Smith and Wollensky

This would be my last night in New York as I would be flying out tomorrow. I still haven’t had dinner yet and I was starving. I was thinking of treating myself since this is the last night. I won’t know when I would be back here. When I was channel surfing at the hotel, I found a few options and I decided I would have a very good dinner here. I guess when you think of New York food, one of the food which may come to mind is steak. I love steak but I never order if for myself since I was always something expensive. My good friend has rekindled my love for this dish. Since it is the last day I decided to splurge a little. From Hamilton Park, I needed to wait for the bus to come, it was okay until a large tour group suddenly walked in front of me and I missed my bus. I needed to wait another half an hour for the next bus since they filled it up.

The next bus finally brought me back to Manhattan, I took a train to where the restaurant it. The streets were quiet since it was after office hours I guess not a lot of people come here at night. Then I saw it, Smith and Wollensky looks like a restaurant from the 1920s. You can think of gangsters and this restaurant would probably fit right in. I was extremely underdressed when compared to the restaurant which seems so fancy. However, their website says to come in anything which is comfortable. So here I am. I had a look at the menu and gulped at the prices, I had made a decision to eat here so I would really go for it.

As far as steak goes, they had a lot of options. I know I wanted steak but I still asked for recommendation from the list. I ended up getting the Colorado Rib Steak which weighs a whopping 32 ounces. I never had steak which went beyond 12 ounces but this one is almost three times the size. If I consider the size of the steak, the price is actually quite reasonable. The question is whether I would be able to finish it. The story behind the restaurant is interesting. There is no Smith and Wollensky as you might imagine the founder’s name to be, they were random names taken from a phone book. The founder is the same one who founded TGI Fridays, how is that for history? Over the years, Smith and Wollensky came to be known as the place for steak, which says a lot since New York has a lot of fine steak houses.

My order finally came and the steak as absolutely massive. The rib attached to the steak makes it even larger. Even without the bone, it would still be huge. I like my steaks medium this makes is a bit more juicy. When I cut into the meat, I thought there was probably no need to go for medium here. The meat itself was fatty that every bite was very juicy. The surface was cooked and it has a bit of a crust on it that it was somewhat crunchy. I never had this kind of steak before. I was very happy with the recommendation and I worked away at the steak for more than an hour. I like to think I have a big appetite but that steak was just reaching the limits of my appetite. I miraculously finished the massive steak and pushed it all down with a glass of red wine. I never do this but since it is the last day why not, I might as well go all the way, right?

I was happy to know that they decided not to charge me for the red wine, I had no idea why nor do I really care. I had a great time eating at this place and even now, I think it is one of the best places I have ever been to. Long after I left New York, I would continue telling my friends about this legendary meal I had. I don’t know if I would be able to come back here but if I do, I will make sure I would order exactly the same thing.

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