672: Eric Wareheim Is Eric Steakheim Now

26:59And it was so powerful because those people are so powerful. And we had to cut some for space, but we also had to cut some because it didn't quite make the cut. And that was part of the journey. For example, Fogo de Chow, we went to the original one in Dallas just to do due diligence. That's how much we care about this book. It's not really a steakhouse, but it does have a lot of elements of what's comforting about a steakhouse and the amazing grilled meats. And we also went to Mexico. We went to Monterey because we tried to find that perfect Mexican-American steakhouse. and my good friend from in Nunez, a chef down in Austin, took me to Monterey.

27:44And those are some of the best steakhouses I've had in the world. And they were very much in style with America, not like if you go to Japan, it's a whole different kind of setup. But Mexico made it in because I thought it was very important to have that part in a book about America. Yeah. I think like the Monterey section, I wanted to go to that steakhouse. A lot of these steakhouses I was really dying to go to. The other one I was dying to go to is Acropolis, which is the strip club steakhouse in Portland, Oregon. I mean, do you know the story about that place? Tell me. I mean, it was owned by a ranch family.

28:23They had cattle, literally, and it was good quality. And they had ribeyes and you could eat them on the rail, the side of the stage. And when I used to go back in the day, maybe five, ten years ago, we would tour in Portland a lot, and they had a salad bar, and it was so great. I mean, you know, some people say it might not be the most sanitary thing, but as an American thing, I freaking loved it, because it was a new form of the steakhouse, and the food was so, the food is great. We did a recipe with them, the steak bites that they have. And it's true. It's just one of the best American things I've ever seen.

29:07And also the greatest music. They just play really speed metal. It's just, you have to go. It's amazing. Well, I think like for anyone listening, who's not familiar with Portland, like it really is a strip club city and what might be unexpected, but there are, there's like a vegan strip club you can go to in Portland. So the fact that there's a steakhouse strip club, I think cosmically makes sense for balance. It does. And there's a rule and which is so weird about America, like different states have different rules, but you have to have food if you have are serving alcohol. That's a real that's a real law.

29:41I mean, I think I'm pretty sure. Clayton, can you look that up? No, you're definitely right. I'm talking to Clayton like he's like, well, I just like him. I don't know. We all love him. He should be shouted out more on the show, especially while fact-checking why strip clubs have to serve food. I need a Clayton at all times. It's like Siri, but we're handsome. I want to get a little bit more insight. Did you have a dish that you ordered at every place for consistency? Or how did you even measure the experiences at 65 different steakhouses across each other? We did it scientifically. We shot 65 martinis.

30:22Like that was kind of crazy, more of the artistic side of myself that I wanted to not have 60 pages, but do this crazy collage chapter. But we ran out of space. Maybe I'll just do a book called Eric's Martini Photos. But, you know, it's really interesting to see all of them with the different backgrounds, you know. And I would always get a wedge, always get a shrimp cocktail and usually a ribeye or I would have a bite of someone's, you know. at a certain point we were shooting two and two a night so you just have to have little nibbles but we're very pro about it like we took lots of notes um what's good what's not good and we we went to a lot of places that i wouldn't normally go as a gourmand but it wasn't about what i really tried to remove myself from the book and and make something that's more for the the people and it sounds kind of weird but another place in portland called sailors you know it was jammed with mostly older people um war vets it was very affordable and i i had i had to fight with my publisher put that in the book i'm like you guys do not get it this is absolutely part of the experience it can't just be the key the grills and the keens and those are all icons but it needs to i wanted to show So the whole land, even Acropolis, they didn't want to keep that.

31:47But that's just wrong. Is Sailors the one that has like the 72-ounce steak challenge? Yes. Yes. And the blue cocktail. And the giant, the menu looks like a giant steak? Yes. I mean, the photo alone. Yeah. That photo is, and there's so many photos. I'm going to stop crying that I had to cut stuff because editing is a good part of the whole creative process. But there's a lot of great stuff. Yeah. I'm curious also the interviews you have throughout the book with longtime waiters, Psalms, etc. Did you enter the steakhouse and then immediately knew this is someone that we have to interview? Or how did you kind of find the characters in the book?

