Peter Luger

Vegetarians Nightmare: Dinner at Peter Luger's
by Hans Zbinden

O I had the pleasure of staying in New York last weekend and there had the opportunity to have dinner at what many people consider the city's or even the world's best steakhouse: Peter Luger

Almost everybody has heard about the place and almost everybody would like to go sometime but surprisingly few people I know have actually been there. The reason is that Peter Luger's is located in Brooklyn, a half hour cab-ride from Mid-town Manhattan and the average cabdriver has no idea how to find the place. Additionally the restaurants neither accepts reservations nor credit cards so dining at one of the countless excellent steakhouses in Manhattan is certainly the more comfortable option.

I'm always skeptical about these over-popular, mythical restaurants as their reputation is often based on other things than the quality of their food. So let's see if Luger's is the real deal or just some tourist trap ...

From what I've heard, many parts of Brooklyn have been or are being renovated and are considered trendy, attractive places to live. I'm not sure if this is true for the area the restaurant can be found in, kids threw rocks at our cab while we were on the way over ...

Once inside you tell the receptionist the size of your party and then are asked to wait at the bar and be very patient ...

Two gin-tonics and ninety minutes later we were finally called upstairs to one of the dining rooms. The look and feel of the room reminded

The look and feel of the room reminded me of the restaurants in the more remote parts of Switzerland, meaning very basic and decorated in a style which was fashionable many decades ago. But who cares about the room, we were here for the steak and nothing but the steak!

They do have a menu but you'll be considered a hick if you ask for one. And don't ask for a Caesar's salad to start with like we did because the answer will be no. Not sorry, no we don't have that or no, but we have several other salads but simply no. Don't get me wrong, the staff is quite friendly and efficient but let's say they don't lose a lot of time with flowery phrasing ...

So we each got a plain salad that was served with very good oil and vinegar on the side and delicious, seasoned rolls which gave the first indication that they sure knew what they were doing ... On the left you see their home-made steaksauce which I only tried with the bread. It's actually quite tasty, almost a bit like a sweet and sour sauce but the steak definitely doesn't need it.

The standard procedure at Peter Luger's is to order a tomato and onion salad and some lamb chops for the appetizer and then a medium-rare porterhouse steak, thick slices of bacon, hash-browns and spinach for the main course. We just got some hash browns and spinach (apparently the waiters wouldn't even dream of letting you not order these) and compensated by ordering a larger steak. Because after all, we were there for the steak and finally it came ...

What else can I say other than that the meat was incredible, fabulous, outstanding? Crisp and dark on the outside and juicy, tender and very flavorful on the inside. What amazed me the most is that after the meat had cooled off a bit, I noticed a very distinct and extremely pleasant goose-livery taste on the tip of my tongue. Most probably this came from the thin strip of grilled fat and was an indication that quality of the meat and the aging was first-rate.

They have the excellent Brooklyn Lager on tap of which I had a mug but the beef of course needed a sturdy red to go with it. Their wine list isn't very long and I gather that most parties dining there stick to beer. We found a very reasonably priced Simi Cabernet which was perfect for the meal but I doubt anybody will really remember the wines they had a Peter Luger's because the impression the steak makes just shoves all other memories away ... I can't even recall if we had dessert or not!

So the verdict is in and it's simple. If you love steaks and are in New York, do yourself a favour and make the effort to go eat there. On the same trip I also had a sirloin steak at one of Manhattan's best steakhouses. The place was vastly more elegantly furnished (but not more expensive), the wine list, service, decoration and the steak were all top notch. But the special atmosphere and the beyond-fantastic Porterhouse make Luger's the place to go