Lincoln Square Steak Will Defy Danny Meyer and Open Unchanged This Evening

Lincoln Square Steak's inaugural night is tonight, but the restaurant's already managed to launch two controversies. First, GM Louis Andia gutted a good chunk of the front of the staff house at A Voce when he left and brought them to the new spot just a few blocks uptown. More controversy ensued earlier this week when Danny Meyer sent a cease and desist order to the restaurant, claiming that Lincoln Square is too close of an approximation of Union Square Cafe for his comfort. Part of Meyer's argument holds up. The Lincoln Square logo does look a little familiar (a red square with a name in the middle) and of course both restaurants use the word "square" in their name, but that's about where the similarity stops. The menus are both American, but Lincoln Square goes much heavier on the meat, with an entire steak section, plus a raw bar. A rep for Lincoln Square says they don't plan to make any changes to appease Meyer, so stay tuned for more drama.