The Old Homestead

[tommy]

wow, that was a bad pun.

i'm planning a trip to the old homestead soon. i've searched egullet and found a few comments here an there. i was hoping to get some advice on how to order. i see their menu is posted here.

the rib steak looks interesting. perhaps someone can explain what this would "look like," as it's a french cut.

it's good to know that all plates will be appropriately garnished.

thoughts on sides? wines?

[tommy]

bloody hell, a bad *and* misspelled pun .

and, it's 11.30 am in NYC. someone has to have seen this by now and has some comments. jeesh.

Edited December 11, 2002 by tommy (log)

[g.johnson]

and, it's 11.30 am in NYC.  someone has to have seen this by now and has some comments.  jeesh.

No comments but a question. Do you think that the rib steak ($35.00) is worth the extra $0.05 over the sirloin ($34.95)?

[tommy]

No comments but a question. Do you think that the rib steak ($35.00) is worth the extra $0.05 over the sirloin ($34.95)?

the ribsteak is somehow "french." so, of course.

[ngatti]

Figure a rib lamb chop (you know, a slice off the rack) only much bigger as it's beef.

Frenched merely means that the rib bone has been scraped of any extraneous meat providing a handle-like appendage made of bone.

Nick

Edited December 11, 2002 by ngatti (log)

[Suzanne F]

Hey, tommy, just got here, gimme a break.

The ONLY thing I ever order there is the prime rib. Not that the other stuff is no good -- never tried much else that I can remember -- just that they make a fine prime rib.

DO avoid the tower of garlic bread (sticks) they will push you to order when you first sit down. First, it's not all that great. Second, since it really is a kind of Lincoln-log tower, it's been handled way too much for my comfort.

[tommy]

Figure a rib lamb chop (you know, a slice off the rack) only much bigger as it's beef.

Frenched merely means that the rib bone has been scraped of any extraneous meat providing a handle-like appendage made of bone.

Nick

i know what frenched means, but i suppose i'm not sure i've ever seen a piece of rib meat with the bone extended far out from the cut. sounds like fun. i'm all for handle-like appendages.

[mogsob]

Funny, just yeserday I was thinking about making a reservation at the Old Homestead instead of trekking out to Luger's.

Do share if you go.

BTW, I would get the rib steak -- it is their speciality, although the prime rib has been on the menu longer.

[La Niña]

Trek out to Luger's. I've had two disappointing meals at the Old Homestead. Just can't compare to Luger's - I'm sitting there wishing I were at Luger's, ya know? I don't like the room much either.

Edited December 11, 2002 by La Niña (log)

[SFJoe]

Go to Sparks and at least you will have a shot at a decent wine list.

[tommy]

i appreciate the input. but i'm going to old homestead this time. it is what it is. i'm just hoping for some advice on how to order.

the wine list includes a zin that i'll probably order, as it's generally a crowd pleaser, in my crowd at least. looking foward to lugers some day.

[Liza]

Just looked at the menu you craftily provided. I'd skip the tomatoes as they're probably gonna be pale rose and not ripe. But you knew that.

On the wine list, should I be surprised to not see any Spanish reds? I was once in love with the 97 Sinskey Pinot Noir so would be interested in sampling one of his on the list.

[mogsob]

Boy, I sure don't think that wine list is bad at all. $85 is a bit steep for the 1998 B.V. Tapestry, but it is a fine bottling and better than many more expensive CA wines on that list. $165 is pretty good for the 1996 Dominus, which is a brilliant wine. Personally, though, I would get the $115 1988 Gruaud Larose, one of the best 2nd growths and a remarkable wine to have with beef.

On the lower priced end, the La Nerth CDP is probably quite good, but will need a lot of time to open.

[tommy]

Personally, though, I would get the $115 1988 Gruaud Larose, one of the best 2nd growths and a remarkable wine to have with beef.

i'm having steak with "the boys." we'll probably have a good beer buzz on by the time we show up, and i don't doubt that cigars will be lit beforehand. 115 is a little beyond my modest price range, all things considered.

and i don't have no kinda time to let a CDP open up. give me jam, and give it to me fast and furious.

but i'll certainly consider your recs if i return again, under more civilized circumstances.

thanks!

