Ray's The Classics, Silver Spring - Michael Landrum's Classic Steakhouse Sold To His Trusted Employees

[Joshua Grinnell]

According to our waiter the callette cuts tend to go extremely fast, so it would behoove one to be there right after work.

The picahna was very, very good. The flavor is deep enough that it tastes roasted. It comes with a "piranha" sauce which was fairly spicy, roughly on the order of persian dill sauce; the steak didn't need it, but it went very well with the fried chicken.

I didn't enjoy the fried chicken as much as I could have; I normally like a lot more kick in the coating. I do appreciate how well it was cooked, however. There were no bald spots and it was cooked slowly and thoroughly, coming out juicy and not greasy at all.

The steak tartare-filled deviled eggs... my fiance said that she and I could eat those every night for dinner for the rest of our lives. You receive a small pile of capers, onions, and pickles to cram into the tartare.

She also loved her Dark and Stormy, which should be rechristened a Drang and Sturmy given the amount of rum in it. Or perhaps she's just a lightweight. Or given to wagnerian pronouncements about her steak.

[Heather]

Went with the kids and my mom last night. Michael made my son's night by coming out to say hi... "Is he COOKING? Is he a CHEF?" We took a walk to the bar, where Ian did an interpretive dance to Frank Sinatra ( ) and took a peek at the kitchen. The high-backed booths are perfect for slightly rambunctious preschoolers.

Scott and I had the callette, and it is a delicious piece of meat. The recommendation to get there early to try it is spot on. We had an 5:30 res, and by the time they seated the booth behind us they had run out. The kids split the hanger (medium rare) and an order of grilled asparagus and loved it.

The dessert selections have been much reduced (although the key lime pie is as good as ever). Here's hoping a new pastry chef is in the cards for 2007.

Thanks to one and all for a lovely time. RTC is our little oasis in the chain restaurant Sahara of downtown Silver Spring.

[hm212]

Scott and I had the callette, and it is a delicious piece of meat. The recommendation to get there early to try it is spot on. We had an 5:30 res, and by the time they seated the booth behind us they had run out. The kids split the hanger (medium rare) and an order of grilled asparagus and loved it.

I have an 8:30 reservation Saturday night, I guess no Callette for me. I will have to make do with a cowboy or a hangar.

[Barbara]

I have an 8:30 reservation Saturday night, I guess no Callette for me. I will have to make do with a cowboy or a hangar.

Can you call and reserve one in advance?

[hm212]

Can you call and reserve one in advance?

When they called to confirm my reservation I asked about reserving a callete cut. They were absolutely so nice and put one away for me. Michael even came out when it was served to be sure it was perfect and it was.

When you get this cut, do not get it more than medium rare. This is the most tender flavorful steak I have ever had.

I am not really a regular (I have been coming in once or twice a month - maybe a semi regular?) and when I come in to the restaurant, everyone on the staff recognizes me and says "hello, welcome back, glad you came in tonight" They really make me feel welcomed. In addition to having great food at a great price the service and personality is why this one of my favorite restaurants.

For those starting the DR diet challenge - RTC is the perfect place to be on low carb.

[mhberk]

Alright, I'm having my "last meal", so to speak (I'm having surgery and my jaws will be wired shut for two weeks ), and I've decided to have it a RTC this Saturday night. What are the one or two dishes from RTC that you can't go without?

[xcanuck]

Alright, I'm having my "last meal", so to speak (I'm having surgery and my jaws will be wired shut for two weeks), and I've decided to have it a RTC this Saturday night. What are the one or two dishes from RTC that you can't go without?

Get there early and order the calette (from the special butcher's cut part of the menu). Simply outstanding!!

[mhberk]

Get there early and order the calette (from the special butcher's cut part of the menu). Simply outstanding!!

My reservation is at 6:30. I asked if they could set one aside for me when I made the reservation, but she said she couldn't. I hope it's early enough.

I REALLY want to treat my jaws to some good chewin' before they go into hibernation for next 2 weeks. I'll keep my fingers crossed.

