国民经济的“牛排餐厅指数”

    若要评估纽约引人注目的经济复苏，有一大堆的数据和事件可以作为参考，比如曼哈顿超市价格的上升图表，再比如外国游客蜂拥挤进地铁7号线观看美网公开赛。在此，我们推荐一项更生动的、被称为“牛排馆指数”的指标。一起来看看那些提供美味而昂贵的成熟牛肉和菠菜奶油沙司的供应商，在经济危机爆发后这五年是怎么过的。

    笔者的调查更侧重于对餐厅经营状况的感性认识，而不是科学分析。这份调查包括八月底在市中心三家著名的牛排餐厅观察人流量、感受经营氛围，同时也包括采访牛排餐厅店主和领班。美国人气最高的牛排餐厅中，排行最前的包括：德尔•弗里斯科的双鹰牛排馆（Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steak House），它是洛克菲勒中心（Rockefeller Center）里的金融大鳄的顶级去处；纽约波特牛排馆（Porter House New York），它是为哥伦比亚商圈（Columbus Circle）时代华纳中心（Time Warner Center）的企业精英们服务的社区餐厅；以及史密斯•沃伦斯基牛排馆（Smith & Wollensky），这是一栋位于第三大道广告业汇集处的白绿相间的格状建筑，是上世纪末的一处传统堡垒。

    三家牛排餐厅的经理和店主都承认，眼下的生意还是没有恢复到2005年左右的巅峰期，而且恐怕再也无法达到那个高度。德尔•弗里斯科餐饮集团（Del Frisco's Restaurant Group）的地区经理斯科特•古尔德说：“我们看到各公司推出了许多举措限制支出，以期重返全盛时代。”尽管如此，在这些地标性的餐厅，食客们的花费开始了金融危机后的强劲反弹——至少已经反弹了一半——与鼎盛期相比，市中心如今更多了几家牛排餐厅，但这些大牌餐厅的生意依旧蒸蒸日上。

    生意重新红火，原因有二。其一，大型银行、广告代理商和律师事务所终于明智地再次松开了他们娱乐消费的钱包。其二，受到美元走弱的诱惑，富裕的国外游客蜂拥而至。在周末和深夜体验了夜晚的百老汇音乐剧之后，他们让餐馆座无虚席。

    在曼哈顿的商业人士看来，牛排既可以作为招待客人用的主食，也可以作为充满活力的早餐。游客长期以来都将棕榈餐厅（Palm）或者史密斯•沃伦斯基牛排馆视为不可错过的用餐目的地。但是在泡沫经济的年代，这种奢侈埋葬了一切传统。古尔德回忆说：“成群结队的投资银行家会点上好些苏打水、开胃小菜，还有250美元一瓶的波尔多葡萄酒。”皇家奥斯特拉鱼子酱（Royal Ossetra caviar）从德尔•弗里斯科牛排馆的菜单上消失了。纽约第四面墙餐厅（Fourth Wall Restaurants）的董事长、史密斯•沃伦斯基牛排馆的经理迈克尔•斯蒂尔曼惊叹道：“那个时候，放眼望去，都是大型海贝、巨型石蟹和超大号牛排。” 

    To gauge the striking revival in the Big Apple's economy, you could pick from a wide variety of statistics or symbols, from the ascending graph of Manhattan coop prices to the throngs of foreign tourists packing the 7 subway line to the U.S. Open. We modestly suggest a more telling barometer: what we'll call "The Steakhouse Index." That's our take on how those great, extremely pricey, expense-account-sensitive purveyors of prime aged beef and creamed spinach are faring a half-decade after the onset of the financial crisis.

    This writer's survey is more atmospheric than scientific, as it consists of witnessing the traffic and ambience while dining in late August at three renowned Midtown steakhouses and interviewing their owners and maître d's. The institutions, ranking among the top-grossing restaurants in America, are Del Frisco's (DFRG) Double Eagle Steak House, the ultimate hangout for financial power-players across from Rockefeller Center; Porter House New York, a virtual neighborhood canteen for the corporate elite in the Time Warner Center at Columbus Circle; and Smith & Wollensky, a bastion of tradition in a turn-of-the-last-century, white-and-green lattice home at the nexus of the ad industry on Third Avenue.

    The managers and owners of all three steakhouses agree that business still hasn't returned to the heady levels of the mid-2000s and perhaps never will. "We've just seen too many controls on spending by companies to get back to the heyday," says Scott Gould, regional manager for Del Frisco's Restaurant Group. Still, the spending at these culinary landmarks has rebounded strongly since the financial crisis -- retracing at least half the distance from the bottom -- and they're thriving even though Midtown now supports several more steakhouses than during the boom times.

    The sizzle is back for two reasons. First, big banks, ad agencies, and law firms are finally, though judiciously, re-loosening their wallets for entertaining. Second, hordes of affluent foreign tourists, lured by the weak dollar, are filling tables on weekends and late at night following an evening at a Broadway show.

    Among Manhattan business folk, the steak dinner is as much a staple for entertaining clients as the power breakfast. And tourists have long prized a visit to the Palm or Smith & Wollensky as a must-dine experience. But in the bubble years, the extravagance buried all tradition. "Groups of four investment bankers would order five bottles of sparkling water, and six appetizers, along with $250 bottles of Bordeaux," recalls Gould. Servings of Del Frisco's Royal Ossetra caviar flew off the menu. "It was a time for huge shellfish bouquets, colossal stone crab claws, and oversized steaks," marvels Michael Stillman, president of Fourth Wall Restaurants, manager of Smith & Wollensky.