Bern's Steak House : Reflections & Recipes from a Remarkable Restaurant

What would you call a restaurant where steaks are aged five to eight weeks in special ageing room, where a wine cellar is, perhaps, the largest in the world, where vegetables served are organic and cooked to order, where only freshly squeezed juices and superb quality liquors are used to prepare your cocktail, where customers enjoy out-of-water seafood, where the finest kona coffee beans in the world are hand - sorted to eliminate every single defect? There is only one word for such a place: Remarkable. That was the word the highly regarded Esquire columnist John Mariani chose after his first visit to this legendary restaurant located in Tampa, Florida. Visitors flock to Bern's from the far corners of the globe to experience their exquisite prime beef and glorious vintage wines. Why? What makes this steak house so remarkable? Author Joyce LaFray, food and travel journalist, and close friend of founder Bern Laxer for over 25 years, answers those questions and more, in this compelling story of the wunderkind restaurant. Just recently, after a long illness, founder Bern Laxer passed away. Today, the restaurant shines under the brilliant direction of Bern's son, David Laxer. His aspirations, like his father, know few boundaries. Behind every success, there is a successful team and this handsome hardcover book is about that team Bern and Gert, family and loyal staff. LaFray narrates the story of how Bern's gained its excellent reputation not only by preparing exquisite aged prime steaks and collecting world-class wines but by garnering kudos in all aspects of restaurant management. The story is simple, yet complex. It is a story about Bern Laxer's near obsession with attention to detail and how that striving for perfection created one of the most famous steak houses in the world. Bern Laxer believed that whatever is done in any field should be done totally, wholeheartedly and completely.