Meat Market’s 32-ounce tomahawk rib eye Australian wagyu offers a mouth-watering option for dear old dad on Father’s Day. Photo provided
By Jan Norris
Taking dad out for a steak this year? Prepare for sticker shock if you haven’t sprung for a beef dinner in a while. Prices are up — way up —ahead of Father’s Day on June 21.
The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association reports consumer demand for beef is at a 40-year high, and the nation’s appetite has greatly outpaced supply. That has pushed prices up 16% from last year.
Chef Mark Militello, a former restaurant owner and now consultant, says the steak dinner that once carried a restaurant’s menu is now practically a loss leader because of its food cost.
The days of a $50 steak dinner in a restaurant are long gone, unless you dine at a national chain that follows a sales model of high volume over top quality.
Diners today can expect an average of around $55 for a small filet, $60 for a 12-ounce rib eye, and $150 for the caveman-like tomahawk rib eye.
But there’s a wide variance.
Dinners at traditional steakhouses typically come with luxury ambiance, high-end wine lists, pro servers and a dress code. They cater to customers who want top cuts of USDA prime and imported wagyu meats.
The chains and indie restaurants are more casual, offer sides as part of the price with the USDA choice or lower-end prime steaks, and have limited wine lists.
At Longhorn Steakhouse in Delray Beach, part of the national chain, you can get Flo’s Filet — a 6-ounce filet mignon — for $27.79, served with a baked potato and house salad.
Or you can pay $570 at Michael Mina’s Bourbon Steak in Delray Beach for three, 4-ounce portions of the exclusive A5 wagyu, including the snow beef.
Even within the top tier of Japanese wagyu, the snow beef is considered super premium by connoisseurs for its intense marbling. This gives the beef unctuous flavor and texture. The cachet comes from rare cattle raised on a specific ranch in Hokkaido, Japan, and Bourbon Steak is one of only 15 restaurants in the country that sell it.
We surveyed steakhouses and a few indie restaurants from Boca Raton to Boynton Beach where steak is on the menu to get a range of prices.
Note that on Father’s Day, some restaurants may offer specials that aren’t on the regular menus.
Meat Market, 2000 NW 19th St., Boca Raton. Meatmarket.net
High-energy modern steakhouse. A 12-ounce filet mignon is $72; the Linz prime reserve 14-ounce rib eye is $70; the 32-ounce tomahawk rib eye Australian wagyu is $175. Also featured is a 16-ounce kosher rib eye for $145. Steaks are a la carte.
Abe & Louie’s, 2200 Glades Road, Boca Raton. Abeandlouies.com
The traditional steakhouse with a Boston heritage offers prime meats. An 8-ounce filet mignon is $74.89, a 16-ounce boneless rib eye is $85.89, an 18-ounce bone-in New York strip is $79.29. A fan favorite side is the creamed corn.
New York Prime, 2350 NW Executive Center Drive, Boca Raton. NewYorkPrime.com
Steaks at this traditional, lively meat palace are prime, aged 28 days, and come with a charred, Pittsburgh-style crust. A 16-ounce NY strip is $75; the 22-ounce bone-in rib eye is $89, an 8-ounce filet is $61. The wagyu Manhattan, a thicker, 10-ounce version of a strip steak, is $78. The tomahawk rib eye is $150. Diners love the bread and onion rings here, too.
DeLuca’s Chophouse, 499 S. Federal Highway, Boca Raton. Delucaschophouse.com
Modern Italian upscale steakhouse. The 12-ounce filet mignon is $74; the 16-ounce boneless wagyu rib eye is $95; a 14-ounce NY strip is $66. The 40-ounce tomahawk for two is $125. Lively vibe with nightly entertainment.
Gallagher’s Steakhouse, 2006 NW Executive Center Circle, Boca Raton. Gallaghersnysteakhouse.com
This import is a vibrant New York-style steakhouse. The 8-ounce filet mignon is $58; the USDA prime bone-in NY sirloin is $60, sliced. The porterhouse steak is $69 per person — served for two, three or four people. Steaks come with a blue cheese or bone-marrow crust for $4 more. A baked potato is $10, served a la carte.