[mhberk]

Thank you Michael!!!

[DanielK]

I just scored a reservation for 6 (bringing 4 RTC/RTS virgins with us) two weeks out on a Saturday - and the only choices were 6p and 9:30p. I guess the crack laced in the steaks is still drawing the crowds in.

[DanCole42]

Yeah, yeah, another Dan Cole review of Ray's the Classics. You'll just have to suffer through it.

Santa sure knows what Dan wants for Christmas. He brought me a $100 gift certificate to Ray's the Classics, use of which I made last night.

Things started off well with a serving of Ray's the Nuts brand cashews and the traditional Ray's the Dough bread with olive oil (very top notch olive oil). I was too busy reading over the new menu to get my fair share of pre-dinner goodies, though.

We had Ren as our server... a new face around them parts (at least as far as I know). All of our waiter experiences have been great, but Ren was by far the friendliest and most sociable... if you're making the trip to Silver Spring, I highly recommend asking for one of his tables.

I started with their take on the classic martini. One thing I'll say about Ray's is the uniformity of their quality. Michael has selected a bar staff that does equally well with drinks what the kitchen staff does with food: produce outstandingly classic, unpretentious fare that lets the quality of the ingredients and the clear knowledge behind the preparation speak for itself. It was a damn good martini.

Having been to the Ray's the Classics preview dinner and gone on several other occasions, I've seen the menu go through many iterations. It's been very exciting as a fan of Michael's work to see this evolution take place before my eyes, and to see the overall weltanschauung of the Landrum oeuvre grow and become more dynamic. And that's what the menu has become: more dynamic. There's more to it, and a lot of the dishes are really clicking between the kitchen and the audience. We actually had a very interesting discussion with Michael about restauranteuring, and how dishes come and go, and the challenges associated with such vagaries (it is unlikely I would have had such a discussion had I been dining at, say, McDonald's). Some personal favorites have been dropped, but some new ones have been added.

My wife had the tomato and mozzarella salad... both the key ingredients were of the highest quality - the cheese was creamy (almost like mascarpone) rather than crumbly. I took a bite of my app, looked up, and her salad was gone.

I had the crab cakes for the first time. Along with the sweetbreads and the fried chicken, Ray's is serving up the best battered and deep fried dishes in the area. I'm convinced that aliens landed in one of the Michaels' backyards and presented them with a secret to deep frying that's millions of years ahead of us, and that they're using this technique in secret until they're able to patent it and make billions - something like an inverse flux z-boson cold fusion deep frier.

Anyway... the crab cakes. The insides were moist and crabbier than Lucy van Pelt. The accompanying spicy mayonaisse was gobble-it-up-with-a-fork-long-after-the-crab-cakes-are-gone-and-your-wife-tells-you-that's-disgusting delicious.

This was the third time my wife ordered the fried chicken, and I think it's improved each time from glorious to heavenly to now sacrilicious. There's some new spice that the chicken is brined in that really makes the interior special.

I was lucky and got the last calette of the evening (or so Ren said... maybe they say that to everyone just to make us savor it all the more). I told Michael that the calette was "the best piece of meat I've ever had other than her" (indicating my wife). He threatened to revoke my dining room priveleges, but seriously... it was the most flavorful, beefy piece of beef I've ever had; and that includes the time I died on the operating table, went up to heaven, and immediately walked into St. Peter's Steakhouse. The char was sweet and the interior juicy. It is so choice. If you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up.

I enjoyed a glass of the zweigelt with my steak... really, really enjoyed.

As a side we got the potatoes au gratin, the portion size of which (if memory serves) has roughly doubled.

Also an interesting change... the chicken no longer comes with the stuffing dumplings, and the steak no longer comes with the marrow mushrooms. Instead, they both come with a side of mashed potatoes topped with something "appropriate." The potatoes with my steak were topped with a beef stew, and the potatoes with my wife's chicken were topped with something like the insides of a chicken pot pie. We both really enjoyed them, and I think they're really in line with the Ray's the Classics vision, as Michael explained it at the preview dinner. "Here's what your idea of beef/chicken used to be. It's delicious and comforting, but right next to it here's our amazingly perfect example of what this classic has evolved to be at Ray's."

