Edition: U.S. / Global

On the Menu, Steak Bucks Trend

Published: January 25, 1993

The general manager was proud to report that Dan Quayle had once eaten in his restaurant, and so had George Bush as Vice President. Senator Alfonse M. D'Amato of New York, he said, was a regular, and these days so is James Carville, the Clinton campaign strategist.

John Norris wasn't necessarily name-dropping. Morton's steak restaurant in Georgetown has been a magnet for years to Washington's leading political figures.

But when Richard L. Willey of tiny Hurlock, Md., turned up, negotiating one of those 16-ounce rib eyes, as he did the other night, it appeared to be news of, well, man-bites-steak variety. Mr. Willey is a vice president of the Perdue company.

"It was not something I do on a regular basis," said Mr. Willey, who eats his share of chicken, of course. "But when I'm in Washington or Chicago or New York, and I want to treat myself, I'll go for a steak. It's the flavor. I still enjoy the flavor." He's Not the Only One

As it turns out, Mr. Willey is hardly the anomaly he seems. He and the three friends who dined with him are part of a growing culture in the United States, people eating expensive steaks despite a sluggish economy and continued warnings by health officials to reduce the intake of foods high in cholesterol, like red meat.

If anything, as hard times have forced more families to eat less meat at home, a steak dinner out has become more of a special occasion.

As a result, restaurants that specialize in steak, like Morton's, have bucked the larger trends of stagnant growth in the restaurant industry and the steady decline of beef consumption in the United States for more than 15 years.

For instance, since it bought Morton's in 1989, the Quantum Restaurant Group Inc., has doubled the number of units, to 20, and the gross revenues, to $42.7 million. Quantum's president, Allen J. Bernstein, whose plan is to position Morton's as "the Tiffany and Four Seasons of steak restaurants," said the company planned to open nine more restaurants this year to generate revenues he projected would reach $65.7 million by year-end. Steak Sales Hold Up

While gross sales of traditional eating places, defined as all but fast-food outlets, have increased by no more than 1.5 percent in any of the last five years, according to Technomic Inc., a restaurant industry consulting firm, steak sales have remained healthy.

The trend seems especially true for steak restaurants with moderate-to-expensive prices, where steak meals can account for as much as 85 percent of all entrees, as they do at Ruth's Chris restaurants.

Ralph Giardina, president of Ruth's Chris, said that sales last year increased in all but 2 of its 34 units, with an overall growth of 8 percent in gross sales last year. In Beverly Hills, "the health capital of the world," as Mr. Giardina called it, Ruth's Chris increased gross sales by 15 percent in 1992 over 1990. A fire had closed the restaurant for three months in 1991.

In other signs of steak-restaurant strength, Amy Rubenstein, the treasurer of the venerable Peter Luger Steak House, a high-end restaurant in Brooklyn, said she had detected "no downturn" from the industry boom years of the 1980's. "We're almost at capacity all the time," she said.

Also, Outback Restaurants, a chain of moderately priced steak houses with a sort of Crocodile Dundee motif, opened its first restaurant five years ago in Tampa and now operates 86. "We anticipate opening our 100th restaurant this year," said Bob Basham, the company president. Victims of Whims

Dangers lurk, however. Growth and expansion can saturate any market, and restaurants are especially vulnerable to the whims of fashion and change. Ten years ago, low-end steak outlets like Bonanza and Ponderosa were immensely popular and so was steak on the menus of many family-style restaurants. More recently, seafood restaurants were in favor. Then tastes changed.

"To respond, family restaurants began revamping their menus to reemphasize meat as consumer eating habits shifted," said Ron Paul, an analyst with Technomic. "There was a time Red Lobster was going gangbusters. Now, seafood restaurants are not doing so well. There is a cycle, and consumers will always seek variety."

For now, a juicy steak is hot, and the rationale is hardly a surprise, said Dr. Lionel Tiger, a professor of anthropology at Rutgers University who specializes in the evolution of human behavior and fails to see why the pattern of growth should not continue.

Citing "the importance of meat in human dietary evolution," he said habits developed more than 10,000 years ago were genetic and sociological reasons that humans crave red meat. He sees little difference between a cave man sharing food with his tribe after a successful hunt and a modern wedding party, where steak tartare might be served.

"It provides us an opportunity for celebration," Dr. Tiger said of meat eating. "That's one of the things we really like as a species. In our culture, having meat is a sign we're doing well. Even though it's not supposed to be good for us, we seek more and more public certification for how good our lives are, and one way, is to go to a steak house." Recalling Family Dinners