Photo courtesy of Bobby Van’s Steakhouse
The Eat: The New York strip with fries as brunch food.
The Place: Bobby Van’s Steakhouse in Bridgehampton.
The Story: If you attempt to eat at Bobby Van’s on a summer evening, you may find the menu shocking. Steaks, chops, and even chicken can set you back an astronomical $50 to $60—and that’s on the conservative-to-low side of the spectrum. So if the restaurant has felt unaffordable in times past, I completely empathize. That’s a lot to pay for dinner, no matter how you slice it.
But. But! Hold on a second! There’s more to this restaurant than hugely expensive steaks! Bobby Van’s is also home to a weekend brunch, and it’s an insanely delicious one, with more lunch food than breakfast food (which is how I prefer it). At the top of the list is the 14-ounce New York strip, which comes with skinny, yellow, crispy fries—the best kind of fries, in my opinion—and which will set you back less than $30.
There are other reasons to visit Bobby Van’s in January, I’d argue, even if you’re not the steak-for-breakfast type (but why not?). The cozy interior feels just right for whiling away a bitter cold afternoon. The martinis are good, and served really cold. The bar is always bustling with the comfortable chatter so important to a steakhouse.
But really, I keep coming back to that steak. Fourteen ounces is a great size: hulking, but not embarrassingly large, a manageable size for midday. You can get an egg on top, of course, but I prefer my steak unadorned, seasoned only with salt and pepper, the juice pooling on the plate for just long enough to turn my fries into steak-sopping machines. On a January morning, there’s no place I’d rather be.