For dessert we had the new blueberry cobbler. It's a great dessert for me... not too sweet, and with vanilla ice cream on top. The whole thing smells like Christmas (there's no better way to put it), and the intense aroma really mellows to a sweet, flavorful essence in your mouth. Oh, and each one is loaded with half the country's crop of blueberries.

As always, a big thank you to both Michaels for a wonderful evening and my (close) second favorite Christmas present (nothing could compare to my flashy new Nintendo Wii).

Now I must endure the ultimate agony: my wife has leftovers, but I, glutton that I am, do not.

PS - The clever reader will note that this post was made on Tuesday and that I referred to "last night." Yes, Ray's the Classics was open on MONDAY, January 8th - its first Monday ever!

[porcupine]

As always, a big thank you to both Michaels for a wonderful evening

Who wants to tell him?

[DonRocks]

We had Ren as our server... a new face around them parts (at least as far as I know). All of our waiter experiences have been great, but Ren was by far the friendliest and most sociable... if you're making the trip to Silver Spring, I highly recommend asking for one of his tables.

I was in the other evening and snapped a picture of him quarreling with Michael.

Click!

[Pat]

Tell me what?

If you look closely, the subtitle of this thread has changed

[DanCole42]

If you look closely, the subtitle of this thread has changed

Well of COURSE I knew THAT... I just, um, err... I... stammer stammer... umm... when I said "Michaels," I was referring to Michael LandrumS, in all his various personae: Hawai'ian shirt Michael, suit Michael, chef's whites Michael, Malibu Barbie Michael...

[mdt]

Well of COURSE I knew THAT... I just, um, err... I... stammer stammer... umm... when I said "Michaels," I was referring to Michael LandrumS, in all his various personae: Hawai'ian shirt Michael, suit Michael, chef's whites Michael, Malibu Barbie Michael...

Nice try.

[DonRocks]

Just to quelch any false rumors, this transition has been in the works for awhile now, and Michael H left on the most honorable of terms, and with plenty of notice - the simple reason is that he wants his own gig, and did not have adequate time to look while working such long hours.

Cheers,

Rocks

[BookGuy]

Just to quelch any false rumors, this transition has been in the works for awhile now, and Michael H left on the most honorable of terms, and with plenty of notice - the simple reason is that he wants his own gig, and did not have adequate time to look while working such long hours.

Cheers,

Rocks

Did the chef's departure have any impact on the menu? I have been there four times since it opened and I love the pan-fried chicken and don't know what I'd do if I could no longer get it.

[Heather]

I was there last Friday and the menu appeared to be the same as it was the week before Christmas. The fried chicken is still there.

[xcanuck]

There is a new addition to the menu that is a hands-down winner and that is the lentil soup with sausage. It's a rich thick lentil soup with lots of merguez sausage. It's got a wonderfully rich lamb taste that comes from simmering so much merguez in the soup. Honestly, I could easily make a meal out of this. A cup is $3 and a bowl is $5. Absolutely perfect for this kind of weather! This MUST stay on the menu!!!!

We also tried the new blueberry cobbler. Michael said that it's made with flash-frozen "wild" Maine blueberries. They're much smaller than the usual ones with a nice flavour. I think it needed just a teeny tiny little something to help bring the flavour out....perhaps a bit more fresh ginger? Still a nice addition to the dessert menu.

The coconut and chocolate layer cakes are back on the dessert menu, too.

[StephenB]

Just to quelch any false rumors, this transition has been in the works for awhile now, and Michael H left on the most honorable of terms, and with plenty of notice - the simple reason is that he wants his own gig, and did not have adequate time to look while working such long hours.

And Evan Bayh dropped out of the presidential race because he wanted to spend more time with his family, sure. Given the publicity that "the two Michaels" have received, there's got to be more of a story there than meets the eye. I once asked Landrum if Hartzer was in the kitchen, and he said, "If we're open, he's there."

