Strip House

Strip House is the witty name of a steakhouse in the Village. It faintly suggests a house of ill repute, and it comes dressed for the part with its ruby-red decor. It also suggests a cut of meat, which is Strip House’s real point.

The owners, Glazier Group, run a chain of restaurants, including two other Strip Houses (New Jersey, Houston) and two other steakhouses in New York (Monkey Bar & Michael Jordan’s). Monkey Bar is an enjoyable place, attractively priced for a steakhouse. I’ve never been to Michael Jordan’s (inside Grand Central Terminal), but several reviews have suggested that it’s surprisingly good for a restaurant named for a celebrity and located in a train station.

Strip House is the group’s flagship. I paid a visit last night on the advice of blogger Augieland, who pronounced their bone-in ribeye ($42) his “favorite steak in Manhattan.” I’d been there once before and ordered the NY Strip, which was okay without being memorable. But Augieland is right about the ribeye. It’s a wonderful hunk of meat, with high fat content and a crisp char on the outside. I tried the identical cut of beef at Bobby Van’s the other night, and while it wasn’t bad, it lacked the perfection of Strip House’s version.

Best steak in New York? It’s hard to say, when there are so many of them. But I don’t recall offhand having tasted a ribeye better than this one. (Wolfgang’s came close, but I think this one was superior.) It was preceded by an amuse bouche of warm potato soup with parsley oil in a shot glass. The restaurant was packed on a Thursday evening, but I had no trouble getting served at the bar, where service was friendly and efficient.

While I was eating, a couple next to me saw what I had ordered, and raved about the Strip House ribeye. The gentleman told me that the March 2006 issue of GQ named Strip House one of the five best steakhouses in America. (I couldn’t find an online version of the full article, so I can’t say which four other steakhouses were so honored.) Visit the Glazier Group homepage, and you’ll see they’re crowing about it. The company has announced plans to open Strip Houses in several other cities. Lucky for them.

Strip House (13 E. 12th St between 5th Ave & University Place, Greenwich Village)

Food: **
Service: **
Ambiance: *
Overall: **