Smoke, fire, and the unmistakable sizzle of steak took over Industry City in Brooklyn on Thursday, September 10, as some of New York’s top chefs fired up their grills for DiningOut New York’s inaugural RARE Steak Championship presented by Buckhead Meat & Seafood and Snake River Farms.
The nationally touring steak competition made its New York City debut with more than 25 restaurants and a crowd ready to eat their way through it all. Part culinary showdown, part sprawling food festival, RARE transformed the historic Brooklyn complex into a lively maze of grills, restaurant tents, signature cocktails, and DJs, with chefs turning out a seemingly endless stream of steak throughout the evening.
The event also marked a milestone for DiningOut’s growing presence in New York. Earlier this year, DiningOut launched its New York City digital publication, expanding its restaurant coverage to one of the country’s largest and most influential dining markets. The site spotlights the people and places shaping the city’s food scene through restaurant news, dining guides, chef profiles, features, and more. Bringing RARE to Brooklyn took that coverage beyond the screen, gathering many of the chefs, bartenders, restaurants, and diners who make up New York’s restaurant community in one place.
For the New York competition, there was plenty of beef to go around—and chefs weren’t all working with the same steak. Snake River Farms supplied five different cuts for the competition: eye of ribeye, flat irons, striploin, sirloin flap, and boneless short ribs. The range gave participating chefs markedly different starting points, from steakhouse favorites to cuts that invited a little more experimentation.
Known for its American Wagyu beef, Snake River Farms raises cattle descended from Japanese Wagyu crossed with high-quality American breeds, resulting in beef prized for its rich marbling, tenderness, and depth of flavor. That quality was particularly noticeable in a competition setting, where chefs could take dramatically different approaches while still starting with beef built to stand up to high heat, hard sears, and bold accompaniments. Whether a cut was simply seasoned and grilled or incorporated into a more elaborate dish, the meat remained at the heart of the tasting.
Among the participating restaurants were STK, Mastro’s, Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steakhouse, Vinyl Steakhouse, Raval Steakhouse, Tallow Steakhouse, Togyushi, and more, each putting its own stamp on the beef for the crowds moving through Industry City.
Throughout the evening, those cuts emerged from the grills in dramatically different forms. Some chefs leaned into aggressive char and simple seasoning, while others reached for marinades, sauces, garnishes, and more elaborate presentations. The result showcased not only the quality and versatility of the beef, but just how differently more than two dozen New York kitchens could approach the same handful of cuts.
The main competition was divided into two steak categories. Best Traditional rewarded chefs for letting the beef take center stage, while Best Creative opened the door to more unexpected interpretations. Restaurants and beverage professionals also competed for Best Cocktail, partnering with dedicated spirit brands to create signature drinks that were judged alongside the food.
VIP guests, meanwhile, got a bit of surf with all that turf. Surf, a separate seafood competition held alongside the main event, gave VIP ticketholders another round of dishes to taste and judge. Chefs from restaurants including Frying Pan, Zaab Zaab, Wokuni, and others traded beef for seafood, showcasing their own interpretations of the sea. The competition offered a welcome counterpoint to the abundance of steak—and gave guests even more ground to cover before the night was through.
Once the main event was underway, all guests had an important task of their own: sampling their way through the participating restaurants before casting votes for the People’s Choice awards. A panel of local hospitality professionals took on the considerably tougher job of determining the Critics’ Choice winners.
It was a lot of steak, plenty of competition, and a fitting introduction to RARE for a city that knows a thing or two about steakhouses. By the end of the night, the grills had cooled, the votes had been counted, and New York’s first RARE Steak Championship had officially crowned its champions.
Here are the winners of the 2026 RARE Steak Championship New York:
COCKTAIL
People’s Choice
1st Place: STK and Electrico Mezcal
2nd Place: Raval Steakhouse and Fort Hamilton Distillery
3rd Place: Le Rivage and Staple Gin
Critic’s Choice
1st Place: One Rare Italian Steakhouse and Still G.I.N.
2nd Place: Tallow Steakhouse and Baby Jane
3rd Place: Raval Steakhouse and Fort Hamilton Distillery
VIP SURF SEAFOOD
People’s Choice
1st Place: Mission Ceviche, Spanish octopus and shrimp ceviche
2nd Place: Frying Pan, Connecticut and Maine-style lobster rolls
3rd Place: Zaab Zaab, Hokkaido scallop with “nam jim” Thai chili and kaffir lime
Critic’s Choice
1st Place: Point Seven Seafood, seared Hokkaido scallops with sweet corn, heirloom tomatoes and chanterelles
2nd Place: Zaab Zaab, Hokkaido scallop with “nam jim” Thai chili and kaffir lime
3rd Place: Wokuni, tuna
STEAK: CREATIVE
People’s Choice
1st Place: Vinyl Steakhouse, Snake River Farms Cajun ribeye and bone marrow corn
2nd Place: Papa San, Snake River Farms Wagyu short ribs with yuzu bearnaise
3rd Place: Mastro’s, Mastro’s steak rub braised Snake River Farms short rib with coconut mango salsa on garlic rosemary-toasted flour tortilla
Judge’s Choice
1st Place: Papa San, Snake River Farms Wagyu short ribs with yuzu bearnaise
2nd Place: One Rare Italian Steakhouse, Snake River Farms Cajun ribeye with chimichurri and gruyere mashed potatoes
3rd Place: Vinyl Steakhouse, Snake River Farms Cajun ribeye and bone marrow corn
STEAK: TRADITIONAL
People’s Choice
1st Place: STK, Snake River Farms bone marrow Wagyu “burnt ends”
2nd Place: Reserve Cut, Moroccan kefta tartlet and harissa mayonnaise
3rd Place: Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steakhouse, toasted crostini with black truffle cream spinach topped with a slice of Snake River Farms NY strip
Critic’s Choice
1st Place: Raval Steakhouse, Snake River Farm Cajun ribeye with German potato salad
2nd Place: Forge, Snake River Farms striploin flap, bone marrow gremolata with farro Piccolo
3rd Place: STK, Snake River Farms bone marrow Wagyu “burnt ends”
