Jason Atherton, one of London's leading chefs, is peering at a porterhouse steak in the legendary New York butcher Lobel's. “It's almost like wagyu, isn't it?” he says, gazing at the marbling, turning it over and over, and marvelling at the clean cut.

Gordon Ramsay's golden boy has come to Manhattan to research dishes for his new restaurant and I've joined him for the ride. What better way to catch up with the city's culinary goings-on than with a Michelin-starred chef?

Maze Grill, next to Ramsay's flagship Maze restaurant on Grosvenor Square in Central London, is based on a classic New York grill restaurant. We are talking steak - lots of it, served every which way, with three different kinds of fries (from duck fat to garlic), and preferably washed down with a cocktail in true Manhattan style. So we had bars to check out, too, right?

At Lobel's, the conversation turns to grass-fed versus corn-fed. All ten of the white-aproned butchers are getting involved now, even old Stanley Lobel. Atherton snaps up Meat, one of Lobel's three books published on the subject. I wonder which New York steakhouse Lobel prefers? “Peter Luger - it's the best,” he replies.

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We've both been to Peter Luger, in Brooklyn, and while the steaks are undoubtedly good, there's too much testosterone in the room (in the diners, not the steak) to strike a chord with Atherton. He is looking for something a tad more chic.

Well, we've come to the right place. Steakhouses are the fastest-growing restaurant in New York. Ten years ago there were barely 20 steakhouses in the city; now there are more than 90. Steak is big business, and it's the new generation of steakhouses, among them Craftstreak, Dylan Prime and STK, attracting women that have spurred the revival.

But Atherton wants Maze Grill to have staying power, so our first stop is Gramercy Tavern (42 East 20th Street, 001 212 477 0777). This is more a modern American restaurant than a steakhouse, but it has been at the top of its game for years.

The Gramercy's founder, Danny Meyer, puts his staff first and the customer second - a novel approach in service-obsessed America. Meyer must be doing something right, however - he has seven restaurants in the city that all score consistently great reviews.

The food scores highly with Atherton, too, but he is particularly impressed by the staff. “They are so knowledgeable, and they made everyone feel so special - that gives me inspiration,” he says.

We spend the rest of the afternoon working up an appetite for dinner, walking the streets and avenues of Manhattan checking out cheese shops and more butcher's shops, including Florence, off West 4th Avenue, which prompts a quick phone call back to London. “Find me a big old-fashioned set of scales,” Atherton tells his interior designer.

To stimulate our gastric juices, we head to our first bar, Pegu Club (77 West Houston Street, 001 212 473 7348). The owner, Audrey Saunders, is behind a gin revival in the city. She opened Pegu Club two and half years ago, after a run at Bemelmans Bar in the Carlyle Hotel.

Saunders's belief that you should treat a bar very much like a kitchen appeals to Atherton, who admires her home-made tinctures, from cardamom to black pepper, lined up behind the bar and used to “scent” a cocktail. We drink perfect sidecars and daiquiris and leave armed with recommendations of more bars to try, such as B Flat, Little Branch, Death & Co, and PDT.

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