You describe two types of “steakhouses” – the first presents an atmosphere of marketable clubbiness and happens to offers a limited menu including well-prepared “steak dinners”; the second holds itself out as a place to get a good “steak dinner”.
The Palm falls into the first – indeed, on the heels of serving as Ambassador to the U.N. , the first President Bush’s praise of the original Palm reportedly prompted the D.C. location’s opening, where, by all appearances, anyone who is “anyone” in D.C. is eventually spotted at the bar. The patron caricatures adorning the walls attest to the Palm’s original clubbiness.
The second, whether Fleming’s, Outback, et al., is the type that home grillers easily equal and regularly surpass when it comes to what’s on the plate. In other words, steak-focused cooking.
As for the OP cohort, those are likely more similar to Category Two than One? What can you do with steak to be put on a menu as a business plan.
My dad took me to the original Palm nearly 50 years ago. The lobsters looked science-fiction like
I love traditional steak houses; sadly I’m forbidden to indulge by my medical conditions. Perhaps just once .. but there aren’t any stellar ones around me..
The article is good, and NYC, being NYC, is always pushing the envelope to offer something unique. I would gladly eat at any one of the 3 restaurants featured in the article. If I were to be transported to NYC right now and offered reservations at any steakhouse for this evening, I would most likely go with one of the classics, and not one profiled here. For me and for most people, a classic steakhouse dinner is a luxury, and with the price of beef as they are now, a steak dinner is quite an investment in dining. I would want to go to one of the classic steakhouses, and have a classic steak with traditional sides.
If I had disposable income, and time to try every steak in Manhattan, sure I would try one of these places. Give me the classics any day of the week.
I didn’t understand the point of the article. The NYT continues to show its ever left leaning view having to bring in food insecurity. Her brief history is more anecdotes than facts. All the good food writers at the times are long gone. Now we’re left with a sorry lot. There used to be such good journalism there.
Steak houses have been evolving since the first ones opened. To think they are stuck in some formulaic approach just shows a lot of naivety of a person who hasn’t experienced them much.
I have been eating at all the major steakhouses of NYC for decades now. Dozens of times a year. They each have their own personalities. Many new ones have opened and other former old standbys are gone. They’re not designed for people to come on their own. Sure some people do but on any given weeknight at the most well known places, it’s jammed pack with the corporate expense account crowd. We meet and great each other and order a first round of cocktails. The wine list will be handed to the designated wine guy. Sometimes that’s been me. I peruse the list keeping in mind the expense policy which usually has me focusing the bottles in the $200 range. We order apps to share. A seafood tower, bacon, the token salad. Another bottle or three of wine are called for. Then porterhouse for two times the half number of people in the group. Creamed spinach, asparagus, potatoes of some sort. After too much food much of which is left uneaten, a pile of desserts will hit the table along with dozens of glasses of whiskey. I get handed a bill well into 4 figures and I tuck the receipt away to give to my assistant the next day. Happens every night hundreds of times a night. God I hate it. I would so much rather get a piece of lovely fish instead. But the steak dinner remains the safe choice.
I am sure they have evolved from their very early days, but for the past half century they have been extremely formulaic. The expense account experience you described has been played out at so many steakhouses with virtually no variation. I have sat through my share of them.
It is strange that these fetes are so commonplace in the business development world. I bonded with clients and prospects much better doing Dutch treat burgers or pizzas or Vietnamese.
I will disagree a bit. Maybe where you are in Texas things haven’t changed much, but in NYC lots has. When I first started working, there weren’t nearly as many steakhouses in NYC. Those that were around had been in place for decades. Peter Luger, Sparks, Keen’s and such. Wolfgang’s opened with a bang and shook everything up. The service was much more refined. The restaurant sparkled with newness. Strip House opened with a sexy boudoir theme and was more a place you would take a date to than a counterparty. STK, Cote and others changed the theme even more. Cote broke the mold completely. My favorite place right now is probably Hawksmoor. An English import. The space is gorgeous. Very English. The cuts are different. The sides too. Sure they have everything that you would find at a typical steakhouse but there are things slipped in that mark it as not your standard place. And the staff. Not remotely like your burly gruff waiter in a white apron. Much more flamboyant. Not at all like the old NY spots.
I live in Texas, but I do travel, and in the US I have lived in Boston, NYC, Philadelphia, DC, LA, SF, Portland, Seattle, and Portland, plus several cities in Texas. The ambiance may vary, and some may offer other things on the menu, but the basic menu remains the same: steak, creamed spinach, some form of potatoes. The only meaningful change in that formula has been a slow evolution of the “in” steak. Of course this is a staid and narrow niche. There’s plenty of other stuff going on in steakville, but the core remains intact.
Anymore, I just get prime rib. Haven’t had a bad one yet. I like fries with mine. I’m great with creamed spinach, too. Guess I’ve lost my sense of adventure.