This forum is exactly the place where the truth should be uncovered, rather than hiding behind professional courtesy and prissy evasiveness.

What was the real reason for Hartzer's departure? Who has taken his place? How quickly was the substitution made? And what has been the effect of the change?

We have generated reams of copy on this restaurant, almost all of it laudatory, and yet when an earthquake hits, we ignore it.

[mdt]

And Evan Bayh dropped out of the presidential race because he wanted to spend more time with his family, sure. Given the publicity that "the two Michaels" have received, there's got to be more of a story there than meets the eye. I once asked Landrum if Hartzer was in the kitchen, and he said, "If we're open, he's there."

This forum is exactly the place where the truth should be uncovered, rather than hiding behind professional courtesy and prissy evasiveness.

What was the real reason for Hartzer's departure? Who has taken his place? How quickly was the substitution made? And what has been the effect of the change?

We have generated reams of copy on this restaurant, almost all of it laudatory, and yet when an earthquake hits, we ignore it.

Hmmm, I think Don's brief write up pretty much covered the main questions that you have. Wanting to spend time to plan on opening his own place is not a good enough reason to leave? Seems like a couple of other chefs have done the same thing recently and there was nothing negative about it. What makes you think that the reason is BS? Never mind the fact that they have no requirement to make their reasons known.

I am curious to see how the loss of Hartzer affects things and who takes over the kitchen, but I am sure that we will hear about both counts as time goes on.

[DonRocks]

And Evan Bayh dropped out of the presidential race because he wanted to spend more time with his family, sure. Given the publicity that "the two Michaels" have received, there's got to be more of a story there than meets the eye. I once asked Landrum if Hartzer was in the kitchen, and he said, "If we're open, he's there."

This forum is exactly the place where the truth should be uncovered, rather than hiding behind professional courtesy and prissy evasiveness.

What was the real reason for Hartzer's departure? Who has taken his place? How quickly was the substitution made? And what has been the effect of the change?

We have generated reams of copy on this restaurant, almost all of it laudatory, and yet when an earthquake hits, we ignore it.

No cover-up on my end - this is exactly what Hartzer told me, and I know him pretty well. Is there some sort of secret pact between Hartzer and Landrum to "conceal the murder?" I have no idea!

Cheers,

Rocks.

[delyn]

"Concealing the murder"

Should we expect to see Mrs Lovett's meat pies on the menu any time soon?

[blakegwinn]

Also FYI Friday was Iwa's last night and Denise(? temporarily blacking out on the name) the bartender left last week also. Not sure that it means anything though. I think most restaurants have a lot of turnover in their first year. My brother is managing a just opened restaurant and was telling me employees are dropping like flies. Also with all the acclaim this place has gotten in local press you have to imagine that the employees are probably hearing some pretty good offers right about now...

[deangold]

"Concealing the murder"

Should we expect to see Mrs Lovett's meat pies on the menu any time soon?

Landrum as Mrs Lovett?

[hm212]

Also FYI Friday was Iwa's last night and Denise(? temporarily blacking out on the name) the bartender left last week also. Not sure that it means anything though. I think most restaurants have a lot of turnover in their first year. My brother is managing a just opened restaurant and was telling me employees are dropping like flies. Also with all the acclaim this place has gotten in local press you have to imagine that the employees are probably hearing some pretty good offers right about now...

Wow, See what you miss when you go on a diet.

[Mark Slater]

This forum is exactly the place where the truth should be uncovered, rather than hiding behind professional courtesy and prissy evasiveness.

What was the real reason for Hartzer's departure? Who has taken his place? How quickly was the substitution made? And what has been the effect of the change?

We have generated reams of copy on this restaurant, almost all of it laudatory, and yet when an earthquake hits, we ignore it.

Stephen,

My first reaction to reading a post such as yours is to wonder why any of this is really important and why anyone cares. "The truth should be uncovered"? This is not court. These are real people's lives. It might very well be none of yours, or anyone's business. What kind of work do you do? Is professional courtesy discounted or not allowed there?

