The Great Steak Challenge

[peterpumkino]

In my experience, it's truly difficult to get a bad steak in the USA.

This is so true. Even in crappy little places the steaks tend to be far superior to Europe (pity about the sauces though).

BTW eating Argentina steaks in London is the same as eating Italian in London (ask any Italian, not from Brooklyn, or any Argie).

[macrosan]

Oh Peter, I can't believe that you order sauce with your steak in the USA Is that Heinz Tomato Ketchup, or what ?

I think the Argentine restaurant (which is near Piccadilly) is called El Gaucho or something equally original. It was recommended to me by an Argentine expat living in New York. Notwithstanding your comment, they do import all their steaks from Argentina, and my man tells me their chef is an Argentine and their cooking methods are authentic Argentine.

[Steve Plotnicki]

I've eaten at that El Gaucho place in Chelsea Market (is it still there?) and they have Argentinian steaks. Fair at best if you ask me.

[macrosan]

I've eaten at that El Gaucho place in Chelsea Market (is it still there?) and they have Argentinian steaks. Fair at best if you ask me.

I found it ! It was The Gaucho Grill in Swallow Street. In fact I didn't realize when I ate there last year that it's a chain which has six sites in London (including Sloane Avenue in Chelsea). I recall that the steak was OK, cooked quite well, and the meat certainly tasted different from other steaks I've had. But it wasn't a place I'd go back to.

[Gary Marshall]

there are actually 2 different restaurants, 'gaucho grill' is a chain (another one that had severe financial trouble) with six sites around london.

'gaucho' has 2 sites ifield rd and chelsea farmers market (surely a contradiction in terms !)

[tighe]

I had a really enjoyable bistecca fiorrentina at a place in Florence called Hosteria Ganino a few years ago. The place is very casual and plain, but the steak was fantastic (and huge!). It's located a block or so off of Piazza della Signoria. Compared to many places, the bistecca fiorrentina is very reasonably priced at Ganino.

I think if you could finagle a trip to Kobe as well, then you could do the definitive global steak comparison.....

[Tonyfinch]

The most amazing steak I've had recently was at Doe's Eat Place in Greenville Mississippi- the most eccentric restaurant I've been to in years. It specialises in steaks or as an alternative you can have-wait for it-spaghetti and meatballs (huh?).

The SMALLEST steak available weighs 3 lbs and costs $33. They're cooked in huge steak ovens at the front of the restaurant so as you go in you walk into a furnace.

We shared a 3 pounder with potatoes and bread (sic) but felt pretty weedy as the chap next to us polished off a 4 pounder and then proceeded to order and eat a plate of said spaghetti and meatballs. And I thought I was a trencherman!

[Steve Plotnicki]

There has been much written about Doe's. It was brought to national attention by Jane & Michael Stern in their opriinal book Roadfood where they proclaimed it, "the best steak in America." They opened a Doe's in Little Rock Arkansas and it was Bubba's favorite place to eat. I do recall that when he became President, they had a D.C. branch for a minute but I'm not sure if I'm imagining things. Did you have the tamales as well? Another famous dish of theirs which they sell by the coffee can if I recall the review correctly.

[Toby]

There's a write-up about tamales in the Delta by the Sterns in December's Gourmet ("They're Red Hot") and Doe's Eat Place is mentioned; aside from the coffee can-fulls to go, many of the tamales are "served as appetizers to precede heavy sirloins and porterhouses."

[Tonyfinch]

Yes, I can remember the tamales being on the menu but we didn't order them. The 'green' element on the menu was some shredded lettuce and cabbage doused in bottled salad dressing. This was served before the staek as a "starter". The waitresses all looked and spoke like Bonnie Parker's mother from Bonnie and Clyde.

[peterpumkino]

Oh Peter, I can't believe that you order sauce with your steak in the USA    Is that Heinz Tomato Ketchup, or what ?

Yes, but they import real italian spaghetti to the UK and the restaurants are owned and cheffed (?) by real Italians but the food is still nowhere as good as in Italy. From what Argentinians have told me I think it's exactly the same analogy. Having said that I'm going to Metro Pizza as a birthday treat so I can't wait.

