14 Jan 29th-Feb 4th, 2026 phoenixnewtimes.com PHOENIX NEW TIMES | NEWS | FEATURE | FOOD & DRINK | ARTS & CULTURE | MUSIC | CONCERTS | CANNABIS | Jose Andres and Michael Mina have expanded their steak-driven restaurants. Cooking competition-famous chefs like Fabio Viviani and Kwame Onwuachi like- wise are jumping into the game, infusing their steakhouses with their heritage. In Gilbert, Origen adds a Mexican twist to the steakhouse. Its owners founded three restaurants in Mexico before fixing their sights above the border. Origen is the kind of place where most tables will share a variety of plates, owner Eduardo Medina says, with a spread that could include a ribeye along- side cochinita pibil and ceviche. “I’m happy to have a lot of different steakhouses right now,” Medina says. “Many years ago, it had to be with a white cloth and a sommelier. Today, the steakhouse is more than that. It’s more for everybody. It’s more for sharing.” ‘People want to go out and feel opulent’ Costs be damned, Valley steakhouses have stayed busy. Even as Rinzler worries about the growing number of steakhouses, he noted that those already open aren’t seeing lower volume. Lasko says the past few years at The Stockyards have been their busiest. He agrees with other owners that the booming city and a steady flow of tourists keep steak- houses, and most other high-end restau- rants, busy. He also chalks it up to “Hunger Games”-style economic reality we’re facing. “You’re familiar with the K-shaped economy?” Lasko asks, making the letter with his fingers. “This group’s going up, this group’s going down. We’re up here — steak- houses are up here in the K-shaped economy. That’s why we’re continuing to stay busy.” It’s also no secret that restaurants of all stripes are adding luxury-signifying prod- ucts — caviar, Wagyu, a fresh shaving of truffle — to their menus. They cater to the same well-heeled set that airlines and auto- makers increasingly court, but those items also appeal to the average diner looking to celebrate. You may not know how you’re going to afford child care or health insurance this year. But even workaday stiffs feel like a boss when they’re dressed up, out on the town, watching a seafood tower and a porterhouse for two land on their white tablecloth. Porter, the Cleaverman chef, is a self- described tightwad. The price point of a luxe steakhouse experience used to give him pause. He asked Myers, “What do you know that I don’t?” Once he understood the long-term bet Myers and his team were making, to build a restaurant that could become an institution, he got excited. “It’s not just about the food. It’s about the experience,” Porter says. “People want to go out and feel opulent, even if the world doesn’t allow it.” If you are trying to be a baller on a budget, owners are encouraging family-style dining and incorporating more affordable items on their menus. They’re what BOA’s Maen calls “outs.” Plates of spicy rigatoni, chicken parmesan or steak frites can lower the cost of admission. “You don’t have to have the $80 steak,” Maen says. Savvy diners can find deals if they’re flex- ible with when they go out. Origen promotes $99 Tomahawk Tuesdays. Medina, its owner, says the restaurant will also add three steaks to its happy hour, for a limited time. “We have to manage that cost,” he says. “The cost of the meat has been like the Bitcoin.” He starts to trace the air. “It goes up and down but (more) up than down.” Enticing deals may get new diners through the door. Mary Yamasato found Origen on the reservation app OpenTable and booked it for her husband Eric’s birthday. They drove about an hour from north Phoenix just to try the steakhouse. For Yamasato, steakhouses have always been a celebratory place with her family, even when she was a vegetarian. “I just thought, what a statement for his birthday,” she says. “Let’s go.” It’s that sentiment that gives steakhouse owners confidence about their future, even as they fight to stand out from the crowd. They know the restaurants that pick a time- less lane and execute to high standards won’t measure their returns in months or even years. Rather, they’ll be the outposts that decades from now continue to order white linen, French knives and beef by the quarter. In a western city where steak has long been king, steakhouses still constitute a fortress. Herd Mentality from p 11 Origen’s signature steak is a 40-ounce tomahawk. (Origen) Origen owner Eduardo Medina. (Sara Crocker)