[Michael Landrum]

Stephen,

My first reaction to reading a post such as yours is to wonder why any of this is really important and why anyone cares. "The truth should be uncovered"? This is not court. These are real people's lives. It might very well be none of yours, or anyone's business. What kind of work do you do? Is professional courtesy discounted or not allowed there?

For close to two years, I have had the honor, the pleasure, the privilege of working with Michael Hartzer.

In that time, his alarming talent, creativity and culinary vision have been a constant source of inspiration, wonderment, awe, and professional challenge to me. Keeping pace with his abilities has been the single most challenging, driving force of my professional career. And the one endeavour that I have felt worthwhile to attempt to pursue up to this point.

From the beginning our relationship has been based on a very simple premise: You help me get my restaurant open, and I will do whatever I can to get yours open on your terms. That is a promise that is still in place.

I fear for the dining public when that does occur.

Once it became clear just exactly how much public interest there was in the openining of Ray's The Clasics, my interest in the restaurant shifted entirely and I saw an opportunity that I was so glad to take: to use my resources to propel Michael to the level of national, and, hopefully, international, recognition that his talent so clearly demands. And to bring to Silver Spring a restaurant that it, too, so clearly deserves.

In the meantime that premise has been delivered, at least to me. How I can resolve the doubts that his moving forward cause is up to me.

And in that time, Michael became like a brother to me, and just like a brother, as sad as you are to lose him, and whatever you did to drive him away, you are proud to see how better he is than you when he outshines you (which he inevitably will).

Michael built Ray's The Classics from the ground up (as did Yi Wah) and it will always be his restaurant. And what he learned along the way I can only hope will make his future work that much better.

So fuck the truth. Fuck the gossip (and the gossipers), fuck the professional courtesy, fuck the fact that this is people's lives, fuck the doubt that know-nothing bystanders want to bring to honest work--these are my feelings. And feelings count more than life.

Thanks for pointing all of this out, Mark.

[MarkS]

For close to two years, I have had the honor, the pleasure, the privilege of working with Michael Hartzer...

Michael built Ray's The Classics from the ground up (as did Yi Wah) and it will always be his restaurant. And what he learned along the way I can only hope will make his future work that much better....

Well said. Folks who post on this site about half-truths and rumors need to be drinking more wine and doing less whining.

[Kanishka]

Speaking of rumors, is there any truth to the rumor in the first reader review posted here?

I can't attest to the content, but the spelling is fairly tragic.

K

[scj32]

A good friend of mine tried to make a reservation for a party of 8 for Sat. and was told that they don't take reservations for parties larger than 6. Can anyone confirm this new policy? I am assuming it's new since I dined there with a party of 8 a couple of months ago.

[mdt]

A good friend of mine tried to make a reservation for a party of 8 for Sat. and was told that they don't take reservations for parties larger than 6. Can anyone confirm this new policy? I am assuming it's new since I dined there with a party of 8 a couple of months ago.

I hope that they are not the friends that posted on the WaPo site and stated they are never going there again because they have that policy. Sounds pretty reactionary to me.

Personally I always thought that they had the max party of 6 rule, or am I thinking of RtS. I guess this post was not of much help.

[mdjordy]

Speaking of rumors, is there any truth to the rumor in the first reader review posted here?

I can't attest to the content, but the spelling is fairly tragic.

K

Has anyone heard anything about this? Did this really happen?

[DanCole42]

Congratulations, Michael. Ray's the Classics has become the Brangelina of the DC Restaurant community.

Is it true that Lindsay Lohan threw up on you after the Golden Globes?

The Max-6 policy has, as long as I remember, been in force at RTS. I believe it is a new thing at RTC.

[ppsailor01]

Review from the DCist

[dmwine]

Review from the DCist

Interesting they report the staff walkout without verifying it ...

[mdt]

Interesting they report the staff walkout without verifying it ...

Why does that surprise you? It is just DCist, although that is pretty low to link to an unverified and anonymous post on the Post web site.

