COCONUTS HOT SPOT — Of all the places one encounters stunning models, working a massive commercial-grade grill cooking generously marbled meat is not so common.
After all, models don’t gorge on macho-meat like steak, let alone prepare it to marbled perfection, right?
Wrong. At Bangkok’s newest contender in the steak game, New York Style Steak & Burger, you’ll find Chef “Lina” Naalinlat heading up the kitchen and making female chefs a thing here in Bangkok.
The restaurant has already proven successful in Shanghai, and now it’s here in Thailand.
A large local newspaper recently profiled Lina for a feature on “pretty chefs” (that’s “Thainess” for you!), and it’s great to see her kicking down the door for female restaurateurs, but there’s really a lot more going on here than just the pretty girl behind the grill.
It’s one of few places to find something this city’s usually devoid of: large portions of USDA meat. And don’t be fooled by the name – it’s not just New York “style” steaks, it’s really the real deal: Angus beef imported from the land of milk and honey. Angus is a specific breed of cattle known for its marbled, fatty meat that’s become a mainstay in the American livestock industry. Angus cattle make their Thai bovine counterparts look emaciated and sickly by comparison; domestic cows aren’t exactly prized for their taste or fat content, hence the excitement surrounding USDA beef in Bangkok outside of a hotel chain.
The Ribeye cut rings in at a fair THB1,250 and the namesake New York Strip at THB1,150, but even better is that they get it when it comes to the accoutrements: peppercorn sauce, mushroom sauce, béarnaise, butter, and roasted ‘taters with veggies. Americans, this is your shot at an affordable taste of home. The steak is done how it should be, and there wasn’t any missing the mark on how it came out: rare is rare and well-done is well-done. The half-ass effort that service staff usually make when it comes to details isn’t present here.
Burgers constitute the other half of the restaurant’s concentration, but the romantic indoor setting lends itself much better to the ceremonial experience of working your way through a steak. It almost feels too “nice” to eat a burger here, but to justify this dichotomy nicely marbled, high-grade beef is ground up on site and used in the burger. The 220g patty oozes and drips fat as you compress the buns and bite into it – that’s how a burger should be – but there’s still something uncomfortable about gorging on a burger and getting messy in a romantic setting while light from a candle glints off the grease coating your hands and mouth, but if you’re going to do it, you might as well go all-out. Try the Manhattan Monster (THB450); it’s stacked with fried egg and onion rings in addition to the usual suspects found on a proper burger.
The crowd, after being open for a modest three months, is mostly professional farang, possibly American military or embassy staff in addition to the usual hi-so see-and-be-seen, selfie-savvy crew. There’s also the occasional Japanese business exec seeking post-meal respite by throwing back a few craft brews from Deschutes (THB300) or sipping a stiff cocktail (THB280).
There’s been steady chatter that Soi Sukhumvit 22 could be a new drinking and dining epicenter, and it’s places like New York Style Steak and Burger that are injecting a dose of class into the soi that’s garnered notoriety for its selection of houses of ill repute. Let’s hope the trend continues.
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Soi Sukhumvit 22
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