Last April, Apple Eats’s Howard Portnoy reviewed Ikinari, a budget-priced steakhouse that was unique not only in its Japanese provenance but its M.O. Diners order their meal at a window, then carry it on a tray to a high-topped table where they eat standing.
We mention that review here because the introduction included a semi-nostalgic look back at a nearly defunct steak chain with a somewhat similar M.O. known as Tad’s:
The food was what you would expect at those prices, and those who remember Tad’s and are interested in taking a stroll down Memory Lane won’t need a time machine. There’s one remaining New York location in Times Square, at 701 Seventh Avenue, 212-768-0946. You’ll also need to fork over $18.99. Tad’s has evidently grown greedy in its old age.
Today we’re here to report that that last Tad’s location is closing. According to the New York Post:
Tad’s Steaks is finally cooked in the Big Apple.
The cut-rate meat slinger will shutter its last New York City outpost — which opened its doors off Times Square in 1960 — in January, according to a government filing that cited “economic” troubles as the reason for the closing.
The cafeteria-style chophouse is known for hawking inexpensive meat-and-potato dinners on red trays — meals that cost little more than $1 each when the first one opened in 1957. A steak lunch today can be had for as little as $9.
It is worthy emphasizing for those eager to experience this glimpse of the past before it vanishes once and for all that the restaurant will remain open for another couple months. Its last day will be Jan. 5 of next year.