Capital Grille, 6000 Glades Road, Boca Raton. Thecapitalgrille.com
A larger, upscale chain from Providence, Rhode Island, that features dry-aged steaks in a lively, modern setting. A 10-ounce filet mignon is $63, the dry-aged 14-ounce NY strip is $63, and the bone-in rib eye, 22 ounces, is $79.
Morton’s Steakhouse, 5050 Town Center Circle, Boca Raton. Mortons.com
Traditional chain steakhouse with classic ambiance. The 8-ounce filet mignon is $62. A 16-ounce NY strip is $70, while a 36-ounce tomahawk rib eye “for the table” is $147.
Chops Lobster Bar, 101 Plaza Real South, Boca Raton. Chopslobsterbar.com
Large traditional chophouse with seafood and steaks. Black Angus filet mignon is $58 for an 8-ounce, and $72 for a 12-ounce. The 40-ounce porterhouse for two is $162. A 16-ounce bone-in NY strip is $82, and the tomahawk rib eye is $132. Spinach salad is made tableside.
Outback Steakhouse, 8841 Glades Road, Boca Raton. Locations.outback.com
This Tampa-based casual steakhouse chain is a favorite of families and travelers. Here, a 6-ounce filet mignon is $29.99; an 8-ounce is $34.99. The 20-ounce bone-in rib eye is $36.49; the 12-ounce NY strip is $26.79, and the 15-ounce Delmonico rib eye is $39.49. All dinners come with a potato and side dish.
Ke’e Grill, 17940 N. Military Trail, Boca Raton. Keegrillbocaraton.com
An upscale, casual restaurant featuring steaks and seafood. The 9-ounce filet mignon is $54.95; a 12-ounce rib eye is $54.95 — and these are served with a potato and vegetable. The spinach Maria is notable.
Avalon, 110 E. Atlantic Ave., Delray Beach. Avalondelray.com
The indoor-outdoor dining room makes for a lively atmosphere at this upscale restaurant on the Avenue. Here they serve prime beef, both dry- and wet-aged.
Filet mignon is $56, served with garlic mash, spinach and peppercorn sauce. The 14-ounce rib eye is $59 and served with fingerling potatoes and asparagus and a red wine sauce.
Hyde Park Prime Steakhouse, 601 E. Atlantic Ave., Delray Beach. Hydeparkrestaurants.com
This bright club-like, mod steakhouse can get loud with the upscale date-night group.
Prime, and both imported and domestic wagyu meats, are on the menu. An 8-ounce filet mignon is $59; the 12-ounce is $72. The bone-in 22-ounce rib eye is $85, and the 26-ounce, 36-day dry-aged bone-in rib eye is $98. A 14-ounce steak au poivre with Courvoisier cream is $74.
Michael Mina’s Bourbon Steak, 1000 E. Atlantic Ave., Delray Beach. Bourbonsteakdelray.com
A Michelin chef is behind this modern steakhouse in the Seagate resort. The imported wagyu steaks are the priciest around, sold by the ounce. A Black Angus 8-ounce filet mignon is $61; the 12-ounce NY strip is $64. The Australian wagyu 6-ounce filet is $67. A 16-ounce Delmonico rib eye is $78; the 22-ounce bone-in rib eye is $105. The A5 Japanese wagyu is served in 4-ounce NY strip portions that are $32 per ounce. The same wagyu, rib eye cut, is $48 per ounce. Snow beef, a wagyu from Hokkaido, Japan, is $68 per ounce. A wagyu tasting trio of 4-ounce portions of three cuts is $570.
Elisabetta’s, 32 E. Atlantic Ave., Delray Beach. Elisabettas.com
Steaks at this high-energy Italian restaurant are bone-in, and dry-aged in-house. They’re served from a wood-fired grill. The bone-in, 16-ounce NY strip is $40, and the 24-ounce is $59. For the bone-in rib eye, the 16-ounce is $45, and the 24-ounce is $63.
Longhorn Steakhouse, 1562 S. Federal Highway, Delray Beach. Longhornsteakhouse.com
This national chain serves full meals with its steaks. A craft-cocktail menu is in place. The “Outlaw” rib eye, 20 ounces bone-in, is $35.29; Flo’s 6-ounce filet mignon is $27.79; a porterhouse that can be shared is 22 ounces, at $37.99. The 12-ounce rib eye is $28.79. These are served with a baked potato and salad.