Hey I do like a good Steak Diane or Au Poivre occassionaly (but NOT in the US)

[Zeb A]

My wife and I were in Florence earlier this year. After doing some investigation and speaking with some folks, we heard about a restaurant called Di Vinus. We had the steak there (as well as other things) and it was outstanding. In fact, the entire meal was great. From our journal:

" . . . People kept mentioning a place called Di Vinus that was also recommended by the concierge at our hotel, The Excelsior. We knew it was open on Sunday, so Deanna asked the concierge if he could make us a reservation. He did so and told us to talk to Sandro, who would hook us up.

Di Vinus was a short walk across the Arno in a quiet, fairly residential area far away from most of the major tourist attractions. Our waiter spoke excellent English and talked us through the menu. It all sounded incredible. Deanna started with Carpaccio Lardo, asparagus wrapped in Italian bacon and served with a poached egg and truffle oil. I had Sfilata Di Salami, which was a selection of Sienese salamis (check your arteries at the door!) Both starters were excellent. Then, Deanna had Tagliatelle al Tonno, which was pasta with a very delicate baby pork meat and olive oil sauce. I had Chiocciole, which was a seashell pasta served with a light tomato sauce, olive oil, ricotta, and tiny little meatballs. Both were outstanding! Finally, we split a regional specialty called Bistecca Fiorintina, which was a very large 1200 gram(?) T-Bone steak, bone in and served over arugula with olive oil and a side of beans. Again, this was great. For dessert, D had Biscottini Prato, biscotti with Vin Santo (a dessert wine) in which to dip them. I had a pistachio crème brulee. A glass of grappa to wash it down, and we were off to the hotel."

Good luck.

[mogsob]

Well, I am back and having consumed about four cows worth of beef, I am sad to report that the Challenge was, after all, a dismal failure. THe restaurants in these countries are so different, that it is impossible to compare them. That said, a few observations.

1. The best steak in the world can be found, on a good day, at Peter Luger, Brooklyn, New York. This is American beef at its best: prime and expertly dry-aged. Peter Luger's steak has a depth of flavor and a superiority of texture that cannot be matched anywhere, which is in no doubt due to the ageing process.

2. The best city for a beefeater is Florence. Peter Luger suffers from inconsistency that is shocking at a steakhouse of such long-standing. And that's about as good as it gets in NYC. All of the other NYC steakhouses suffer from inconsistency in their beef, cooking, and seasoning. Not so Florence. Nothing stood out in my mind as much as the high level of execution in the Italian kitchens. Granted, I chose my restaurants carefully, but the level of cooking was far higher here.

3. Dollar for dollar, the best steak in the world is at Sostanza in Florence. Seventeen euros for the steak. Details to follow in a subsequent thread.

4. The best tasting beef in the world is chianina beef. It is incredibly sweet and so different than American beef.

5. Whether it is the economy or otherwise, Argentina is overrated as a beef destination. Fourth best in the world at best (after UK).

Details to follow once more sleep is had, work is caught up, and abdomen returns to normal size.

[Craig Camp]

How often does Peter Luger's have a 'good day'. Are you more likely to hit a bad or good day?

You can add my vote for chianina beef as the best tasting. Here is some more information and some links.

Il Forteto Chianina beef

Toscana's best beef comes from la Chianina, a local breed of large white cattle. The perfect Florentine T-bone (bistecca alla fiorentina), at least two inches thick, should be grilled over a wood or charcoal fire, and ideally will be Chianina beef. But this prized cut of a prized breed of cattle isn't easy to find.

Epicurious.com

After all, it looks like a Porterhouse cut (the T-bone steak's big brother), and one can find that almost anywhere. The difference is the beef involved: Ideally the Fiorentina should be from Chianina beef, the white oxen raised in the Val di Chiana near Arezzo. Because the animals are huge the steaks tend to be large, up to 6 pounds or more, and as a general characteristic they are both flavorful and tender. Unfortunately, finding good Chianina beef is not easy (nor has it ever been); this means that to enjoy a bistecca alla fiorentina in Florence you will have to select a good restaurant, and that the meal will be expensive. But when everything clicks, it's a rare moment of paradise: Succulent steak grilled to perfection and so tender you can cut it with a spoon.

www.rollerfirenze.org

Here's what they look like

[mogsob]

Based on my 5 days in Florence, I would disagree with good Chianina beef is hard to find and expensive. I would say that it is roughly 50% less than the cost of an aged prime steak in NYC and of comparable size.

