Difference between NYC & Chicago Steaks per Chicago Magazine
 

Article recently spoke to the differences between NYC & Chicago steakhouses.
Chicago author ordered Porterhouses to level the “apples to apples” comparison. The largest difference that he noted is most prime steakhouses in NYC offer dry aged beef, where most Chicago (almost all that I know of) offer wet-aged.

Author first stopped in NYC.

First up was Peter Lugers. Ordered two steaks for two, one rare and one MR.
Liked the MR but felt the rare was “utterly stupendous”.

Next stop was Wolfgang’s Steakhouse on Park. Ordered only rare steak for two after such a good steak at Lugers. His thoughts on the steak? “It has excellent dry-aged flavor, and though the filet side isn’t quite as big as Lugers, it’s definitely more tender – in fact, astoundingly so. Ladies and Gentlemen of Park Avenue, this is serious meat, awfully close to Peter Luger’s.”

BLT Steak was next. “Though a notch below the specimens at the other two NYC places, the MR porterhouse was excellent. With such good beef, I found the sauces ridiculous … and simply ignored them.”

Then back home to Chicago

First up was the Chicago Chop House. All meat at Chicago Chop House is now wet-aged. His thoughts, “The prime steak, previously dry-aged, now is wet-aged ….the difference is noticeable – to its detriment. It has more mineral flavor, even ferrous…”

Gibson’s was the 2nd stop. The steak “It was plenty tender and more deeply marbled than any of the other porterhouses I tried…” “..its platter was not heated and the meat cooled quickly…the beef began to taste fatty, instead of meaty… If the kitchen would solve that problem, Gibson’s steak would be almost indistinguishable from that at the Chicago Chop House.”

Gene & Georgetti’s. Steak here differed from the other Chicago places by having a dark crusting from the 1100 degree Vulcan broiler. “A revelation: heavy charring enhances the flavor of wet-aged steaks, while it detracts from dry-aged”

The author’s verdict, “Call me old fashioned and disloyal to my hometown, but, to my taste, New York’s best independent steakhouses to it better, the old fashioned way.”

I agree with the author that dry aged steaks are superior to wet aged. Hence that is why my favorite steakhouse in Chicago is the NYC transplant Smith & Wollensky who still dry-ages their beef.

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Here's another Chicagoan who agrees that dry-aged is better.

That comment about Gene & Georgetti's was interesting though, I've never been there but I'll have to try it.

Only in America will you find 6 high priced restaurants who prepare their steaks in the exact same way.

MMmmmmm Peter Luger's!

Tip if you ever go there: if you have 2 people, order the steak for 3, if you have 3 people order the steak for 4, and so on with the n+1 approach!

Good God, do you have the metabolism of a cross-country skier? :D

In the times that I've been to Luger's and its offshoots (Blair Perrone, Wolfgang's), steak for two was more than abundant for my wife and me (and we're not exactly tiny). I'll admit, however, that we also endulged in the crisp canadian bacon that seems to be in favor around NYC as an appetizer. ;)

Sweet Willie, have you been to David Burke's Primehouse? I understand that they dry-age their steaks.

Which is the reason that outside of NY I like to order my steaks "Pittsburgh rare," burned on the outside and cool in the center. In NY, all I need say is "rare."

Not exactly...I lead a low carb lifestyle so the steak serves one of the side disehs as well :D !

That bacon at Luger's is awesome as well!!

We should do this next time. Good suggestion. Skip a side dish. Nah, skip desert, even better. Lugers is my ultimate low carb treat. Although North Shore Steak House is a close second.

Monitor you are right about rare. I ordered rare in Brisbane and got medium. You order rare at Lugers and it is rare, as it should be. In fact in all of the discussions about steakhouses people should comment add how they are getting it cooked. If someone gets it well done, I dont care about their opinion. And they shouldnt care about mine. Because it is soooo different than rare that you really cant compare, it is almost like ordering a different thing.

Well, they actually dont. But try ordering steak frites in Paris and see if you find a difference. Or kobe beef in Japan. Or steak in Australia, or well, I think you get the point,.

North Shore closed last month!

And when I say Luger's I mean the one in Brooklyn...

On LI, it is Morton's only for me! ^

Ack, I was there a couple months ago. I hadnt noticed. Im real close to the one in Great Neck. A friend of mine grew up and in Brooklyn and said she always tells people the Lugers in Brooklyn is better but if someone asked her to bet a dollar she could tell them apart if blindfolded she wouldnt do it ;)

I havent been to a Mortons in NY. Just North Shore, Lugers and Michael Jordans. A couple of lesser known ones as well. I also often get the steak frites or steak au poivre at Balthazar or Schillers when I need a steak fix also.

I'm in the process of getting one of those wine lockers with my name on it at Morton's ^ Love that place and eat there at least once a month. ^

Word of advice: I live near Blackstones that opened last year in Melville (owned by Rothmann's) - SKIP IT AT ALL COSTS! Never a good steak there! :td: