony of Tom Sietsema. I also fear it will not be able to sustain relevance or viability without the total destruction of Don himself. My suggestion would be to do something totally radical, which would outstrip all of the other players, and which would create an immensely monetizable, entirely revolutionary model for passionate local food and dining coverage, which would also feed into the permanence and vitality of this site, capitalizing on and seizing the opportunity to innovate based on an emerging technology and an already culturally dominant milestone which has been strangely overlooked in the dining, foodways, oeno-agricultural and restaurant worlds. That is, create a youtube channel, built off of and linked to this site, with interviews with chefs, line cooks, dishwashers, field trips to wineries farms and brewing/distilling facilities, cooking demos, short TED-like talks by the prodigious community of experts here, videographed memoirs of Joe H,, Eric Z., Yannick Cam, drink demos,mini documentaries on all of the subjects we discuss here every day, in short. Content could be created by anyone and curated by Don, with or without Don as a participant. Thierry Thiesse with Don and Mark in the fields of Champagne or filming a degorgement? Awesome! Cathal in the kitchen--or training for a kickboxing tournament? Who wouldn't watch? Sean Mike getting slapped in the face by a sorority girl at Mad Rose? Viral! RJ and crew gearing up for Sturgis? How long has it been since this site was about assless chaps? Too long, I say!!! Not just words about Ted Drewes versus some other place, but a short video with commentary and side-by-side comparisons. Turn Don's reach (and that of this community he has built), connections, inexhaustible fields of knowledge (what caused Samuel Johnson's dyspepsia? I bet he would know) and the awesome power of this community into the new dominant technology of Youtube and other web-based channels, and there will be no limit to what he can achieve and where this can go. If not, someone else will be the Steve Shaw or Tim Zagat of that medium and all of it's limitless potential--the only one I know worthy of that, and with the depth and breadth of knowledge and passion to pull that off, is Don. Two-to-three minute video segments with poignant, incisive curating and commentary by an open-sourced team of passionate experts, professional and self-taught, is what the world wants right now. And this site can remain as the vibrant, discursive record of it all. Plus, each title of key word in each video would increase search results and cross-pollination either exponentially or by orders of magnitude. Say I were to demo a Dover Sole being served table-side, just how many searchable and cross searchable elements would that one thing contain?
  13. Note to those still keeping track, expert or amateur, or the even fewer who don't become automatically sick or disinterested at any and all things related to Ray's and/or its owner: The default judgement referenced above was set aside for failure to serve proper notice of the hearing, and an actual hearing with both parties involved has been scheduled for June 6 in General District Court, unless it is joined to our prior, pre-existing Claim filed in Circuit Court back in November 2012. I've often wondered, when in regards to reputation and integrity, what the connection between the words "speculation" and "speculum" is...
  14. Unless you are a celebrity chef housed in a luxury hotel. Then you receive an automatic 3 stars and the obligatory fawning, gushing and slavishly striving-to-matter praise. The quality of the steak, in these instances, is somehow irrelevant. (Why is it that whenever a celebrity chef is involved, or even the rumor of one, Tom S. turns into Sally Fields at the Oscars?). I myself have enjoyed some excellent, and excellently prepared, steaks and prime rib at Monty's--far superior to what I have been served at Bourbon, J&G, and, of late, sadly BLT (I thought they did some things really great there previously). Even more so, I have enjoyed the warm and engaging atmosphere and hospitality--again, quite unlike at the above-mentioned places. (Of course, for many of those who matter, they're the ones who know what they are doing and who do it right). Monty's does a great job across the board, and the loyalty and enthusiasm of their fervent regular crowd, night after night many of the same people, speaks more deservedly and more truly of their work than this review.
  15. Actually, my first experience at Ravi was thus: I quietly, if uncomfortably, waited in line in the cramped space with one person (younger) taking orders and another (older) next to him closing out the drawer and preparing the change drawer for the next shift and generally ignoring all the loudly sighing and demonstratively exasperated people around me. I explained to the younger gentleman that I was ordering food to go for later that night for when my girlfriend finished her shift, but that I was tired and starving after a long day and needed to order something for "here" in the meantime in order to stay awake and make it to later. I also asked if it was easier for them if I put the "to go" order in later to keep the two orders separate or to order and pay for everything right then. He said to order everything now and they would time it themselves. I asked about the seasoning on some of the grilled items, whether it was possible to get a vegetable instead of salad, and about the special stew of the day...ingredients, spiciness, seasoning, specialty of which region, occasions on which it was typically served, etc. At this point the older gentleman stopped his work, answered my questions with patience, enthusiasm and detail, took my order--lamb for "here", bone-in chicken and kubideh (or whatever it is called there) "to go"--and put it in line with the other orders (and, jumping ahead, which, it was, and can now be, noted, were served in the order in which they were ordered). I left a $5 tip on the $35 order and sat at the last unoccupied table. I then observed the older gentleman prepare several small dishes and call over a busboy to serve them to me--the stew about which I inquired but did not order, a small salad, and some spinach--while he brought me over a cup of water (I typically only drink vodka or personally collected rainwater). As soon as my lamb was served, I saw him personally fire the "to go" items which he boxed just as I was finishing my lamb. Another $5 bill for the busboy when he brought me my to go order. And each subsequent visit, it has been the same every time, whether alone or with a group, and whether the older gentleman is there or not. Now, keep in mind, my idea of good service is what you get at the various Ray's (or at least if things go right, and for the most part). YMMV, as the kids say. Twerkin' it! --Michael Landrum
  16. "By the simple exercise of our will we can exert a power for good practically unbounded. "...[T]he earth is redeemed by the ideal--doing good, carrying the torch of piety and progress, bringing civilization to a people whose skin is a different color..." --Kurtz: Musician, Philosopher, Painter, Adventurer and Explorer The International Society for the Suppression of Savage Customs
  17. Sorry, couldn't help myself. All is not as it seems. Besides, it just wouldn't be right if I didn't post a seemingly irrelevant, to those who don't know the inner workings of depravity, youtube link.
