Be Old Homestead's 10 millionth customer and eat free for life

May 3, 11:16 AM

NY Restaurant Examiner

Howard Portnoy

The Old Homestead has held court in the same location in the Meatpacking District since 1868.Photo: Old Homestead

It's similar to guessing how many jelly beans there are in a 100-gallon jar, but with an important difference. You don't get to eat the jelly beans if you guess right (not that you'd necessarily want to), whereas if you become the 10 millionth customer at The Old Homestead (56 Ninth Avenue, bet 14th and 15th Sts, 212-242-9040) you will find youself showered with riches beyond your wildest imaginings. Well, not really. But the recipient of the restaurant's 10 millionth meal will win a Florida vacation, a year's supply of frozen dinners or a gym membership (you'll need the latter if you win) and—pièce de résistance—free dinner for life, for him or her and a guest.

When you consider that a steak without sides at the Old Homestead nowadays runs between $36 (for a petite filet migon) and $49 (for an on-the-bone ribeye), you realize that this prize is nothing to sneeze at.

According to the restaurant's calculations—they started keeping track of the number of customers two years ago, based on an estimate arrived at with the aid of accountants and statisticians—they have served over 9,993,920 meals to date. That means that the magic number is currently somewhere just shy of 6,080. How many meals does the Old Homestead serve on an average day? They're not telling, though the management has no aversion to customers making regular forays to the restaurant to compile their own data.