Record-high steak prices have forced savvy Big Apple restaurants to serve cheaper options — like steak fries — to lure cash-conscious consumers who still crave a red meat fix, Side Dish has learned.
The popular French-inspired fare, usually made with a less expensive cut of steak such as hanger or sirloin, has appeared alongside pricier menu items at chef-driven restaurants on both sides of the East River. .
At Park Ave Kitchen by David Burke, the chef is offering a $24 steak frite — featuring a “petite filet mignon” with bottomless fries as part of its daily happy hour menu from 4 p.m. until 19:00. That’s a significant savings from $160 at the restaurant. charges for a 40-ounce tomahawk steak for two.
The special has become so popular that Burke is adding steak fries to the regular dinner menu at Park Ave Kitchen and his other restaurant, David Burke Tavern.
“I think people are shopping for value now — myself included,” Burke told Side Dish. “I eat a lot by myself and an app[etizer] plus a main course and a soft drink – I don’t drink – can run $100. Everyone is concerned about price in this economy.”
The trend comes as sirloin steak has risen to $11.79 a pound, up from $6.77 a decade ago, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. At the same time, the US cattle inventory is the smallest since 1951.
The high prices have been driven, experts say, by drought, high grain prices — thanks in part to the war in Ukraine — and rising interest rates that add to the cost of livestock.
Meanwhile, the price of potatoes is relatively low thanks to over-planting by farmers last year that led to a glut of seed.
“Steak fritters give you value. It’s a smaller cut of meat, but it comes with a side dish and you leave full. It might not be the highest cut, but steak fries are a pretty good save and it’s satisfying,” Burke said.
Kings of Kobe founder Etai Cinader has taken the steak frites craze to the next level. His Wagyu Kitchen & Bar, at 650 W. 42nd St., offers unlimited Wagyu ribeye or steak — along with unlimited fries and mac-and-cheese balls — every Sunday, Monday and Tuesday , for $55 per person.
The discount is a massive drop from the restaurant’s everyday prices: a 12-ounce wagyu steak retails for $88 while a 14-ounce ribeye costs $108. Each comes with a side and salsa — but no fries.
“These days, people can go out to dinner and leave without feeling full. I don’t want anyone to feel that way in our restaurant,” said Cinader. “With the economy the way it is, people are looking for deals – and quality. This is a way for us to generate more revenue on slower days while providing a fun experience for our guests.”
Chef Laurent Tourondel’s Skirt Steak has been serving steak fries and nothing else since its launch. Restaurant – on the corner of Sixth Ave. and 29th St., near the Avanti Hotel – has become a cult-like treat for steak lovers who line up to pay $45 for a prix fixe menu of skirt steak, field greens and bottomless. French fries. They have to pay $12 more for sides that change ‘continuously’, according to the website, and another $12 for desserts.
Another steak frite-only restaurant is Le Relais de Venise L’Entrecote, at 155 E. 54th St., which serves an entree, salad and unlimited fries for $33.95.
The recently opened Medium Rare, at 488 Third Ave. on 33rd St., there’s also a prix-fixe menu of culotte steak, flatbread, salad and fries for $34.95, plus $12 for dessert.
In Brooklyn, restaurateur Matthew Glazier, of Tiny’s Cantina, just recently added steak fries to the menu — and it’s been a huge hit.
Tiny’s offers a $28.95 hanger steak marinated with garlic herbs, a $32.95 strip or a $34.95 strip (USDA Prime). All come with three Mexican-inspired sauces – Jalapeno Green, Cranberry Mole and Red Habanero. The entree comes with a side of fries with a free topping.
“We saw a hole in the market and tried to fill it. It’s been really successful for us,” Glazier said. “Prime meat is still insanely expensive, so steak fries are like a value proposition. It’s not a perceived value, it’s an actual value, and in this kind of economy, that’s what people care about.”
we listen …. Citywide toast to the 20th anniversary New York Comedy Festivalfounded by the comedy whisperer Caroline Hirsch with three festival-inspired cocktails that will be available at festival headquarters, the Hard Rock Hotel in Midtown, from November 7-17 for $20 each.
The opening act is a pear Prosecco spritz, made with sugar, cinnamon sticks, pear vodka and LaMarca Prosecco, while Feature Act is a mezcal cider made with maple syrup, cinnamon sticks, cloves, anise, cardamom all spice and berries and the chairman, a blood orange margarita is bittersweet infused with tequila-infused lime and orange juice—pretty pink, but with an edge, like Hirsch himself.
In addition to The Venue, where comedy acts will take place, cocktails will also be offered at Sessions, the hotel’s second floor bar overlooking 48th Street.
Activities at the Hard Rock Hotel venue include: Sommore: The Chandelier Experience – (November 8 and 9) “Queen of Comedy”. There is also Before We Begin – (November 10) film premiere by the warm-up comedian Ryan Reiss showing Judd Apatow, John Oliver, Amy Schumer, Leslie Jones, Seth Meyers, Leslie Jones, Ray Romano, Ramy Youssef, Rachel Ray, Jim Gaffigan, Howie Mandell, Bob Saget, Mark Summers, AND Colin Jostand more.
This year’s New York Festival lineup includes over 200 comedians in more than 100 shows across the five boroughs and includes headliners Tracy Morgan, Bill Maher, Ms. Pat, Zarna Garg, Gabriel Iglesias, JB Smoove, Jeff Arcuri, and Jimmy O. Yang. The official launch of the festival on November 7 will celebrate the comedy icon Joan Rivers with a special tribute, Dead Funny Benefiting God’s Love We Deliver at the Apollo Theater, where it appears Michelle Buteau, Rachel Brosnahan, Nikki Glaser, Matteo Lane, Randy Rainbow, with Melissa Rivers AND Erich Bergen serving as executive producer.
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