TEXAS — The beef over a proposed name change to a cut of short loin steak is heating up.

What You Need To Know

  • Todd Shapiro, owner of the War Room Tavern in Albany, New York, is entering a legal battle with Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick over Patrick's comments proposing the New York strip steak be called the Texas strip steak

  • Shapiro told the New York Times that his lawyers have sent a cease-and-desist letter to Patrick to begin the process of bringing forward a lawsuit

  • Last month, Patrick floated the idea of renaming the iconic cut of meat in a post on X. The lieutenant governor argued Texas has the most cattle in the U.S. and, therefore, should have the rights to name the beef

  • And it doesn’t look like a cease-and-desist letter is stopping Patrick. He doubled down on the name change with a post on X, which included a photo and video of him dining at Bob’s Steak & Chop House where he ordered a “Texas Strip”

Todd Shapiro, owner of the War Room Tavern in Albany, New York, is entering a legal battle with Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick over Patrick's comments proposing the New York strip steak be called the Texas strip steak. 

Shapiro told the New York Times that his lawyers have sent a cease-and-desist letter to Patrick to begin the process of bringing forward a lawsuit, which alleges that changing the name of the cut of meat would bring economic harm to restaurateurs. The Times noted Shapiro is not only the owner of the restaurant but is also a publicist and is close to former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and New York City Mayor Eric Adams. 

Last month, Patrick floated the idea of renaming the iconic cut of meat in a post on X. The lieutenant governor argued Texas has the most cattle in the U.S. and, therefore, should have the rights to name the beef.

“Just because a New York restaurant named Texas beef a New York Strip in the 19th century doesn’t mean we need to keep doing that,” Patrick said. 

The restaurant Patrick is referring to is Delmonico’s in Lower Manhattan, which opened back in 1827 and offered a cut of short loin called a “Delmonico steak.” From there, it became the New York strip steak, but it’s also sometimes known as the Kansas City steak, ambassador steak and porterhouse steak, to name a few. 

Patrick, who has a lot of power in deciding what legislation is prioritized in the state, said a resolution would be filed in the Texas Senate to make the name change official, and he asked that restaurants and grocery stores change the name soon. 

“Liberal New York shouldn’t get the credit for our hard-working ranchers. We promote the Texas brand on everything made or grown in Texas because it benefits our economy and jobs,” Patrick said in the post. “After session ends this summer, I might take a short cruise across the Gulf of America and have a juicy medium-rare Texas Strip.”

And it doesn’t look like a cease-and-desist letter is stopping Patrick. He doubled down on the name change with a post on X.

The post included a photo and video of him dining at Bob’s Steak & Chop House where he ordered a “Texas Strip” with grilled shrimp from the “Gulf of America,” another recent controversial name change. 

If the resolution is proposed and passes, the name change would only apply to the Lone Star State, but Patrick said he wants the Texas strip to “catch on across the country and around the globe.”