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Peter Luger Steak House

Coordinates: 40°42′36″N 73°57′45″W / 40.7099°N 73.9626°W / 40.7099; -73.9626
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Peter Luger Steak House
The exterior of the Brooklyn establishment
Map
Restaurant information
Established1887; 137 years ago (1887)
Owner(s)Amy Rubenstein
Marilyn Spiera
Previous owner(s)Peter Luger
Frederick Luger
Sol Forman
Food typeSteakhouse
Street address178 Broadway
CityBrooklyn
CountryUnited States
Coordinates40°42′36″N 73°57′45″W / 40.7099°N 73.9626°W / 40.7099; -73.9626
Other locationsGreat Neck, Ebisu, Paradise, Nevada
Websitewww.peterluger.com

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, in the western part of Long Island. It was named to the James Beard Foundation's list of "America's Classics" in 2002[1] and is the third oldest operating steakhouse in New York City, after Keens and Old Homestead Steakhouse.[2]

On January 10, 2022, Peter Luger's and Caesars Palace announced the opening of a third location in Caesars Palace Las Vegas, Nevada in the location formerly occupied by Rao's.

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, brass chandeliers and weathered beer-hall tables".[3][4]

In 2019, New York Times restaurant critic Pete Wells gave the restaurant a scathing, zero-star review,[5] a decline from Frank Bruni's 2007 two-star review,[6] a three-star review in 1995 by Ruth Reichl,[7] and a four-star review in 1968 by Craig Claiborne.[8]

History

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The Brooklyn location was established in 1887 as "Carl Luger's Café, Billiards and Bowling Alley" in the then-predominantly German neighborhood that would shortly thereafter be in the shadow of the Williamsburg Bridge.[9][10] German-born Peter Luger (1866–1941) was the owner, and nephew Carl was the chef.[11] When Peter died in 1941, his son Frederick took over and the restaurant declined.[12]

In 1950, Frederick closed the restaurant and put it up for auction. Sol Forman and Seymour Sloyer, who owned a metal giftware factory across the street,[13] bought it as partners for a "whimsically low" bid. According to Lester Magrill, the auctioneer, the purchase price was $35,000, which included the building as well as the restaurant. According to one history, "The neighborhood was declining, filling up with Hasidic Jews, whose kosher rules forbade the eating of Luger's hindquarters. Both Forman and Sloyer had been eating at Luger for twenty-five years, and they needed a place to take their clients. They were the only bidders during the auction." In 1968, Craig Claiborne of The New York Times gave a four star review of the steakhouse, under the new ownership.[8]

In 1968, Forman and Sloyer opened a Great Neck, New York, location. It was closed in 1984 after a severe fire, but reopened a year and a half later in 1986.[14]

Sloyer died in 2001 at the age of 85, and Forman died in 2001 at the age of 98.[13][15] Ownership of the restaurant passed to Forman's daughters and Sloyer's wife and children.[16]

In July 2009, while having dinner at Peter Luger, New York Governor David Paterson had Richard Ravitch secretly sworn in as Lieutenant Governor to oversee the stalemate-stricken State Senate.[17]

In 2021, the restaurant opened a new branch in Ebisu, Tokyo.[18] In 2022, the restaurant lost its Michelin star.[19] In November 2023, Peter Luger opened a location at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.[20]

[edit]
Steak for 4, served medium rare at Peter Luger
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 two to four.[21][3]

  • On Broadway, Williamsburg, Brooklyn
    On Broadway, Williamsburg, Brooklyn
  • The interior bar section of the Brooklyn establishment
    The interior bar section of the Brooklyn establishment
  • Great Neck location
    Great Neck location
  • Peter Luger bacon
    Peter Luger bacon
  • Steak served at Peter Luger
    Steak served at Peter Luger

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "America's Classics Award Winners | James Beard Foundation". www.jamesbeard.org. Retrieved 2019-10-30.
  2. ^ Kral, Georgia; Levy, Nicole (2018-07-06). "NYC's oldest restaurants will take you back in time". am New York. Retrieved 27 November 2018.
  3. ^ a b "The Special Is Steak, and More Steak". New York Times. February 14, 1993. Retrieved 2010-10-27.
  4. ^ "Restaurants". New York Times. April 23, 1993. Retrieved 2010-10-28.
  5. ^ Pete Wells, Peter Luger Used to Sizzle. Now It Sputters., The New York Times, October 29, 2019.
  6. ^ Bruni, Frank (2007-09-19). "Peter Luger Steak House - NYC - Restaurant Review". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-10-30.
  7. ^ Reichl, Ruth (May 26, 1995). "Restaurants". The New York Times. p. C22. Retrieved 2020-06-01.
  8. ^ a b Everybody Eats There: Inside The World's Legendary Restaurants by William Stadiem & Mara Gibbs Artisan: 2007. ISBN 1-57965-322-7. p. 28.
  9. ^ Our Story, Peter Lugers Archived 2006-12-09 at the Wayback Machine
  10. ^ Bernardo, Leonard and Jennifer Weiss. Brooklyn by Name:How the Neighborhoods, Streets, Parks, Bridges and More Got Their Names. New York. NYU Press:2006.
  11. ^ Brooklyn by Name: How the Neighborhoods, Streets, Parks, Bridges and More Got Their Names by Leonard Benardo and Jennifer Weiss. NYU Press: 2006. ISBN 0-8147-9946-9 pp. 27–28[1]
  12. ^ William Stadiem and Mara Gibbs Artisan (2007). Everybody Eats There: Inside The World's Legendary Restaurants. p. 28. ISBN 978-1-57965-322-4.
  13. ^ a b Raising Steaks: The Life and Times of American Beef by Betty Fussell. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt: 2008. ISBN 0-15-101202-4. p. 286.[2]
  14. ^ "Where the Steak Reigns Supreme". The New York Times. May 11, 1986. Retrieved 2010-10-27.
  15. ^ "Steakhouse Owner Sol Forman Dies At 98". Daily News. New York. November 28, 2001. Retrieved 2010-10-28.[permanent dead link]
  16. ^ Neuman, William (2001-11-27). "PETER LUGER OWNER SOL FORMAN DIES". New York Post. Retrieved 2017-04-20.
  17. ^ Parker, Billy (July 9, 2009). "Ravitch Was Secretly Sworn in at Peter Luger's". Gothamist. Archived from the original on July 14, 2009.
  18. ^ Reidy, Gearoid (2021-10-14). "Peter Luger Defies Pandemic to Open First Tokyo Steakhouse". Bloomberg News. Retrieved 2023-01-21.
  19. ^ Fabricant, Florence (2022-10-07). "Peter Luger and Carbone Among Michelin Star Losers and Winners". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-10-08.
  20. ^ Karel, Janna (2023-08-30). "Peter Luger Brings Its Signature Steaks—and a Vegas-Only Menu Item—to Caesars Palace". Eater. Retrieved 2023-11-21.
  21. ^ Alan Richman (September 27, 2006). "Where's the Welcome? Peter Luger's Hostile Hash". Bloomberg News. Retrieved 2010-10-28.
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