AUSTIN, Texas — The owner of a restaurant in Albany, New York, is suing the state of Texas over the name of a piece of meat.
The man is seeking $1 million after Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick proposed to rename the New York Strip steak as the Texas Strip. The restaurant owner argues the rebrand undermines New York’s culinary heritage.
We reported on Patrick’s goal a couple weeks ago. The Texas lieutenant governor said he wants restaurants to change the name of the steak next time they reprint their menus and grocery stores to change their labels.
Patrick floated the idea to Texas Cattle Feeders and Cattle Raisers last month.
“Out of curiosity, I asked each of them their favorite cut of meat,” Patrick said in a post to X on Feb. 28. “A few said New York Strip. I asked why we didn’t call it a ‘Texas Strip’ because New York has mostly dairy cows. 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.”
According to Patrick’s post, the Texas Senate will file a resolution to make it official.
𝐈𝐂𝐘𝐌𝐈: Factoid: Texas has about 12.2 million head of cattle, the most in America. I met with the Texas Cattle Feeders and Cattle Raisers this week.Out of curiosity, I asked each of them their favorite cut of meat. A few said New York Strip. I asked why we didn’t call it a…
— Dan Patrick (@DanPatrick) February 28, 2025
“In a world filled with serious issues that we address every day at the Texas Capitol, this simple resolution will help better market Texas beef,” Patrick wrote. “That’s good for the Texas cattle industry. The Cattle Associations sure liked the idea.“