????2008年末，無節(jié)制的狂歡停止了。斯蒂爾曼說：“事情發(fā)生得真突然，幾個月的工夫，營業(yè)額就減少了約20%。”在德爾?弗里斯科牛排館，減少的并不是顧客，而是他們的支出。古爾德說：“差異體現(xiàn)在高端奢侈品的消費(fèi)量上。顧客開始喝白開水，而不是一瓶瓶蘇打水；他們點(diǎn)的小菜數(shù)量也減少了，原來點(diǎn)五個的，現(xiàn)在就點(diǎn)三個。”很顯然，各公司都開始厲行節(jié)約，嚴(yán)格限制了員工的餐費(fèi)報銷金額。而對德爾?弗里斯科牛排館來說，困擾各大銀行的問題對他們的生意并沒有太糟糕的影響，因為處理銀行監(jiān)管問題的律師事務(wù)所在紐約客牛排和上海酥炸魷魚上的花費(fèi)開始前所未有的大方。

????2006年末，也就是這場狂歡達(dá)到頂峰時，波特牛排館開業(yè)了。餐廳的行政總廚、任事股東邁克爾?洛摩納科說：“顧客可以從我們位于中央公園西大道15號的巨大窗戶往外眺望，這是世界上在建的最昂貴的住宅之一。新的主人將會搬進(jìn)來，慶祝它的落成。”然后，世界改變了，菜單也改變了。牛排館本來出售大量昂貴的紅葡萄酒。而洛摩納科說，不景氣的時期，“我們盡力找到葡萄酒內(nèi)蘊(yùn)含的更多價值。”他以遠(yuǎn)低于傳統(tǒng)波爾多葡萄酒的價格引進(jìn)了一系列阿根廷、西班牙和意大利的產(chǎn)品。他說：“馬貝克（Malbec）成了當(dāng)時最受歡迎的葡萄酒。”波特牛排館甚至通過推出物美價廉的烤腹肉牛排和無骨牛肉條，吸引了精打細(xì)算的新顧客。

????在史密斯?沃倫斯基牛排館，斯蒂爾曼最大的擔(dān)憂是整個餐廳的歡樂氛圍，這一吸引力已經(jīng)消失無蹤。他說：“我們不是一家健康食品餐廳。人們來這里是為了小小慶祝一番，比如達(dá)成交易之類。”他指的是牛排餐廳的活力，用意大利屬于說就是“abbondanza”，意思是豐盛、奢侈。斯蒂爾曼接著說：“牛排餐廳的一些傳統(tǒng)受到了影響。人們在其中已經(jīng)感受不到舒適。由于經(jīng)濟(jì)問題，他們培養(yǎng)了新的禮節(jié)意識。用餐是為了放松，而放松讓人感到不舒服。這減弱了傳統(tǒng)牛排餐廳無所顧忌的氛圍。”

????如今，這種活力回來了。在最近一個周二的晚上六點(diǎn)半，德爾?弗里斯科牛排館店鋪爆滿，顧客大部分都西裝革履，顯然餐費(fèi)可以報銷。古爾德注意到，盡管公司顧客的消費(fèi)量仍未達(dá)到巔峰時期，附近賓館的游客卻在周末和百老匯演出結(jié)束后擠滿了這里。

????在波特牛排館的顧客中，招待客戶的商業(yè)人士減少了，住在附近的富人增加了。去年年末的一個晚上，筆者在一群杰出人士中看到了高盛投資公司（Goldman Sachs）的總裁勞埃德?布萊克芬、花旗集團(tuán)（Citigroup）前董事長迪克?帕爾森，巴克萊銀行（Barclays）前任CEO鮑勃?戴爾蒙德和政治權(quán)威人士迪克?莫里斯。任事股東洛摩納科說：“2012年的第四季度，營業(yè)額確實(shí)有所增加。現(xiàn)在比起低谷期，漲幅已經(jīng)達(dá)到兩位數(shù)。”前往時代華納中心四層購物的外國游客發(fā)現(xiàn)了波特牛排館，毫不猶豫地進(jìn)來坐坐。運(yùn)營總監(jiān)安東尼?馬達(dá)赫表示：“我從來沒見過這么多外國顧客，尤其是來自巴西和阿根廷的牛排愛好者。”羅曼納克甚至在菜單中取消了廉價的烤腹肉牛排，另增了一款53美元的無骨紐約客牛排。

