Peter Luger Steak House

Peter Luger Steak House is a steakhouse located in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, New York City, with a second location in Great Neck, New York, on Long Island. It is sometimes affectionately referred to as "the Vatican of meat."

History

The Brooklyn location was established in 1887 as "Carl Luger's Café, Billiards and Bowling Alley" in the predominantly German neighborhood under the current Williamsburg Bridge. [ [http://www.peterluger.com/ourstory.cfm Our Story, Peter Lugers] ] [Bernardo, Leonard and Jennifer Weiss. "Brooklyn by Name:How the Neighborhoods, Streets, Parks, Bridges and More Got There Names". New York. NYU Press:2006.] In 1950, the original owners put the restaurant up for auction and Sol Forman bought it for "a whimsically low bid." His granddaughter, Jody Storch, now has the job of buying the meat for the restaurant. Among the current owners of the restaurant is Amy Rubenstein, wife of Howard Rubenstein, the legendary PR man whose clients have included George Steinbrenner, Rupert Murdoch, and Donald Trump. [ [http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2007/02/12/070212fa_fact_auletta Annals of Communications : The Fixer: Reporting & Essays: The New Yorker ] ] Famous guests have included James Cagney, Alfred Hitchcock, Robert De Niro, Henry Kissinger, and Edward Couch. [ [http://www.timeout.com/newyork/DetailsAr.do?file=hotseat/262/262.hotseat.html TONY chews the fat with a 37-year Peter Luger institution: waiter Wolfgang Zwiener] ]

Description

Peter Luger has been named the best steakhouse in New York City by Zagat Survey for 24 years in a row. [ [http://www.peterluger.com/zagat.cfm Zagat, Peter Lugers] ] The only payment options at the restaurant are cash or the Peter Luger credit card. [ [http://www.peterluger.com/zagat.cfm Zagat, Peter Lugers] ] The Brooklyn location is known for its long wooden bar, and the "dining rooms have a teutonic air, with exposed wooden beams, burnished oak wainscoting, brass chandeliers and weathered beer-hall tables." [ [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CE7D61630F930A15757C0A965958260 New York Times review] ] The Brooklyn location now boasts a coveted Michelin star rating. In 2002, it was named to the James Beard Foundation's list of "America's Classics".

The menu is surprisingly sparse to first time diners (who may be even more surprised when the waiters recommend the meal order for the party without even offering menus, which is often the same as what the party eventually decides to order if they do ask for menus), with the only entrees being porterhouse steak for 1 to 4, Lamb, and Salmon. Their most famous supplementary dishes are shrimp cocktail, beefsteak tomato and onion salad (served with their famous steak sauce), German fries, creamed spinach, and pecan pie. [ [http://brooklyn.about.com/cs/reviews/gr/peterluger.htm About.com review] ] [ [http://www.fodors.com/miniguides/mgresults.cfm?destination=new_york_city@111&cur_section=din&property_id=49192 Fodor's review] ] Steaks are served pre-sliced on an inclined plate so that the juices run down. Further, the edges of the plates are heated to approximately 400 degrees Fahrenheit, allowing diners to cook their steak further if they so choose. Peter Luger also serves hamburgers, which are only available for lunch. [ [http://events.nytimes.com/2005/02/18/dining/18jour.html?ex=1147838400&en=3b10c16d3778d94d&ei=5070 Peter Luger's Burgers] in "The New York Times"]

Several waiters have since left Peter Luger's and have opened their own steakhouses in Manhattan--Wolfgang's Steakhouse [ [http://www.timeout.com/newyork/Details.do?page=1&xyurl=xyl://TONYWebArticles2/571/eat_out/wolfgang_s_steakhouse.xml Time Out New York review: Wolfgang's Steakhouse] ] , Blair Perrone Steakhouse [ [http://www.timeout.com/newyork/Details.do?page=1&xyurl=xyl://TONYWebArticles2/536/eat_out/blair_perrone_steakhouse.xml Time Out New York review: Blair Perrone Steakhouse] ] , and Ben & Jack's Steakhouse [ [http://www.timeoutny.com/newyork/DetailsED.do?xyurl=http://www.timeoutny.com/newyork/php_search/xmldetail.php?locID=742400 Time Out New York review: Ben & Jack's Steakhouse] ] --while Robert Dickert, great-grandson to Carl Luger, left New York City to establish Great Uncle Peter's steakhouse near Scranton [ [http://www.greatunclepeters.com Great Uncle Peter's] ] .

References

External links

* [http://www.peterluger.com Official website]
* [http://brooklyn.about.com/cs/reviews/gr/peterluger.htm About.com review]