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Food Trends: Steakhouse Redux

Jul 25, 2011

By Joan Lang

As part of my food writer existence I track new restaurant openings obsessively, and lately I’ve been noticing more steakhouses. It’s a sign both of hopefulness in the economy and of Americans’ newly reminted interest in meat, especially pork, beef and other proteins that have been responsibly raised, artisanally butchered and marketed with an eye to what used to be considered the lesser cuts (think short rib and flatiron steak).

The menus at these new spots are next generation, too. In San Francisco, Michael Mina converted his eponymous haute cuisine restaurant in the Westin St. Francis to Bourbon Steak, with a menu that touts not only prime CAB and Wagyu cuts but also such classics as “38 North” Chicken n’ Waffles, lobster pie, and Black Truffle Mac & Cheese. Douglas Keane, who made his name at Cyrus in Healdsburg, CA, has cast his newest restaurant as Shimo Modern Steak , marrying a do-it-yourself noodle bar and other Japanese-style comfort foods to some serious wet-and-dry aged steaks (in Japan shimo refers to “well-marbled”).

Here’s some more evidence from the land of the reborn steak:

• Cibo Matto, an Italian restaurant in Chicago, has added an enhanced meat section to its menu, featuring naturally raised beef, pork, lamb and veal with Italian preps and such a la carte sauces as Barolo demi and horseradish Gorgonzola cream

• Also in Chicago—no surprise, given the city’s Stockyards heritage—the planned opening of a III Forks will bring a 400-plus-seat dining room and a classic formula of big steaks, shareable a la carte sides, and starters like tomato and onion salad to the Windy City

• Abe & Arthur’s small steak menu section includes a number of classic-making add-ons, from sauces like Bearnaise and au poivre to toppings that can turn a steak into a Rossini or Oscar. This new Manhattan spot also has a raw bar and a full selection of appetizers, salads, and entrees, as well as 11 unique, sized-for-sharing sides

• The new Lounge at Gotham Steak in Miami’s Fontainebleau Miami Beach features a casual environment and an accessible menu of meaty small plates and sandwiches as well as some of the same chops and steaks served at Gotham Steak proper

• The E&E Grill house in New York City defines itself as a “modern, more approachable take on the traditional steakhouse featuring novel and contemporary grilled foods” (translation: hanger and tri-tip steaks as well as filet and sirloin, along with chicken, salmon, ravioli and other non-steak options)

• Gibsons Restaurant Group’s latest Hugo’s Frog Bar, located in a new casino in Des Plaines, IL, takes the usual 50-50 meat-to-seafood ratio of the original FB and adds in more of the Gibsons Bar & Steakhouse menu to create a meat-heavy hybrid that still features the same signature crab cakes and frogs’ legs the place is known for