  18. In Hebrew, the word "sumac" homophonically forms the base of such an unspeakably filthy curse word that you will almost never hear the word spoken itself. That said, it is quite commonly, and quite deliciously, used to season eggs. The vibrant purple color, together with its visual similarities to henna'ed hair (which is often brought to great creative use in the curse), doesn't help matters much. Just don't ask for it by name. The same is true for t'hina, which isn't helped by its literal derivation from the word "to grind".
  19. Since this thread has devolved to the point where it no longer reflects on the restaurant under discussion, as someone who does have direct knowledge of the subject, I will make the following simple points: 1. How many times has it been said by Tom, and many others on this board as well, "How hard can it be for a restaurant to up-date or correct its web-site?" Well, apparently it is more difficult for a news organization whose primary function is to publish a web-site--and it seems more excusable to some here as well (curiously some of whom are the most vocal critics of restaurants failing to up-date their web-sites). The Post had over a week to plan its strategy regarding the web-site and made a conscious choice to run a piece that could be nothing but hurtful, rather than a very reasonable (as I suggested before): "Due to the unexpected closure of the restaurant under review, the review will not appear on-line, but will be stored in our searchable archives. Unfortunately, the review has already gone to press for the print edition. We regret the confusion and misinformation." Let us hope he does not in the future hold restaurants to a standard in regards to on-line publishing that his own news organization can not meet. 2. Similar advisements, cancellations or delays in running a review (perhaps with more notice than in this case) have been made due to sudden chef departures regularly in the past, or have been handled with greater transparency or in a more informative manner. Let us hope there is no motive for doing otherwise in this case. 3. Without any implication of conspiracy, within the industry Tom makes no secret of the fact that he does not take kindly to not being made privy to information when that would reflect poorly on him or cause him to appear less than the most knowledgeable figure in and behind the scenes. Let us hope that Suna's failure to prevent this personal and professional embarrassment did not lead to an act of questionable judgement. 4. Again, I will pose the question: "How is a newspaper's or a journalist's failure to prevent or correct inaccurate or out-dated information on its web-site any different than a restaurant's?" Let us hope that it be possible to point out hypocrisy and double-standards without it necessarily following that one is chasing conspiracies. 5. And on the ninth day, god created a critic so someone could live off of the farmer's work...
  20. Sorry to post here, and even more sorry to bring anything else to an event already overburdened with unnecessary commentary taking away from the respect and courtesy and basic compassion due to those who gave so much of themselves, but: For someone who constantly berates in the bitchiest way possible restaurants for not having completely up-to-the-second updated websites, Tom's off-hand dismissal of any responsibility for running the review is total and complete hypocritical horseshit. It may be unavoidable that the review run in the print Magazine, but what possible justification is there for posting it on-line? For someone who has the resources of a Fortune 500 media company behind him (with how many in its IT and on-line departments?), who finds it necessary to harangue small businesses struggling to maintain operational sustainability as it is for not devoting significant resources to updating social media, the inability to pull an on-line review is as pathetic as it discreditable on every level. The Washington Post is a fucking publishing company, for fuck's sake, whose only legitimate reason for existence is the ability to publish correctly. One click, and it's gone, with a note, "Due to its unexpected closure, this week's review of Suna will not appear in the on-line edition of the Post. As the paper of record, we will maintain a copy of the print review in our searchable archive." The only possible reason for running it on-line is so that he could crow about it in his chat today. Cruel, shameless, indefensible, yet truly revealing of the state of personal integrity on the individual, editorial and organizational levels of all involved at the Post. The work of those who actually give their lives to restaurants--the people at Suna, and others--rather than just get paid to eat at them while pretending they know something about which they know absolutely nothing in reality, deserve better than this.
  21. A far more interesting fact is that in 2012 my restaurants generated, directly and indirectly, upwards of $5M in wages. In 2013 that number will be $3M, and in 2014 that number will be $2.2M. Who would like to speculate under which scenario I will be better off, personally (guaranty or not)?
  22. Your research is quite incomplete and your educated speculation is based on facts not in evidence. Thanks for the good words though. Wish I could explain more, but I really can't--and even if I could it would be unseemly to do so.
  23. I believe this perfectly expresses the dilemma, and a perfectly reasonable solution:
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