[oakapple]

I've been taking a leisurely tour of Manhattan's steakhouses, and last night was the Old Homestead's turn. The décor, the service, and the menu all scream "old-fashioned steakhouse" — in both the bad and the good connotations of that phrase.

Where the Old Homestead diverges from the stereotype, it's in their extensive "Kobe" beef selections. (Perhaps their version really is from Kobe, but I suspect it's the American-bred "Wagyu" beef they're serving.) You can get a Kobe ribeye for two for something like $150. Also on offer: a Kobe burger at $41 or a Kobe frankfurter (the mind boggles) at $19.

I went for the Gotham Rib Steak ($39), which they say is their signature item. Elsewhere it'd be called a ribeye. The cut of beef was practically a carbon copy of the ribeye I ordered at Wolfgang's a month or two ago. The preparation was respectable, but not quite as accomplished as at Wolfgang's: the char was less even, and parts of the steak were a tad (but only a tad) overdone. The Homestead added a welcome helping of shoestring fries, which the Wolfgang's version didn't have.

At another table, I overheard a couple who are clearly frequent visitors. They ordered the porterhouse for two ($75), which was served just as they do at Luger's, Wolfgang's, and Mark Joseph, complete with the familiar tilted plate, allowing the unserved slices to wallow in juice.

The restaurant was not crowded, and there were plenty of servers hanging around. Despite that, the staff was not as attentive as it should have been, and my own server seemed rather bored with his job. I was served a piece of raisin bread that was practically rock-hard, as though it was a leftover from last Friday's bakery run.

Although it doesn't get my vote for top steakhouse in the city, the Old Homestead is better than many. I'll probably be back, but not before trying a few other candidates.

[R Washburn]

Oakapple,

How was the quality of the steak? The last time I was there i was served a large and tender, but rather tasteless filet. I wasn't sure if the experience was an anomaly or that the quality of their steaks was in decline.

[docsconz]

This brings back memories. I worked there as a valet in between H.S. and College. I remember it being pretty good, but haven't been back in ages.

[oakapple]

Oakapple,

              How was the quality of the steak?  The last time I was there i was served a large and tender, but rather tasteless filet.  I wasn't sure if the experience was an anomaly or that the quality of their steaks was in decline.

←

I thought the piece of meat itself was excellent: definitely better than a ribeye I had recently at Dylan Prime, and certainly the peer of one I had at Wolfgang's.

[oakapple]

I was back at the Old Homestead last night. I wandered in without a reservation. At 8:45pm, there was a fifteen minute wait for a table. The place was packed, and diners were still arriving as I left an hour later.

On this visit, I had the New York Strip, which was perfectly charred and bright red inside, as I'd asked for. Aside from a tiny bit of gristle on one end of the steak, it was a top-quality cut, prepared as expertly as anywhere in town.

The waitstaff look like they've been there forever, and they seem bored. I didn't receive a menu until five minutes after I sat down. I was not offered a wine list. When I asked for wine by the glass, the waiter declaimed as if annoyed, "Merlot, Cabernet, Shiraz, or {inaudible}," as if that were all one needed to know. I chose the Shiraz.

On the plus side, at $36 for the strip and $9 for the glass of wine, I got out of the Old Homestead for several dollars less than one would pay for comparable quality at other Manhattan steakhouses. I didn't order any sides, but I noticed that most of them were priced at around $7 or less, which is less than the $9-10 that many steakhouses charge.

In a neighborhood where there's a new restaurant every week, the Old Homestead seems to be just as popular as ever.

[ned]

I had a meal at Old Homestead three years ago that was so bad and so expensive, I'm still pissed off about it. The rib chop I suffered through a small part of was choice if it was that. Oi, I can just remember looking around the room at all the morons yukking it up a gobbling down that overpriced rot and wondering how in the hell they could do it. As Mr. Wolf would say, phooey.

They do have a rather enticing sign out front. Maybe that explains it. In any case Tommy, I hope I'm not too late--DON"T GO TO OLD HOMESTEAD. Go somewhere else. Anywhere else. Get a steak at Joe Junior's It'll be better and cost a small fraction of the price.

[Pan]

Things could have changed in three years, though. I don't know whether they have in this case, but nevertheless.