Nebraska Steakhouse

I’ve been meaning to visit Nebraska Steakhouse for a while now, as I live only ten minutes’ walk away. The first trouble was that I couldn’t find the place. Stone Street is in two segments, and I kept looking for it on the cobblestone segment between William St and Coenties Slip. Once you get to the other half of Stone St, Nebraska Beef is fairly conspicuous with its huge orange sign.

The menu’s signature item is simply called “The Steak,” a 32 oz bone-in ribeye dry-aged for 28 days that’s about as thick as any ribeye I’ve seen in town. It’s a wonderful piece of beef, and Nebraska cooks it expertly, with a deep char on the outside and a juicy medium rare interior. If the ribeye I enjoyed at Strip House was a 10, I give this one a 9. I was unable to finish it, but the steak made great leftovers the next night.

I was impressed with the prices at Nebraska Steakhouse. That enormous ribeye is only $37.95 — obviously not a budget item, but there are plenty of steakhouses that would charge more. There’s also a 7 oz filet on the menu for around $20, and if the quality is anywhere near the ribeye, it’s a great deal for someone who doesn’t want a huge steak.

Even by steakhouse standards, the decor is of the Plain Jane variety, but service was friendly and efficient. They are open only on weeknights, as in that part of the Financial District there is hardly any foot traffic on weekends. On Wednesday evening, when I tried it, I think there were more people in the bar than were seated at the tables.

There are four steakhouses in the area: MarkJoseph, Flames, Bobby Van’s, and Nebraska. On this showing, Nebraska has the best ribeye of the bunch, while I prefer the strip at Flames. MarkJoseph has the superb Peter Luger-style Canadian Bacon and an excellent porterhouse. I’m not sure where Bobby Van’s fits in, except that it’s the most crowded of the bunch.

I’m looking forward to another ten-minute trip to Nebraska.

Nebraska Steakhouse (15 Stone Street between Broad and Whitehall Streets, Financial District)

Food: *½
Service: *
Ambiance: *
Overall: *½