Why Peter Luger Is The Most Legendary Steakhouse In NYC | Legendary Eats

In New York City's rapidly changing landscape, few restaurants can stand the test of time. So how has this legendary steakhouse survived for over 130 years? Hey guys, it's Spencer and we are here at Peter Luger Steakhouse in Brooklyn, New York. If you're looking for the quintessential old-school New York City steakhouse experience, this is the spot. Peter Luger Steakhouse is an old-school German beer hall-styled steakhouse where we believe in, as my great-grandfather would say, simple goodness. And what I mean by that is we have a small menu, but what we do we try to make sure that we get perfectly. The family-owned restaurant is one of the few Michelin-starred steakhouses in the city. And it's made Zagat's list of best steakhouses in NYC for 30 years and counting. Most surprisingly though is their ability to last in a neighborhood that's seen such significant changes over the years. Peter Luger was opened in 1887 as Carl Luger's Cafe and Billiards. And my great-grandfather had a metal factory right across the street and every day he would come in for lunch and have a steak and a martini. And when it was put up for auction he poked his head in, there wasn't much going on, and without knowing anything about the restaurant industry he kind of took a gamble on it. People knew they could come here for a great meal, great service, and it was reliable in a part of town that wasn't as reliable. Now the neighborhood has changed drastically. I think it's been kind of a perfect storm of energy that has pushed us from a little steakhouse right over the Williamsburg Bridge to hopefully a destination restaurant in the United States. Every steak is hand-picked by a family member to ensure it meets their rigorous standards. What defines a Peter Luger steak is we only start with USDA Prime, which is the highest grade the USDA will hand out. From there we will only select a very small portion of it. Once it's brought to the restaurant we dry age it in-house for an undisclosed period of time. I'm afraid I can't tell you guys that, but once it's been dry aged we then butcher it in-house. We sear it and we want that steak going out sizzling hot and so from there it's just going to your table and hopefully as quickly as possible. The plate comes out boiling hot and it's actually still cooking when you get it. It's just fantastic. Are you very excited? Very excited. Looks delicious. So right off the bat it smells unreal. You could smell it from like a mile away. It looks like it's cooked perfectly. It smells amazing, but the question is how does it taste? That is incredibly tender. I think when you have a steakhouse that's been here for 130 years you know they're doing it right and I can tell you it's as good as it looks. There's a reason they've survived the ages. This is the reason right here. Cheers. The meal is finished with one of their classic desserts, served alongside a heaping bowl of homemade schlag followed by some official Peter Luger Steakhouse chocolate gold coins. People have just so come to expect that that if we don't have that it's not the Peter Luger experience. We go out of our way to really ensure that each piece of meat is as good if not better than the next and we keep the menu really condensed and tight and so it's bare bones but at the same time it's the perfect way of experiencing a classic New York City steakhouse meal.