El Camino, 15 NE Second Ave., Delray Beach. Elcaminodelray.com
Mexican soul food dished up in a cantina atmosphere. The chile-rubbed steak served as fajitas is $32, and comes with all the fixings — guacamole, pico de gallo, cheese, peppers, onions and tomatoes, plus five tortillas. Diners can choose their steak temp.
Prime Catch, 700 E. Woolbright Road, Boynton Beach. Primecatchboynton.com
Steaks and seafood are served at the upscale-casual waterfront eatery. A 12-ounce NY strip is $65, and served with pommes puree, white onions, roast carrots and a bordelaise sauce. The petit filet mignon, 6 ounces, is $42 with one side. The throwback steak, a steak Diane, is $38. It’s filet medallions in a cognac cream, with asparagus and fingerling potatoes.
Driftwood, 2005 S. Federal Highway, Boynton Beach. Driftwoodboynton.com
At this casual, friendly eatery, steaks are part of a larger American menu. The grilled 12-ounce NY strip is served with creamed local kale in potato skins, beer-battered onion rings, and smoked tallow bordelaise, for $58. Upper choice meats, the top two-thirds of choice-grade meats, are used. The 44-ounce Creekstone Farm bone-in rib eye, grilled with broccolini and papas bravas, plus three sauces is $130. The steak takes one hour to prepare; it’s suggested to call ahead with the order.
Nicholson Muir, 480 E. Ocean Ave., Boynton Beach. Nicholsonmuir.com
Modern, intimate steakhouse with a Michelin recommendation using single-source ranches.
A 4-ounce prime Angus filet here is $68, and a center cut, 10-ounce is $96. The 16-ounce prime rib eye is $98, while the American wagyu rib eye, 16 ounces, is $175.
The Tomahawk Prime cut, a whopping 40 ounces, feeds four and is $285. The steakhouse serves Japanese A5 wagyu, 4 ounces, for $100.
All steaks are chargrilled to order. Don’t miss this side: Duck confit mac ’n’ cheese ($18).
Jan Norris is a food writer who can be reached at nativefla@gmail.com.
Steak at home 101
For the DIY steak cookers, Cameron Falls of Beauregard’s Fine Meats and Butchery in Boca Raton has advice: “Splurge” for Father’s Day as a special occasion, since meat prices are still soaring. Consider it a gift to dad. Falls dry-ages all the meats he cuts by hand at Beauregard’s, 497 NE 20th St., and knows the butcher’s cuts are best.
Tips on buying:
• Look for quality — USDA Prime is the top 2% of beef in the U.S. Wagyu is considered the top imported meat, though domestic wagyu is gaining fans.
• You pay for shrinkage with wagyu because of its deep fat content.
• Don’t dismiss grassfed. “I like to offer grassfed beef cuts,” Falls says. “It’s more interesting than wagyu.” The flavor is less iron-tasting, he says.
• Don’t pay for showy tomahawk or cowboy steaks — you’re paying for bone. At $35 to $55 a pound, that’s money you can’t eat.
• The most tender is the filet mignon; the flatiron is the second-most tender.
• Fans of steak frites at French bistros should buy the hangar steak.
• Buy extra — leftover steak is great, he said. Buy just under a pound per person.
How to cook it for perfect results every time:
“We recommend the reverse sear. Use a very good thermometer,” Falls says. And follow these steps:
1) “Get a thick steak for best results, and one weighing two or more pounds.”
2) “Season the beef well. You can’t over-season a steak.”
3) Insert the probe, and cook the steak in the oven at 225 degrees. Bring the interior temp to 115 to 118.
4) “Take it out of the oven. Let it rest for 45 minutes. Set the oven to 500 degrees and cook for 10 minutes. It will be perfectly tender and pink all the way through.”
5) Let it rest on the cutting board briefly to allow the juices to settle, then slice it against the grain to present on the platter.”
6) Serve it with a compound butter, creamed spinach and a potato, and that’s a steak dinner fit for any father, Falls says.
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