Peter Luger Steak House

The interior bar section of the Brooklyn establishment

 

Restaurant information

Established 1887

Food type Steakhouse

City Brooklyn, New York

Great Neck, New York

Other information Cash, Check, Gift Certfificate, Debit Card, Peter Luger Credit Card only

Website www.peterluger.com

On Broadway, Williamsburg, Brooklyn

 

 

Forman Family Building, across Broadway

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.

Peter Luger has been named the best steakhouse in New York City by Zagat Survey for 28 years in a row. 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, brasschandeliers and weathered beer-hall tables."

The Brooklyn location boasts one Michelin star.In 2002, it was named to the James Beard Foundation's list of "America's Classics."

 

History

The Brooklyn location was established in 1887 as "Carl Luger's Café, Billiards and Bowling Alley" in the then-predominantly German neighborhood which would shortly thereafter be in the shadow of the Williamsburg Bridge.German-born Peter Luger (1866–1941) was the owner and nephew Carl was the chef; when Peter died the restaurant declined.

 

In 1950, Peter Luger's son shut the restaurant and put it up for auction; Sol Forman, who owned a metal giftware factory across the street, bought it for "a whimsically low bid." According to one history, "the neighborhood was declining, filling up with Hasidic Jews, whose kosher rules forbade the eating of Luger’s hindquarters (not to mention its überalles German-ness)... Forman had been eating at Luger for twenty-five years, and he needed a place to take his clients. He was the only bidder when the restaurant was auctioned off. A rave from über-critic Craig Claiborne in the New York Times was proof that Forman had kept the Luger faith - and the four-star review generated a new legion of the faithful."

 

Forman opened a Great Neck, New York location, which was closed in 1984 after a fire severely damaged the restaurant, reopening in a year and a half later in 1986.

 

Forman died in 2001 at the age of 98. 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. Famous guests have included James Cagney, Alfred Hitchcock, Robert De Niro, Henry Kissinger, Chuck Schumer, Johnny Carson, and Jerry Seinfeld. Tennis Champion Pete Sampras also liked to celebrate wins at the U.S. Open by feasting at Peter Luger's.

 

In July 2009, while having dinner at Peter Luger, New York Governor David Paterson secretly had Richard Ravitch sworn in as Lieutenant Governor to oversee the stalemate-stricken State Senate.

Menu
 

Steak for 4, served medium rare in Brooklyn

After dessert, Peter Luger serves each diner a complimentary chocolate coin.The menu at Peter Luger is sparse, with the focal point being a porterhouse steak sized for one to four.

 

Additionally, entrees include a rib steak, lamb, fresh seasonal fish and a rotating selection of daily lunch specials. The restaurant's supplementary dishes include a shrimp cocktail, beefsteak tomato and onionsalad (served with steak sauce), home fries, french fries, creamed spinach, broccoli, onion rings, extra-thick bacon, and a variety of desserts.

 

Steaks are served pre-sliced on an inclined plate so that the fat runs down the plate. 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.

 

The restaurant also features its own custom steak sauce which approximates the taste of cocktail sauce and traditional steak sauce, however Luger recommends not using the sauce on its fine steaks but to use it with the salads that accompany the dinner. Peter Luger also sells its steak sauce by mail order and through retailers around the country.

 

The only payment options at the restaurant are cash, check, a Peter Luger gift certificate or the Peter Luger credit card. In 2009 they added payment by debit card.