The New York Strip Steak Dinner Sandwich is a true masterpiece. Trapped inside ciabatta bread this sandwich is an adventure through flavors and textures. The New York strip, which is cast iron seared, is the cut to get because of its fine marbling and sexy, beefy flavor. Searing it in a screaming hot, cast iron skillet means that the steak is covered by a caramelized crust that makes the steak irresistibly tender, yet satisfyingly chewy.

What is a New York Strip steak?
The New York strip steak is a cut of beef from the short loin. It’s a tender cut that has very good marbling and is known for it’s flavor. It consists of a muscle that does little work, the longissimus, making the meat particularly tender, although not as tender as the nearby ribeye or tenderloin.
The NY strip is versatile because of its juiciness. You can grill, broil or even pan-sear this steak. The strip doesn’t need to much flavoring because of it’s natural tenderness after being cooked. Some people use only salt and pepper as seasoning, while others prefer to use marinades or a rub.
A New York Strip is probably the best-grilled steak. The “New York” in the name is a bit cryptic. It’s not clear why it’s called that, but some sleuths suggest it’s because of high popularity in New York City steakhouses.
The sandwich starts with the steak, as it should. This one’s thick and crusty all over, with a rosy interior that still bleeds just a little, like a good steak should. Then there’s the spinach. Creamed is the way to go here. The spinach is tender and then bound with a creamy, garlicky sauce that coats each leaf, fighting fire with fire, richness with richness. The spinach is a wonderful, velvety counterpoint to the chewy steak. The garlic’s lacing bite and the cream’s plushness ensures that the spinach truly stands up to the steak.
No gourmet sandwich would be complete without the sweet complexity of caramelized onions. Slowly cooked until they’re deep amber in color, these thick sliced onions add a layer of sweetness that complements the savory steak and rich spinach. Anyone who has ever caramelized onions knows that it’s an exercise in patience. Sharp, pungent, and demanding to start, the onions eventually soften and sweeten through the process, becoming meltingly tender, with a deeply delicate taste that bridges the flavors of the steak and spinach and brings the whole sandwich to a harmonious zenith.
Holding all of the components in this sandwich is a tangy mustard aioli. Constituted by a Dijon mustard base, mixed with mayonnaise, fresh lemon juice, garlic and a touch of Worcestershire sauce, this aioli offers a bright, tart contrast to the heavy ingredients already mentioned above. The creaminess of the aioli is the perfect match for the richness of the steak. It’s the winning touch that takes this sandwich from amazing, to mind blowing.
What holds all this together? The ciabatta bread, with its robust crust and airy, porous interior. Toasted until it’s crisp on the outside and soft and warm within, it provides enough body to build your sandwich on and enough give to mash your teeth into it with no risk of dislodging any fillings or losing any of the rich juices. And, while it has a flavor of its own – sturdy but mild – it’s there not so much to upstage as it is to unite the flavors of what’s inside and help them make sense together, so that nothing is out of place or balance.
The New York Strip Steak Dinner Sandwich is more than the sum of its parts. It’s a bold statement in the world of sandwiches, a dish that refuses to compromise on quality or flavor. It’s a steak dinner reimagined, a portable feast that brings together the best of both worlds: the heartiness of a steakhouse meal and the casual ease of a sandwich. Each component, from the seared steak and creamy spinach to the caramelized onions and ciabatta bread, plays a crucial role in crafting a dish that’s both complex and cohesive.
The New York Strip Steak Dinner Sandwich is a joy to eat. It’s about celebrating flavors, textures and the joy of eating itself. To me, it’s a reminder that you don’t need the trappings of a plate to eat great food. Some of the most memorable meals in life are those that you can hold in your hands. This sandwich is a simple testimony to the fact that with good ingredients, thoughtfully assembled with a little bit of care, every day eating can be as extraordinary as any holiday spread.