Le Relais de Venise L’Entrecote NYC – The Spatula City of Steaks

We love Steak. After 7 years of eating it regularly as the world’s #1 steak club, we still yearn for it. Sure, sure, we love the bacon apps, the glasses of scotch, the German potatoes on the side, the creamed spinach, shrimp cocktails, mac n cheese, onion rings, chocolate sundays, after dinner sambuccas and so forth. But what makes it all come together, the reason for the season, the climax of the event…the kairos moment, if you will, is when that tender piece of beef hits the plate, cooked to order, succulent, juicy, bursting with flavor and calling our names. That’s the what where why and who to this club, event and the prior run on sentence.

That’s also the reason behind Le Relais de Venise L’Entrecote, the multi city Steak House with a location in NYC. You see, this fine dining and formal eatery has one thing and one thing only on it’s menu: steak. More than 5 decades ago the original location opened in Paris, serving Parisian style Steak Frites. There was no menu then and there is no menu now. Whether you are in Paris, Manchester, one of the locations in London or NYC, the menu, or should I say lack of menu, is the same: Salad, followed by Steak Frites. The waitress, dressed in a French Maid uniform, simply asks how you would like it prepared and then the meal begins.

Even though the Big P.A. had been to one of the London locations, the wonderful waitress took the time to explain the process: Salad, Steak Frites, Steak Frites,Pay the Bill, go home. She then politely explained that they only prepare the steak one of 4 ways: 1. Blue, 2. Rare, 3. Medium & 4. Well Done. There is no halves, meaning for me, who usually orders medium well, at a Parisian steak house, I go medium. Why? In Parisian steak prep, their M is our MR. Once each of us ordered, the waitress wrote down the selection, on the table cloth and then the meal began.

A few moments later, once you’ve tipped into your first beverage, the meal begins. A green salad with walnuts dressed with mustard vinaigrette starts your off right with some green. It’s fresh, clean, easy to eat and preps your stomach for what’s to come.

Then, as promised, out comes the sliced Steak & Frites. It’s a nice, perfectly cooked piece of sirloin. It’s topped in their secret sauce which tastes like a light peppercorn gravy. It’s freakin delicious. No joke, the steak is spot on. The frites, just the right amount of crisp. The sauce, doesn’t over power the meat but adds to the already succulent flavor.

As your rounding out the last couple of bites of your steak and frites, you’ll probably think: “this isn’t going to be enough. I am going to want more.” We most certainly did and Joe C even jokingly asked if we could see the “other” menu with the appetizers and sides. Our waitress was a good sport about it and giggled. She then asked if we were ready for our 2nd helping of steak frites. So yeah, that’s it: Salad, Steak Frites & more Steak Frites. By the time you rock through the 2nd helping, you’re going to be about full. The timing at which it’s served along with the place will more than surely fill you up.

That is, unless you are the the Big P.A. He demanded we split a chocolate sunday. Now here is the funny thing about the dessert menu at Le Relais de Venise, it’s rather extensive. Where and how that decision came from, I have no idea but I guess if you get that far into the meal, you are welcomed with a delectable menu of choices. I couldn’t imagine another bite but that my friends, is just how the Big P.A. roles.

If you love steak, you will love Le Relais de Venise. That’s all they serve and after you taste one bite, you’ll understand why they don’t need to serve anything else. If you can do it right and do it better than anyone else, you win.

4 out of 5 knives
-Rev

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Bobby Vans – You Should Listen To Your Steak Club

I hate to be an “I told you so,” but in this case, it’s the truth. When SteakClub7 speaks, you should be listening. Some of you did, including the people seated at the table next to mine and those people have thoroughly enjoyed.

What the hell am I talk about? Thrillist Rewards and a Bobby Van’s “Choose Your Steak” adventure. Hopefully you’re already a member of Thrillist Rewards so you know about how glorious it is to get that email every Tuesday which grants you access to the coolest stuff in NYC. But if you aren’t, what are you waiting for? Sign up now here so the next time something like a $50 steak adventure at one of the SteakClub7 top rated Steakhouses, like Bobby Vans, comes up as a reward, you won’t be missing out.

Pardon me if I about to be preaching to the choir, please feel forward to skip over this and get right to the Steak porn.

Let’s back it up. Thrillist is a daily email that clues you in on the best and newest stuff, be it restaurants, music, bars, equipment, parties, clothing, services and just about anything else. It’s an editorial based recommendation service that’s created by a bunch of folks who clearly have great taste. They specialize in 20 cities in America with more on the way. At the beginning of 2001,  Thrillist did two really great things for New Yorkers. A. They launched Thrillist Rewards, a service for their nearest and dearest readers that creates Thrillist-Approved, one-of-a-kind, limited quantity, locals-only type experiences that you can purchase through them directly and B. they brought me on board to help source the deals with local merchants.

So what’s the first thing I do with the opportunity, I call one of SteakClub7’s favorites, Bobby Vans Steakhouse in the Financial District.

Bobby Vans teamed up with Thrillist Rewards to offer your choice of a Sirloin of Filet Mignon Steak, choice of a fresh Mozzarella / Tomato or Crab Cake appetizer,  your choice of Avion Tequila cocktail and sides of Mashed Potatoes and Creamed Spinach all for only $50!!! Not enough to whet your whistle? Add in 1/2 off all bottles of wine and an additional option of a $20 off-menu Filet Mignon Cheesesteak and if you aren’t already bummed you missed this, perhaps you shouldn’t be reading this site. Well since I am not just a member of the Thrillist Rewards team, I’m also a fan, you can bet your sweet little bippy that I bought a stack of these rewards for myself. With reward in hand, my wife and I headed down to Wall Street with our friend Paul to enjoy our steak adventure.

We started off with a little tequila. Paul and Cara got a Cheech and I went for a Margarita.

I can’t stand Seafood, so the appetizer choice for me was an easy one; Tomato and Mozzarella. The Mozzarella was SO creamy, you could’ve almost be considered it as Burrata. Topped with the most perfectly prepared Roasted Red Peppers ever made this a tasty winner. Cara, a huge Seafood fan, might argue over her Crab Cake.

My Mother used to tell me “you can’t have your Cake and eat it too,” but that clearly didn’t apply tonight as we ordered both of Thrillist Reward options; Steak + Cheesesteak. Now I’ve had this off-menu Cheesesteak before and it is spectacular so there was no way I was going to pass it up. The sandwich comes overflowing with savory cheese and sliced Filet Mignon and you’d be a crazy person to attempt to tackle it by yourself. Show the love and share with your friends. It’s an intense and awesome sandwich that will leave you salivating for more.

Awwwwwww Steak. It’s the reason for the season baby and no one, I mean NO ONE does it like the Bobby V. They only use the highest of high quality cuts of Beef and cook them to an absolute perfection every damn time. If you’re gonna go out for a nice Steakhouse meal, go to a restaurant that does with love and precision like Bobby Vans. With plates and plates of tasty vittles, the Steak Adventure hit full throttle. The waiter brought us a side of Béarnaise sauce that once applied to the creamy Mashed Potatoes made a great side dish even better.

No Steak meal is complete with out a little vino tinto and with an opportunity to choose ANY wine on the Bobby Vans list for half-price, we splurged and selected a deep and rich Italian Borolo from 2000.

Damn. That was a meal fit for a King, a Queen and another King and all for a great price at an amazing and historical restaurant. While I say thank you to Bobby Vans and to Thrillist, you can say thank you to me and SteakClub7 for making your awesome New York life even more awesome.

If you aren’t following SteakClub7 on twitter yet, now would be a good time to start.

4.5 out of 5 knives
-Rev