Long Island (still) loves prime rib: Where to get it

If not a dime a dozen, steaks are at least an everyday occurrence. Your local diner probably serves a sirloin, scores of LI steakhouses sling porterhouses whenever the lights are on. But prime rib is Appointment Beef, usually available only on "prime rib night."

To explain why, we’re going to need a short course in beef butchery.

The first thing you need to know about prime rib is that it’s not a steak. A steak is an individual portion taken from what butchers call a "primal cut." A steer’s loin, for example, yields porterhouses, T-bones, strips and filet mignons; from the chuck come flat irons, blades, short ribs. When you order a steak at a restaurant, the cook takes it out of the refrigerator, grills or broils it and, before long, it’s delivered to your table.

But prime rib is a primal cut, consisting of seven ribs and the meat attached to them. It weighs anywhere from 15 to 20 pounds and takes hours to cook. Because it can "stand" on its ribs while it cooks, prime rib is also called a standing rib roast. Bear in mind that you can cut individual steaks from the rib — depending on how they are trimmed, you’re looking at the tomahawk or cowboy steak, a rib steak or a rib-eye steak.

Ready for another wrinkle? The "prime" in "prime rib" does not signify that the meat has been graded prime by the USDA. Beef is graded according to how much intramuscular fat it has. The fattest is deemed prime, next is choice, next is select. There is indeed prime prime rib, but it’s more likely that a restaurant is serving choice.

Now, back to our 20-pound hunk of beef. Very few kitchens are going to roast one in the hopes that a dozen or so diners materialize to order it. Instead, restaurants generally run prime rib as a regular special, often on a weeknight when business can be slow. Don’t worry about getting a piece cooked to your chosen temperature: The slices closest to the ends will be more well done, the slices toward the middle will be rare. But no matter your preference, dining early will increase your chances of getting exactly what you want.

Long Island restaurants offer prime rib specials in a variety of formats and at a variety of price points. Here’s more than a week’s worth to get you started:

EVERY NIGHT BUT MONDAY

Irish Coffee Pub

131 Carleton Ave., East Islip

Irish Coffee Pub, a sprawling property that encompasses bar, restaurant and catering venue, is the rare establishment that slices prime rib to order every night it’s open. With its patterned carpet and chandeliers, the dining room is resolutely old-fashioned, but that seems to suit the rosy beef in a puddle of jus. It’s $63.40 and comes with a salad, steamed vegetables and your choice of potato (baked, mashed, french fries or sweet potato fries. The Irish brown bread in the bread basket is excellent. More info: 631-277-0007, irishcoffeepub.com

TUESDAY

Nautilus Cafe

46 Woodcleft Ave., Freeport

You wouldn’t peg the Nautical Mile’s venerable seafood restaurant for such a landlubbing delicacy but its regular menu features a bone-in cut of prime rib for $56.95, boneless for $49.95. Those selections are a la carte but, on Tuesday nights, you can get a boneless cut for $39.95 and it comes with a vegetable, horseradish sauce and a choice of appetizer and dessert. There are seven other $39.95 three-course, prix-fixe meals on Tuesday night and, for an additional $15, a two-pound lobster. More info: 516-379-2566, nautiluscafe.com

WEDNESDAY

The James

21 Fire Island Ave., Babylon

With its capacious brasserie-style bar downstairs and (via a movie-set-worthy spiral staircase) an even grander dining room upstairs, this year-old restaurant sets a new standard for elegance and opulence. The regular menu is full of iconic luxuries like caviar service, lobster Thermidor and beef Wellington, and every night brings a "plat du jour." Come for dinner on Wednesday for LI’s most luxuriant prime rib — made with USDA prime beef — which beautifully fills out a plate that could easily accommodate two normal steaks. At $75 (and with no sides), this is at the high end of prime ribs, but you’ll find no better on Long Island. More info: 631-975-2637, thejamesli.com

Tara Inn

1519 Main St., Port Jefferson

This Port Jefferson mainstay is most famous for its everyday $1 burgers and $15 Thursday lobster special but, every Wednesday, you can get a fat slice of prime rib, preceded by a cup of excellent soup and accompanied by creamed spinach and a baked potato for the low, low price of $22. Surroundings are modest but exceedingly friendly. This is also the rare eatery that does prime rib at lunch. More info: 631-828-5987 

Big Daddy’s

1 Park Lane, Massapequa

Long Island’s longest-running Louisiana-style eatery adds a barbecued note to prime rib night with a Wednesday special straight from the smoke pit. The meat comes reposed on a hefty bed of garlic mashed potatoes with horseradish sauce and, to wash it down, a bright-blue hurricane, the sweetly potent (and potently sweet) cocktail that encourages the good times to roll. $59. More info: 516-799-8877, bigdaddysny.com

THURSDAY

Pearsall’s Station

479 Sunrise Hwy., Lynbrook

Lynbrook’s convivial watering hole gets into the prime-rib game every Thursday night with a three-course fixed price meal that buttresses the beef with a house salad, garlic mashed potatoes, vegetables (sautéed carrots and green beans, for example) and a dish of ice cream. $39.95. More info: 516-887-8384, pearsallstation.com

Digger’s Ales n’ Eats

58 W. Main St., Riverhead

Digger’s probably offers the best value among Long Island’s prime rib specials. Every Thursday night, this Irish pub offers a rosy slice assisted by vegetables and your choice of potatoes (big, crisp steak fries for the win).

For your appetizer (included), don’t pass up the sausage-cabbage soup a house signature for good reason. The price tag? $25. There’s usually prime rib on the weekend menu too, but it will run you $32 for boneless, $38 with a bone. More info: 631-369-3200, diggerspub.com

WEEKENDS

Wantagh Inn

3264 Railroad Ave., Wantagh

For more than 40 years, the Wantagh Inn has provided a soft landing for LIRR passengers, whether they need a quick drink or a proper meal. On Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights, starting around 4 p.m., you can enjoy an old-fashioned meal in this old-fashioned dining room: a slice of prime rib with steamed vegetables and your choice of potatoes for $42. The kitchen will entertain requests for end pieces and bones — but no promises. More info: 516-785-0809, thewantaghinn.com