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Health & Fitness

Some Great NYC Steak Restaurants to Visit This Holiday Season

Steak restaurants offer more than food---they reinforce people's inner snobs in completely acceptable ways.

Steak restaurants offer more than food---they reinforce people's inner snobs in completely acceptable ways. New York residents have strong opinions about foods, music and clothing, but few attitudes reveal more than a person's choice of steakhouse. Meat has a primal appeal, and favored chophouses offer attentive service, comfortable ambience and perfectly cooked steaks.

Charring Requires Precision and Balance

The best steak restaurants treat beef with proper respect, but the steak artist who prepares your steak must have a high degree of expertise. Charring adds the complex flavors of caramelized meat without tasting like carbon. The best grades of beef have great marbling, and the best restaurants serve USDA prime. Only 3% of U.S. beef makes the cut.

Most quality New York City steak restaurants age their beef to satisfy discriminating palates. Dry-aging intensifies flavors and breaks down tissues, so steaks become more tender. The process requires precise temperatures and controlled storage for days or weeks, and risks of spoilage and shrinkage add to the costs of aging. Most restaurants use wet-aging processes, vacuum-packing meat to allow it to age without risks of bacterial contamination from improper storage conditions.

Great steaks need seasoning, but balance remains important. The simple flavors of butter, marinades and acidic-finishing liquids help to seal juices and complement flavors. Cracked pepper, kosher or sea salt and signature herbs add distinctive touches that still allow the char flavors to dominate.

Some Great Steak Restaurants in New York City

Choosing your favorite chophouse depends on many factors. Some diners like the dark ambience of class steak restaurants and simple side dishes that leave the beef as the undisputed star of the meal. The politically correct might prefer restaurants that offer variety for other guests on special diets, and New York City diners can find perfect blends of ambience, technical food-preparation expertise and menu variety. The following establishments consistently impress by providing superior steak treatments.

Peter Luger

This Brooklyn institution ranks as the top choice of many New Yorkers, appearing on Zagat's list for 27 years. The specialty-aged beef has perfect marbling and comes simply dressed in pools of melted butter and bloody juices. You can order the porterhouse for two, three or four people, and wait staff slice the beef at tableside.

Wolfgang Steakhouse

Wolfgang Zwiener learned his craft well as a Peter Luger waiter, and he joined his steak expertise with upscale menu choices and modern décor. The restaurant has three New York City locations: Murray Hill, TriBeCa and Midtown East, making it easier to get reservations on short notice. Diners can order the prime porterhouse for two, three or four people, but the chefs do wonderful things with rib eyes, sirloins and filet mignons.

BLT Prime

People who enjoy variety with their steaks will appreciate this restaurant that offers great poultry and fish dishes, creative sides and freshly baked popovers that make perfect sponges to absorb steak juices. Steak lovers with fussy friends can enjoy their beef while their guests choose other options. The restaurant serves great cuts of Debragga beef, including cuts of American wagyu steak for international aficionados. Hickory grills add distinctive flavor notes to the chars of grilled meats, and contemporary decorating themes make these restaurants perfect venues for trendy dinner parties.

Keens Steakhouse

This restaurant satisfies diners who appreciate historical ambience because it features memorabilia collected for over 120 years, which is how long the restaurant has served New Yorkers in the garment district. The restaurant's décor transports diners to 17th-century London, and chefs have used the same classic dry-aging techniques for over a century, perfecting the process.

Minetta Tavern

Trendy diners will love the gorgeous dining room and sexy ambience of Minetta tavern, which caps style with solid culinary skills. The côte de boeuf for two and New York strip make perfect choices for intimate tête-à-têtes. Creekstone Farms beef cuts get treated to dry-aging before talented chefs cook them on a high-temperature broiler that chars steaks perfectly.

Delmonico's Restaurant

You cannot mention New York City steak restaurants without including Delmonico's, which pioneered the Delmonico Steak, a prime beef cut prepared in signature style. The restaurant claims fame as America's oldest restaurant, offers one of the world's most extensive wine cellars and diners can enjoy private dining rooms that offer gourmet dishes like Lobster Newburg and Baked Alaska for dessert. You should definitely try the house special, Delmonico Steak, at the only restaurant offering the genuine article.

New York City steak restaurants offer incredible choices, but simple neighborhood eateries often do amazing things with beef. You should choose your favorite places to enjoy steaks, even if you prefer the local coffee shop's Roumanian skirt steak broiled simply under a gas grill's broiler.

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