[Heather]

We had dinner there last night. There are now, and probably will be in the future, some new faces. Our service was just fine, as it has been every time we've eaten there. Unless it's an issue with the food or the service, in my opinion the staff turnover is just an excuse to gossip.

The food...there are a couple of menu tweaks. The lentil soup with merguez that xcanuck wrote about is still on the menu. It's a little hearty as an appetizer but would be great at lunchtime. Scott tried the new picanha cut steak last night and liked it very much. The accompanying sauce is a little too heavy on the chiles for me, but he liked it. The coconut cake was good but I'd suggest using flaked coconut, and putting the pineapple sauce under the cake. It looked rather unfortunate with the slightly chunky sauce on top. Still tasty though.

We very much appreciate that the kids are welcome here. The kids ate their broccoli & steak and mostly behaved themselves, and were rewarded with milk chocolate mousse (Ian) and berries with whipped cream (Emma). Our sincere apologies to the person that has the clean the windows in front - there were quite a few sticky fingerprints by the time we got their coats on.

[StephenB]

Speaking of rumors, is there any truth to the rumor in the first reader review posted here?

I can't attest to the content, but the spelling is fairly tragic.

K

The spelling here is so self-consciously crude that one suspects it is a purposeful attempt to shield the identity of the sender. It could be some sort of send up. Still, one would like to hear Michael L's comment and explanation. Something is brewing at RTC besides coffee. Of course, this may fall into the category of subjects so sensitive that one hardly dast mention it. I would still like to know who replaced Hartzer, and what changes have been detectable in the fare. I do admire Michael Landrum -- his ambition, his oversized personality -- and have said so many times. But I would like to know what is going on in a restaurant that I have enjoyed on every visit so far. Or is this forum limited to pusillanimous sucking up?

[JPW]

I would still like to know who replaced Hartzer, and what changes have been detectable in the fare.

The answer is the other Michael.

Landrum that is.

At least until he finds someone else to man the grill.

As I recall, the picanha and calotte were added to the fare after Hartzer left, although I am sure that they were in the planning stages while he was still there. I really enjoy these cuts because:

1)They're much different than you'll find in most other steakhouses.

2)Call me crazy, but occasionally I don't feel like staring down a 1 lb. NY strip or a(n) (almost) 2 lb. cowboy steak. So it's great to have steaks available that are a little less, shall we say, ambitious.

Still, it's tough for me NOT to order the hangar every time I go in.

[Heather]

Michael Landrum has replaced Michael Hartzer. As far as changes detectable in the fare...have you been reading the thread? The menu has changed, prices have changed, some of the earlier preparations have been changed. Some of it works, some of it doesn't.

What the hell difference does it make? Do you quiz the staff of every place you go to determine whether the chef is a nice guy or a prick? Whether the the bartender is screwing one of the hostesses? Which of the staff has given notice? Unless it's affecting the service or the food, it's peddling in rumors and gossip.

[Scott Johnston]

I am hopefully going to dinner there Saturday Night for the first time, I will take one for the team and report back on Sunday.

Heather, while I agree with your most of your post, the changes in the chef can matter (example when Peter Chang left), menu changes do matter (what is good, what is not, what has changed), price changes do matter for a few of us, thought not minor ones. I agree with the other staff changes are rumor and gossip, other than I have many servers that I prefer and would love to know when they leave, as well as if a owner is not being fair or mistreating customers and/or employees, I will not support his establishment. Neither of these rumors can or have been substantiated, but certainly ML can be controversial at times.

Staff leave all the time, some burn their bridges, others leave for good reasons, some you never knew even worked there.

Michael Landrum has replaced Michael Hartzer. As far as changes detectable in the fare...have you been reading the thread? The menu has changed, prices have changed, some of the earlier preparations have been changed. Some of it works, some of it doesn't.

What the hell difference does it make? Do you quiz the staff of every place you go to determine whether the chef is a nice guy or a prick? Whether the the bartender is screwing one of the hostesses? Which of the staff has given notice? Unless it's affecting the service or the food, it's peddling in rumors and gossip.

