Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick wants to take the name of New York off of the New York strip steak — and many steakhouse owners, at least those in New York, find the premise absurd, The New York Times reported Monday.
"Noting that Texas leads the nation in heads of cattle, Mr. Patrick announced in a post on X that he was working with the State Senate on a resolution that would officially rebrand the cut," instead calling it the Texas strip, said the report. "Mr. Patrick was clear in his post that he hoped the Texas-centric name would give a boost to his state’s cattle ranchers. At the same time, the way he framed the issue carried more than a whiff of red-meat politics. 'Liberal New York shouldn’t get the credit for our hard-working ranchers,' he wrote."
Even if his resolution carries, it doesn't look like it will carry much weight outside of Texas, said the report — and certainly not among steakhouses in New York, where the cut was perfected.
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“Oh my God, it's so ridiculous. Even if they change it, I’m going to leave it as the New York strip,” said Harry Sinanaj, who heads up Ben & Jack’s Steakhouse on East 44th Street.
Sinanaj, who grew up in Communist Yugoslavia and was told a story by his mother of a man who was arrested for criticizing the quality of the bread he purchased, added, “In my personal opinion it’s ridiculous to call it liberal or conservative. The people’s stomach has nothing to do with politics.”
Other restaurateurs agreed, with Dennis Turcinovic, whose company owns Delmonico's, the restaurant credited with first perfecting the New York strip, saying, “I don’t think there’s room for politics in this. It’s American culinary history.”
And Bronx-based meat wholesaler vice president Mark Solasz said, “Maybe the Texans will change it to the Texas strip, but I don’t think New York is going to change. I don’t think this one is going to cross the border.”
This comes amid an aggressive push by President Donald Trump and his supporters to rename things around and near the United States, most notably Trump's order to refer to the Gulf of Mexico as the "Gulf of America" — for which they have shut out The Associated Press from White House briefings for not following.