There’s no eatery more emblematic of Broadway and the New York theater world than Sardi’s on West 44th Street. An institution since 1921, this restaurant is a favorite of actors, playwrights, producers, and directors. Its famed walls are lined with framed caricatures of every big name, and a few lesser lights, whose talents have graced the Great White Way over the decades.
When actress Shirley Booth came to Sardi’s after her debut in Come Back, Little Sheba in 1950, she inspired a spontaneous standing ovation. Thus began the tradition of opening night parties at Sardi’s, a tradition that continues to this day.
“During a typical dinner at Sardi’s you are likely to have canapés with Marlene Dietrich, soup with Ethel Merman, your meat served next to Rex Harrison and salad elbow-rubbed by Marilyn Monroe,” wrote Broadway great Victor Borge in the foreword to Curtain Up at Sardi’s (Random House, 1957), a cookbook co-authored by Vincent Sardi, Jr. (the son of the founder) and Helen Bryson. “East or west of the Hudson River, Sardi’s is always the most interesting place in Manhattan, Monday’s through Sardi’s!”
When Bobbi Barrett, the wife and tough-minded business manager of comedian Jimmy Barrett, sells a pilot of a TV show starring her husband, she calls Don Draper to join her for a celebratory dinner. Jimmy happens to be pitchman for Sterling Cooper client Utz Potato Chips, and Bobbi and Don have recently started an affair.
“Where are you?” asks Don.
“I’m at Sardi’s, surrounded by clowns,” she replies, though the one clown missing in action this evening is her husband.
The lights are low as Don joins Bobbi at her table. She’s already sipping a martini and, knowing Don’s drink of choice, bids the waiter to bring him an Old Fashioned. When she says to Don, “So, what do I want?” he doesn’t hesitate: steak tartare. This Sardi’s classic has been around since at least the 1940s, and is still prepared tableside today just as it was half a century ago. Sardi’s graciously provided its original steak tartare recipe expressly for The Unofficial Mad Men Cookbook.
SARDI’S ON WEST 44TH STREET IN 1965
Tableside preparation was, and remains, a sign of class, elegance, and French-inspired sophistication. The servers at today’s Sardi’s will prepare the ground beef concoction with your choice of anchovies, pasteurized eggs, capers, and chopped onions for $29.50, about half a week’s wage for the typical Sterling Cooper copywriter back in 1961.
COURTESY OF SARDI’S RESTAURANT, NEW YORK, NEW YORK
NOTE: All ingredients should be cold before you begin.
2 tablespoons capers
2 tablespoons red onions, finely chopped
11⁄2 tablespoons anchovy paste
1 tablespoon English mustard
1 teaspoon pasteurized egg yolk
Fresh cracked black pepper, to taste
1 teaspoon olive oil
5 dashes Tabasco Sauce (mild)
21⁄2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
8 ounces steak (5 ounces sirloin steak and 3 ounces filet mignon, finely ground)
Salt, to taste
2 slices black bread, toasted (optional)
1 tablespoon egg yolk from a hard-boiled egg (finely chopped), for garnish
YIELD: 1 SERVING
