So I’ve been looking forward to both the cultural, holiday, gaudy craziness, and culinary aspects of New York since we made the reservations two months ago, and don’t I get a stomach bug the weekend before we leave. The worst had passed by the time we left, but it was with some trepidation that I dove into the meal I had most anticipated on our trip; Quality Meat on 58th St, between 6th and 7th.

I am a HUGE steakhouse fan. I love everything about them – the great cocktails; awesome bread; perfectly cooked seafood appetizers; succulent salads, from the wedge to the house chopped; great sides; and the headliners – the amazing steaks. Every time I came to NY I would make a stop at Ben Benson’s; the quintessential NYC steakhouse with brass plaques denoting their regular customer’s seats, the white coated waiters who had worked there for 30 years, and their excellent steakhouse menu with the wild mushroom side dish that was beyond compare. They CLOSED this year because Ben was getting old and his kids didn’t want the place. It was a fucking institution! And he didn’t ask my permission, which really pissed me off. SO I had to find another steakhouse to satisfy my yearnings for the quintessential steak dinner in Manhattan. Enter Quality Meat.

It is a much more mod, happening place than Ben’s, in a great space with walls of wine bottles and lights dangling from meat hooks; definitely not for the faint of heart. Exposed brick, multi level seating and open filament light bulbs give the place an edgy feel, but the white coated waiters bring you back to the steakhouse vibe. This is the new spin on the old steakhouse and actually quite beautiful. The monkey-bread type rolls brushed with butter, salt and rosemary were a delight. Instead of Oyster’s Rockerfeller they had Quality Baked Oysters, with spinach, courico, lemon and panko. Outstanding. And their tomato salad had fresh tasting tomatoes in December, sliced thick with crumbled bacon and blue cheese. A wedge without the iceberg! The piece de resistance was their ribeye steak, all 24 oz of it, bone-in, and cooked to perfection. They served it with a sweet/hot steak sauce on the side which, with a steak this good, was totally unnecessary. And for those of you who know my penchant for salt I confess I never used any at the table. Everything, including the side we ordered, their corn creme brulee, was perfectly seasoned.

In a place like this you have to hope you and your dining partner share the same tastes, as it makes far more sense to split everything. You get variety without leftovers while you’re 200 miles from home, and you don’t stuff yourself. Unless you can’t agree on dessert, and then you both order something different and the management, who decide they love you because you’ve told them they are your new go-to place now that Ben Benson’s is closed, sends a 3rd dessert for you to try, and now you’re gorging on grasshopper cake, chocolate brownie pie and some chocolate thing they’ve poured butterscotch sauce over and served with cinnamon ice cream. We walked the 18 blocks back to the hotel because we NEEDED to, but THEY needed to roll us onto the sidewalk to get us started.

Was it pricey? You betcha. Was it worth it? ABSOLUTELY. Did my stomach cooperate? I’ll let you know tomorrow, but so far so good. Will we go back? I’ve penciled in our next trip already, with a BIG asterisk next to Quality Meat.

More later,
D.