PHILADELPHIA (AP) Ready for the $100 cheesesteak? Purists might howl, but the well-heeled and adventurous can now dive into a sandwich that includes not just chopped steak and melted cheese but goose liver and truffles at about 25 times the price of a traditional Philly cheesesteak.
Barclay Prime owner Stephen Starr admits the costly sandwich is a marketing ploy for his upscale steakhouse, which opened Tuesday on Rittenhouse Square in downtown Philadelphia. But he predicted there will be customers who actually order it.
"I believe you will have the rich guy in there who will say, 'Cheesesteaks for the table. And buy one for the guy over there,'" said Starr, an acclaimed restaurateur who has opened 13 eateries in the city since 1995.
As the latest entree in what Philadelphia Inquirer restaurant critic Craig LaBan has called a "dubious local genre" the haute cheesesteak this version bears little resemblance to what you get from the corner sandwich shop.
Served with a small bottle of champagne, Barclay Prime's cheesesteak is made of sliced Kobe beef, melted Taleggio cheese, shaved truffles, sauteed foie gras, caramelized onions and heirloom shaved tomatoes on a homemade brioche roll brushed with truffle butter and squirted with homemade mustard.
(Full disclosure: It is delicious.)
http://www.usatoday.com/news/offbeat/2004-10-05-cheesesteak_x.htm
Barclay Prime owner Stephen Starr admits the costly sandwich is a marketing ploy for his upscale steakhouse, which opened Tuesday on Rittenhouse Square in downtown Philadelphia. But he predicted there will be customers who actually order it.
"I believe you will have the rich guy in there who will say, 'Cheesesteaks for the table. And buy one for the guy over there,'" said Starr, an acclaimed restaurateur who has opened 13 eateries in the city since 1995.
As the latest entree in what Philadelphia Inquirer restaurant critic Craig LaBan has called a "dubious local genre" the haute cheesesteak this version bears little resemblance to what you get from the corner sandwich shop.
Served with a small bottle of champagne, Barclay Prime's cheesesteak is made of sliced Kobe beef, melted Taleggio cheese, shaved truffles, sauteed foie gras, caramelized onions and heirloom shaved tomatoes on a homemade brioche roll brushed with truffle butter and squirted with homemade mustard.
(Full disclosure: It is delicious.)
http://www.usatoday.com/news/offbeat/2004-10-05-cheesesteak_x.htm
