(NEXSTAR) – The cut of beef known as the strip steak goes by a number of different names, including the ambassador steak, the club steak, or sometimes the Kansas City steak, to name a few. But it’s probably best known as a New York strip steak, as seen on restaurant menus from the Empire State to Texas to Wyoming and beyond.
But what does the steak itself have to do with New York?
While no official etymology appears to exist, it’s generally believed that the strip steak — a cut from the loin of the animal — gained popularity after becoming a staple at steakhouses in New York City. Delmonico’s, a Manhattan institution that traces its history back to 1837, was also a popular spot for the steak, which was sometimes referred to as a “Delmonico” cut.
“The New York Strip Steak gained popularity at Delmonico’s and other restaurants in NYC — prime cuts of beef, such as strip and ribeye, were referred to as Delmonico Steak,” Dennis Turcinovic, the owner and managing partner of Delmonico’s, said in a statement shared with Nexstar.
Turcinovic also claimed Demonico’s “pioneered” these specific cuts of steak.
Other sources, like the culinary site Chowhound and even the folks at Omaha Steaks have shared similar stories about the origin of the “New York strip steak.”
As of late, however, the name “New York strip steak” hasn’t been sitting so well with Texas’ Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, who is seeking support to change its name to the “Texas strip” in the Lone Star State.
“The Texas Senate will file a concurrent resolution to officially change the name of the New York Strip to the ‘Texas Strip’ in the Lone Star State,” Patrick tweeted on Feb. 28. “We ask restaurants to change the name of this strip of meat the next time they reprint their menus, and grocery stores to do the same. We want this to catch on across the country and around the globe.”
Patrick claimed that the change was warranted due to the size of the Texas beef industry (it produces the most cattle of any state), though his argument came with a hefty side of politics: “Liberal New York shouldn’t get the credit for our hard-working ranchers,” he wrote, before adding that he’d one day love to take a trip “across the Gulf of America” to eat a “Texas Strip.”
As of March, many restaurants in the Texas capital, as well as those in Houston, Dallas, and San Antonio, retained the name “New York strip” on their menus, at least online.
A representative for Lt. Gov. Patrick’s office did not respond to a request for additional comment on any steps he’s taking concerning the resolution. A spokesperson for the Texas Restaurant Association told Nexstar they had no comment on the matter. (Similar restaurant associations in Missouri and Kansas were also not immediately available to share their comments on the possible glossing-over of the “Kansas City steak” moniker.)
Carl Ray Polk Jr., the president of the Texas & Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association, told Nexstar that they “appreciate” the recognition, but suggested that the organization had more pressing issues for the state government.
“While we celebrate this well-deserved spotlight on Texas beef, we also know it takes sound policy to ensure ranchers can continue raising it,” Polk said. “That’s why Texas & Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association advocates not just to promote our product, but to protect private property rights and ensure only real beef — not cell-cultured substitutes — carries the label our ranchers have worked generations to earn.”
Until (and if) any resolutions concerning the “Texas strip” are passed, Texans will simply have to console themselves with their Texas toasts, their Texas ribeyes, their Texas teas, and their Texas Roadhouse restaurants (the latter of which was not headquartered in, or founded, in Texas).
Dennis Turcinovic of Delmonico’s, meanwhile, doesn’t believe any resolution to rename the New York strip steak would make much difference, either.
“The name pays homage to a culinary tradition that dates back to the 1800s,” Turcinovic said. “You can change the name to whatever you want, but there’s a genuine history behind these steaks that we will continue to honor.”