[hm212]

A good friend of mine tried to make a reservation for a party of 8 for Sat. and was told that they don't take reservations for parties larger than 6. Can anyone confirm this new policy? I am assuming it's new since I dined there with a party of 8 a couple of months ago.

That may be for the weekends only.

[blakegwinn]

Well said. Folks who post on this site about half-truths and rumors need to be drinking more wine and doing less whining.

The only way you can ever stop people from gossiping is newer juicier gossip. From the Sietsema....

Tom Sietsema: It has yet to happen. Trust me, I'll share the scoop when (insert the name of a well-known chef) leaves (picture a beloved restaurant) for greener pastures.

This is a conspiracy. Tom stirs up some new gossip to take the truth-seeking diner's attention off of the OBVIOUS conspiracy over at RTC. I don't have it all figured out yet but I do know it goes up to the highest levels and it involves the Queen, The Vatican, The Gettys, the Rothchilds, and Colonel Sanders before he went teats up. (How do you think they get the fried chicken so tasty???) I heard whispers that Landrum had actually sold 90 percent of his staff into human slavery but the source who was going to explain it all to me was found with a steak knife through his heart and hawaiin shirt tatters under his nails. I have also heard another theory about what happenned to all those employees. I don't have all the details yet but I can say with some degree of certainty that....

SOYLENT CALLETTE IS PEOPLEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!

[MarkS]

Finally going to RTC on Saturday Night-

What are the steak(s) i must have. I am typically a bone in kind of guy, be that T-Bone, Porterhouse, NY Strip with Bone.

How is the wine list. I am supposing that there is no corkage available as this is Montgomery County, true?

Thanks in advance

Mark

[JPW]

Not bone in, but I think that the callette is one of the tastiest pieces of meat that I've ever had.

Or, go whole hog steer and try the cowboy cut.

Don't ignore the veal chop or the pork chop

Wine list is among the best in MoCo, with very good (for MoCo) prices.

[mhberk]

I agree! The callette was probably the best cut that I've ever had. It had the flavor of the NY Strip and the tenderness of the fillet. Since there are usually only 3 or 4 of these a night, they go rather quick. On the night that we went, they had sold out 30 minutes into dinner service.

I went there as a "last meal" before I had major oral surgery (as I mentioned in a previous post). It was a nice treat and I couldn't ask for more! Everything seemed perfect. The atmosphere, the service, the noise level, the presentation of the food, the flavors of the food, etc., all seemed just right.

I'm not much on writing reviews, so I'll just say this:

The steak was perfect! The consistency of the doneness was exact and the flavor, coupled with the tenderness, was something that I've never experienced before (I'd never even heard of this cut before). Still unable to chew (I'm still on an Ensure and overcooked pasta diet for the next few weeks), I am still able to taste the flavors of this meal as though I had just had them. For an appetizer, I had the "blackened" scallops. There was just enough seasoning to know that it was there, but not so much that I couldn't taste the flavor of the scallops. And the scallops were cooked just enough that they were very tender and not to the point were they could've been stringy. The creamed spinach was also just right. It had a hint of cream (just enough to get the full flavor of the spinach). For dessert, I had the key lime pie which was great. The lime flavor was subtle and didn't overpower the flavors of the crust or the whipped cream.

I feel very fortunate to have a restaurant of this quality, so close to me.

[acquamatta]

Has anyone tried Ray's The Classic since Michael H. departed? I really liked the food and atmosphere but I'm wondering how the food is with the change in the kitchen. BTW, they make the district's best Manhattan.

Thanks...

[DonRocks]

Has anyone tried Ray's The Classic since Michael H. departed? I really liked the food and atmosphere but I'm wondering how the food is with the change in the kitchen. BTW, they make the district's best Manhattan.

Thanks...

Okay. It's getting to the point where I can't even roll over in my sleep without it being picked up in the tabloids.

And the Four-Cheese Mac & Cheese at Ray's The Classics is outstanding. And five dollars!

One Potrero, two Potrero, three Potrero, four,

(Neat, max one cube, definitely not on the) Rocks.

Pffft.