A politician wants to rename New York strip steaks for Texas. Kansas City knows better | Opinion
I hate to break this to you, but Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick is full of bull.
Never one to miss a chance to show off, Patrick declared last week that the Texas Senate wants the world to rename the New York strip steak the “Texas strip.”
Writing on X.com, Patrick claimed that strip steaks come from Texas and were renamed by a restaurant in “liberal New York.”
Then he doubled down on wrong.
Patrick added that strip steaks are “grown in Texas” and that renaming them would help sell Texas beef.
In Texas, we know all about Patrick. He’s really from Maryland. He used to be a wacky TV sportscaster.
In Houston, he was best known for having cheerleaders paint his chest Houston Oilers blue.
He is often wrong. But rarely as wrong as he is about strip steaks.
First of all, they didn’t originate in Texas.
The cut itself used to be named a Kansas City strip before it was appropriated by New York. KC residents are still adamant about using the local name.
I can only imagine how they will laugh at the idea that their steaks should be named for Texas.
Second, I promise you the reason Delmonico’s in New York and other restaurants call the steak a “New York strip” is to charge a higher price.
Sure, a Texas strip will sell. The Texas brand has never been stronger, thanks to Fort Worth TV powerhouse Taylor Sheridan of “Yellowstone.”
But even his Cattleman’s Steakhouse in Fort Worth, known for serving Four Sixes (6666) Ranch beef, calls its small and large strips “New York” and “KC.”
Libs or not, a New York strip is going to bring more money than a Texas strip. And that means more money for Texas ranchers.
Sparing no bombast, Patrick wrote that the Senate wants the name to catch on “across the country and around the globe.”
Maybe he should try to hijack the name of Maryland crabcakes.
(It actually did come from Texas.)
“I’ve always thought of ‘KC strip’ and ‘NY strip’ as completely interchangeable names,” leading Fort Worth restaurateur Jon Bonnell wrote in a message.
Some might argue that a KC strip should be served bone-in, but there’s no rule, he wrote.
“Inserting politics into cooking is a recipe for disaster,” he wrote.
Celebrity chef Tim Love of Fort Worth, coming off a Food Channel appearance on “Tournament of Champions,” laughed.
“As you know, Texans like to name things after Texas!” he joked.
But in his version of the origin story, a New York strip is a steak processed in Kansas City but with the bone cut off to save shipping costs.
“The whole reason for it being a New York strip doesn’t make it qualified to be a Texas strip,” he said.
Perini Ranch, the fabled steakhouse south of Abilene, Texas, calls the cut a “NY/KC” strip.
The Florida-based Capital Grille chain uses the same dual name, but for a lot more money.
The Irving-based Bob’s Steak & Chop House restaurants also have both a New York strip ($67) and a bone-in KC strip ($72). The Chicago-based Rosebud Steakhouse chain, opening in Southlake, also has both cuts.
At the other end of the price scale, Angelo’s Spaghetti & Pizza House in Irving lists a KC strip for about $20.
Kansas City’s Golden Ox steakhouse claims to have originated the cut, although references in print date back at least 10 years earlier.
On a Stephen Colbert show, comedian Paul Rudd praised the Golden Ox steaks. He joked that the Kansas City and New York cuts are “technically the same thing, but I think New York owned — bought the rights to the steak.”
We’d better leave Kansas City alone.
They’ll try to rename Texas toast.
Here’s what Texas steakhouses should add to the menu instead.
The Dan Patrick Giant Ham.
This story was originally published March 4, 2025 at 5:30 AM.