32:29That's a great question. Gabe Ula, who's my co-author, but he's way more than that. He produced this book with me and he did the hard work of we did pre-interviews. you know he we did a lot of research we talked to a lot of our chef friends about where to go who to talk to and and but my favorite part was was the adventure just going in blind talking to people figuring out who wants to talk who doesn't and and then getting stories it was really this fun adventure but it took it was pretty in depth sometimes we would have to go back the second day to interview someone. Or when we returned from these week-long steak tours, you know, Gabe and I would call them and do phone interviews just to kind of clarify things or get the scoop.

33:16Yeah, it's interesting because I think that is one of the hallmarks of the steakhouse is the waiter who tells great stories. But actually finding the stories is more involved than you might think. Yeah. I mean, the whole book was inspired by the steakhouse called Beef and Bottle in Charlotte, North Carolina. Actually, it's an hour outside of Charlotte, North Carolina. I was there shooting with Tim, my comedy partner. And to try to convince him to drive an hour outside the city for dinner is almost impossible because he's like, no, I'm chilling. Like, we got to work tomorrow. But I need to find the real shit.

33:49So I did it. And we all got in a van. We got there. It was starving. And we're greeted by this guy, Jerome, who was featured in the book. he's this really tall guy this huge gold crucifix and he came right up to us he says y 'all gonna have the time of your life i'm your bartender i'm also your server what kind of martini y 'all want and that line alone there's so much in there to unpack you know the fact that there's only one cocktail that's appropriate martini that he's actually the server and he makes the drinks it's like and guarantees us a good time and we did it was and he delivered and that was really that particular moment set me on the course to to do this at every single steakhouse yeah it really is that confidence of like you're in good hands here you don't have to worry about anything like what's your drink exactly like it's it's it's so it's it's so lovely but then you have all the really nice flares of the south like hush puppies and you know that that particular place beef and bottle had a, you know, the port cheddar dip you can kind of get at the grocery store.

34:57It's like usually, which I loved as a kid, but they make a homemade version of that with saltines instead of bread and butter. And I was like, that is so amazing. So we recreated a recipe for that and shot it because I think that's so special to that part of the world. Yeah. While we're talking about the South, what was it like to go to eat steak with T-Pain in Atlanta? It was unbelievable. you know originally pain wasn't on the itinerary because we couldn't find anything atlanta but we were so close and i i've been friends with him for many years and he's he took it he took me under his wing and because i'm like i know atlanta i listen to hip-hop he's like no you don't dude and he took me out and because he was he worked with adult swim the network that i used was on and he loved my shows i'm just a huge fan of his and um so i was like pain we're coming in town if you want to have dinner let's do it if not don't worry about it he's like 7 p.m you know meet me here and he he did he pulls up in a purple lamborghini him and his wife is the sweetest woman in the world and we go to this you know uh back room at um i think it was called um little alley Little Alley.

36:16I was about to say Little Barn, but that's a different one. Little Alley. And it was so delicious. One of the first appetizers was deep fried lobster tail with clarified butter. Like that is just a Southern thing, just to fry every protein. and you know when the oysters came out yeah there was dry ice in the in the oyster presentation and it just worked because it felt like it was a t-pain concert in a way and what and i wrote about it in the book but him and his crew only drink tequila like they're not wine people even though they bought me crazy wine just because they're sweethearts but um um yeah they just drink tequila and I was like, that is very interesting.

36:59I don't know if that's necessarily a Southern thing, but it's definitely a rapper thing because that happens a lot at dinners. And then he takes us to Magic City and that's where the real show starts. It's just unbelievable. If you've never been to Magic City, it's like one of the coolest strip clubs in the world. It's like careers are made there. Yeah, it's very acrobatic. It's really like a show that, it's like Search of the Sleigh is like child's play compared to like Magic City. Insane performers. It's unbelievable. So anyways, he knows how to show us a good time. And that is the feeling of a steakhouse.

37:37You kind of want to have fun. And that was great. When you went with him, like was it obvious to the staff and the people in the restaurant that this was like T-Pain at dinner or was it more low-key? No, I mean, he's pretty, no, everyone knows T-Pain. you know he is kind of one of the mayors of atlanta for sure so people just roll out like there's a huge line at magic city and like security guys dive for t-pain you know like it's you know like i and honestly when i i did this i did one of those animated films once like the best night of your life kind of thing and i was it was the first time i hung out pain and he took me to a club called onyx and we walked in and the the is everyone's just like oh my god t-pain and the dj is like oh shit it's motherfucking t-pain and everyone goes crazy hundreds of people it was jammed and t-pain's like what's up and we go to like this special t-pain room but during the applause i kind of like raised my hand like like i'm part of the crew and i remember like this one guy turned and he just shook his head.

