NYC restaurants serve up cheaper cuts and offer juicy unlimited deals to lure inflation-battered diners
Record-high steak prices have forced savvy Big Apple restaurateurs to serve cheaper options — like steak frites — to lure cash-conscious diners still craving a red meat fix, Side Dish has learned.The popular French-inspired fare, usually made with a less-expensive cut of steak like hanger or top sirloin, has been popping up alongside pricier menu items at restaurants run by top chefs on both sides of the East River.At Park Ave Kitchen by David Burke, the chef offers a $24 steak frites – featuring a “petite filet mignon” with endless fries as part of his daily happy hour menu, from 4 p.m.to 7 p.m.
That’s a significant savings from the $160 the restaurant charges for a 40-ounce tomahawk steak for two.The special has become so popular that Burke is adding steak frites to the regular dinner menu at Park Ave Kitchen and his other restaurant, David Burke Tavern.“I think people are shopping for value now — myself included,” Burke told Side Dish.“I eat alone a lot and an app[etizer] plus a main course and a soft drink — I don’t drink — can cost $100.
Everyone is concerned about price in this economy.”The trend comes as sirloin steak has spiked to $11.79 per pound, up from $6.77 a decade ago, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.At the same time, the US cattle inventory is the smallest since 1951.The high prices are fueled, experts say, by drought, high grain prices — thanks in part to the war in Ukraine — and rising interest rates that add to the cost of cattle farming.The price of potatoes, meanwhile, is relatively low thanks to overplanting by farmers last year that had led to a spud glut.“Steak frites gives you value.
It’s a smaller cut of meat but it comes with a side dish and you leave feeling full.It may not be the highest cut, but steak frites are a pretty good savings and it is satisfying,” Burke said.Kings of Kobe founder Etai Cinader has taken the steak frites craze to another level.
His Wagyu Kitchen & Bar, ...