High Steaks

International foodie message boards like eGullet.com are great repositories of culinary information, and according to co-founder Steven Shaw, Philadelphia has soared in the past five years from the 10th most active city on the site to third, just behind New York and Vancouver and ahead of Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco. But the boards are also home to a refined posturing. Witness the poster Vadouvan’s cultured takedown of one “Mr. Gordon,” who — ha! ha! — laughably lifted a forkful of cabrales cheese and foie gras to his lips.

“And to you Mr. Gordon,” writes Vadouvan, “YES, foie gras does not work with cabrales cheese, let alone with the addition of filet mignon which generally has no flavor in any restaurant.”    

The atmosphere in Philadelphia might be a little food-crazy at the moment. In fact, the current moderator of the Pennsylvania eGullet forum — dominated by Philadelphians — will soon relinquish that job. “Issuing infractions and keeping posters to the topic rather than ‘so’s your mama’ talk takes too much time,” says Katie Loeb.  

Food — it’s Philadelphia’s new contact sport. And Chops v. LaBan is the main event. The lawsuit has garnered press in the New York Times and dozens of American newspapers, on CNN and drive-time New York radio, even in New Zealand. It has burned up local foodie message boards and blogs. In most accounts, the restaurateur gets his ass handed to him — Alex Plotkin as human rump roast. In point of fact, however, he is just a man, like many Philadelphians, who really cares about his meat.

AS RESTAURANTS GO, Chops is distinguished from the average ominously dark, wood-paneled steakhouse by towering windows that dominate the room. Like its owner, who dresses in fine suits but smiles like a schoolboy, the restaurant is serious without being stuffy.

Leaning over a raw side of beef in his dining room, Plotkin says receipts are pretty much back to normal after a short dip. He could just walk away from the LaBan suit, no lasting economic harm done. In fact, looking around his restaurant on a crowded Thursday night, Plotkin could tout Chops as testament to the limits of LaBan’s much ballyhooed power. For him, however, the suit isn’t about money. “I think he should be accurate about what he ate,” says Plotkin.

Perhaps not surprisingly, Plotkin’s meat purveyors consider him one of their most intense customers. “Only a few restaurants buy prime beef,” says Bernard Loke, of Ashley Foods. “Chops is one of them, and Alex is as particular about what he receives as anybody.”

“He’s fanatical,” says Bruce Milstein, of U.S. Foodservice. “And I mean that as a compliment.”

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