Originally Posted by Overpaid Slacker
i've probably eaten my bodyweight in Luger's over the past 10 years. I have a Luger Card (if you don't have such a card, bring cash, b/c it's all they'll take).
I've eaten in just about every renowned steakhouse in Manhattan as well as a few of lesser notoriety. This, like arguments about favorite ice cream flavor, is largely a matter of preference.
Luger's is the consummate steak experience. Order the bacon (not on the menu) and strudel mit schlag is great, but I've only ever had enough room for it once. If nothing else, the Luger's event will provide you with a metric by which to measure all other steakhouses. Even if it's not someone's favorite, it is a standard by which steakhouses (and creamed spinach!)are judged. It's not foofy, it's not "polished" and it's not contrived. Same bar, same tables and chairs since the Earth cooled. It's an old school Brooklyn steakhouse that happens to be a steakophile's heaven. Plan ahead and make reservations. In Brooklyn, not Great Neck.
I found Sparks routinely disappointing (still trading on the mystique of an assassination 20 years ago) and would skip events/closing dinners there. Smith & Wo has a devoted following, largely of people who know how to order steak, but not much else about it. (nothing personal against anyone, this is just my experience from 10yrs in NYC, dealing with all variety of characters ... ymmv) The S&W Grill is a good place to get a burger, but S&W is more about marketing than steak... MHO.
Old Homestead is a very good place, and not as "well known" to visitors, so you can frequently get in there on short notice when other places are full.
I like Benson's -- John Cramer used to work for a firm in that bldg, so I spent a lot of time eating in there, at the bar. For mid-town, it's very good.
However, MHO for Steak house in mid town is the Post House. Not only have I never had a sub-spectactular steak there, but if you're going out with others who may not be wild about steak, the rest of the menu is broad and well executed. In contrast, Luger's menu boils down to: Porterhouse for 2, 3 or 4 and a few sides. It doesn't actually say "if you want chicken, you're in the wrong f*cking place", but that's the gyst.
Keens is a great mid-town place on a blustery afternoon, and a really good steakhouse but its signature dish is the mutton chop.
Mortons and Ruth's Chris are reliable (then again, so is Outback...), but in MHO unremarkable and therefore not worth the pricetag.
Avoid Angelo & Maxie's and Bobby Van's; ditto the Palm(s).
I'm with TimT on Uncle Jack's... though I haven't been there in years, I can't imagine it's any less great than it was. Lots of Scotch.
Unless the wheels have just come off, I gotta say that Michael Jordan's (in GCT) is very very good. I have a sentimental attachment to Gallagher's (West 52nd) it's not great, but I like it.
If you're travelling across the country to check out Luger's (which I completely support) then try a couple of the other places mentioned on here. It is the context and a few of the smaller things that have kept Luger the best steakhouse in NYC (and among the best in the country)for 24 years.
Now I want steak.
JP
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