The Beacon Beefsteak

[Fat Guy]

I just got my invitation for this year's Beefsteak and am so there. February 16. An email I got says "600 pounds of Certified Black Angus Strip Loins dry aged to perfection by DeBragga and Spitler ... 1,000 certified black angus Mini Burgers, 35 pounds of Crab Meat, 75 pounds of Shrimp, 600 Lamb Chops, 40 pounds of Bacon Wrapped Kidneys, and 50 pounds of Aged Cheddar, all washed down with 900 pints of Brooklyn Brewery’s Specially Brewed Pilsner and 36 liters of Maker’s Mark Bourbon."

[Busboy]

My favorite scene in the Mitchell article (available in the collection "Up in the Old Hotel," which should be read by anyone who loves New York and which also includes other food-related essays) is one in which a butcher is "shaving" a beef loin which has been aged so well that mold has begun to grow on the outside. I'll bet that was some steak.

The party portrayed here seems awfully upscale compared to those described by Mitchell -- beefsteaks were the kind of event that marked a cop's promotion to lieutenant or an annual union celebration, with sawdust on the floors and the guys who bitched about women being invited -- but I think it would be a grand tradition to revive more broadly in whatever form.

The 20-80 burgers described by Fat Guy are so unctuous because (traditionally, anyway) they are made from the trimmings of the steaks, and are thus far fattier than your usual grind.

Edited February 2, 2010 by Busboy (log)