It was exciting to hear that one of our favorite restaurateurs, Keith Young, had decided to reopen his restaurant, a month after the strange new reality began. As a high-end steakhouse, it made sense for him to close, as most of the more expensive restaurants did when faced with doing business only in a take-out format. More casual restaurants are much better suited to packing up food to go, but a place like Keith’s is nearly 100 percent for dining in. The sumptuous surroundings and pace of service are part of the experience.
Even though the prices are a bargain, (a large hamburger with cheese and bacon and a side salad for $9.99 for example) steaks and steakhouse salads should not be packed up. I was surprised last week to earn that he had rethought his decision and was getting back into the fray.
We miss a lot of dining out experiences, and this one more than most. This is his second week back open, so we ordered dinner from there last night. ML, our driver, came back from the pick-up powerfully impressed. “That’s the best set-up yet,” she said, and she’s been through more than a few pickups. I too, in my rare experience have started to include picking food up as a part of the dining experience. All are the same, yet different.
ML reported that you go around twice and pick up the food the second time. The first time you sign a check and the folder is sanitized between each signature. Very well organized and thought out.
One of the things that I like best about the new takeout world is all the storage containers we have now. Restaurants must be spending a fortune in quality containers. Good for the container companies. As always in a situation like this, winners and losers…
The food was perfect. You wouldn’t think that it would travel that well. We decided to go upscale and set a nice table to go with this food. The steak was cooked exactly as Tom requested and it came with absolutely delicious au gratin potatoes for $29.99. These we have never tried at the restaurant, always going for the creamed spinach. We will order au gratin potatoes next time we get to dine at the restaurant. We also got my favorite hamburger, which comes with thick bacon slices and an obscene layer of melted cheddar.
ML got her usual wedge with blue cheese dressing since she is passionate about Keith’s blue cheese dressing. We also got spinach and crab dip with crostini, which is creamed spinach with lumps of crab meat. Tom found a red wine in the wine stash, with a bit of difficulty. The wines are a part of a large pantry which is now overloaded with enough food for an apocalypse. And even though it was uncomfortably warm and the table outside is low enough for the dog to eat off your plate if you’re not vigilant, we opted to eat there, where we currently eat every meal.
Our little table that had never been used before spends the day as an office and the evening as a dinner table. Tom and I had just finished doing two fun podcasts while ML went to get dinner. It was my job to make the transformation from the office to the dining room table. I brought out some nice plates and looked for the Louisiana Blue Irises that used to grow in our yard in profusion. They are not there, and I realized why when I went to look. Trees have grown up in the ditch, keeping them in the shade. I need to dig up those bulbs.
As for the podcasts, I do hope people are finding the podcasts because they are a great distraction from all the relentless bad news out there. We get emails every day from people looking for them, so maybe we will have to give better directions. Why not right now?
NOTE: Podcasts exactly like the Food Show are found on the website by scrolling down to the icon that looks like a radio microphone. There is a link there. Also, the newsletter has a link in the piece with a picture of the WSMB mic. Scroll through the newsletter.
Tomfoodery is the silly one like The Food Show on the radio.
In The Times we talk to callers. If you want to be one, email Tom at tom@nomenu.com.
The podcast labeled Remembrances is a chat with Tom about his life covering foid, and the restaurants woven into that time period.
