Peter Luger?

vash · vash's Garage

i've never been. i will one day.

but i was wondering. their steaks. they are served family style? you are sharing that thing? is that why they kinda pre-slice it into smaller portions for you?

(the menu has no pricing..just curious how much is it?)

my wife and i always share a small steak. i like how PL cuts up the steak and rearranges it back into the original general shape. then they are pouring a AuJus over it? what is that clear broth looking stuff on the plate?

i want to mimic them on my next steak..for fun.

craigster59 · craigster59's Garage

Have you been to The Sage Room at Harvey's Lake Tahoe? they have a good Caeser salad made tableside and a Chateaubriand for two. Been there since 1947, pricey but good!

https://www.yelp.com/biz/sage-room-steak-house-lake-tahoe

Baz · Baz's Garage

I knew this was a Vash thread as soon as my cursor hovered over the title......

Scott R · Scott R's Garage

Go to Sparks Steak House instead, famous mobster Paul Castellano was murdered on the front steps. And the steaks are better.

TimT · 02:32 PM

Lugers is pretty friggin good, have been a number of times..One of the few bargains there is the Burger..hmmmhmm good..

The steaks are "Steak for two,three, four.." etc... A steak for two, etc is a thick dry aged Porterhouse.. I think the single steak is a NY strip..since I always go with a date I opt for the steak for two...

Then get the tomato and onion,creamed spinach, home fries, and for dessert apple strudel and schlag,

Price will be north of $200 for that depending on the amount of alcohol you order.

The waiters are notoriously gruff... i.e. when they set the table for you, they put the Lugers bottle of steak sauce down and quip "You wont be using that on the steak will you?" The steak sauce goes on the tomato. Also people that look at the menu are chuckled at.. In Brooklyn, they ask if you'd like to see the menu, just say no, you'll have the steak for 2,3,4 and the sides, the waiter will clarify, that you want the correct sides.. So yes it is family style.

And further its cash only, unless you have a Lugers credit card..

I worked on the Williamsburg Bridge for six years, and have enjoyed many a Burger at lunch there

mattdavis11 · 03:20 PM

I don't remember ever going to a steak house that doesn't offer the cut of meat you might want, on any given day. No 16oz strip? No 22oz ribeye? Do you even get to tell them how you want it cooked at PL?

PL doesn't sound all that great to me. Bob's Chophouse would be my first pick.

VINMAN · 07-11-2018, 03:47 PM

Been there a few times. Hugely overrated in my opinion.

.

drcoastline · 07-11-2018, 05:05 PM

Haven't been to PL but have had their steaks delivered. A friend works in NYC has picked them up. We grill them ourselves.

javadog · 07-11-2018, 05:26 PM

If you make it to Manhattan, and want to splurge on a big steak, there are probably several places I wouldn't steer you to before Peter Luger's. Not that you can't get a good steak there, but I think there are better steakhouses.

Alan A · 07-11-2018, 05:26 PM

The steaks are good but the bacon makes it imo...

Jims5543 · 07-11-2018, 05:30 PM

We have a Peters Steak house here in town, the owners claim to fame is he was a chef at Peter Lugers and brought his business model to his little place.

I am not a fan of the group steaks.

If you ever are in Tampa Florida look up Berns Steakhouse. Berns takes it to another level that will not be forgotten if you get to experience the place. It takes a few hours to get out of there.

After dinner you tour the kitchen, then the wine cellar then you go upstairs for desert in your own private room.

I cannot say enough about the experience. I took my parents there for their 50th and they were blown away.

vash · vash's Garage

Can anyone verify the clear broth? Or is it just meat leakage?

javadog · 01:24 AM

It's clarified butter that is ladled into the plate. Obviously there is a little bit of juice from the steak that mixes in with it.

You will generally find one of two things at a high-end steakhouse. Either butter, or beef fat, added to the steak for flavoring.

At Luger's, they broil dry aged beef that they age and trim themselves, at about 800°. The only seasoning they use is salt.

Gogar · 04:45 AM

I had a crap experience at Sparks. Same for Delmonicos.
Peter Lugers is very good but the hype about Peter Lugers is a little much.

I hate to admit it but I've had better at Wolfgangs and STK in manhattan.

And if you're arguing steak in manhattan you're missing the point about food in manhattan.

Sorry, I realize that's not what the thread is about.

NY65912 · 07-12-2018, 02:55 AM

My shop is a few blocks away from Lugers. I have had the steak, burgers for lunch many many times. But, I think the best thing on the menu is their butterflied lamb chop, other than the schlag of course

The best steak I have had was at BLT Steakhouse on 57th and Park. I have been to all the others including Sparks which I thought was OK.

Oh, don't use the Lugers steak sauce on the steak, big no-no. It's meant for the raw Bermuda onions!

widgeon13 · 07-12-2018, 03:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by scott r

go to sparks steak house instead, famous mobster paul castellano was murdered on the front steps. And the steaks are better.

+1

vash · vash's Garage

thanks for the responses. i'm gonna do my next steak similar for fun. i think i now have a game plan.

as an engineer, i wonder how that dude cuts each section fairly similar in width. i would eff it up and have a wafer thin one at the end.

speeder · 07-12-2018, 06:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scott R

Go to Sparks Steak House instead, famous mobster Paul Castellano was murdered on the front steps. And the steaks are better.

Not to put too fine a point on it but Sparks doesn't have front steps. Big Paulie got his while stepping out of his Town Car at the curb and died in the gutter.

Local news crews were interviewing passers-by in the hours afterwards and one guy walking his dog asked the reporter, "what happened here?"

"Paul Castellano got murdered outside of Sparks."

"Did he get it coming out or going in?"

"I think it was going in."

"Too bad--he missed a great meal."

Only in NY, kids. Only in NY.

304065 · 07-12-2018, 07:05 AM

Listen, Luger is the ORIGINAL. They buy their own primal cuts and stamp them with their own stamp, butcher and age in-house.

There are other fine steak houses in the Luger style-- Mark Joseph down at Peck Slip and Water street, which has the advantage of serving Bassett's ice cream from Philadelphia (it's worth going just for the Bassett's.) Wolfgang's, which I have always found a bit noisy, not just due to the crowd, but to the acoustics of the Gustavino vault that you sit in.

Sparks is different, it's a steak fromage, totally different presentation than Luger's, not really comparable.

Anyway Cliff to answer your question it's butter, that is about 500 degrees when it hits your table. The waiter will flip over a small bread plate and use that to angle the serving plate up on one end, so all the juice runs to one end, where it's then scooped up and drizzled on the steak.

Fifteen years ago I went to Luger's with some summer interns. The waiter sidles up and says, "what are you having?" Without prompting, one of the interns says, "Steak." At which point the waiter says, "Of COURSE you're having Steak, this is Peter Lugers!" Waiter looks at me, I say, without hesitation, "Steak for four medium rare eight pieces bacon tomato and onion." He nods, approvingly. Should have ordered a salmon for that kid.

vash · vash's Garage

thanks!!
at least i'll have the salty waiter part down pat.