Monday night, over six hours ago, I went to the famed Peter Luger Steak House in Brooklyn with my girlfriend, my childhood friend and his wife visiting from Chicago, his wife's sister, and my other friend. My friend, Chris, from Chicago had some expectations because of Peter Lugar's reputation and our friend's hyped talk about their steaks. Jason, who grew up in NYC, said they had the best steaks even though he lives in Chicago now. Strong words from a man living in the historic cattle hub of America now.
This was a continuation of reacquainting myself with America's great steakhouses since I've been back for a few months now after my stint in Asia. While in Chicago, I went to Chicago Chophouse (Tom Horan's #1 Steakhouse In America 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003), Gibsons Steakhouse, and Tavern on Rush. Chophouse is still my favorite. Their signature prime rib kicks ass, their porterhouse (48 oz and 64 oz) melts in your mouth, and I love their 24 oz boneless NY Strip. Gibsons is my second favorite. Awesome cuts such as their bone-in ribeye.
The third spot is up in the air and I need more information and time before I would make such a call. Smith & Wollensky has a special place in my heart from my graduate school days in NYC, and their cuts are superb. Morton's is just a classic Chicago steakhouse. No matter how much I want to downgrade them for expanding so much and becoming an international steakhouse, they have been a model of consistency. All the Morton's locations I've been to have maintain their excellence in quality and taste as the original one in Chicago. Their wide but unfailing menu, such as their lobster bisque soup, places them at the highest level year after year. I went to the Hong Kong location and was surprised that they maintained their quality, and wondered how this was done with the possible variance in food quality and ingredients in a location across the Pacific.
The last steakhouse for consideration in this spot is Peter Luger Steak House. I liked their simple menu with the primary (almost only) steak being the porterhouse. They char their steak, which is great (Chicago is the home of the char dog and char burgers... what other city has burnt meats on the menus of every burger joint?), and the quality is good. It just wasn't great. I was disappointed though because I wanted it to melt in my mouth like I recently experienced at the Chophouse. We ordered "steak for six," which was two orders of "steak for three," but it was pretty small. I was going to order "steak for two" after looking at another table, but afterwards I know I can down a "steak for three." It definitely was not a bang for buck place even among high-end steakhouses. These factors led to my disappointment of Peter Luger last night, but I'm willing to give it another shot.
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