The Modern Hotelier #185: Making Everyday a Holiday at The Landmark Prime Rib | with Chef Patrick McElroy
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Patrick McElroy: The Melrose is so entrenched in the neighborhood and you have so many people that are generational that come back and they remember the nostalgia of, you know, what this was in the nineties and, you know, early two thousands and kind of giving it that new energized focus, but it still has something for everybody this is the. Where else are you gonna go to get such a good prime rib?
Steve Carran: We are now at the Landmark Prime rib and joined by Chef Patrick. Thank you for sitting down with the chef. How you doing today? 
Patrick McElroy: Excellent. As usual. 
Steve Carran: Perfect. Can you tell us a little bit more about your background and where your passion for cooking came from? 
Patrick McElroy: Sure, of course. Um, a little southern south jersey boy that grew up on a little island didn't know what I had in front of me when I did when I grew up, you know, there's fresh seafood. We're catching scallops right off the dock. I mean, we say day boat. We're talking minute boat. You know, that was where I grew up and you know, the Garden state's known as the Garden State for a reason. The produce is incredible. You know, the asparagus, tomatoes and things like that.
And so, you know, as most do, uh, on a little island town, you start off as a dishwasher, you know, doing your thing and just giving you something to do in between, you know, school ending and in beginning again. So that's where when you started to kind of see what was there, it was just built into me. It's not something I've had to go and kind of research what I wanted to do. It was brought up into me and kind of like my heritage and, and it was just part of, part of human nature at that point. And so I just continued on and here we are. So besides you. Yeah. And your entire family. Who's the best cook? It's gotta be my father, to be honest with you which is kind of odd because he c-suite guy. Yeah. Um, aviation. But on the weekends or, you know, uh, after work or whatever, he'd get on the grill or he'd be cooking something. He had a really good mix 'cause he lived all over the northeast, so little dash of Italian, really good seafood and things like that.
And so, you know, talk about almost like two different career paths, right. Merging together. So I think that's definitely because I'm very close to him, that's uh, obviously part of the influence as well. 
Steve Carran: There's a lot of restaurants in Dallas. What brought you to the Warwick Melrose? 
Patrick McElroy: So I worked in all private French, scratch Italian, all that, which is very normal up in the Northeast. And then when I decided to make the move down here, I kind of went into a bit of a corporate realm with. Um, Hyatt Hotels and, and kind of moved around from there. And I found myself at Hilton Park Cities, which is right up the road. So it was actually a competitor. So they started, um, coming up there and saying, who's this new chef?
Who's this guy? Right? And so they came, uh, and they scooped me up and I absolutely fell in love with it. So I spent five amazing years here. Had a great part to do with the new buildings, the spa, and the new kitchen over there, the new facilities, you know, and that's, that's really, that's the blood, the sweat, the tears, that's all the stuff that goes into it, you know?
Then unfortunately, you know, we had, uh, what had occurred in 2020 and, um, I. You scattered the winds. And um, I was very, very fortunate to get that phone call that says, Hey, we're really interested in doing a very, you know, elevated, incredible concept, beautiful prime rib, all quality products, chef, we think you're the guy, come back home, and so I decided to. 
David M.: So the hotel features both the library and the landmark prime rib. What makes each of those unique and special especially considering the proximity?
Patrick McElroy: They are right down the hallway from each other. Um, the library bar is, is well known that is definitely, um, a spot to be seen. It brings in an incredible crowd of people, uh, local celebrities as well as others. That's the fun. This is elegant. It's high end, but also in a relaxed atmosphere that you don't have to feel. You know, full out, you know, all of this. And so we think that prime rib, when we kind of went into it was, you know, most people would attribute to holidays, so we wanted to bring a holiday to every day, because you have birthdays, you have anniversaries, you have this, you have that.
And overall. The Melrose is so entrenched in the neighborhood, and you have so many people that are generational that come back and they remember the nostalgia of, you know, what this was in the nineties and, you know, early two thousands. And kind of giving it that new energized focus. Well, it still has something for everybody where else are you gonna go to get such a good prime rib? And, and, and that's the story. And so, you know, we're able to do it and it's just, I think it's a wonderful accoutrement, a ying to a yang versus what you're looking for. Obviously quality, obviously elegant everywhere you go, but I think this really speaks to more of a tradition on a daily basis.
Steve Carran: What's your favorite part about working here at the Landmark Prime Rib in the Warwick Melrose Hotel? 
Patrick McElroy: For me, there's a bit of nostalgia 'cause it's my second time back for sure. Um, but it's also, it's the, it's the people that make it, you know, a building's, just a building. To be honest with you, I love the history of it.
I love that. But it's the people that walk through those doors that keep you coming back. And so when you out into somewhere and you meet somebody else and they said, oh, you the Melrose, oh, the landmark prime rib, that's always a little nice for a chef. Touch ego, right? But really it is, um, it's, it, it's definitely the, the people.
And you know, when all the craziness that happened kind of sied down, uh, so many of us came back. To what I refer to as home, and that's really what kind of brings this place and makes it in my heart. 
David M.: Steve and I have really enjoyed this hotel experience. The staff has been incredible hospitality across the board, so we just wanna thank you and the rest of the team for a great time.
Patrick McElroy: Absolutely. Thank you so much for being here. 
David M.: Cheers.