User:Liking001

Old Homestead Steakhouse

Located in the heart of New York City’s Meatpacking District, Old Homestead Steakhouse is an American fine-dining establishment that opened in 1868 – making it one of the longest continually operating restaurants in America, and the longest running steakhouse in New York. It operates from its original location at 56 Ninth Avenue, between West 14th and West 15th Street, in Manhattan in the area also known as Chelsea, one of New York City’s trendiest neighborhoods for entertainment, retail, culture and nightlife.

The Old Homestead has been owned and operated by the Sherry Family since 1937. Co-owners and brothers Greg and Marc Sherry have opened additional restaurants from the East Coast to the West Coast, including Old Homestead Steakhouse at the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa in Atlantic City, New Jersey, and Old Homestead Steakhouse at Caesars Palace Las Vegas.

Old Homestead is renowned for its signature Texas-size portions and prime aged USDA Gotham Rib Eye, sirloin, porterhouse, filet mignon and burgers; whale-size lobster, gargantuan shrimp and colossal crab; and, of course, the iconic life-size cow perched on the one-story marquee over the restaurant’s entrance.

The restaurant is associated with a number of milestones in the hospitality industry. Old Homestead Steakhouse is credited with the birth of the “doggie bag,” the first restaurant to send patrons home with leftovers because the portions were too big to finish there. In 2005, the restaurant was the first in New York to put on its regular menu a burger priced over $40 – the $41 Kobe Burger – which sparked a war among the city’s culinary elite over bragging rights to the most expensive burger in Manhattan. Old Homestead was also the first steakhouse to coin the Gotham Rib Eye Steak. In 1995, after working closely with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Old Homestead was the first and only restaurant in the U.S. at that time to exclusively import and serve Japanese Wagyu beef (more popularly known as Kobe) at $100 a steak. This beef came from cows pampered with hand massages and liquor mash to stimulate their appetites.

Contents 1 History 1.1 Cuisine 1.2 Annabelle the Cow 1.3 Expansion 1.4 Media 1.5 Marketing 2. Old Homestead Today 3. References 4. External links

History

Old Homestead Steakhouse opened in 1868, originally as the Tidewater Trading Post, a name that came about because the waters of the Hudson River washed up to its doors during high tide, and because merchants would dine there before setting sail. Since food purveyors and dockworkers ate there, it fast became a favorite of local residents and out-of-towners, mostly ladies and gentlemen of financial means. A complete sirloin steak dinner cost a pricey eight cents back then. Although details are sketchy, it is believed that the name was changed to Old Homestead in the late 1890’s.

The restaurant has been in the Sherry Family since 1937, when the late Harry Sherry purchased it from the owner who had given him his first job as a dishwasher. The restaurant is now co-owned and operated by his grandsons and Brooklyn, NY natives Greg and Marc Sherry.

Over the years, the restaurant has served heads of state, presidents, prime ministers, mayors, governors and members of the U.S. Congress. Andrew Johnson celebrated at Old Homestead in 1868 after escaping impeachment from office by one vote. The restaurant has also served hundreds of boldface names in sports, entertainment, television, movies, media and industry. The lore of the past is a big part of Old Homestead’s history – Jackie Gleason arriving straight from the “Honeymooners” set in his trademark bus driver’s uniform, Frank Sinatra running a tab on filet mignon, wine and champagne, and Joe DiMaggio and Marilyn Monroe having romantic dinners.

The original restaurant consisted of one dining room on the ground level. It eventually was expanded to three floors of elegantly appointed dining and private banquet facilities as part of a multi-million-dollar restoration.

Cuisine

Old Homestead has always maintained itself as a steakhouse in the classic Gotham tradition. But its versatility and ability to adapt to the ever-changing culinary landscape keeps the restaurant on the cutting edge as an industry trendsetter. Its close proximity to Wall Street has made the restaurant a convenient destination for New York’s financial community and the business power lunch. From its signature 18-ounce sirloin, double cut porterhouse for two, 19-ounce filet mignon, 32-ounce Gotham bone-in Rib Eye, and 20-ounce Kobe burger, all of its portions are huge and use only the highest quality of beef. The Sherry Brothers still make it part of their ritual to visit meat purveyors and hand-select the prime USDA beef they served at their restaurant. They also commission fisheries that exclusively catch for Old Homestead the whale-size lobster, colossal shrimp and other fresh fish served at the restaurant. Old Homestead, winner of the Wine Spectator Award, has a wine collection of over 8,000 bottles, and a single malt scotch collection offered by the glass.

Annabelle the Cow

Annabelle the Cow is as much of an icon as Old Homestead itself. The life-size bovine (which consists of metal, plaster and a protective vinyl coating) has become a defining feature of the restaurant’s brand. In 1952, a rancher from Nebraska, who would make an annual pilgrimage to New York just to have a porterhouse at Old Homestead, promised Harry Sherry a special gift that he could display at the restaurant. When he showed up with the cow in the back of his pick-up truck, Sherry didn’t know where to display it – until his four-year-old grandson Greg suggested placing it on the marquee. Annabelle the Cow has been perched ever since atop the one-story marquee over the entrance of the restaurant. Her 15 minutes of fame include cameos in “Seinfeld,” “The Sopranos,” “Law and Order” and many other television shows and movies.

