By Susie Timm, Head Cheese
Nary a day goes by that I don’t have some mildly intellectual conversation with someone in the food industry that doesn’t contain the words “sustainable” or “locally grown” or “locavore” or any number of other trendy buzz words circulating through our food vernacular at the present time.
Don’t get me wrong–I am a fan of foods that are locally sourced, farmers and supporting our locally economy. However, with rampant over use and “trendy-fying” these terms start to lose their actual credibility and value and become nothing more than…words.
I had the chance to meet with a Tempe food icon inside of a Tempe institution last week and found myself struck by his lack of pretense and very refreshing spirit.
I am of course referring to Mr. Michael Monti of Michael Monti’s La Casa Vieja.
I was expecting someone completely different from the charismatic 43-year old with whom I met. I didn’t realize Monti started operating the family business when he only 25 years old.
Monti spent a little over an hour speaking to me about everything from steak to the condition of the Hayden Mill that sits across Mill Avenue from his location.
Monti’s is the oldest continually occupied structure in the Greater Phoenix area.
“My father bought the building in 1954 and it was in 1956 that he opened Monti’s La Casa Vieja – Monti being our family name and La Casa Vieja being the original nickname given to the home by the Hayden family,” said owner Michael Monti. “With such rich history it must be inevitable that some guests of the home (now restaurant) never wanted to leave. To this day both staff and guests claim of ghost sightings and we have a paranormal group that comes in often and has recorded some very convincing evidence.” As some guests like to say, an experience at Monti’s is so good it is scary.
Monti has a pretty simple business philosophy: provide the very best food for the very best price and keep his loyal customers happy while attracting new clientele.
“We are a steakhouse for the people—we are not an ‘expense account’ steak house. We try to stay within an economic box that allows families to come here while still providing the best quality product we can. We don’t want to exclude anyone who has been a loyal customer,” said Monti.
Monti does in fact locally source all his beef tenderloin from a packinghouse in the West Valley that uses local dairy cattle. The meat is priced right and he doesn’t have to pass any exorbitant costs on to his consumers.
For his other beef he offers choice and sterling silver choice grade from Shamrock.
“Our goal is to provide a full meal with 2 sides and bread at a very reasonable price. At an a la carte steakhouse, sometimes the steak prices alone are unreachable,” said Monti.
The core menu at Monti’s is filet, sirloin, NY, prime rib and rib eye. There are rotating seafood specials that change weekly.
“We’ve had the same menu collectively for almost 140 years—changing is like changing the course of a giant oil tanker. You tweak a menu, you don’t turn on a dime,” said Monti.
Monti is however doing something unique to La Casa Vieja—starting on February 22nd and continuing thru April, he will host a guest chef in his kitchen to cook along side of his tenured staff.
The idea is to create excitement and buzz. The first chef will be Eddie Matney.
“Let’s see what Eddie can do with this old battleship for a night,” said Monti.
Beau MacMillan from elements at the Sanctuary Resort follows on March 29 and Matt Carter of Zinc Bistro and The Mission rounds it out on April 26.
“If these guys pull off what I hope they will pull off it will be very exciting for us. We’ll take a break from the program in the summer if it’s a success and pick up again in the fall, “ he said.
I find it refreshing that a restaurateur that isn’t worried about following every food trend or making waves simply for publicity sake; Monti is seeking consistency in his food and pricing.
“This guest chef program gives me a chance to see what my customers might like in the future. We change at a careful rate—that’s why we are still in business,” said Monti.
If the past is any indicator of the future, I’m 100% sure that Michael Monti’s La Casa Vieja will continue its tradition in Tempe for many years to come.
