Michael Landrum

I feel like an executioner. 

Perhaps the governor will issue some reprieves?

This could get very expensive. I love lawyers.

Some service is more equal than others.  Would you rather walk into Ray's the Steaks with Jacques Gastreaux or with some unknown off the street?

If anything, the major complaint about Ray's is not being able to get preferential service--no matter how much you spend, how many envy-inducing bottles of wine you bring in from your cellar and proceed to open on your own, or how many exalting reviews you have written on superstar chefs.

Since the restaurant will be closed for a private party, are there any restrictions on the types of alcoholic beverages that we will be permitted to bring?  By that I mean, would it be OK to bring say a bottle of single malt or calvados for an after-dinner wee dram?

Liquor is allowed. Wanton breaking of bottles is not. I can provide snifters but not full cocktail set-up, e. g. martini glasses, shakers, ice, garnishes etc. So sherries, ports and sipping spirits would be ideal.

Cigars outside.

Because there are some things better left unmentioned, Michael.

So I shouldn't post the pictures?

Brown's CV

In Washington, people get as much attention for what they did in their previous career as they do in their present one.  I'm telling you, if I worked for Human Rights Watch in Darfur and then opened a bistro on 16th Street, I'd do really really well.  If I worked as Condi Rice's press scty and then opened a pub, all the same...

I have always wondered why more mention has not been made of my brief but eye-popping stint as the "Grill Cook" in the Village People. (I was fired immediately after the ill-fated Philadelphia concert that coincided with the mass lynching-by-fire of the MOVE organization and its children by the Philadelphia PD).

Do we have to be out in two hours?

Two hours? My own mother doesn't get two hours.

It is 90 minutes, and yes.

Try Ray's the Steaks.  It would be real hard to annoy anyone in there with noise.

No, you would have to start breaking bottles of wine to annoy anyone here...

A quick intro to a great new neighbor of mine--Clare and Don's Beach Shack. This is exactly the kind of place I was searching for when I rushed over to Hank's on its opening day--cheap, fun, laid-back, quirky and for the most part really good (don't get fried clams until colder weather comes).

Crab Cake Sandwich, Fried Oyster Po' Boy, Fish and Chips are all first rate, and they have a whole section of vegetarian/vegan options.

No raw bar, but they do have desserts (a really good key lime pie).

They are right up the street by the Clarendon Metro. Maybe it's not worth a trip all the way across town, but if you're in the area it's definitely worth it, especially after a day at the pool.

Guess who was dining at two of our favorite restaurants?

Twice lately, high-powered celebrities have been spotted dining at untrendy, unassuming chef-owned restaurants that serve some of the best food in Washington.

Someone is feeding these people inside information.

Who might that be?

Rocks.

Senator Packwood--with his Pynchon-esquely appropriate last name--recently dined at Ray's The Steaks (again, quite appropriately). Is this who you mean, Don?

[several people in the industry have recently asked me if it's okay if they post about their own establishments, and the answer is yes, absolutely.  Each restaurant has their own thread (or will soon enough), and it's perfectly appropriate for an owner, manager or chef to come into those threads and discuss things such as policies, new menu items, daily specials, etc.  And if you drum up some PR in the process, then good for you.  It's important, however, to disclose your professional affiliation, and the most elegant way to do it would be to update your signature file.

Cheers,

Rocks.]

Are you sure you want to include Gillian and me in this invitation??

It wouldn't be wrong to start a "Hot Service" thread, would it? 

It might not be wrong, but the fierce debate over who is the hottest--Derek at Firefly or Sebastian at Komi--would soon degenerate to an out of control and irresolvable shouting match.

Excuse me, but did you leave knowing that they had mistakenly not charged you for your wine? Regardless of what you thought about the prices, IMO, that is not OK, ever. I think if you ordered it and drank it, you should have paid for it. Geesh - am I out on a limb here?

I am shocked, shocked I say--as shocked as Claude Rains that gambling occurs in Casablanca--that someone would knowingly not pay the full share of what he owes...

One can only hope that the proceeds of this theft go, in true "The Bicycle Thief"-style, to something humble, worthwhile and poignantly necessary--like a brand new Hummer.

!!!

I think anyone that mentions the email is entitled to the discount.  What is the tipping etiquette on something like this?  Tip based on the full amount is what I would guess.

What about tax?

And in the category of "The Dish Most Like Dirty, Shameful, Possibly Illegal Sex" the winner is...The Braised Lamb Shoulder with Heirloom Tomatoes and Tomato Bread Pudding by John Wabeck at Firefly.

The mind behind this dish is neither sane nor well.

If you plan on ordering it, and I recommend that you do, make sure to bring protection.

I agree on Jackie's. I like it too. But not as much as I'd like to. As for Ray's, I think it is becoming Gatsby's green light for us area eaters, month by month it recedes before us. But that's no matter -- tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms further. And one fine morning...

I enjoy Jackie's immensely and think they do a great job and more at being a fun, friendly high quality neighborhood restaurant.

Do they even have a counterpart in the District?

It's always a problem: what happens when a restaurant is more, and better, than it needs to be, but because of that it doesn't always live up to expectations that aren't even required of it, if you think about?

By the way, Stretch, shame on you for referencing the final paragraph of Gatsby without working in the word "orgiastic."

Michael:

Do you know how the French terms 'Bleu' and 'Saignant' translate into your cooking?

Bleu=Extra Rare (Cold center)

Sagnaint=Rare (Cool center)

Always be sure to specify degree of charring, e. g. extra rare/extra char, rare/light char

What about Little Miss Muchas?

(Maybe Landrum can chime in about doneness?)

