Lobel's Online Store

[Superflytritone]

Oh I didn't mean to imply that anybody is more expensive than Lobel's!

I think it may be time to do a taste test......and let's all thank Steven, who will sponsor it all by himself.... Seriously, I would be interested if anybody wants to organize it.

I wonder what the quality of the Luger steaks are vs the product that they serve in the restaurant? I would think that they save the best for their in-house customers, but would their retail stuff beat Lobels?

By the way, I ordered a 24oz ribeye, which cooked just above rare. Since that is the cut that I have sampled from more places recently than any other cut, I decided to order that to try (before I read fatguy's statement about the strip). It was the best that I have had at home....was it 3 times better than my butcher?....probably not, but it was the best that I've had, and that's the price you pay for #1.

[Fat Guy]

I wonder what the quality of the Luger steaks are vs the product that they serve in the restaurant?  I would think that they save the best for their in-house customers, but would their retail stuff beat Lobels?

The owners swear up and down that they're the exact same steaks, and I believe it. I can't see an incentive to sell lesser-quality stuff since they're getting the same money for raw steaks as they are for cooked -- if anything the incentive would be the other way. It's hard to imagine that their retail product would beat Lobel's, but if anybody has a chance of matching Lobel's on one particular cut of meat it would be Peter Luger with its porterhouses.

was it 3 times better than my butcher?....probably not, but it was the best that I've had, and that's the price you pay for #1.

It's not just a question of what you pay for number one. It's a question of the law of diminishing returns as applied to any consumer product. As you climb the ladder, you pay more and more for smaller and smaller improvements. For most people, the best, the second best, and the third best aren't worth the money. But for people who are wealthy (like most of Lobel's neighborhood customers), or have a particularly strong interest in quality regarding a specific product (like those of us who post on eGullet), the incremental improvement in quality justifies the geometric increase in price, at least for a special occasion. I certainly don't buy all my steaks at Lobel's -- I rarely do. I'm very happy with Stew Leonard's $10.99 a pound USDA Prime dry-aged New York strip, just as I'm satisfied with a carefully chosen $15-$30 bottle of wine most of the time even though I know a $200 bottle would be somewhat better.

[Superflytritone]

I wonder what the quality of the Luger steaks are vs the product that they serve in the restaurant?  I would think that they save the best for their in-house customers, but would their retail stuff beat Lobels?

The owners swear up and down that they're the exact same steaks, and I believe it. I can't see an incentive to sell lesser-quality stuff since they're getting the same money for raw steaks as they are for cooked -- if anything the incentive would be the other way. It's hard to imagine that their retail product would beat Lobel's, but if anybody has a chance of matching Lobel's on one particular cut of meat it would be Peter Luger with its porterhouses.

That's exactly what I plan to do. I am going to order a Luger and a Lobels porterhouse, and try them side by side.

[tjaehnigen]

I ate the strip steak I ordered last night. I was not impressed. Don't get me wrong, the steak tasted really, really good. But I have a really excellent local butcher that I think edges out Lobel's in quality and price.

[Fat Guy]

I have a really excellent local butcher that I think edges out Lobel's in quality and price.

Everybody edges out Lobel's in price. But if they're edging out Lobel's in quality too, we need to know the address!

[tjaehnigen]

If you're ever in the DC area, I'll let you know. It's a hole in the wall kind of place...and I like it that way... Heh heh

[browniebaker]

If you're ever in the DC area, I'll let you know. It's a hole in the wall kind of place...and I like it that way... Heh heh

Oh, come on, please share! I live in the D.C. area and would like to know.

[s'kat]

I ordered two of the 8-oz Wagyu sirloin steaks, which arrived yesterday. My husband fired up the grill last night, and cooked away. We were exultantly hopeful that this would be some form of transcendent experience.

Alas, we were left rather disappointed. The steaks were a bit on the tough and chewy side. It’s possible that my husband may have cooked them improperly on the grill, but he is, as they say, ‘one with his Weber’. We like our steaks somewhat seared on the outside, and leaning towards very rare in the center. The meat wasn’t smooth or buttery or any velvet-lined adjective… it was just an expensive hunk of rather tough, and ultimately uninteresting meat.

Perhaps I should just stick with the Delmonicos from local butcher.

[Fat Guy]

We like our steaks somewhat seared on the outside, and leaning towards very rare in the center.

Were you successful in achieving that level of doneness?

[s'kat]

Were you successful in achieving that level of doneness?

Technically, yes. It just didn't seem to work here.

[EJRothman]

I sit here on this Sunday night digesting the last of my lobels steak (actually, that's not true, I just remembered I have a hanger steak left, but anyway). Between family and friends I placed seven orders each with the $50 credit. The meat was fabulous and was consumed at two barbeques, one on Friday, the other earlier tonight. After finishing this exquisite meat, I decided to try to use my work e-mail address and different credit card to get more meat with the credit.

