National Steakhouse Month: Bobby Van's CPS & Other Carnivorous NYC Bites

There's nothing quite like the New York City steakhouse. Maybe it's the opulence of a special occasion meal. Perhaps it's the sense of history that imbues one of the city's greatest culinary traditions. Or maybe it's just the meat. For any and all of these reasons, New Yorkers and tourists alike still flock en mass. There is no shortage of shrines to steak in the five boroughs. In a sea of the same old plate of beef and side of carbs, however, some are shining with a light all their own.

Everything old is new again at Bobby Van's Central Park South. The latest member of the nearly fifty-year-old Bobby Van's family with locations throughout New York City and beyond (including Washington, D.C. and East Hampton), the Central Park South location offers all that you'd expect from an old-school, Midtown steak joint with a little more heart.

You're less likely to find a diverse crowd at this locale, which midweek is packed with post-work boy's club suits reveling at the bar and front tables. Make your way through the crowd, though (or go on the weekend for pre- or post-theater) and you'll be rewarded with large front windows overlooking the park, bright decor dripping with white, silver and gold, and a spacious dining room that creates an air of crisp luxury.

All the standard steakhouse favorites stand to be counted. You've got your classic cuts; bone-in ribeye, porterhouse for two, filet mignon, and more. Their loyal companions (the sides we all love) are also for the taking: creamed spinach, crunchy potatoes, classic vegetables and more. There are tried and true seafood starters like shrimp cocktail, crab cakes and clams casino plus your necessary wedge and Caesar salads.

Bobby Van's CPS menu approach is accessible -- all thoughtfully and expertly prepared. No need to spruce up the classics, turn them on their ear or deconstruct. Chef Robert Dickert and Executive Chef Ted Rozzi and their crew know their diners and keep things refined, also fleshing out the menu with well-crafted classics from other standard genres like spot-on pizzas, pastas and burgers.

A good cut of beef has kept many steakhouses in the city booming for decades (nobody raves about Peter Luger Steak House's gruff service yet the joint has been around since 1887), but Bobby Van's CPS has something more that is truly unexpected and delightful: service that is not only thorough but warm and full of joy, which makes for a genuinely delightful dining experience.

Bobby Van's Central Park South
40 Central Park South
New York, NY 10019
Additional locations in NYC and DC

Bring Your Passport
With talks of forthcoming Michelin stars, Cote is an outsider in the New York city steakhouse genre that sure seems to have the inside track. There are dissenters out there that say a Korean steak/barbecue venue can't be called an authentic NYC steakhouse, but the proof is in the, well, the steak. Focusing on a beautifully curated meat selection, some aged in-house, Cote pairs the divine bovine with clever nods to classic steakhouse accouterment framed with Korean flavors such as fermented soy stew and Dol-sot bibimbop.

Cote
16 W 22nd Street
New York, NY 10010

Sex Up Your Steak
Dripping in red leather and velvet, walls adorned with silhouettes of scantily clad burlesque stars, Strip House turned the New York City steakhouse concept on its ear when it opened in 2000 and has been going strong ever since. The ambiance is posh and a little naughty, the steaks are quality and superbly prepared, and its black truffle creamed spinach is the best in the land. Then there's the much Instagrammed, signature 24-layer chocolate cake.

Strip House
13 E 12th Street
New York, NY 10003
Additional locations in New York City and Las Vegas

St. Anselm
355 Metropolitan Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11211