Peter Luger Steak House is a

steakhouse A steakhouse, steak house, or chophouse refers to a restaurant that specializes in steaks and chops, found mainly in North America. Modern steakhouses may also carry other cuts of meat including poultry, roast prime rib, and veal, as well as f ...

located in the Williamsburg section of

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, with a second location in

Great Neck, New York Great Neck is a region on Long Island, New York, that covers a peninsula on the North Shore (Long Island), North Shore and includes nine villages, among them Great Neck (village), New York, Great Neck, Great Neck Estates, New York, Great Neck Es ...

, on

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...

. It was named to the

James Beard Foundation The James Beard Foundation is a New York City-based national non-profit culinary arts organization named in honor of James Beard, a prolific food writer, teacher, and cookbook author, who was also known as the "Dean of American Cookery." The prog ...

's list of "America's Classics" in 2002 and is the third oldest operating steakhouse in New York City, after Keens and

Old Homestead Steakhouse The Old Homestead Steakhouse is a steakhouse established in 1868 whose flagship location is in Manhattan, New York City. The restaurant is the oldest continuously operating steakhouse in the United States. History In 1868, a German family establi ...

. On January 10 2022, Peter Luger's and

Caesar's Palace Caesars Palace is a luxury hotel and casino in Paradise, Nevada, Paradise, Nevada, United States. The hotel is situated on the west side of the Las Vegas Strip between Bellagio (resort), Bellagio and The Mirage. It is one of Las Vegas's largest ...

announced the opening of a third location in Caesar's Palace

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

, in the location formerly occupied by

Rao's Rao's () is a Southern Italian restaurant founded in 1896. It is located at 455 East 114th Street, on the corner of Pleasant Avenue in East Harlem, New York City. Rao's has sister restaurants in Los Angeles and Las Vegas, Nevada. History The re ...

. The Brooklyn location is known for its long wooden bar, and the "dining rooms have a Teutonic air, with exposed wooden beams, burnished

oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...

wainscoting,

brass Brass is an alloy of copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn), in proportions which can be varied to achieve different mechanical, electrical, and chemical properties. It is a substitutional alloy: atoms of the two constituents may replace each other with ...

chandelier A chandelier (; also known as girandole, candelabra lamp, or least commonly suspended lights) is a branched ornamental light fixture designed to be mounted on ceilings or walls. Chandeliers are often ornate, and normally use incandescent li ...

s and weathered beer-hall tables". In 2019, ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' restaurant critic

Pete Wells Pete Wells is the restaurant critic for ''The New York Times''. He has held the position since November 2011, succeeding Sam Sifton. Wells was adopted as an infant and grew up in Rhode Island. He lives in Brooklyn and is married to the novelist ...

gave the restaurant a scathing, zero-star review,Pete Wells
Peter Luger Used to Sizzle. Now It Sputters.
''The New York Times'', October 29, 2019. a decline from

Frank Bruni Frank Anthony Bruni (born October 31, 1964) is an American journalist and long-time writer for ''The New York Times''. In June 2011, he was named an op-ed columnist for the newspaper. His columns appear twice weekly and he also writes a weekly ne ...

's 2007 two-star review, a three-star review in 1995 by

Ruth Reichl Ruth Reichl (; born 1948), is an American chef, food writer and editor. In addition to two decades as a food critic, mainly spent at the ''Los Angeles Times'' and ''The New York Times'', Reichl has also written cookbooks, memoirs and a novel, and ...

, and a four-star review in 1968 by

Craig Claiborne Craig Claiborne (September 4, 1920 January 22, 2000) was an American restaurant critic, food journalist and book author. A long-time food editor and restaurant critic for ''The New York Times'', he was also the author of numerous cookbooks and ...

History

The Brooklyn location was established in 1887 as "Carl Luger's Café, Billiards and Bowling Alley" in the then-predominantly

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

neighborhood that would shortly thereafter be in the shadow of the

Williamsburg Bridge The Williamsburg Bridge is a suspension bridge in New York City across the East River connecting the Lower East Side of Manhattan at Delancey Street with the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn at Broadway near the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway ...

. German-born

Peter Luger Peter Luger (January 22, 1866 – January 21, 1941) was a German chef and restaurateur, who founded Peter Luger Steak House in 1887. Early life Peter Luger was born in the Kingdom of Bavaria, which became part of the German Empire when he w ...

(1866–1941) was the owner, and nephew Carl was the chef. When Peter died in 1941, his son Frederick took over and the restaurant declined. In 1950, Frederick shut the restaurant and put it up for auction. Bernard and Lester Magrill, local auctioneers and frequent patrons, conducted the auction.

Sol Forman Sol Forman (July 1, 1903 – November 22, 2001) was an American restaurateur who owned Peter Luger Steak House. Biography Forman was born on the Lower East Side of Manhattan around July 1, 1903. He dropped out of high school to support his fami ...

, and Seymour Sloyer who owned a metal giftware factory across the street,''Raising Steaks: The Life and Times of American Beef'' by Betty Fussell. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt: 2008. . p. 286.">
/sup> bought it as partners for a "whimsically low" bid. According to Lester Magrill, 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 (also or , ) is a set of dietary laws dealing with the foods that Jewish people are permitted to eat and how those foods must be prepared according to Jewish law. Food that may be consumed is deemed kosher ( in English, yi, כּשר), fro ...

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,

of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' gave a four star review of the steakhouse, under the new ownership.''Everybody Eats There: Inside The World's Legendary Restaurants'' by William Stadiem & Mara Gibbs Artisan: 2007. . p. 28
/sup> In 1968, Forman and Sloyer opened a

, location. It was closed in 1984 after a severe fire, but reopened a year and a half later in 1986. Seymour Sloyer died in 2001 at the age of 85. Sol Forman died in 2001 at the age of 98. Ownership of the restaurant passed to Forman's daughters and Sloyer's wife and children. In July 2009, while having dinner at Peter Luger, New York Governor

David Paterson David Alexander Paterson (born May 20, 1954) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 55th governor of New York, succeeding Eliot Spitzer and serving out nearly three years of Spitzer's term from March 2008 to December 2010. A ...

had

Richard Ravitch Richard Ravitch (born July 7, 1933) is an American politician and businessman who served as Lieutenant Governor of New York from 2009 to 2010. He was appointed to the position in July 2009 by New York Governor David Paterson. A native of New York ...

secretly sworn in as Lieutenant Governor to oversee the stalemate-stricken State Senate. In 2021, the restaurant opened a new branch in Ebisu,

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

. In 2022, the restaurant lost its

Michelin star The Michelin Guides ( ) are a series of guide books that have been published by the French tyre company Michelin since 1900. The Guide awards up to three Michelin stars for excellence to a select few establishments. The acquisition or loss of a ...

References

External links

* {{Restaurants in Brooklyn, New York German-American culture in New York City German restaurants in the United States Great Neck Peninsula Restaurants established in 1887 Restaurants in Brooklyn Steakhouses in New York City Williamsburg, Brooklyn James Beard Foundation Award winners 1887 establishments in New York (state)

History

Menu

See also

References

External links