38:47He's like, no, no, no. That was for T-Pain. It's like, that wasn't for you. And I was like, oh, I was like, respect. That was a funny moment. Okay. You learned and then you got invited back. So it all worked out. Yeah. This episode is brought to you by Aura Frames. If you're one of those last minute shoppers, you might know the feeling. Ideas are running low and the clock is ticking. Here's a fun idea. Aura Frames. Aura Frames is the solution with a gift that feels personal, a little curated, and sent with love. And a gift that can be purchased in no time with a few clicks of the mouse. Aura Frames are great.

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40:13That's A-U-R-A-Frames.com, promo code TASTE. The deal is exclusive to listeners and frames sell out fast, so order yours now to get it in time for the holidays. Support the show by mentioning us at checkout. Terms and conditions apply. Today's episode is brought to you by ButcherBox. As a food writer, I can be a little skeptical about subscription cooking boxes you hear about on podcasts. There's big talk about cooking simplicity, but you're usually left with disappointment after smashing that promo code. Now, Clayton, have you ever tried one of those subscription boxes? Yeah, Matt, my friend gave me a code for that one that has all the chopped vegetables in little baggies.

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41:30It was incredible. These ButcherBox ribs are amazing. For nearly a decade, ButcherBox has led the industry with meat and seafood that's antibiotic-free. As an exclusive offer, our listeners can get free protein in every box for a year, plus$20 off your first box when you go to butcherbox.com slash taste. Visit butcherbox.com slash taste to get this limited time offer and free shipping always. That's butcherbox.com slash taste. Don't forget to use our link so they know we sent you. So I guess while we're talking about cities and the different places you went to, since I'm not an expert about LA steakhouses, despite the fact that it's my hometown.

42:15How dare you? I know, I know. Well, we can go together maybe. Yes. What's your favorite steakhouse in LA? See, this is when we get in trouble. There's so many. If I have to say one, I'm going to say Taylor's because Taylor's in Koreatown. There's one in La Canata, which I like too. But Taylor's Koreatown was the first steakhouse I went to. I went to with Tim Heidecker because when we first moved to LA, we were just kind of on our website. You know, this is before YouTube, if you can even imagine. We just had timonair.com. And we had some fans in LA that were like, we would love to take you out to our favorite restaurant.

42:51and we're like, cool. It was this really lovely couple. They took us to Taylor's and Tim and I were like, oh shit, this is like old school LA. This is like a different version of LA that's really awesome and it has not changed. Very Rat Pack style. So when we shot the book, I brought Tim back and other people that are very close to me, Bob Odenkirk and John C. Reilly just to kind of, and they all told, one of the greatest chapters in the book is that Taylor's chapter where they each talk about working in restaurants. And it's so funny. Each of them just has a great story. And it was such a beautiful night.

43:27And they love it. And they're not, you know, John and Bob know really great. They know good food. But they're not like maybe you and I are, which are a little bit more on the foodie side, you know. But they love that. That's the point. Like they had so much fun because they could understand the food. John got his whole steak, you know. It's just like beautiful. Yeah. I thought you would have said Musso and Franks. That's funny. That's, you know, Moose and Frank's, I think, is the most beautiful room in the whole country. Not just steakhouse. It's like, I think that place is unbelievable. I'm going to give you the scoop.

44:03This is exclusive. Clayton, play the music. Taste exclusive. No, just kidding. So, Moose, out of all 65 restaurants we went to, Moose was the one that said, no, thank you. and I fucking loved that. I loved, I loved it. Like, no, we're not interested. Gabe called them many times. Like, nope. Like, they're known for like, they don't do celebrity reservations. They don't hold tables. Like, they're just hardcore, but because they can. It's just, they make the rules. It's not like this big corporation. It's not like Starbucks where you have to do things a certain way. It's, and I love it. So, of course, I try to weasel my way.

