"craftsteak" news and stories

"Top Chef" host Tom Colicchio will close one of his New York restaurants, Craftsteak, and reopen it next month as Colicchio & Sons.

Craftsteak, on the city's West Side, had been Colicchio's showcase for "beef sourced from the world's top ranchers and artisanal producers" and dry-aged on the premises. The new restaurant, Colicchio & Sons, will continue a focus on "farm-to-table" food, according to the Village Voice. The front "tap room" will highlight artisanal beers.

The restaurant will close on Friday, the Voice reports. Colicchio & Sons will reopen at some point in January. Reservations are being accepted as of Jan. 11.

Colicchio will help cook along with Craftsteak's chef, Shane McBride, NBCNewYork.com reports.

"With the economy people aren't really coming out for $100 steaks," Colicchio tells New York Magazine. "That aside, it's a space I love, and I wanted to do something just a little personal there."

Colicchio has been doing a special Tuesday Dinner series at Craft.

The most expensive beef in the world is wagyu, or Kobe beef. It comes from cows that are not only genetically predisposed to intensely marbled meat that is very high in fat, but that get fed a special diet that is meant to improve that marbling beyond anything that other beef can achieve. To keep the meat from getting tough, it is said that some producers massage the muscles of their cows, rather than let the cows exercise themselves. With meat like this available and gaining rapidly in popularity, it is hardly a surprise, all of the world's most expensive steaks, as selected by Forbes Traveler, feature wagyu beef. Without further ado, these are the places to go - and how much you'll have to pay - for some of the best and most-expensive steaks in the world:

• "103" Wagyu rib eye at Craftsteak New York (private order item), $2,800 for 20 pounds
• Charbroiled Kobe Filet, Aragawa, Tokyo, $258 for 8-oz.
• Select Special Kobe Filet at the Kobe Renga-tei Steak Restaurant, Kobe, $246 for 160 grams (5.6-oz.)
• Australian Wagyu Striploin at the Al Muntaha restaurant, Burj Al Arab Hotel, Dubai, $169 300 gm
• Japanese Wagyu Rib Eye at Wolfgang Puck's CUT at the Beverly Wilshire, Beverly Hills , $160, eight-ounce filet
• "Wagyu no sumibiyaki" at Zuma, London, $132 (no size indicated)
• Sendai Sirloin at the Ekki Bar & Grill, Four Seasons Hotel Tokyo at Marunouchi The Price: $129 for 150g
• Australian Wagyu Fillet Mignon at the Polo Club, Marriott Royal Aurora, Moscow, $101 for 12-oz.
• Smoked Salt American Kobe Rib Eye Cap Steak at BLT Prime, New York, $95 (no size indicated)

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