Texas Lt. Governor Dan Patrick is proposing an official name change for the classic New York Strip Steak; he wants to call it a Texas Strip Steak.
In a post on X, formerly Twitter, the Republican claims “liberal New York shouldn’t get the credit for our hard-working ranchers.” Patrick also pointed out that Texas has about 12.2 million head of cattle, the most in America.
The idea for the name change may be politically motivated, inspired by President Trump’s call to rename the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America. But Patrick posted that it came about during his recent meeting with the Texas Cattle Feeders and Cattle Raisers.
The Lt. Governor asked the group to name their favorite cut of steak and several said “New York Strip.” He asked “why didn’t we call it Texas Strip, because New York has mostly dairy cows. Just because a New York restaurant named Texas beef a New York Strip in the 19th century doesn’t mean we need to keep doing that.”
The restaurant he’s referring to is Delmonico’s, a fine-dining landmark in lower Manhattan that’s been around since 1837. The classy steakhouse initially called the short loin steak cut a New York Strip on the menu, and the name became a standard outside of New York.
“It’s an historical dish and the government shouldn’t play a role in changing the name,” said Dennis Turcinovic, current owner and managing partner of Delmonico’s Hospitality Group. “They should be supporting the restaurant’s history and culture.” He added that not all the prime beef he sources comes from Texas; a good percentage comes from California.
Back in the last century, Delmonico’s also dubbed the ribeye cut a “Delmonico steak,” Turcinovic noted. Although that label had less staying power, some restaurants still use the Delmonico menu name for a ribeye.
Meanwhile, the Texas Senate will file a concurrent resolution to officially change the name of the New York Strip to the “Texas Strip” in the Lone Star State, Patrick said on X. “We ask restaurants to change the name of this strip of meat the next time they reprint their menus, and grocery stores to do the same. We want this to catch on across the country and around the globe.”
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