44:49Anyone says no to me, I'm like, this is instantly a challenge. So I get there, like to do this, you have to talk to their PR guy who's a trip and he's pretty much, no, no, thank you. But he's like, but on the weekend, if you're interested, I'm doing a UFO club and we really need new members. We really need some young Hollywood to come. I'm like, oh, I'm so flattered. You'd consider me young Hollywood. um but i was like and i really want to go to this thing and then i was like i can't i know a lot of ufo guys like it's just too much but anyway so i i still went in i snuck my camera in i'm sorry musos i shot one picture which is the chopped steak because it needed to be in the book it's really this amazing dish that my friend emil haney taught me and it's you know not many people get the chopped steak it's it's but it's a good quality steak they cook it perfectly and then it's like served in some jus with a side of watercress which is essential to have that bitterness and then you get the steak sauce and you dip that and we haven't done that's what that's what we'll get when you when we um do steak in la yeah i'm really glad you mentioned that the chopped steak a poivre there because i had never heard of a chopped steak before i didn't realize it was something that you could order, but the recipe is in the book.

46:12So the recipes in the book, I was curious about this. What percentage of them are like, are they exact from the restaurant? Are they an interpretation? Are they inspired? So the chopstick au poivre was on the animal menu. That's a John and Vinny recipe. At the time I was about to open up a hoagie wine bar with them at that animal space but i've been they were one of my first friends in la that showed me the real like they took me to todoraku they took me everywhere but so i trust them and i love their food and this this was a i love a poivre anything but they they use really good meat and they're such classically french and trained chefs that they just do it really well it's just like you know it's i also find it let's just enjoy it i don't know there's something fun about it when it's done right yeah um so that's a john and venny recipe but yes because lots of recipe sections like where do the recipes all come from most of them uh maybe half of them are from my chef friends like firmin nunez did a version of his chipotle ribeye which is so good that's a great And then we got recipes from people in Monterey, Mexico.

47:32That's the appetizer version of what we have in Japanese restaurants. It's the tuna, seared tuna with like ponzu. It's, what is that called? Not tempanyaki. I can't remember. Like tartare? Yeah. But there's like a, it's like a nobu word. Anyways, it's just interesting. So we got that, but they do a steak in Monterey. and then we developed some on our own we hired the best recipe developers and some are from the south because they wanted to like harness that feeling and sometimes that person didn't even eat there but they knew through me gushing over what it was and the extreme documentation i did we developed things like parker house rolls and other things that are very unique but super tasty so you can buy this book and you can just look at the pictures and you can also buy this book and make the like really world-class versions of these steakhouse recipes and the simple versions like there's it's kind of both yeah there is such a nice like there's four different versions of a wedge salad and you can make all four yeah but there's only one martini recipe because i i'm stickler for everyone to at least try this version because it's it's in my opinion it's just the elevated way to go.

48:52Yeah. What is your perfect martini? My perfect martini is obviously gin, something good. You have Raku. That's my favorite right now. And you don't fuck it up. You don't need vermouth and you don't need olive juice. Guess what? If the people are making the martini properly, it's all about the dilution and the temperature. And it's all about the patience to get there. Most places just rush you through and making sure that the glass is, it's almost more of a practice than it is a recipe it's just take your time and you actually do want to taste the botanicals in a good gin and i i just pop one olive in very good olive maybe two drips of olive juice but these people the people that do dirty i know there's lots of dirty people out of the dirty dirty girls dirty boys everything and i used to be one of you i used to be there in the gutter just just brining it up but you do need to do that if you have shit gin you know if you're going to a place that doesn't have some of these new wonderful saint george or botanist all those like that we're making amazing gin so don't it's like it's like don't hide it just just make it cold and but then there's there's there's a great the only exception would be the grills they do a pre-batch martini with a twist.

50:13And there's something about that that is just incredible. Have you had that one? I haven't. I'm afraid to say this, but I'm not really a martini drinker, to be honest. I know. Clayton, stop. End recording. End the record. He's out, folks. I'll do like a Negroni instead or ideally a Mezcal Negroni. You know, I can do a stiff drink, but I'm not really a gin girly. Are you more of a Mexican Mutzlade? Be honest. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I would say Mezcal Negroni. That's my steakhouse drink. Do I pass muster? Yes, you do. Because Mezcal is, I think, if I had to pick one spirit, that's my favorite. And I also love a Negroni because I'm in Italy a lot.

