Another food & politics report from Extreme Mortman culinary correspondent Vic Matus, known in other sophisticated literary circles as Weekly Standard assistant managing editor and blogger for Galley Slaves:

Klaus Fritsch, the vice chairman and cofounder of Morton’s, The Steakhouse, visited our nation’s capital last week to promote his new book, the “Morton’s Steak Bible”–240 pages of unadulterated gastropornography (check out the picture of Beef Filet Diane on page 102). Prior to the book party, I met with Klaus over drinks at the bar of Morton’s on Connecticut Avenue and discussed our shared passion for steak, the nature of the business, and just what went wrong with Planet Hollywood.
 
V: I was at Kraftsteak in Las Vegas not too long ago and one of their highly touted items was Kobe beef from Japan. Have you thought of going in that direction?
K: No. There is very good American Kobe beef, Wagyu beef…. I putz around at home and we have this big kitchen, so we tried the Kobe steak, the Wagyu steak. It was like eating a stick of butter. So I don’t think it’s the kind of thing we’re going to do. Our thing is prime-aged American steak.
 
V: In your book, the “Morton’s Steak Bible,” I noticed you have a recipe for Wiener Schnitzel. How come I don’t see a Wiener Schnitzel on the menu?
K: Well, honestly, I did it a little out of respect to my heritage and more to my mother. But there’s a great recipe for Beef Rouladen.

V: Yes, I know. But it’s too complicated for me.
K: Oh, Jesus Christ, it’s so easy! That’s a great winter dish.
 
V: You also have Beef Wellington in the book. I was worried it was on its way out.
K: It’s still around. Some of the old things come back occasionally and we use them on occasion for a promotion. That’s the only steak in the whole book, besides the Steak Au Poivre, where we have any sauces. In the old days, in places in Europe, they would have lousy beef and cover it up in some fancy sauce because the steak you couldn’t eat.
 
V: What is your favorite steak?
K: Ribeye.

V: Regular or cajun?
K: Now you got me. I like the cajun a lot but the ribeye in general has the most flavor. Yes, you have the kernel of fat there–that’s the nature of the animal. We have some women who say, “Oh honey, there’s some fat in the middle.” You know, it happens.
 
V: You’re talking about my mother. She’d prefer the filet.
K: Filet is my least favorite. But the ribeye has great meat flavor.
 
V: You’re at home cooking a steak. How do you cook it?
K: Medium-rare. Just a little salt and pepper. That’s it. I brush the grill rack with olive oil. Throw it on and there you go.
 
V: You’ve got close to 70 locations worldwide. There’s a Morton’s in Hong Kong and in Singapore. Do you ever worry about overexpansion?
K: I worry about it a little bit. But on the other hand, we opened one in Chicago on Wacker Drive right across the river; we’ve really expanded the place. In the end, it’s a gut feeling. But I wouldn’t open in, let’s say, Kankakee. There has to be enough people and enough money for them to spend it. There has to be enough business. There are certain elements.
 
V: You don’t want to end up like Planet Hollywood, which overexpanded.
K: I don’t think it was overexpansion. I just think it was a shitty place.
 
V: What do you drink with your steak? Sometimes people will have beer.
K: Once in a while, I like a beer. I bounce around. But with a steak, sometimes I like a nice heavy Italian. Some will say you should only drink red with meat and white with fish, but I say bullshit. You should drink what you like.