From the Ray's Manifesto--our guide de-emphasizes color since that is highly subjective (everyone's idea of "pink" is different), stresses firmness since that is a very key determinant in guests' perception of doneness even though never consciously so; our stated temperatures are lower to reflect the actual temperature of the center when pulled from the grill, but carry-over cooking is meant to raise internal temperatures by 5 degrees:

"About Our Temperatures:
Our Steaks are grilled to order over a high-temperature open flame and served immediately; they are never "rested and re-fired" or finished in the oven. We cook our steaks according to internal temperature, not according to color and allow for "carry-over" cooking. Our beef is a natural product and varies in color due to age, climate, feed and time of year - from a veal-like pink to a deep crimson. Here then is as accurate a guide as possible to our temperatures:

Rare: Cool, soft red center; moderate char.
Medium Rare: Warm, semi-soft red center; full char.
Medium: 135 Degree, semi-firm "red-to-pink center"; heavy char.
Medium-Well: 145 Degree, firm center; extra-heavy char, allow 30-35 mins.
Well Done: 155 Degree, solid center; excessive char, allow 35-40 mins.

We strive for the greatest precision and care possible. If, for any reason, you are not satisfied with your meal, please let us know as soon as possible so that we may make it right. However, we do not recommend or guarantee temperatures above medium or "in-between temperatures."

The most difficult aspect of timing and temperature, and the most common source of re-cooks besides contradictory notions of "pink", is the concept of carry-over cooking. Extra-thick steakhouse cuts cooked at 800-1500 degrees continue to cook 3 minutes for rare, 5 minutes for mid-rare, 10 minutes for medium and more for higher temps. At Ray's we include carry-over cooking in our cook times, but split the middle for mediums and above--meaning that we allow for more of the cooking to continue on the plates for mediums than for medium rares. Therefore, if you order medium or above, you should start eating at the smallest part of the steak and move towards the center, and not cut into the center immediately to judge doneness.

Regardless of what temperature you order, if at your first bite the steak appears over-done, you should then cut into the middle to ascertain doneness before assuming that the steak is over-done.

One final note, I do notice a very strong regional basis for disagreement regarding doneness, with people from Texas/the Midwest having a much higher idea of what medium is and what "pink" is.

What drives restaurant business in one of the largest metro area in the world?

1)Food quality and quantity

2)Prices

3)Customer demand at that Location

Actually, what drives the business most in DC is the slavish pandering to the guests' bloated sense of self-importance and/or the shameless hucksterism, circle-jerk hyping and masturbatory self-promotion of the restaurateurs.

Small wonder, then, that the very, very few restaurants that truly care about what they do, whose endeavors are labors of love--paid for with blood, sweat, tears and burn-marks--and who refuse to sacrifice the integrity of what they do for the demands of oh so many Veruca Salts who have Tom's on-line chat to go running to every time they don't get their way (Tommy, I want it now, Tommy, now), small wonder that these restaurants come under criticism for the very things that make them what they are, when what makes them, or at least their food, great is the fact they are not typical DC restaurants.

The fact that the list of these restaurants is also the short list of DR and eG favorites is not a coincidence.

Citicize CK and Gillian, yes, but for what she does if it isn't good (I believe it probably always is) and for what she promises to do if she doesn't live up to her word (I believe she probably always does) but not for what she, or her restaurant, isn't.

From Tom:

"Ray's the Steaks blazed a trail when it opened in Arlington and began serving good cuts of meat for about half the cost of a proper steak dinner in the city. Del Merei Grille continues that happy trend, with a roster of steaks that are offered with a choice of two side dishes and an optional sauce."

So I guess that Tom thinks that the trail we blazed at Ray's was a happy trail...

A flawed-but-honest dish is always superior to something cunningly manipulated to "fool the diner" into thinking that it's good. And with that, I invite your comments and disagreements.

Cheers,

Rocks.

No disagreement here, in fact, perfectly said. Now, if we can expand this topic to "Is it possible to take a restaurant too seriously?" I think I know one restaurant that would definitely fit the bill...

I keep asking on TS's chat but no answer. When will the Silver Spring location open?

This question has become the equivalent of asking a pregnant woman her due date.

What I originally thought would be a three/four month turn-around project actually requires in MoCo the same degree of architectural/engineering/ADA/WSSC permits/licensing/approvals as though I were building from scratch.

This participants on this board will be among the first to know when I have an opening date and will be privy to lots of surprises as well.

In the meantime I am busy rounding up the requisite very attrractive "interviewers" that every steakhouse needs to open.

Scallop paste as a binder

Sounds like "Emeril" may have had a hand in this recipe.

The original one needs no help jazzing up the food.  The steak is not quite as good as Lugar's, but as close and anyone has come.  The rest of the fair is far better than Lugar's. 

That said, this sounds painfully cheesy.

Forget the steaks. We all know that it is sex that sells. Why do you think I hired Jarad?

By the way the very attractive "interviewers" can already be found at the bars at Cafe Milano or The Prime Rib.

Wait to you see what I have in store for the opening of Silver Spring!!

One hint: The Government of Thailand is involved.

Based on my most recent visit, I have to say that Tom has elevated Corduroy from simply a great restaurant to one of Washington's few truly worthwhile and excellent dining experiences. Not to mention a wine list that puts us all to shame.

I may as well say it here myself--the Sunnyside Farms New York Strip that Tom ages perfectly and trims impeccably is every bit as good, if not better, than what we offer at Ray's. Actually, it is better.

I strongly recommend that everyone get over there as soon as possible and eat, drink, and enjoy to the fullest.