50:59It's bitter. I love a good cocktail. I used to be into mixology. You know, like I love a proper daiquiri. But you love wine also. I do. But the Steakhouse Martini is all about the progression. You know, it's about not overloading yourself with sugar or flavor in the beginning because you want to get to the good wine and then to the red wine. And, you know, I think a Steakhouse already is very powerful, usually leaning on the over-the-topness of flavor and salt and all that stuff, which is fine. But I think the martini to me is the right. It's kind of like, you know, we shot at Coat in New York.

51:46And that was one of the most delicious steakhouses I've ever been to. And it's a lot. I mean, it's perfect food and perfect service and great wine. But you have banchan. You have these pickled elements in between bites. And that's for your, I mean, it's delicious. But it's actually for your body, for digestion and for just dealing with so much fat. You need that acid and you need that pickling. And in America, we don't really have that. So I look at the martini as a placeholder for that experience in the early part of a dinner. The other martini that I am guilty of, and I was going to put in the book, and Gabe, thank God he said no, it's the espresso martini.

52:29It's very controversial. But if you're shooting two steakhouses a night, you have to power up. So that's kind of, I'll do it if it's a, you know, there's a good version of that. Major Domo has the greatest espresso martini I've ever had in my life. It's unbelievable. But they're also using fermented, like Koji. What is that? Koji? Mm-hmm. Koji. Koji. You're talking about, like, you know, long haul, 65 steakhouses, two a night sometimes. I have to ask, like, how your health is doing. Are you okay? Well, I mean, the problem is I've turned a couple of my friends on to martinis and it's, you know, it's pretty intense if you're not a cocktail person.

53:16But so. But yeah, we learned how to just nibble. Sometimes you have to nibble and we would save places that we've been to many times as we'll just do that. You know, for example, in Bern in Tampa, we went to Burns, which is one of the greatest places in the entire world specifically for wine, steakhouse wine. but we just did one a night because we knew well we're also there it was an eight hour dinner but it's you know sorry i'm going all over the place but yes you have to you have to just take bites analyze it and then by this round two you're you know sometimes we you know maybe too much wine and we're not much work's getting done but we're having fun and that's the point of the steakhouse you know i think that's the real takeaway i have to be like are you enlightened now like what is your take on steakhouses i was trying to make i was trying to make a a recap video this morning um because it's pub date and the videos are so beautiful it's just my friends and i or every city i would bring a friend or a chef that would host us and um and just talk about the town and what the steakhouse means to them and that was like chris shepherd in houston who's just a living icon in the food world and in the everything world he took us to papas brothers which could be my favorite steakhouse in the world and it took me a long time to get there but it's also because he shaped it that way it's in the south it's in houston one of my favorite cities it's really delicious one of the craziest steakhouses ever and then we we i had a crew of friends there where we all jammed into our car about the drive home and we would listen to exclusively like very heavy metal for some reason just to get us jacked up to work and we were all headbanging and all of a sudden we see this figure walking over to us and knocking we thought it was we thought it was the cops and it was chris he's like what are you guys doing can i come in there like you guys and we're just like being silly and headbanging but it was joyous and yeah it's fun it's the kind of thing that happens when you're in the like deep of your steakhouse reporting i want to play a rapid fire game with you to close today um and i'm gonna make you play some favorites but before we do that i'm wondering if you would very briefly tell our listeners about your decade-long beef steak party and uh whether and whether or not you think people should be trying to throw their own um listeners of the taste pod hi it's eric warheim please support my art by buying a steakhouse you know it's good that's the thing you know you want it beef steak is so cool it's like an early New York concept of celebration and it was born out of a bunch of people getting together all men back in those days and you know some great big sale or a stock market boom or something like that everyone get together they would wear black tie and they would wear a white apron and there's no utensils and they would just cook the meat throw it down on a plate and you eat your hands and do the dippers and we were like i got together with some legends in los angeles um matt sulman head writer of simpsons neil fraser a great chef court cast producer and and we're like we need to do this and we need to to do it for charity because we're we live close to downtown and there's a massive problem right now.

