Michael Landrum owns one of my favorite restaurants–Ray’s the Steaks. I first ate there 3-4 years ago and it was a disappointing experience.  You had get reservations weeks in advance and there was a small windows when they would take reservations. When I finally got a reservation my steak was overly charred. I don’t like char, so I was disappointed with the experience. On the plus side, however, was the price. The steaks were good quality and inexpensive for quality steak. It would have been a wonderful experience if it had been easier to get reservations and my steak was less charred.

Recently my wife noticed that Ray’s the Steaks appeared not to take reservations any more, so we stopped in on an Saturday afternoon.  I was pleased to discover that you could get steak with “low char.” This time, eating at Ray’s the Steaks was a wonderful experience. The steak was great and the sides were good too.

Over the past year I have eaten quite a few steaks from the standard expensive steak joints–The Palm, BLT Steaks, Smith & Wollensky,  and the Capital Grille, but my favorite steak was at Ray’s. The steak at BLT was a great steak, but I would only eat there if I were eating on an expense account. For my money when I want steak, I’ll always eat at Ray’s.

This article about Michael Landrum is interesting. I love that Landrum doesn’t care about creating pretense in his restaurants. After all, what do I care if there isn’t linen on the tables or art on the walls. If I want to eat steak, I want to eat at a steak joint that serves good steak, not a pretentious steak joint. Landrum is moving Ray’s from its current location and replacing it with a restaurant that  “will not only serve an entrée and three sides for under $18 but will also roll its profits into educational and scholarship opportunities for disadvantaged students.” How great is that?