Peter Luger?

[TimT]

Once when we finished of phase of a project on the Willy Br.. a group of use went to Lugers to celebrate.. We had one particularly salty waiter...

One of the guys mentioned he wanted a steak well done!, The waiter quipped " we dont cook steaks like that" then "just eat the small end!" funny, I still work with the guym and we never hold back from ribbing him about well done steak.

BTW, allegedly the waiters there make six figures between salary and tips.

[javadog]

When I drop the coin for an expensive steak dinner, I want a very luxurious evening. It's generally a given that the steak will be good, but I also want to comfortable seating, good service, and a host of other things. One of the problems I have with a place like Luger's is that it's not a very luxurious room, the chairs don't even have padding, and the attitude is maybe less than differential to the customer.

It may be how they did it 100 years ago, but those were different times. I want something a whole lot nicer than that.

[vash]

Originally Posted by javadog

When I drop the coin for an expensive steak dinner, I want a very luxurious evening. It's generally a given that the steak will be good, but I also want to comfortable seating, good service, and a host of other things. One of the problems I have with a place like Luger's is that it's not a very luxurious room, the chairs don't even have padding, and the attitude is maybe less than differential to the customer.

It may be how they did it 100 years ago, but those were different times. I want something a whole lot nicer than that.

i will try it one day. i'm curious how they did it "old school". i'm okay with it. i have zero idea how they did it. only one way to find out.

we have some great steakhouses here in the bay area as well. in general, i dont go very often. they just have never been my thing.

[javadog]

You can cook a steak at home just as tasty as anything you get in a steakhouse. That's the main reason I seldom go to high-end steak houses. It's not like other types of food, that require a huge amount of knowledge and ability on the part of the chef.

When I do choose to go, though, the entire experience must make it worthwhile, which implies a great deal more than just a good steak. That's why I go for ultra luxurious settings, a really talented bartender, a good wine list, etc.

[KFC911]

Well....I'm gonna look at the menu and ask for ketchup....if I ever go . I've never been in one of these high falutin' joints....does Morton's (in Philly) even compare? I don't get out much...obviously .

[javadog]

By the way, you can catch a number of shows in television reruns that will show you everything that goes on behind the scenes at the better steakhouses in New York City. Whether it's Luger's, Keen's, Quality Meats, or so many of the others, I have been able to catch programs on them all. Maybe some of that programming is archived on the Internet.

[sand_man]

I've been to Lugers twice; it was good...really good. On another trip, we did Keens; also really good. And I think on our last trip to NYC, we gave Old Homestead a spin and enjoyed our meal very much. Like many of the guys posting in this thread, I've spent a lot time on the "steakhouse steak at home" technique. And I know mine is good. Locally, I never bother going out for a steak dinner, we just enjoy mine. However, it's a nice treat when we travel to NYC! I expect the steak to be good and my martini to be dry!

[sand_man]

[speeder]

This thread is making me hungry, it’s a good thing I’m sitting in a great restaurant waiting for my lunch. Best Asian Chicken salad in town, (IMO), but can’t stop thinking about steak.

My dad was a steak eating guy and lived during the time when people ate more steak. He was a very particular eater, (passed down to me), and frequented places like Charlie’s and Murray’s in Minneapolis or The Lexington Room in St. Paul. He was fairly well traveled and had been to many of the famous places in other cities, including NY; he claimed that the best places in the Midwest were as good or better than anything in NY. He also liked to emphasize that the streaks at the famous NY places all likely came from the St. Paul stockyards or Kansas City.

Anyhow, he liked to buy the best ribeye from Lund’s, (awesome high end grocery store in Mpls.), and cook them on his Weber grill. He used to say that the best steak house in town was the 1400 Club, his street address.

[Gretch]

problem with matching the quality of a PL or Sparks steak at home is getting a grill that will hold 800 degrees at the surface.........

PL is VERY good.

[javadog]

You don't need 800 degrees. 300 will brown meat, you're better off with low and slow, if you want the middle to stay rare or medium rare and don't want to turn the outside to shoe leather. Most flavor comes from fat, juices and salt.

[Gretch]

not in my book.

[TimT]

I used to love watching when they got a delivery of meat.. sheets of cardboard went down on the sidewalk on Driggs... and the sides were offloaded from the truck and laid on the sidewalk... Then either the chef or buyer (forgot her name) would inspect the preciously selected meat... and often send a few sides back... When they picked what they wanted.. down into the aging room it went.

[TimT]

When I prepare incredibly expense beef for a home steak house experience... I get the meat from either a really good supermarket near me... that dry ages prime in house...

Or one of a few purveyors of ultra prime to the industry here in NY..

Some of the prices make your eyes bleed... so it needs to be prepared with laboratory like precision..

Pat LaFrieda

Lobels

https://www.debragga.com/


The I get the steak to its temp for medium rare, via a few hours in sous vide.. and finish it and give it the Maillard reaction by either searing it in cast iron, doming it in my 900F pizza oven, or on my chimney charcoal starter...

Meat just out of the hot tub, This was a dry aged steak From Fairway










With some chimichuri and slaw.. epic

[Zeke]

Originally Posted by TimT

When I prepare incredibly expense beef for a home steak house experience... I get the meat from either a really good supermarket near me... that dry ages prime in house...

Or one of a few purveyors of ultra prime to the industry here in NY..

Some of the prices make your eyes bleed... so it needs to be prepared with laboratory like precision..

Pat LaFrieda

Lobels

https://www.debragga.com/


The I get the steak to its temp for medium rare, via a few hours in sous vide.. and finish it and give it the Maillard reaction by either searing it in cast iron, doming it in my 900F pizza oven, or on my chimney charcoal starter...

Meat just out of the hot tub, This was a dry aged steak From Fairway










With some chimichuri and slaw.. epic

I remember a hunting/fishing bar and grill up in the Sierras that only had a flat top grill. They weren't that far from the cattle grazing areas of the nearby foothills NE of Bakersfield CA. So the meat was prime. They put a steak on the griddle in butter and placed a 3 inch maple block on top to hold the steak to the griddle. 3 minutes and flip it over for another 3. Perfectly seared to a glass like surface and when you cut it the juices practically squirted out. This was usually just less than 2" thick and it was always the right color inside.

That being subjective.

[Gogar]

Same idea here Tim.

I

Hot tub for 90 minutes at 128 then 90 seconds a side on the crazy infra red outdoor thing.



As I get better I feel like JR is right about the steak, but I spent $82 on 4 lbs of aged strip and I was deathly afraid to get it wrong. So I went for the hot tub.

[javadog]

Next time, try a ribeye and limit your temperature to 115 to 120 before searing.

[vash]

Haha. Java; sometimes an internet friend you’ve never met in person just wants you to listen.

I’m sure we all do a bunch of crap differently from each other.

[javadog]

Hey man, I'm just trying to lead all the horses to the pond. Once you have eaten a rare-plus ribeye cooked properly, everything else tastes like cat food.

I have to admit, this thread made me go out and cook a steak, dammit.

'Twas good.

[sand_man]

Yeah, a few years ago, NY strip was my go to. After switching to ribeye, I never looked back. Occasionally, I'll dabble with a porterhouse (strip on one side with a full cut of tenderloin on the other), but that's only if I don't like the ribeyes I'm presented with.