56:55Well, not right now, always. And we raised tons of money for Food Bank, which made us feel good. And we could sort of simulate this experience. And we've been doing it. And we did one for the book. And we had to cut most of it because of the page count. But I promise I wouldn't talk about that anymore. But it's such a fun experience. And it's like a steakhouse experience, but on acid. And you're just, it's just times a million. It's really fun. What do you think you gain by not using any utensils? You just gain this. It's, it is a primal experience, which I don't really love. You know, I don't really love it.

57:37I love, I'm, I'm like a wipe guy. My truck, my truck has these organized wipes from wipes with aloe. I just use wipes just for like, just for cleaning my windshield. I just love them. So I guess what I'm saying is like using your hands is not my favorite thing. But for this, it's just great. And wiping it on your apron and not caring is really fun. And to see people that have never done it embrace it and at the end of the night they're just having fun and being loose, it's really cool. It's a great thing. And if you want to do a beefsteak dinner, you can get the recipes in Steakhouse by Eric Steakheim.

58:18Okay, you ready for the rapid fire? Let's do it. Hold on. Let me just do one quick breath. Ready? Okay. If you could be a regular at any steakhouse, which one would it be? Oh, God. I'm already stumped Acropolis. The most memorable server from the whole trip? Jerome from Beef and Bottle. The best banquette you sat in? Good questions. The best banquette? Taylor's. Best martini? Grill. Best Psalm. Oh, Eric at Burns. I mean, there's him and then there's everyone else. That's a whole other pod. I know. The best bottle of wine. That might be too hard. Well, I have a funny story. It was a 1976 Chateau de Chem, which is a sweet wine.

59:10And it was at the grill. And I told Gabe, my co-author, do not let me order any wine past 9.30 p.m. Just don't. because I was in New York. I had all my best friends there. He doesn't abide by his promise. And I'm ordering a dessert wine. I'm like, it's my birth year. And they have like a really crazy cellar of that wine. And it was very, very expensive. No one else wanted any. So I just drank half of it by myself. And it was thousands of dollars. But it's a whole world of sweet wine, which is the good stuff is so profoundly good. But it's like Riesling. You can have shit stuff. But if you try some of the great producers, it's really this otherworldly thing.

59:56So that would be it. There's so much good wine, though. I know. We have to do a whole wine podcast, honestly. Okay, a modern steakhouse or an old school steakhouse? Which do you prefer? You know the answer. Old school. Like the film. Okay. One more time to talk about something that was cut. A steakhouse that you loved that you didn't have room to include in the book. Oh, I mean, how long do we have? We had to cut so many. I would say, oh, it's tragic. Del Rey. It's a place that in Los Angeles, we had our premier book dinner there. And it was sad that we couldn't include them because that's another LA one that put on your list.

1:00:37It's in Pico Rivera. It's jammed every single night. It used to be a hotspot for Hollywood types that would drive there it's like a 30 minute drive from Hollywood but um it's has the entertainment has a piano bar a guy plays two saxophones at once there's a conga player table side everything the table side Caesar I'm going to post about it um today so you can see it um just like it's performance art it's just absolutely perfect and they have an Italian American vibe so you can get like fried calamad you can get it's just shrimp scampi it's beautiful you had me at two saxophones at once that's incredible I also that party was there's a lot of just singing crying it was and I also rented a party bus because that's just how I roll so fun okay final question non-steak related question a fictional food scene like from a book or a movie that you wish you could magically eat in real life oh this is great this is such a fun one it would probably be any sunday supper at the soprano household like i want that big ziti i want i just want the it's funny like that show i started drinking wine by watching sopranos and they always had ruffino which is a very corporate wine you know from italy and it's not very good But I was like, Tony Soprano's drinking that.

1:02:06It's got to be good. It sort of got me into like making red sauce and meatballs and stuff. Oh, I love that. That's a perfect answer. And this has been such a fun conversation, Eric. Thanks so much. It's been a pleasure. Thanks for having me.

1:02:24This is Taste is hosted and produced by Matt Rodbard and me, Eliza Abarbanel. The show is edited by lead producer Clayton Gumber and supervised by Pat Stango, Director of Media Production and Development at Penguin Random House Thanks to Shalia Harris and the production team at Penguin Random House Theme music by Steve Rydell Logo and guest illustrations by Ellie Skrzat Visit Taste online at tastecooking.com And make sure to subscribe to our newsletter To keep updated on all cool things in the world of taste