If you like your steak with a whopping side of scene, STK is your new den of carnal pleasures. What Carnaval is to a street parade, STK is to the typical steakhouse. Its impact on the Gansevoort parallels what the Saints did for the Super Bowl ratings.We suspected STK would be outside of the norm, after months and months of seeing those racy posters plastered around the Gansevoort, of a sexy, half-naked woman doing all sorts of things to a hunk of raw meat, heralding the arrival of the NYC and LA transplant. The highly anticipated steak temple finally opened last month with a huge bash thrown by Celeste Fierro and Jonathan Segal, of The One Group, along with Executive Chef, Todd Mark Miller, for which three times the number of expected invitees showed up. We couldn’t walk two inches without running into someone we knew as we meandered through the labyrinthine space. The stylish, dimly-lit, massive, two-story restaurant resembles a trendy nightclub, complete with day-glo purple walls, a catwalk, a huge glazed screen broadcasting a woman’s silhouette, multiple bars, DJ booth and V.I.P. areas. Then there’s the music: all your favorite tracks from the 80s: The Cure, Hall & Oates, Michael Jackson, will keep you grooving in your seat.But make no mistake STK delivers BIG in the food department. Miller’s vision when creating the menu was for the dishes to be delicious, exciting and very approachable. “This way people can feel comfortable and know what they are ordering instead of using those fancy names and words for food.” Among the chef’s favorites, and ours: Lil’ Big Macs (get them with the truffles), Bone-in Filet, Maine Lobster with sweet butter and Corn Pudding (I die!). Miller also recommends the Foie Gras French Toast and the Tomato Watermelon Salad. And, to the fellow truffle-obsessed, we are happy to report that at STK you can add black truffles to everything, even though this might set you back a mortgage payment or two. After the check came, we started to consider buying some farmland in upper Provence and a couple of hogs to sniff out this “stuff of the gods.”
Even before its official opening, STK already had a celebrity following, Fergie, Josh Duhamel, Michael Bay, Michael Mann and Robin Givens, got a sneak peek during the “Friends and Family” tastings. During Super Bowl week a bunch of stars from the upcoming movie Grown Ups dined at STK, including: Chris Rock, Adam Sandler, David Spade and Kevin James and “quasi celebs” Mike “The Situation” and Pauly D. from Jersey Shore came in for dinner at STK for their last night in Miami.
We asked Miller what sets STK apart from other steakhouses on South Beach.” We are a breed all our own and really the forerunner with the new thinking on steakhouses: the total ‘one stop shop’ establishment where you can go get a great meal, grab a drink at the bar or lounge then off to Coco de Ville all within a 50 feet radius. How can you lose?”
Parts of this story appeared in 944 magazine April 2010
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