A longer than usual excerpt…but you know I love a steak sandwich joke
Steak Sandwiches
3. Yankee Stadium: Lobel’s USDA Prime Beef Steak Sandwich
Just like the Yankees, Lobel’s got off to a shaky start this season. The boutique butcher debuted its steak sandwich as part of the new stadium’s 2009 roster, and we have nothing but cherished memories of last summer’s specimens. But an opening week spot check revealed that the thinly sliced beef served from a trough of thickened jus and piled lavishly on a soft Rockland Bakery bun has yet to find its 2013 groove. The problem: gloppy lukewarm gravy and a heavy-handed approach to its application obfuscates the flavor of the beef, necessitating the embarrassment of having to attack the unruly thing with a knife and fork like Elaine’s Snickers-eating boss on Seinfeld. This is why Babe Ruth munched hot dogs and not French dips between innings. Note: You might try asking the staff to let up on the gravy, although that tactic didn’t work for us. The sandwich at Lobel’s new Manhattan satellite, incidentally, is far superior to this one. ($16; secton 133, Field level).
Score: Double (2/5)
Vs.
4. Citi Field: Pat Lafrieda’s Original Filet Mignon Steak Sandwich
Late last season, celebrity burger blender Pat LaFrieda unveiled his answer to Lobel’s handiwork. It’s several slabs of super-tender filet mignon topped with fried onions and Monterey Jack cheese tucked into a length of baguette—essentially a highfalutin cheesesteak. The onions overwhelm, while the cheese does the opposite, and the bread has nothing on Au Bon Pain. But we’ll give LaFrieda the edge for a greater overall beefiness, a show of restraint in the jus department, and for building a sandwich that is marginally easier to eat than the competition, requiring only a surgeon-style postprandial washup as opposed to a thorough hosing down ($15; section 515, Promenade level).
Score: Triple (3/5)
via Subway Series: Battle of the Baseball-Stadium Concessions — Grub Street New York.
