Nusret Gokce never imagined an Instagram video of him sprinkling salt over a tomahawk steak in 2017 would go viral. But it did. The internet christened him “Salt Bae,” a nickname the chef and restaurateur has embraced as he expands his steakhouse chain beyond Turkey and the Middle East — most recently, to Midtown Manhattan. “Americans and New Yorkers love me very much,” Mr. Gokce said over breakfast on a recent morning at his restaurant, Nusr-Et, a play on his first name. Mr. Gokce wore his usual outfit: a white scoop T-shirt and dark sunglasses, hair pulled back. He spoke a slow, rudimentary English as he picked apart exactly eight hard-boiled eggs in order to consume just the whites. Through a translator found in the kitchen, Mr. Gokce described a strict work regimen that dates back to his days as a butcher, toiling to provide for his family in Turkey, and to his service in the military. Now, not surprisingly, his toiling is rewarded with luxury amenities at the end of the night: For now, Mr. Gokce, a 35-year-old bachelor (with 13 children), is living at the Plaza Hotel, a short trip from his newest restaurant.