Outside of superior technique in cooking, what I like best about Florentine chefs is their insistence that the steak be served rare.

[SteveW]

Has Chianina beef ever been available in the US somewhere? I thought I heard some time ago, that several steakhouses in the mid-west of the US, had it.

Steve

[guajolote]

Has Chianina beef ever been available in the US somewhere? I thought I heard some time ago, that several steakhouses in the mid-west of the US, had it.

Steve

American Chianina Association

[SteveW]

Has Chianina beef ever been available in the US somewhere? I thought I heard some time ago, that several steakhouses in the mid-west of the US, had it.

Steve

American Chianina Association

Thanks guajolote. I just figured out, that I was actually thinking about the French Charolais beef.

-----------

Steve

Edited April 17, 2003 by SteveW (log)

[Joe H]

Sostanza, Vescovino (Panzano), Omero, Taverna del Branzino, Sabatini's, di Vinus, Pariole are all places I have had steak in or near Florence. The best was a one time meal (different ownership than today) at di Vinus. This was the best steak I have ever had, better than the best at Luger's. My wife and I shared a three inch thick cut of beef sliced three times horizontally, set on top of arugula on a wooden platter. All of this was drizzled with good olive oil. The one trip to Sostanza was close and Vescovino which I believes gets its meat from the famed butcher shop in Panzano was outstanding also. The owner of Pariole is the former owner of di Vinus. Today his steak is different and nowhere near as good. Omero is know for their bisteca. Mediocre.

Point is that I have had inconsistent bisteca all over Florence just as I've had inconsistent steak all over America including Doe's Eat Place which now is in Little Rock, Memphis and Mississippi. The DC location is long gone. The original Morton's in Chicago is a huge disappointment along with Bern's in Tampa.

Yet there are two great, truly great steak houses no one has mentioned: Boulevard in Norman, Oklahoma which is easily as good as Spark's if not better and Del Frisco's in Orlando. Yes Del Frisco's. NO, NOT the national chain but this opened 12 or 13 years ago with the original Del Frisco's owner from Dallas consulting and duplicating his original restaurant. (Today's Lone Star outposts have little in common with this.) Boulevard has received no national publicity as far as I know but it is superb. Better than anything in the midwest (Golden Ox, Amarillo Grill in Wichita, Cattlemen's in Oklahoma City, Driesbach's, etc., etc.)

Still, the best steak I've ever had was a one time deal at di Vinus that no longer exists. Such is the story of meals. Be thankful when it arrives in front of you because you may never be able to come back and, if you do, it probably won't be the same!

[et alors]

Best steak of my life: a butcher named Mac in Mason City, Iowa will cut you a two inch porterhouse and you can cook it yourself. The damn thing is unearthly. I bring them back from Iowa when I go, or my Dad brings them back when he goes. Iowa steak is overshadowed by Omaha and shouldn't be. In Mason City we often visit Prime 'n Wine for delicate prime rib and tasty t-bones.

Other best steak of my life: a tiny place in Auvergne, which I just spent a half hour trying to find via search engines. It was visited by the King of France in the 16th century, I believe, and serves that cute white cow that roams the countryside there. It was meltingly tender. I can almost taste it if I close my eyes.

Quite delicious and impressive: the "black steak" from Straubs at the Stanford Shopping Center in Palo Alto CA. It is black because it's covered with a highly secret formula. Worth the money, and it does cost ya. Follow the directions.

I'm in Florence now and have Sostanza on my list now. Will see if it can dethrone Mac.

[divina]

My Florence market butcher Massimo Manetti just opened a place in Florence, Cipolla Rossa,( wrote about it on my blog)

near Medici chapel..closed tuesday

We had a 2 1/2 kilo Fiorentina for 10 people!

PERFETTO