A Song of Meat and Fire
Many factors contribute to a flawless steak: farming practices, cut, cooking method, seasoning, and the badass chef who makes it all possible.
photos: Jaclyn Warren
Chef Anastacia Song leads the kitchen at both locations of New York City steakhouse, American Cut, with passion and ease.
After Song worked her way up to chef de cuisine at Jersey City’s Porta, she returned to New York City to work at Martha in Brooklyn, followed by Phil & Anne’s Good Time Lounge, and Treehaus. Now, as the executive chef for LDV Hospitality’s American Cut, Song has found her two true loves: leadership and a damn good steak. American Cut’s menu features steakhouse classics, from filet mignon to foie gras. Although it’s easy to go with what’s familiar, one would be remiss not to order the Washugyu steak, a rare, specialty crossbreed of Wagyu and Black Angus.
The intense, intricate marbling makes for a superlatively juicy, tender cut of beef. “Marbling comes from the activity the animal has,” says Song, or inactivity. “A well-marbled piece of beef will come from a meat that’s chillin’.” And we’re not talking refrigeration. The Washugyu bovine sit back and relax on Oregon’s wide open Lindsay Ranch, eating a clean, 100 percent vegetarian, hormone-free diet. This is all thanks to Washugyu’s caring managers, Super Prime Beef, who uniquely carry out every aspect of production—raising and feeding cattle, fabrication of beef cuts, product management, and restaurant sales—with distinct specifications and expectations of quality.
“Happy cows make for a happy steak,” says Song. “[Washugyu] always has a good bite to it, it always is soft and tender, and it maintains its integrity.” The Washugyu has the distinct, true flavor of beef. All it really needs is a nice char from a double broiler, butter, aromatics, and salt.
Song serves a Washuyu deckle special. The deckle, coming from the cap of the ribeye, is topped with charred shallots, sautéed mushrooms, Maître d'Hôtel Butter, uni, and white truffle shaved tableside. Song’s Sous Chef Miguel Diaz shows off the Washugyu’s eye of round, gloriously plated with enoki mushrooms and roasted vegetables. Song recognizes her sous team as her family and her greatest mentors, allowing them to create dishes and take the reins of the kitchen during her absence. With every cut of beef, Anastacia Song is championing every last chef standing in front of the hot double broiler.
