Charlotte's steak scene is sizzling with high-end beef
Local restaurants are presenting prestigious cuts of meat at eye-popping prices
The following article appeared in the September 4, 2024, edition of The Charlotte Ledger, an e-newsletter with smart and original local news for Charlotte. We offer free and paid subscription plans. More info here.
From a $750 immersive Wagyu experience to $400 tomahawk steaks flamed tableside, Charlotte restaurateurs are serving up high-end beef like never before — and diners are biting; ‘We’re in our Wagyu era’
Steak 48 features a $175 Butcher's Cut — an off-menu item that’s a juicy rib cap of Wagyu ribeye. (Courtesy of Steak 48)
by Cristina Bolling
Last month, Chef Sam Hart and the team at Counter restaurant served an “A5 Wagyu Presentation” dinner that featured an entire loin of beef butchered at the table in front of diners and prepared and served as 12 dishes during a 3 ½ hour meal.
The dozen seats at the table sold out within an hour of the reservations opening, Hart said.
The price? $750 per person.
Hart had paid nearly $3,000 for the piece of A5 Wagyu — what’s considered by many to be the best beef money can buy because of its intense marbling, tenderness and rich flavor. Counter diners that night enjoyed it in a variety of ways, from grilled ribeye cap to a tartare.
It’s not a dinner that’s on Counter’s menu — in fact, the restaurant describes itself as an immersive, experiential dining experience, and not a traditional restaurant, so it has no set menu. But Hart says Counter plans to offer the dinner again.
High-end steakhouses have long been go-to places for expense-account dinners and splurgy date nights. For decades, Charlotte diners have had abundant choices among steakhouses, from well-known chains such as Morton’s and Del Frisco’s to independent favorites like the Beef ’N Bottle. Lately, though, restaurants of many varieties are taking the sizzling beef game to new and expensive heights, offering prestigious cuts of meat at eye-popping prices, and even presenting them tableside in elaborate displays.