Good Steak in NYC
 

Ok everyone. Alot of diversity on the posts I've checked. So let's hear some current opinions. My husband wants a "good" steak dinner while on our stay next week. When he says medium rare, he means "medium rare". This is not always the case once the plate arrives. So, let's hear it. Doug and NeoPatrick, I'd like to hear from you guys as well.

Quality Meats on W. 58th Street.

But you know what, there are many, many great steak places in Manhattan.

It ain't rocket science; it's just steak.

And every semi-decent steak place in New York knows "medium rare."

I'm a Peter Luger devotee. But, because their Porterhouse for two is so large, a small part of the medium rare is medium. I tell them I want it a little less than medium rare and it is great. I've been eating there over 30 years and have never been disappointed.

I did try Wolfgang's in Tribeca. Wolfgang worked at Peter Luger for a long time and opened his own place with his banker son. It was very good with a similar menu, but I still prefer PL.

The Strip House on East 12th.

BLT Steak. Everything was wonderful about it.

Also Palm, Sparks, Del Frisco, Old Homestead, and even Captial Grill (I know it's a chain, but it's a good chain). The one big steakhouse I'm not crazy about is Ruth Chris. A little off the beaten path is Christo's Greek steakhouse in Astoria.

I still think Smith & Wollensky's does a really good steak. But, as Gekko stated it's just steak. It's not rocket science.

Though I go to the big testerone fueled steak places with clients, like Mortons and Smith & Walleys, I prefer the steak at a place like Balthazar or Orsay.

We had excellent steaks at Primehouse on Park Ave. South. Son and husband also had good ones at Les Halles, also on Park Ave.

I'm partial to Smith and Wollensky. The steaks there might be a little charred on the outside (good, in my opinion) but will be perfect inside. I've never had a problem with the steak there, only with the prices. Wollensky Grill, which does not take reservations, is marginally cheaper on steaks and wine; same on sides.

But I tend to agree with everyone that you can get a "good" steak at many places in NYC. "Great" steaks are harder to find.

If your husband likes churrasco, I really love Old San Juan, and you can get a nice skirt steak with all the trimmings for under $25. Throw in a nice pitcher of sangria for another $20, and you can both have an excellent dinner for less than the price of one steak at a better NYC steakhouse.

I must say that I love BLT, but it's very very expensive, and the sides, though delicious, are extraordinarily expensive. But BLT Prime has almost the same menu as BLT Steak.

A steak with a side or salad and a glass of wine at a big NYC steakhouse can easily cost $100 per person. Steaks in NYC are typically sold a la carte at the better steakhouses.

The one place I would say please don't go to is Del Frisco. It is the only place on my firm's banned list after our CEO couldn't believe the cost of his meal.

I went for a drink before a Radio City show and thought it was just an awful crowd. I felt like I was in Vegas with a bunch of obnoxious bridge and tunnel types. (I can use that term as I grew up in an outer borough.)

Of the places mentioned by others, that's the only one I would say is to be avoided. (BTW, it's owned by the same firm that owns the Lone Star Steakhouse chain. So there you go.)

I think there is a point of limitation as to great. While most of those mentioned above are all excellent, I'll mention a couple that I was HIGHLY disappointed in --

Frankie and Johnny's
Gallaghers

I love a really well aged steak, and most good places have those.
One place that I find is a "hidden gem" is Bistecca Fiorentina on 46th, which serves a really fine Florentine steak for two. I order it with a pot of their white beans cooked with sage and I'm deliriously happy.

Bobby Van's and Smith and Wollensky (I prefer the atmosphere there in the bar) are perhaps my favorites. While I won't deny the steak at Peter Luger's was excellent, I think the whole deal there is about the "uniqueness" of the experience rather than the steaks and sides being THAT special. I'm glad I went once, but I really don't see a point in going through all the hoops to do it again.

I know people who swear by Peter Luger, but the combination of expensive round-trip taxi fares and having to pay in cash is a real downside to me.

I agree that "great steak" in New York City is often more about expectations and the experience than the actual quality of the meat (as compared to other top options).

Side dishes do vary considerably, however. Compare Quality Meats to Old Homestead, for example. The types and style of side dishes are night & day (but the steaks are fantastic at both).

Good point Doug. We and all our friends drive there (15 min). I might stay in the city if I had to deal with cabs.

Ok, maybe I should have said "Great" steaks. We live in a suburb outside of Los Angeles and while there might be less than a handful of places we can truly count on (Mastro's for instance), we have had to return steaks back to the kitchen too many times because they are more like medium to medium well. On rare occasions just plain well done. Don't understand why it's so hard to do medium rare. So in some cases, it is like rocket science.

We definetely do not want a chain like Houstons. Yuck.

Not really concerned with atmosphere so much. I'm paying for good food and service. Which we don't mind. Most of the places here the sides are a la carte as well.
This will be our night out dinner splurge so we'd like it to be well worth it. Slightly charred on the outside is exactly how it's supposed to be. That's what holds in the juices.
We have a few Argentinian places with good skirt steak, like Gaucho Grill, although their quality has slipped a bit as well.
Why is it that you can get great food and service for about a year or so in some restaurants and then the quality and service starts to slip, I wonder?

Craftsteak.

What's wrong with Ruth's Chris? I've only heard negative things (at least here) about it...and this is the place my DH wants to eat at.

rebroc- Mastros's IS great, isn't it? And I don't even order the steak there! I make a meal out of their appetizers....their shrimp cocktail is divine with such succulent huge shrimp, and every item on their appetizer or sides list has been delicious. Steak is great, but steak is steak. I love the sides.

NeoP- that pot of white beans in sage sounds divine! What a great accompaniment.

ncounty, you are spot on about the apps at Mastros. I'm not a big meat eater myself nowadays (old age digestion probably) but my husband will still eat it. Although he is having the same problems eating meat now too. He's just not ready to give up a great steak yet.

Ruth Chris's is a good steakhouse but not up to par with Mastro's. I'd rather pay a bit more and eat at Mastro's.

Luger does only except cash and I did email them to apply for their own credit card but never heard back from them. They may be excellent but I decided against on this trip due to that and the drive.
I think we may end up at Smith & Wollensky. Although NeoP made Bistecca Fiorentina sound pretty awesome too!