Much to my chagrin, the offer is no longer the same and although there still is a Morrell Wine deal, it is not nearly as good. The new offer is two free Wagyu steaks with a $200 order.

The Lobels experience was fabulous although all to ephemeral - an experience to remember.

-Eric

[Kanly]

tjaehnigen Posted on Jul 29 2003, 09:14 AM

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I ate the strip steak I ordered last night. I was not impressed. Don't get me wrong, the steak tasted really, really good. But I have a really excellent local butcher that I think edges out Lobel's in quality and price. 

Let us DCers in on the secret please.

[sladeums]

From now through Feb. 28, buy one Wagyu beef selection (excluding tenderloin cuts) and Lobel's will double your order at no charge.

click for Lobel's online store.

[LEdlund]

I ordered mine yesterday. Four center cut sirloins and four rib steaks will be delivered tomorrow. Eight steaks for the price of four!

[Fat Guy]

Lobel's has several new Wagyu steak products on its Web site now. These new offerings are from American Wagyu cattle, which means the information I posted above is no longer applicable to the Wagyu beef being sold by Lobel's -- both the source and the available cuts have changed. At some point I'll try to do another comparison, but for now I've got to say something about sirloin.

Sirloin is a neglected cut of beef. By sirloin I mean real sirloin not a New York strip, which is sometimes mistakenly referred to as sirloin. As described by Lobel's, "The sirloin is a large steak, making it suitable for families and parties. A typical sirloin is usually cut two and one half to three and one half inches thick, with a small amount of wedge bone. Sirloins vary in shape and bone size and include the pin bone or hipbone, the flat bone and the round bone."

It is unusual to find dry-aged sirloin anywhere -- even more unusual than finding dry-aged steak in general. Even places like Fairway, Citarella, and Stew Leonard's, where they dry-age their own beef, typically only offer porterhouse, t-bone, and strip steaks, and possibly rib steaks, in dry aged beef.

Lobel's now offers, among other steaks, something called a "dry-aged Wagyu bone-in hip sirloin."

It is an amazing piece of meat, and it presents an immediate logistical problem: no standard skillet could possibly contain the thing. Not having a grill in my apartment, I opted to start the steak, 2 minutes per side, under the broiler, and to finish it in the oven for a few more minutes. The steak is too big for a standard broiler pan, though, so you need to improvise with, for example, a half-sheet pan.

Here's the steak before cooking, rubbed with salt, pepper, and olive oil.

Here it is post-cooking:

You can see the wedge bone, and there are sort of four zones of the steak: the massive one in the middle, the two smaller units to the left and right of the center section, and the one on the other side of the bone. These don't vary in taste the way the filet and strip sides of a porterhouse do, but I noticed some subtle differences. Tentatively, I'd say the best meat is from that little piece on the left -- although the marbling throughout this steak is amazing, that little piece is over the top. If I ever get another of these steaks, however, I will tie the whole thing so the little piece doesn't spring away and therefore cook faster than the rest.

The steak exuded just enough juices such that, combined with some butter, it made a Peter Luger-style spoonable sauce/jus. After resting the meat for 10 minutes, I carved it up and served it on a deep platter with the sauce.

To say it was the best sirloin I've ever had would be an understatement. It was so much better than the best sirloin I've ever had that it hardly even tasted like it came from the same species of animal as the other sirloins I've had. Sirloin is a terrifically flavorful steak, but it is normally tough compared to the standard steakhouse cuts. The dry-aging process and the use of very tender and heavily marbled Wagyu beef, however, combine to produce a sirloin that has all the great flavor of sirloin, plus the great flavor of dry-aged beef, but that is also as buttery-tender as a dry-aged New York strip.

[Jinmyo]

Interesting. Thanks.

[sladeums]

Lobel's has a 'Two for February' online promotion for this month:

"...Order a selected cut of American Wagyu beef and you'll receive a complimentary 10-ounce cut of Wagyu Boneless Center-Cut Sirloin (a $36.98 value)..."

Doesn't exactly make it cheap, but does make it cheaper.

click here for details.

[docsconz]

The prices still hurt

[adegiulio]

The prices still hurt

←

Everytime I think to myself "Maybe I should order up some of that tasty Wagyu beef from Lobels", a quick study of their website reminds me that I am no Donald Trump.

[mrbigjas]

The prices still hurt

←

Everytime I think to myself "Maybe I should order up some of that tasty Wagyu beef from Lobels", a quick study of their website reminds me that I am no Donald Trump.

i'm in the same situation. and then after that, a quick look at my hair in the mirror makes me say, thank god i'm not.