Primed for Success

	Meat Me Later

CHICAGO -- Does the bull that sired your steak matter to you?
It does if you're David Burke, the New York City chef who has been called the Willy Wonka of haute cuisine.

Burke has recently applied his brand of whimsy to the staid, lionized steakhouse, and in Chicago no less, home to meaty stalwarts such as Gibson's and Morton's (MRT).

"There's not always room for another restaurant, but there's always room for a good restaurant," says Burke, recognizing the fact that the Windy City is home to some of the best artery-clogging prime-rib spots around.

And although David Burke's Primehouse aspires to be one of the best steakhouses in a cutthroat world of Morton's, Ruth's Chris Steak House (RUTH), Smith & Wollensky (SWRG) and other steakhouse powers, "we're not there yet," he admits.

But it's not for lack of trying.

The journey to a Burke-worthy cut of meat begins with Prime, the 2,500-pound bull he and business partner Stephen Hanson bought to give birth to the restaurant's prime meats.

The proud animal is ranked in the top 2% of the active Angus bulls in the United States, and he's being mated with premium heifers at Creekstone Farms in Campbellsburg, Ky.

"It's not over the top, it's ahead of the game. It's the wave of the future," says Burke. "I want to know that I don't have to worry about mad cow disease. I want to know that the animals were raised in humane and safe conditions.

"Don't you?" he asks.

Burke's enthusiasm for Prime and his offspring is infectious, but this man is much more than a heifer huckster. He truly believes in the power of food, able to describe the sensation of delicate flavors as though they are evidence of a higher power -- and after listening to him riff about the transcendent first bite, I was the newest convert to the church of flavor.

"You can age something forever ... and you can't take a [bad] cut of meat and make it great," he says. "You can make it good. But the greatness all starts with the bull."

In addition to having the best stud around, he says the allure of "umami" makes for a great steak. This aromatic fifth flavor was recognized first by the Japanese, and can be found in Parmesan cheese, seaweed and well-aged meats.

Primehouse steaks are kissed with umami during their essential pit stop in the restaurant's on-site, salt-tiled aging room. For about 30 days, the steaks dry-age to develop this savory, mineral-infused essence.

Steaking His Claim

Burke's career began with none of the shine it now enjoys: There were no Batmanesque caves of salt or high-bred herds at the start.

After a job as a dishwasher, he "got hooked" on the notoriously fast-paced, tough and unforgiving restaurant lifestyle. The New Jersey native trained at the Culinary Institute of America and refined his skills in France.

Burke honed his art as a Smith & Wollensky star, eventually opening the chic David Burke & Donatella in New York, as well as a restaurant in Bloomingdales.

To view Katie Benner's video take of today's Good Life segment, click here.