Danny Meyer Quotes
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I've been in love with Washington ever since renting my very first apartment there many years ago while working as a Senate intern.
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Sometimes, early in their careers, chefs make the mistake of adding one too many things to a plate to get attention. If a chef is just coming up with wiz-bang gimmicks on their plate, that has nothing to do with bringing real pleasure to people.
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Steak and its accompaniments - wine, vegetables, potatoes and generous desserts - is a primal source of pleasure to which many people can relate.
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I feel like not knowing Joe Torre is a hole in my New York experience.
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Human nature doesn't change. When enough people are comfortable enough financially, there is going to be human nature that wants to spend more money on better quality and, to some degree, status symbols as well.
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Whole Foods has been brilliant at changing the way food is produced because they just won't buy it if it doesn't meet their standards.
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Short of hiring a new staff, consider giving subpar workers a chance to improve. Tell them why they're not measuring up and give them a set amount of time to make specific improvements.
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There are three things that people pick up on the instant they walk into your home on Thanksgiving. They will be able to feel the human energy. They'll smell the food. And they will see, instantly, the table.
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Use your time well. Everyone gets time equally. It doesn't matter how much money you make.
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My history has been to grow the roots as deeply as you can before going on to the next thing. That's why it took 10 years to go from Union Square Cafe to Gramercy Tavern, and another 10 years to go from Blue Smoke's first location to its second, and five to go from Shake Shack 1 to Shake Shack 2.
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A restaurant is a compendium of choices that the owner has made. If you look around a restaurant, everything represents a choice: the kind of salt shaker that's on the table, the art on the walls, the uniforms on the waiters.
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There are a zillion variables to a hamburger. What part of the animal went into it. What coarseness. What temperature.
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In one respect, it's easier to open a restaurant in New York because you get more media attention than anywhere else. Almost everyone will try a new place once, irrespective of the reviews, because it's a spectator sport.
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In an age when so many groups are rolling out restaurants faster than your local baker makes donuts, my goal is that each restaurant feels hand-crafted. That they have their own soul.
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Ninety-five percent of all brussels sprouts come from California.
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At my restaurants, we have training drills before every meal. We talk about what we did yesterday that was great and what we can improve today.
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I just think the best way for me to be greedy is long-term greedy.
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Earlier in my career, I needed to be the writer, casting director, set designer, leading man, and producer. I've been eliminating a lot of those jobs. I'm an executive producer right now. I still get to pick the best screenplays.
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It's the job of any business owner to be clear about the company's nonnegotiable core values. They're the riverbanks that help guide us as we refine and improve on performance and excellence. A lack of riverbanks creates estuaries and cloudy waters that are confusing to navigate. I want a crystal-clear, swiftly flowing stream.
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Restaurants are like kids. You hope you understand their innate gifts, and then you let them realize their aspirations.
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One great worker equals three not-so-great workers, so it's worth paying terrific people not just for today but to find people that we think have upward mobility to become tomorrow's leaders.
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Life is a series of waves to be embraced and overcome.
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I don't get to cook in my own restaurant.
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I adore going to a very, very fancy restaurant - as long as the spirit is genuine, like it's their pleasure to welcome you.