A $70 delivery steak? ‘Worth it!’ Seattle ‘power broker’ steakhouse expands to Boise.

Stick a fork in your wallet, Treasure Valley.

Few culinary experiences match the sensory explosion of a perfectly cooked, premium steak. And few dining options match the convenience of app-ordered delivery food.

The Metropolitan Grill, an award-winning Seattle steakhouse, will combine these concepts in greater Boise starting Monday, Feb. 15.

The Met will open at Crave Delivery, a virtual-kitchen collective at 2900 W. Excursion Blvd. in Meridian. Like other Crave brands, The Met will offer delivery and takeout but no on-site dining. Customers order using the Crave app. Delivery costs $4.99 and can include orders from multiple eateries.

The Met’s eight-item Idaho menu is all business. And quite familiar with corporate credit cards.

Founded in 1983, the award-winning Met is an Emerald City institution. A luxury icon in a landmark downtown building. “The power broker sort of steakhouse,” owner Jim Rowe explained in a phone interview.

Choose from four starters: Creamed spinach ($10), thick-cut caramel bacon ($15), Yukon Gold potato cakes ($12) or steakhouse fries ($8).

Or go straight for the top-notch beef: Top sirloin ($40, 14 ounces), filet mignon ($60, 8 ounces), boneless ribeye ($60, 16 ounces) or New York strip loin ($70, 16 ounces).

That’s right: $70. Plus tax and delivery. For a 16-ounce steak in a to-go container.

Tell us it’s worth it, Mr. Rowe!

“It’s worth it!” he responded good-naturedly. Seriously? “It’s a steak that I’d pay 70 bucks for in a heartbeat,” he said.

Hearing about The Met’s custom, dry-aged Double R Ranch beef makes the mouth water. From a USDA Prime-grade perspective, Rowe holds The Met’s meat program against any in the United States, he says. “I’d go so far as to say the world.”

“We’re a restaurant business. We’re conscious of margins,” he said. “But that is one area that we do not compromise.”

Delivering quality

The challenge at Crave is clear. The Met must prepare and transport high-end steaks in a way that brings them to doorsteps ready to savor. With maximum tenderness and flavor.

Rowe and The Met’s executive chef, Eric Hellner, are aware of the hurdles. Rowe owns E3 Restaurant Group, which has two other Crave operations: Wing Dome and Elliott’s Oyster House.

Launching The Met after those brands allowed them extra time to hone the high-stakes steak delivery. “We have a lot of confidence in Crave,” Rowe said.

Hellner feels good about the logistics at Crave. The Met in Seattle already has sold delivery entrees. “It’s a brave new world,” Hellner said in a phone interview. “We’ve done our homework. We feel like we have a good thing. But as time goes on, we’ll just keep refining it and evolving more and more.”

A steak at Crave will be cooked to a lower-than-normal temperature. Resting while driven directly to the customer’s address, it will continue to cook, Hellner says — in a well-packaged, vented receptacle.

“The idea is it finishes right at the temp it needs to be at your house,” he said.

In Seattle, The Met has been successful with delivery, Rowe says. “There may be an inherent concern that a high-end steak isn’t suited for delivery. But I actually think that steak can travel well, if done properly.”

The Met at Crave won’t be for everyone. Or for every situation. If you’re watching Boise State basketball on TV with your kids, a Wing Dome Game Day Pack might sound more realistic.

But as a decadent meat treat? Or on a special occasion? Or if you’re a card-carrying steak snob?

“Our hope, and our expectation, is there’s enough people out there that are committed enough to really quality food,” Rowe said. “I mean, there’s no substitute for really, really quality steak.”