The Surprising Reason This $1,000 Steak Is Served In A Briefcase
If you've ever seen a television cooking competition like "MasterChef" or "Top Chef," you are well aware that presentation truly counts in professional cooking. Any fan of chef Nick DiGiovanni, for example, may remember his performance in a finale episode of "MasterChef," in which he created a college-themed meal complete with sea bass served on a book (via Delish).
Diners can also experience over-the-top plating in real life. Currently, one Miami, Florida, restaurant is working on wowing customers in a big way, serving a $1,000 steak in an ice-filled, gold-lined briefcase. According to the Miami New Times, Papi Steak is presenting a "massive slab" of bone-in Australian Wagyu in a "beef case" before running it back to the kitchen for cooking. That's not the extent of the show. The tomahawk steak is brought to the table by singing and dancing servers wearing white gloves, who brand the meat with a sizzling iron showcasing the Papi Steak name. Meanwhile, a special song plays for the whole restaurant to hear.
Why did Papi Steak choose a briefcase, specifically?
So where did this insanely elaborate briefcase showcase come from? According to the Miami New Times, Papi Steak has a reputation for being "uber-luxurious," with co-founder David "Papi" Einhorn prioritizing wow-worthy ambiance just as much as the food in hopes of the restaurant making a buzz on social media. With the exorbitantly priced beef case, Einhorn nods to fans of the cult classic film, "Pulp Fiction."
For those unfamiliar, there is a famous "Pulp Fiction" scene in which the characters portrayed by Samuel L. Jackson and John Travolta exchange something in a briefcase, but what's inside is never actually revealed. "Nobody actually knows what's in the briefcase. That's where I came up with the idea that what's in the briefcase was a Papi Steak all along," Einhorn told WSVN. And while we have our doubts that the real "Pulp Fiction" briefcase contained a $1,000 steak, it's hard to imagine that anyone would be displeased to find such tasty contents.