SAY CHEESE – AND IT’LL COST YA $275
Foodies shrug, shell out for luxe sandwich
The Old Homestead Steakhouse is serving up decadent twists on classic sandwiches — and some of them cost as much as a plane ticket to Mexico.
For a whopping $275, foodies in the know can savor a grilled cheese sandwich featuring imported prized Japanese Wagyu. The Old Homestead’s version of the old classic also uses three different cheeses including white cheddar, beer cheese and creamy fontina and is served on a hearty white bread. The exquisite beef — which can only be bought at auction — is what drives up the price of the usually simple sandwich.
The sandwiches were rolled out as off-menu items in honor of sandwich month, which lasts through August.
“PB&J, grilled cheese, BLT — they are institutions unto themselves in American sandwich lore. We took these classic, traditional, sandwich-hall-of-fame sandwiches to the next level of epicureanism,” steakhouse co-owner Marc Sherry said. “This is the most decadent peanut butter and jelly sandwich and savory grilled cheese that your palate will ever indulge.”
Other offerings include an $89 peanut butter and jelly sandwich, a $150 bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich, a $225 pastrami sandwich and a $250 Philly cheesesteak.
The sandwiches are anything but ordinary — as their prices indicate.
“It’s not exactly a product someone is going to make at home too easily,” said coowner Greg Sherry — Marc’s brother — who travels to Japan regularly to purchase the Wagyu at auction.
“We are the only restaurant outside of Japan that’s allowed to export it, and it’s only available at special auctions,” he told the Daily News.
The restaurant’s owners and chefs said the sandwiches began as an experiing ment. “We said, ‘Let’s combine some Wagyu with some oldies like peanut butter and jelly, and grilled American cheese,’ and we played with it and it was really out of this world,” Greg Sherry said.
They never intended for the sandwiches to become regular menu items.
“We were just having fun with it, and friends came in, and we’d send them over samples. They liked it, and the next thing we knew, a guy came in and asked for a sandwich. And we said, ‘It’s not on the menu.’ ”
Now, the restaurant requires indulgent guests call at least 24 hours in advance to make a reservation and pay for their sandwich.
The extravagant sandwiches, which include a BLT that’s layered with the usual ingredients plus Wagyu, buck a healthier eating trend.
But a spokesman for the Meatpacking District restaurant insists the bountiful sandwich is not as cholesterol-laden as it seems.
“Everyone thinks that eat- ing this Japanese beef with bacon has got to be cholesterol city. But the reality is the cattle from the prized Wagyu beef are pampered, they are treated like royalty. They are fed organic grains and are raised all-naturally. So their fat is distributed evenly throughout their body, and it’s actually good fat because of what they eat,” said Steve Mangione.
As for the price point, the brothers equate it to buying an expensive bottle of wine. “It’s something you do once in your life,” Greg Sherry said.
While many may balk at the exorbitant cost of the sandwiches, the owners said theirs customers are unfazed by the price.
Greg Sherry remembered when, decades ago, he first started selling $125 steaks.
“The entire waitstaff said you are out of your mind. But The New York Times came and reviewed them, and then every celebrity came in to buy one. Now the steak costs $350, and we still sell out of it,” he said.