Loading ...The Meat Beat! Menu Misprints & Pricy Preservation
Posted by Kirsten Henri on February 20th, 2009
Have you all heard enough about steakhouses yet? Can you even stand one more piece of info about them? Of course you can! You love them. Or love to hate them. Or both, we can’t really tell.
The eagle-eyed KleInsider noticed that some of the menu prices at Union Trust have been slashed significantly since the original menu was released. Like that Wagyu strip just lost $50 off of its original $150 price, among others. You can check out his whole comparison list here. The current Union Trust menu is available on their website. Union Trust told Klein it was a ‘printing error’ and that the current (cheaper) prices were what diners were actually charged all along.
Also over at the Inky, architecture critic Inga Saffron delves into the many bank-to-steakhouse transformations with a focus on Union Trust and Del Frisco’s. There are some interesting highlights, especially the staggering quantities of cash they each spent on renovating these grandiose spaces.
What’s up with Union Trust’s menus? [The Insider]
Changing Skyline: Grade-A Prime Locations [Inquirer]
Related Tags: Del-Frisco, Steak, Union-Trust
February 24th, 2009 at 5:03 pm
I predict another menu change in their near future once the Discovery Channel gets word that they’re using both the phrases “Deadliest Catch” and “Time Bandit” on their menu. Would permission be required for something like that? I doubt that their salad is SO great that it has the ringing endorsement of the Discovery Channel. Printing errors? Wow. You would think that they would have their own high quality printer. Most restaurants do. Who jobs that out anymore? They’ve only been trying to get this restaurant off of the ground for a year or two. In addition to this, RUMOR on the street is that they didn’t even have their liquor license in place by opening night. Wouldn’t you want that at least a few months BEFORE you opened? (You can’t blame Marnie Old for everything.)
Their goal is to be known as one of the “best restaurants in the world.” Okay. The menu is ALL over the place. They are trying too hard. Look at Craftsteak’s menu. It’s simple. That’s all you need for a steakhouse. Will someone please talk to Tom Colicchio when he’s in town and tell him that we need him here desperately? Please.
February 24th, 2009 at 5:23 pm
Oh, and a couple more things. When I ask your servers how something “is,” I don’t want to hear (in a chirpy, cheerful voice) “It’s good.” I KNOW it’s good. I want to know flavor profiles, corn, grain, or grass fed, Prime or Choice! Let your staff try the food you cheap f***!!!! ALL OF THE FOOD, not just the stuff you weren’t able to sell last night. I think it’s disgraceful that a server can tell me more about your “culture” than he/she can about the food.
February 26th, 2009 at 3:41 pm
Is it me or does the skipper sound like a disgruntled ex-employee? Went there for dinner last night, everything was top notch. Can’t wait to return.
February 26th, 2009 at 10:14 pm
I am not a “disgruntled ex-employee.” I may actually still work there. Or not. I may have never worked there. Maybe I know people that do work there. I just like bringing things to peoples’ attention. Have a good day!
March 5th, 2009 at 9:16 pm
Unfortunately (and I am not an employee), what Skipper says is all too true. It’s merely common sense that the staff should be aware of how the food tastes, especially at a restaurant which places such emphasis on service. My understanding is that UT is now firing staff for completely arbitrary reasons – apparently a standard practice in Philadelphia due to the ancient “At-Will” employment laws still in place. To me, this indicates financial problems, especially as UT’s employees put in a great deal of time and effort during an extensive training period (not to mention the custom made suits from Boyd’s each was given). Cozo, if you dine at UT again, please make sure you treat your server with due respect, as he or she may be fired for running up the stairs too slowly while attempting to ensure a “fine dining” experience.
March 10th, 2009 at 12:47 pm
While I don’t support anybody losing their job, especially in today’s times, if someone needs to taste food in order to explain flavor profiles to the guest, then maybe they should be let go. Its steak, people. I am once again getting that feeling that this response forum is becoming a sounding board for disgruntled ex-employees or friends/family of those.
March 11th, 2009 at 12:53 am
Cozo,….
Appartently, you’ve been eating Steak at Sizzler FAR to long. When someone is paying $40-60 for a hunk of meat and request their server to give them a “Taste Profile” That Sever better damm well know what they are talking about.
While it may be true that one could give a Taste Profile of any steak in general and not be wrong, I would think that if someone asks for a profile of Union Trust’s Steak Tasting Menu(FOUR 18OZ DRY AGED LONG BONE RIBEYES, AGED 56, 49, 42, 35 DAYS EACH) I would sincerely hope that he or she could give one. I have not eaten there yet (I Will) nor do I work there (I Want To) But I can tell you that Dry Aged Beef with varying aging times WILL taste differently. I also find it highly unlikely that Ed Doherty would allow his wait/bar staff to serve food they have not tasted. When he opened WaterWorks, we tasted everything on the menu AND were asked for comments good or bad. And he didn’t own that place.
To add to that I would say that the avg. server at that type of Steakhouse makes apprx. $200 a night(probably more)…You do the math, But someone that has the potential to make $52.000 a year or more, should know a bit more about food than just how to serve it, don’t you think?
March 11th, 2009 at 1:12 pm
In no way did I intend to start an argument over a steakhouse, but I do feel the need for a rebuttal. All of the waitstaff should already know what steak tastes like, not Sizzler steak BBQ God, but prime dry and wet aged beef. I would think that a majority, if not all, of the waitstaff has worked in some of the finer steakhouses in the city and across the country. If the management just assumed that everybody knew, then shame on them. However, I find that highly unlikely. As far as the aged steak tasting, I would doubt that would be tasted by the staff due to its price, over $500 I believe. However a simple read up on how dry aging works would be sufficient enough to explain the difference between the steaks. And another note, who goes to a steakhouse and asks for the flavor profiles on steak, probably somebody a little more stuffy than me, but I’m supposedly a Sizzler guy though. Here’s to good eating.
March 12th, 2009 at 1:08 am
Cozo..
Hey, Sizzler just popped in my head..maybe I went there to many times. Also, I meant no disrespect to you, the Sizzler pun was just hangin there…lol.
You are absolutly correct about server experience. However, its been my experience in the last 6 years at 2 very well known steakhouses (Not Ponderosa….) That the majority of the waitstaff experienced or not and no matter the age, Just dont give a damm about what they are serving nor care either. I never was the perfect server but I knew my product, how to read a table and actually cared. There are still more than few good servers out there and I know for a fact that Ed has several. Also behind the Bar, ask for Christian.. This guy loves what he does and it shows.
Well Cozo, again I’m rambling, ..Just fed up with the people that dont consider it a “Real” job.. Back to the Pit 2-12 pd. Butts in tonight, should be finished by 2pm sunday… My Motto: BBQ Sauce(Red) is just a coverup for Bad BBQ…do it right eat it dry(rub)or wit a splash O’ Vineager. Pea Salad Sir and good eatin