Bern’s Remains my #1 Tampa, Florida

Bern’s is my favorite restaurant in the World.  When visiting Orlando, I’ve driven to Tampa, just to have dinner at Bern’s.  I’ve flown across the country just to have dinner at Bern’s.  I’ve even flown my brother from New York to meet me in Tampa so he could join me for dinner at Bern’s. 

This time, I a held a seminar in Tampa … you guessed it … just to have dinner at Bern’s.  It was another epic evening.

So, whenever the topic of conversation brings up “Tampa”, I always ask, “Have you been to Bern’s?”  Eyes light up and its the same story each time – incredible service, incredible meal, and incredible story. 

Liking something comes from inside.  You resonate with it, you share the same values with it, you relate to it, or maybe you want to inspire to be like it.   A favorite takes it a step further.  Favorites are deeper feelings earned from repetition and consistency that reinforces our belief.  A favorite means loyalty to the brand.

“Why is Bern’s your favorite?” I’ve been asked. It’s not something I can relate in a sentence or two.  It’s a story that takes time to tell.  The analytical thought used to describe “why” I like Bern’s comes from the neocortex part of the brain.  In reality, the reason I am a Bern’s fanatic, is much deeper rooted in my Limbic System, the part of the brain where emotions arise.  That’s why its difficult to explain, because of this disconnect.

Sure, I learned this in school, but my recent read of the book, Start With Why, by Simon Sinek brought it back to my consciousness.  It also made me realize why I like Bern’s so much. Simon’s book explains why we connect with certain brands, and why some companies .  It’s not “what” they do – There are lots of Steakhouses, and I dined at the best of them.  It’s not “how” they do it – many restaurants can serve up service. It’s the “why”.   The “why” is the story of Bern’s.

More importantly, I learned the story of Bern’s first hand from the Bern’s waiters over the years.  The “why” is Bern’s uncontested commitment to quality in everything he did.  He searched the world to build wine list.  He purchased land to grow his own vegetables to be served.  He made space for a meat locker to age his own prime beef.  He created an in house bakery for breads and desserts.  He developed a training program for the service staff to communicate these details to customers.  That is the secret sauce. 

Bern’s commitment to quality was engrained in the employees.  The kitchen staff knew that all evening, the waiters would be brining diners though for a tour.  Thus, cleanliness and efficiency would be showcased.  When a company can get employees on board with their vision they are in it for the right reasons and for the long haul.

Bern’s wait staff goes through years of training and even have to take a test of their knowledge before they are released to the public.  Different colored ties indicate the level of seniority of the waiters.  Some have been there for decades.

Our reservation at 7 pm, I arrived at the restaurant 30 minutes early to study the wine list and prepare selections for the evening.  From experience, I knew that Bern’s had a 500,000 + bottle wine collection – believed to be the largest private collection in the World, and I needed some alone time to study it. 

A 1947 Double Magnum of Chateau Latour on the Bern’s list for $30,000, was found unknowingly among other wines in the Cellar last year.

The 181 page list reads like a novel to wine lovers.  There are bottles hundreds of years old and verticals of Bordeuax and Burgandy that would make a King envious.  Bern Laxer, the restaurant’s founder began the restaurant in 1956 and fell in love with wine in the 1960’s.  He purchased bottles for $2-$3.00 that today are worth hundreds.  Some 90,000 bottles are stored beneath the restaurant and the rest across the street in a temperature controlled warehouse.  You can tell that’s where they are, as the waiter explains, because the building doesn’t have any windows.

My friends arrived, and we were escorted to our table. 

From the reception room, the atmosphere boasts tradition.  Bern acquired pieces from his trips to Europe and many of the wall hangings were obtained from old theatres.  Gaudy and outdated, a casual observer may think, but that is exactly the point.  You are beginning a new experience – one where Caesar salad is prepared tableside, where wine is poured with candle flame assistance.  Tradition means going back in time when quality and trust were the norm, not the exception (more credit to Simon Sinek here). 

As the evening began, I ordered a bottle of Mumm Cordon Brut Rose (NV).  It arrived and upon opening the cork didn’t expand and the bubbles were minimal.  My suspicion that the wine was bad was confirmed on the palate and another bottle was quickly fetched.  Again, the same.  The apologetic sommelier recommended the Piper Heidsieck Burt Rose Sauvage (NV), which was on the mark.  Champagne in hand, we were able to browse the menu.  Oh, by the way, the reason I have the labels from the evening is because the waiter went to the trouble of having the bottles soaked and removed the labels placing them on Bern’s remembrance cards for us to take home.

 

 

Bern’s motto is, “we do things differently here.”  It’s not just a motto, it’s the truth.  The menu is filled with traditional Entrees from Duck to Fish, but the highlight are the steaks.  Bern’s steaks are U.S. Prime only and aged 5-8 weeks, cut to order trimmed of fat and broiled over real charcoal.  Bern’s lists their steaks by cut – Filet Mignon, Chateaubriand, Delmonico, Strip Sirloin, Porterhouse, and T-Bone – and then by the serving size in ounces.  You simply choose your cut and size and each steak is hand cut to order in the kitchen.  I knew that the menu discussion at our table would warrant another bottle of wine, so when the Champagne was served, I ordered a bottle of 1994 Domaine Weinbach Pinot Blanc to enjoy.