Expansion

Old Homestead Steakhouse opened its second location at the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa in Atlantic City, NJ in 2003. The restaurant has been critically acclaimed, most recently with the distinction of Atlantic City’s top restaurant by Zagat’s 2012 America’s Top Restaurants Guide. Like the flagship in New York City, Old Homestead Borgata was the first in the area to introduce the Kobe Beef Burger, and the first in the U.S. to introduce The Macallan Fine & Rare Vintage Scotch Collection in its entirety. In 2011, Old Homestead opened at Caesars Palace Las Vegas, one of the most successful restaurant openings in the history of the Vegas strip. In 2011, a multi-million-dollar restoration was completed at the flagship restaurant in New York City’s Meatpacking District.

This brand refresh included expansion to three floors of modern dining facilities that maintain the steakhouse tradition; new serviceware emblazoned with the Old Homestead insignia and other signature upgrades. An outdoor café was established for dining alfresco during spring and summer months. A la carte seating is offered in the main level dining room, the second floor library dining room (whose mahogany cases display sports collectibles, rare books and other treasures), and a third floor dining space. Private banquet facilities are available on the third floor and in the second floor Schnabel Room, which was designed by artist and filmmaker Julian Schnabel and is decorated with large black-and-white photos and oil paintings of Annabelle the Cow created by Mr. Schnabel. (Annabelle the Cow is the famous life-size bovine on the restaurant’s marquee.) Vintage photos that depict the storied past of Old Homestead can be found throughout the restaurant. In addition, Old Homestead commissioned renowned Pat LaFrieda Meat Purveyors to develop a patented blend for the signature burgers found on the menu.

Media

In addition to appearing on numerous television dramas, sitcoms and reality shows (for example, “Seinfeld,” “The Sopranos,”, “Law and Order,” “Real Housewives of New Jersey,” “Big Ang”), Old Homestead’s steaks and burgers have been featured on the Travel Channel, Food Network, Discovery Channel and Destination America Channel, including “Chef Wanted” with celebrity chef Anne Burrell, and in Destination America’s original series, “United States of Food” – in which the Old Homestead’s signature burger was featured in the “United States of Burgers.” Renowned celebrity chef and columnist Todd Fisher, the series’ host, says he found “hamburger perfection in a New York City steakhouse,” referring to the Old Homestead burger.

Old Homestead has also been featured in hundreds of news stories on the Internet and in national and international newspapers, food magazines, specialty publications and wire services, as well as on television and radio news programs and special shows in the U.S., the United Kingdom, Korea, Japan, Spain, Italy and France.

Marketing

Whether it’s addressing issues of social conscience or just having some fun, Old Homestead’s marketing innovations are as legendary as its kitchen genius – and they have the global recognition to prove it. The restaurant created a prime USDA one-of-a-kind $100,000 Lady Gaga Meat Dress Halloween Costume; sold an exclusive road trip to Green Bay for the New York Giants-Green Bay Packers showdown – for a cool $240,000; created a $25,000 Super Bowl Party; showered its 10-millionth customer at the Manhattan flagship with dinner for life; served its one-millionth customer at the Borgata; took Annabelle the Cow on a cross-country junket to open Old Homestead Caesars Palace Las Vegas, and hosted New York State’s first same-sex-marriage wedding ceremony and reception at the Manhattan restaurant – at no cost to the happy ladies!

Old Homestead Today

The third-generation of Sherry Family members have made Old Homestead Steakhouse the premiere destination of steak aficionados, tourists, celebrities, corporate officials, politicians, and ordinary diners, from Main Street to Wall Street, from across the United States and throughout the world. Greg and Marc Sherry continue the legacy began by their grandfather and those who established the restaurant back in 1868. They continue to entertain and analyze business expansion opportunities with other iconic brands.

References

http://articles.nydailynews.com/2011-12-07/news/30488080_1_second-cow-annabelle-las-vegas

www.theborgata.com/dine/fine-dining/old-homestead

www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20120415/SMALLBIZ/120419926

events.nydailynews.com/new_york_ny/venues/show/55285-old-homestead-steakhouse

www.caesarspalace.com/casinos/caesars-palace/restaurants-dining/old-homestead-detail.html

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/in-bad-economy-steaks-just-keep-rising-at-iconic-old-homestead-146662085.html

www.timeout.com/newyork/restaurants/old-homestead-steakhouse

www.zagat.com/buzz/old-homestead-steakhouse-headed-to-vegas

www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/legendary-old-homestead-steakhouse-to- open-at-caesars-palace-126738168.html

newyork.cbslocal.com/2011/02/04/nyc-restaurant-presents-ultimate-super-bowl-tailgate/

http://www.hauteliving.com/2011/12/old-homestead-steakhouse’s-annabelle-the-cow-moo-ves-from-new-york-to-las-vegas/