Steak

[brescd01]

Okay, with barbecue season here, I would like to know, where does a Philly gourmet get his steak from?

[san]

Though my opinion is 100% biased, I would rather eat a steak from Davio's than any other restaurant I've dined at in Philly

[hathor]

But, where do you get the raw ingredients from when you want to cook your own steak?

[Mano]

There was a recent thread here:

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=98349&st=90

[mrbigjas]

in case you don't feel like reading the whole thing, the upshot was 'order it from new york.'

[dagordon]

If I absolutely had to get a steak around Philly, as much as it pains me to admit it, I'd probably go to the 9th St Whole Foods and get some of their dry-aged beef. If it looked good. If it didn't, I'd go to Wegmans and get some of their dry-aged Prime, if it looked good.

For about the same price as either, though, you can get Bryan Flannery's California Prime Reserve beef, dry-aged for pretty much however long you specify, shipped to you. http://www.bryansfinefoods.com/. (site isn't terribly functional but does have contact info). Strips are $30/lb, rib eyes $23/lb.

You will have to pay shipping. But the beef is better than anything you can buy in Philly by a large margin, and is about the same price as the stuff that comes closest to it (again, excluding shipping, but 2-day shipping is very reasonable and the steaks will still arrive cold).

I think it's easily the best value in high-end beef these days. If you know at least 2 days ahead of time that you'll be needing beef, Flannery is a no-brainer.

[brescd01]

So where do I get the Wolfe Neck meat? And how do I get the Bryans steaks?

[KatieLoeb]

We're currently serving Wolfe Neck strip steaks on the menu at M. Comes with Royal Trumpet mushrooms, asparagus, creamy white polenta and madeira jus. Not a home cooked steak, but pretty damned tasty. They sell very well.

[san]

dean and deluca in soho had brandt beef when i was there a few weeks ago (the steaks that davio's serves)... 100% true natural, prime, corn-fed.

brandt beef website

D&D charges quite a bit but as i said these steaks are really really good. For everyday steaks I find wegman's to be the best value.

[dagordon]

dean and deluca in soho had brandt beef when i was there a few weeks ago (the steaks that davio's serves)... 100% true natural, prime, corn-fed. 

brandt beef website

D&D charges quite a bit but as i said these steaks are really really good.  For everyday steaks I find wegman's to be the best value.

←

The Bryan Flannery California Prime Reserve is from Brandt.

In fact, the rumor is that Bryan Flannery is fulfilling Dean and Deluca's online steak orders.

[Carlson1105]

Always a big fan of Wegman's wet aged NY strips.

[TarteTatin]

For locally raised steak, go to Fair Food in Reading Terminal. We buy their Delmonico. It's frozen, but good. And, you help a local farmer.

They also have the best burger I've ever had, Dr. Elkins Angusburger. VERY tasty, local also...Oh, and their bacon!

[brescd01]

Okay, a little help here. I read the excellent thread on the steak tasting. The overall winner seemed to be Wolfe Neck. I have to have those shipped from Maine. Does anyone know of a local source? These are not dry-aged steaks, are they worth the trouble?

[dagordon]

Okay, a little help here. I read the excellent thread on the steak tasting. The overall winner seemed to be Wolfe Neck. I have to have those shipped from Maine. Does anyone know of a local source? These are not dry-aged steaks, are they worth the trouble?

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The overall winner in terms of quality, by a fairly substantial margin, was Lobel's.

The Wolfe Neck, Luger's, and Wells CAB were a level down; IIRC I thought the Wolfe Neck and Luger's were comparable and the Wells CAB a notch below both.

In any case, the Wolfe Neck we had was dry-aged for 30 days, and I thought had a pretty pronounced dry-aged flavor. It was sourced from D'Artagnan. But, I think, you can only get whole primal cuts from them.

If you can't get the Wolfe Neck dry-aged I wouldn't get it.

[brescd01]

Sorry, I should have said, the winner on Earth where we don't apend more than $20 for a steak. I checked the D'Artagnon site: no luck, they do not even list those steaks. When I called the market in Maine Wolfe Neck recommends, they did not offer a dry-aged product. How did the contest get the meats?

Edited May 6, 2007 by brescd01 (log)

[MarketStEl]

I thought he said it was barbecue season.

What are we doing talking about steak? You grill those. Where are the ribs? The brisket?

--Sandy, ducking

[townsend]

David,

The Wolfe's Neck was purchased through Dartagnan, and is sold only in a primal cut. I dry age the steak for 28-40 days, trim and portion in roughly 32 ounce cuts bone-in, usually to order, and served for two. It's on our special menu this week at Twenty21. I am grilling it on our wood-burning grill, and serving it with baby carrots roasted with butter and walnut oil, fingerlings, and a frisee salad with shallots and a late harvest riesling vinegar (also using walnut oil on the steak, a touch on the salad, and sauced with a natural jus). While the price for the whole piece is reasonable, after water loss during aging and trim, the price per pound rises significantly. Serving two, the retail cost is $41 per person. Vadouvan secured the steak from me directly. If you want to talk about getting some Wolfe's Neck, PM me...otherwise, if you would like to join us for dinner for some excellent outside dining I would set that up.