I visited Domaine Weinbach in Alsace, France, in 2001 and had personally been poured this wine by the owner, Catherine Faller.  I knew it would be a great wine to start with.

Complimentary cheese toast arrived to prime the palate and went well with the Pinot Blanc.

Our Appetizers came next, which we shared.  The Bern’s Original Steak Tartare is hand chopped flank steak with red bell peppers, shallot wine, and egg yolk. 

 

 

The Foie Gras a la Plancha arrived with truffle roasted wild mushrooms and a Napa Valley Merlot reduction that melted in your mouth.  The shrimp cocktail was colossal.

I ordered a 1994 Domaine Gerard Chavy & Fils Puligny-Montrachet to accompany the apps.  This French White Burgandy is from the finest expression of chardonnay that has set the standard for this varietal around the world.

We put in our Entree orders and four of us decided to share a 48 oz Chateaubriand.  Like the foie gras, it also melts in your mouth.  Unlike other steakhouses, where salads and vegetables are ordered ala carte for an additional $10 a piece, Bern’s included these dinner accompaniments with the entree.   All the more money to spend on wine. 

 

I ordered a 1986 Newton Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa Valley.  After all, how often do you find a 25 year old Napa Cab on a wine list?

Bern’s French Onion Soup Au Gratin was served, followed by their Steak House Salad.  To accompany the steak, we took advantage of the older vintage Bordeaux wines on the menu.

 

 

 

1973 was an off vintage – which is probably why the ‘73 Chateau Cheval Blanc was only $150.  Bordeaux First Growth’s are exclusive and expensive.  To put it in perspective, the ‘82 was $5,900.  To give you an example of the depth of Bern’s list, they offered ‘06, ‘05, ‘04, ‘03, ‘02, ‘00', ‘98, ‘95, ‘93, ‘82, ‘73, ‘66, ‘64, ‘38, ‘30, ‘25, and ‘23 of Cheval Blanc alone.  You can most likely find your birth year of some wine here no matter your age.

Cheval Blanc is the wine popularized in the movie, Sideways, that Miles cherished and finally drank with a Burger proving the point that there is no time like the present. It made for great table conversation, but for me, this was a wine experience.  It had an earthy nose with dark fruits, cherry and tobacco on the palate.

We kept the sommelier and waiter busy, as side by side to accompany the main course we had a horizontal of two more 1993 Bordeaux’s.  Chateau Cos D’Estournel and Chateau Leoville Barton, both places I visited on a 2008 trip to Bordeaux, were special wines to enjoy.  Having them side by side allowed for comparisons and even more enjoyment.

 

 

 

As the meal wound down, the energy at our table continued to rise as we knew what would come next – a tour of the kitchen and the wine cellar.  This experience is terrific each time, but when you have a newcomer with you, it’s so enjoyable to see their amazement of a restaurant willing to share this with you. 

Our glasses were nearly empty and with the tour set to begin, I ordered one more wine, a 1994 Chateau La Louviere, from the Graves region of Bordeaux.  I had also been fortunate enough to visit this Chateau and I knew their wine from that visit.

Wine in hand, we were escorted through the kitchen to see the action.  Stations were assigned for vegetables, salads, even croutons – made from scratch.  Bean sprouts are grown on trays to top salads, and even the coffee beans are roasted in house at another station.  The stainless steel countertops were personally fabricated for the kitchen and you got the feeling that nothing is left to chance here.  It’s all been designed for the vision of the owner.

The kitchen leads down to the stairs to the wine cellar.  From floor to ceiling the wines are stacked and arranged to their own inventory system for efficient retrieval.  Being invited into this cellar is like being invited into someone’s personal den.

The evening wasn’t over. In homage to Englishman Mr. Harry Waugh, an internationally known and respected wine connoisseur, and former director of Chateau Latour (and a friend of Bern Laxer's), the restaurant created an upstairs dessert room where diners can adjourn.  Bern got the idea from a visit to Harry’s home where after a delicious meal, Harry and his wife invited the Laxer’s to their drawing room where they werer served vintage Port, Stilton Cheese, and old bonded vintage Cognac, coffee, cigars and “the warmest, most relaxed conversation possible.”

Seven years after that experience, the Harry Waugh Dessert Room opened. Here, several hundred dessert wines, from Port to Madeira and sweet white wines are offered by the ounce, and you can taste 100-year-old Madeiras and Ports to your heart's content or wallet's resilience.

The entire upstairs is designed in a series of alcoves and the rooms are designed with portals that look like large wine casks, so there is privacy for everyone. They range in size from an intimate setting for two to a larger room that can easily accommodate 10 to 12. There, we had Bananas Foster prepared tableside while sipping on a Bern’s coffee and 20 year old Sherry. 

It was now midnight.  How could five hours pass so quickly?  Maybe it was the wine?  As Simon Sinek explains in “Start With Why”, Bern’s passion for food and wine together with his commitment to quality and service were the standards on which he built his leadership.  You could hear the pride exude from the waiter as we were given the tours.  Bern’s passion was contagious and even after his passing, his son, David, has been able to carry the vision of his father through by abiding to these same principles.  Bern Laxer’s original philosophy was, “The customer must come back.”  Simply stated, “I’ll be back.”