Partner Spotlight: Filthy Animal

Behind every great restaurant is a team, a vision, and the people who bring it all together. We sat down with Executive Chef Rene Vargas of Filthy Animal to talk about the inspiration behind the concept, menu favorites, and what makes his partnership with Meats by Linz stand out. From wood-fire cooking and bold global influences to the importance of consistency in the kitchen, get to know the story behind Filthy Animal and hear firsthand why quality and relationships matter. 

What is the overall concept and inspiration behind Filthy Animal as a restaurant? 

Imagine it’s the 1970s, there’s a guy from Shanghai. He decides to go down to Latin America, and he went down to Yucatán, Peninsula, and he fell in love with wood fire cooking. 

So, he brings that back to his country and starts making food from that style region, infusing his Asian and Latin America to put dishes together. Those are a lot of our influences and where they come from. 

If you look at our menu, there’s a lot of Asia and Latin America. There’s a little Mediterranean influence there, too, but you also get a touch of Chicago, like with the sea bass. 

What is your favorite dish on the menu and why? 

Wood Fired Beef Tartare. We char the filet on the wood, finely dice it, and we use our Kosho Vinaigrette in there.  

But if we are talking Entrees, the Ribeye with our signature seasoning. 

What drew you or how did you come about working with Meats by Linz? 

“I was just given Thomas.” No, just kidding. I’ve heard of Thomas (Meats by Linz, Sales Representative) throughout the industry for a long time and those who worked with Thomas were always talking highly of him, so I thought he would be a good fit over here. 

Thomas is actually amazing.  

I think he goes above and beyond all the time. Even when I’m mad, he shows up and I’m suddenly happy. If I miss something on my order, he will personally bring it down to me. If something unexpected happens, Meats by Linz has even opened its doors for us on a Saturday to get me what I need. I’m very happy with the relationship we’ve built with Meats by Linz. 

Don’t even get me started on the Linz Experience. Learning about how you guys breed and raise your own cattle is really cool. That was my favorite part of the event, I was just taking it all in. From learning more about the cattle cycle to just going out to look at the huge ranch full of cows, it was amazing. 

After learning everything that goes into the live side of Meats by Linz, I was like wow these guys really have it down pat with the consistency and quality. 

What is your favorite part about working with Meats by Linz? 

My favorite part about working with Meats by Linz is how amazing your product is. I feel like the product speaks for itself. You know you try a meat supplier out and its good product for like a month and after that it doesn’t taste or look the same, it’s not aged properly. There was a time we were expecting a Prime 12×12 (Tomahawk Ribeye) and it literally tasted like it was from a supermarket. 

We’ve never experienced anything like that working with Meats by Linz, you guys have it perfected, it’s very consistent and just overall a great product.  

I’ll also say working with Thomas, he’s a great guy. 

What is your best advice for a chef/restaurant owner when it comes to running a successful business/kitchen? 

Right now, I’m facilitating a growing business rather than creating one. Since I’m not at that creating stage anymore, I’m trying to pivot from not caring about the numbers to learning more about them. 

It is a lot to take in. I’m going through product mixes every week, looking at what we sold to make sure I bring in exactly what we need. 

That’s really my biggest piece of advice for being successful right now. You have to know your numbers and make sure you have your labor right. Make sure your food costs are accurate. Overhead is expensive, especially in a bigger restaurant. The bigger you get, the more you’re paying for rent and things like that. 

I would also say that all the stuff you see on Food Network, with chefs yelling at their staff and whatnot, is not actually how it is, and it should never be like that. Yeah, you get yelled at once in a while in the kitchen, but it’s not nearly like how it’s depicted anymore. 

No one is going to listen to you if you’re constantly yelling at them. You can’t just beat down your dishwasher all day long and think they’ll help you out. You have to learn how to coach properly and maintain a good, healthy balance with your line cooks, your cooks, everyone. 

I try my best to give them a good work-life balance, where they get three days off to themselves. I found that schedule to be more gratifying for them and me. They’re so willing to do more when they’re here. 

My only real advice is to make sure you learn both ends of what you’ve got to do. At the end of the day, if you don’t want to grow and learn, you could be a regular chef at a regular restaurant, or you could be badass, learn a bunch of cool stuff, and grow with the company. 

What stands out to you about the quality of Meats by Linz beef? 

I think, honestly, just the flavor. The flavor is embedded in the steaks because it is grain- fed beef. So, it’s embedded already and it tastes the same. It doesn’t taste like any of that grass-fed stuff that gets really funky. 

With dry-age, I mean you guys age it in your own dry-age room. It’s cut at the prime time. Compared to you know, Joe Schmoe from down the street or across the country because it’s cheaper at the moment, you know? At least you guys not only cut in house but you guys are also raising your own cattle. 

We had a vendor try to show us what they offer and they gave us the best one, obviously the best meat they had at the moment. It was cost effective and the meat was good so we kind of pivoted for just a little bit because of the cost. And it sucked. Like honestly, like we had a lot of guests noticing the difference in quality and we said forget that. And like right now when we’re being looked at a lot, we just don’t want to change anything. What we are doing now, it’s working for us, working well for us. And for sure this right here is working well and it’s consistent.