Townsend Wentz

Executive Chef

Twenty21

[dagordon]

The Wolfe's Neck was purchased through Dartagnan, and is sold only in a primal cut.  I dry age the steak for 28-40 days, trim and portion in roughly 32 ounce cuts bone-in, usually to order, and served for two.  It's on our special menu this week at Twenty21.  I am grilling it on our wood-burning grill, and serving it with baby carrots roasted with butter and walnut oil, fingerlings, and a frisee salad with shallots and a late harvest riesling vinegar (also using walnut oil on the steak, a touch on the salad, and sauced with a natural jus).  While the price for the whole piece is reasonable, after water loss during aging and trim, the price per pound rises significantly.  Serving two, the retail cost is $41 per person.

Well that sounds pretty awesome. Is there a prize if one person manages to finish the whole thing?

[townsend]

Yes, you don't have to share it with someone else...why wouldn't you get the Wolfe's Neck if it isn't dry aged?

[jmbrightman]

David,

The Wolfe's Neck was purchased through Dartagnan, and is sold only in a primal cut.  I dry age the steak for 28-40 days, trim and portion in roughly 32 ounce cuts bone-in, usually to order, and served for two.  It's on our special menu this week at Twenty21.  I am grilling it on our wood-burning grill, and serving it with baby carrots roasted with butter and walnut oil, fingerlings, and a frisee salad with shallots and a late harvest riesling vinegar (also using walnut oil on the steak, a touch on the salad, and sauced with a natural jus).  While the price for the whole piece is reasonable, after water loss during aging and trim, the price per pound rises significantly.  Serving two, the retail cost is $41 per person. 

Townsend Wentz

Executive Chef

Twenty21

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That sounds most amazing. We host friends and family every weekend Memorial Day through Labor Day, so we make do with 16 -20oz (choice) ribeyes I get from BJ's. I have tried Wegman's and Whole Foods steaks, but to my taste, as well as my unbiased tasters, the BJ's steaks are as satisfying for way less $$$.

[dagordon]

Yes, you don't have to share it with someone else...why wouldn't you get the Wolfe's Neck if it isn't dry aged?

←

the wolfe's neck, even if not dry-aged, would still be a quality piece of meat. but the OP was going to go through the hassle of having meat shipped from maine, and it seems to me that for the time and money involved you could get meat of comparable quality that's also dry-aged.

much of what i liked about the wolfe's neck in the tasting was the effects of the dry-aging. i didn't realize you had done this yourself -- nice work. (fwiw, we had a wolfe's neck hanger steak at lacroix a couple of days later, not dry-aged, and it was pretty mediocre.)

[townsend]

Thanks, if you don't have quality in the beginning, you won't have it in the end...

True, the cost and hassle is not worth it and they don't do portion cut beef. If Bryan Flannery is using Brandt and the prices quoted are accurate, with 2-day shipping you would do quite well on quality vs. cost. In the past I have gone to Harry Ochs in the RTM, but that was quite a few years ago and you had to ask or order in advance. Other than that, you don't have many Philadelphia options.

[brescd01]

Thank you Townsend for resolving that mystery! Your luster has been enhanced I think, and of course, I am no longer interested in Wolfe's Neck steaks unless you prepare them! And thank you for the "insider offer!"

I have learned a lot from this exchange, I did not understand that there were basically two supplies of meat, the consumer supply and the restaurant supply, and the latter is not available generally. I never had a problem with the cost of entrees in restaurants, given the difficulty of preparing meat exactly right and the quality of the cut, $30-40 always struck me as reasonable. But home has its own comforts, particularly in the warm weather when I can enjoy my lovely garden, and I would like to enjoy some steak at home. At the same time, I don't want to spend restaurant prices at home.

I know this is a whole different discussion, but what about the grass fed beef? Argentine meat is famous for being very flavorful, though not especially tender, is any of this sort of meat available in Philly? Also, why didn't the tasting include Wagyu? I think this is what Sonny calls "Kobe" at his butcher shop in Italian Market.

[mrbigjas]

grass-fed beef is available at the fair foods farmstand at the terminal. also livengood's has it. you can also get it at the farmer's market that's at the glenside train station on sundays. probably other places as well -- does the passyunk ave farmer's market have it?

[Andrew Fenton]

I know this is a whole different discussion, but what about the grass fed beef? Argentine meat is famous for being very flavorful, though not especially tender, is any of this sort of meat available in Philly?  Also, why didn't the tasting include Wagyu? I think this is what Sonny calls "Kobe" at his butcher shop in Italian Market.

The idea was that including Wagyu wouldn't make for a fair comparison; instead we just compared good ol' American breeds. I definitely agree that a comparison of different breeds would make for a very interesting tasting.