????斯蒂爾曼表示，史密斯?沃倫斯基牛排館開始更多地為私募股權(quán)公司和最近落戶市中心的科技公司舉辦公司聚會，聚會人群是這些公司的三十多歲、事業(yè)有成的員工。而個人客戶的消費(fèi)也遠(yuǎn)比三年前多——這是人們對牛排餐廳持久魅力的致敬。他說：“這些食客更有經(jīng)驗，他們會問牛排的年齡，想了解高端的西班牙葡萄酒和俄勒岡州的葡萄酒。他們更懂得如何花錢，想知道我們是否使用了當(dāng)?shù)氐脑稀！彼f，這與人們曾滿足于分享一小份凱撒沙拉時那種旋風(fēng)般的感覺不盡相同。

????那古老的牛排餐廳精神，和在餐廳里的大部分開支，已經(jīng)重新歸來。牛排餐廳的生意興隆，意味著紐約已經(jīng)回到了從前。而如果紐約回到了從前，那么對于美國這個酷愛牛排和土豆的整個國度而言想必是一件值得慶幸的事情。（財富中文網(wǎng)）

????譯者：嚴(yán)匡正

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????In late 2008, the unbridled revelry stopped. "It happened really quickly, over a couple of months, and business dropped around 20%," says Stillman. At Del Frisco's, it wasn't that the number of customers dropped, it was what they spent. "The difference was in the drop in orders for high-end luxury items," recalls Gould. "Diners would get glasses of water instead of bottles, and three appetizers instead of five." It was clear that companies were getting frugal, imposing tight limits on what they'd pay for each person for an expense-account dinner. For Del Frisco's, the problems plaguing the banks weren't entirely bad for business, since the law firms handling their new regulatory problems started spending more freely than ever on its prime strip steaks and crispy Shanghai calamari.

????Porter House opened at the height of the party, in late 2006. "Diners would be looking out through our big windows at 15 Central Park West, one of the world's most expensive residences, being built. The new owners would come in to celebrate the closings," says Michael Lomonaco, the restaurant's executive chef and managing partner. Then, the world changed, and so did the menu. Steakhouses sell lots of expensive red wines. In the downturn, says Lomonaco, "we dug deep to find more value in wines." He introduced an array of Argentinian, Spanish, and Italian offerings at far lower prices than the traditional Bordeaux. "Malbec became the grape of the day," he says. Porter House even appealed to newly budget-conscious patrons by adding tasty-but-plebian hanger steak and skirt steak to the menu.

????At Smith & Wollensky, Stillman's biggest worry was that the whole celebratory appeal of the steakhouse experience had disappeared. "We're not a health food restaurant," he says, "people come in for small celebrations, like closing deals." He refers to the steakhouse élan with the Italian term "abbondanza," for abundance or extravagance. "Part of steakhouse lore took a hit," Stillman continues. "People felt uncomfortable indulging, they had a new sense of propriety because of troubles in the economy. It's a meal to let loose, and letting loose felt uncomfortable. That takes the edge off the classic steakhouse devil-may-care atmosphere."

????Today, the élan is back. At 6:30 on a recent Tuesday evening at Del Frisco's, the place was packed, with most diners in suits and ties, and surely on expense accounts. Gould notes that though business clients still aren't spending as much per person as at the peak, the tourists from nearby hotels fill the tables on weekends and after Broadway performances.

????At Porter House, the clientele is less business folk entertaining clients and more the affluent who live nearby. On an evening there late last year, this writer spotted Goldman Sachs (GS) chief Lloyd Blankfein, former Citigroup (C) chairman Dick Parsons, ex-Barclays (BCS) CEO Bob Diamond, and political pundit Dick Morris circulating among fellow luminaries. "Business really picked up in the fourth quarter of 2012," says Lomonaco. "It was a double-digit improvement over the bottom." Foreign visitors who shop their way to the Time Warner Center's fourth floor discover the Porter House and walk in sans reservations. "I've never seen this level of foreign diners, especially steak lovers from Brazil and Argentina," says Director of Operations Anthony Mardach. Lomonaco has even dropped the bargain hanger steak and added a $53 boneless strip.

????Stillman says Smith & Wollensky is holding more corporate parties for the thirtysomething set who work for private equity firms and tech companies that recently arrived in Midtown. And individual diners are spending a lot more than three years ago -- a tribute to the durability of steakhouse allure. "They're more sophisticated diners," he says. "They want to know about how long the steaks have been aged. They want to know about high-end Spanish wines, and wines from Oregon. They're a lot more savvy about how they spend their money. They want to know whether we're using local ingredients." It wasn't the same sense of whirlwind, shared experience when folks were settling for a small Caesar salad, he says.

????That old steakhouse spirit, and most of the spending, is back. The steakhouse splurge means New York is back. And if the Big Apple is back, well, that's got to be good for the whole steak-and-potatoes country.