By Rodney Sparrow.
New York Prime Beef says they sell the best steak on the planet. "It's not a humble statement; I'm aware of that, but I believe it," says founder Vinny Pacifico. "If you can't tell me that's the best steak on the planet we didn't do our job. If somebody is going to put down a $200, $400, $600 dollar bottle of wine for dinner, don't you think they want the best steak? It just goes hand in hand. That's who we're going after." The company dry-ages their steaks in a new state-of-the-art facility in the Bronx. Their butchers, the best in the country, custom cut each order, which they ship via Federal Express anywhere in the world.
One customer recently ordered $8,000 worth of Japanese Kobe – that's six to eight steaks, depending upon how thick they are cut – to be delivered locally, to Westchester, New York. The delivery address turned out to be the client's Gulfstream Jet. "I don't know where that went in the world, but I was pretty happy," Pacifico says. " Isn't that cool? Wherever they were going they were taking the steaks with them."
"It's expensive and worth it," says chef Josh Tanner, Pacifico's partner, who is in charge of sourcing, selecting and aging New York Prime Beef's products. "You're spending more money, but you really are getting the crème de la crème. It's the one percent of the one percent."
In their first year, they turned to the Hamptons to get their name out, partnering on luxury events with Rolls Royce, Maserati, Ferrari and other brands. "The Hamptons is where these people are in the summer that can afford this kind of product," says Tanner.
It worked well, and they will again have a presence around the Hamptons this summer, offering their wares at events where people can actually taste the steaks. They've partnered with a local rum brand for a tasting at Shagwong Tavern in Montauk in May. That's the easiest way for us to sell them," Tanner says. "It's one of those things where I literally have people say, 'You call it the greatest steak on the planet,' and they laugh and they say, ha! And then, they eat the steak and they say, 'Wow, that's literally the best steak I've ever had in my life'" he says. "They go to Peter Luger's once a week and this is the best steak they've had in their life. I'm fairly happy with a response like that."
They've also done events with renowned chefs, including Ricardo Cardona, who in addition to running restaurants privately cooks for everyone from Latin American presidents to entertainers, and is also the chef for the New York Yankees. "Ricardo uses New York Prime all the time," Tanner says, adding, "He's the guy who Marc Anthony has cook him dinner every night." Newyorkprimebeef.com
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