One Of Frank Sinatra's Favorite Steak Dishes Was Both Tasty And A Fire Hazard

Frank Sinatra's favorite way to eat steak was "pizza-style," as the classic Southern Italian dish called steak pizzaiola. When in Palm Springs, though, he did as Palm Springers do, and ordered Steak Diane at Melvyn's. One of those old-school steak dishes restaurants don't put on menus anymore, steak Diane consists of pan-seared steak in a sauce composed of cognac, garlic, and mushrooms. What makes it so special, though, is that the sauce is prepared and flambéed tableside. And, in Sinatra's case, this would have been table 13.

Melvyn's still features Steak Diane on the menu, so is this incendiary entree really so dangerous? (And what's so fancy about setting food on fire, anyway?) To answer the first question, flambéing is usually safe as long as the flames are confined to the pan where the sauce is being cooked. Whenever you're setting anything on fire, though, there is always some chance that the flames could escape. In 2023, a fire caused by a flambéed dish killed both a patron and an employee at a restaurant in Madrid, as well as injuring an additional 10 people.

Frank Sinatra must have enjoyed taking a few risks when dining, since steak Diane wasn't the only flaming dish he favored. (To be fair, flambéed foods were at their peak of popularity in the 20th century.) One drink he is said to have enjoyed is called Cafe Diablo, which was a specialty of the Desert Inn, Las Vegas. The "devil's coffee" is made with a black brew flavored with citrus peel and spices and topped with flaming brandy and orange liqueur. Another cocktail called the Flame of Love martini was created at Chasen's restaurant in Beverly Hills for Sinatra's fellow Rat Packer, Dean Martin, but the Chairman enjoyed it so much that he once ordered 65 of these drinks for a party. The drink was primarily composed of straight vodka, but was served in a chilled, sherry-washed glass and flavored with flambéed orange peel.

At Golden Steer Steakhouse, another Las Vegas restaurant Sinatra was known to frequent, there are two flambéed desserts on the menu. Sinatra is said to have enjoyed the bananas Foster, which consists of bananas in a brown sugar butter sauce served over vanilla ice cream and flambéed with banana liqueur and rum; as well as cherries jubilee, which features vanilla ice cream with a cherry sauce flambéed with cherry liqueur and rum. Both desserts no doubt appealed to the crooner's sense of drama as well as his fondness for booze.