And Steak-Cut Tomatoes

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Foodservice Forum: In New York, iconic eatery draws them in with steak -- and steak-cut tomatoes

July 2, 2008

NEW YORK -- If you've been to New York and missed eating at Peter Luger Steak House, get your carnivore appetite back here.

The Brooklyn location (a second restaurant on Long Island in Great Neck opened in 1960) has been dishing out the finest USDA Prime steaks since 1887. It was originally established as Carl Luger's Caf?, Billiards & Bowling Alley in the predominantly German neighborhood tucked under the Williamsburg Bridge.

In 1950, the original owners put the restaurant up for auction. Sol Forman bought it for what was publicized in restaurant tabloids at the time for "a whimsically low bid." His granddaughter, Jody Storch, vice president, now has the job of buying the meat for the restaurant. The current owners are comprised of Forman family members including Amy Rubenstein, the wife of Howard Rubenstein, the legendary publicist whose clients have included George Steinbrenner, Rupert Murdoch and Donald Trump.

And while we're name dropping, let's include members of Peter Luger's famous client list: James Cagney, Alfred Hitchcock, Robert De Niro, Rudolph Giuliani, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Nicolas Cage and Henry Kissinger.

"But we're in this for everyone, not just celebrities," said Jody Storch. "We consider our restaurants sort of simple but good, and we appeal to people across every economical level. We're a local, community-minded restaurant that draws clients from everywhere in the world. What we are all about

1 / 4 is presenting a wonderful steak. My grandfather felt it was important to stick to the basics. And my grandmother, Marsha Forman, spent two years with a retired meat grader from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, studying the differences in meat quality and cut. She passed that knowledge on to the following family member generations."

The restaurant has been named the best steakhouse in New York City by Zagat Survey for 24 consecutive years. The Brooklyn location boasts the coveted Michelin star rating, and in 2002, it was named to the James Beard Foundation's list of "American Classics."

But bring cash or apply in advance for a Peter Luger credit card, because the restaurants does not accept other plastic alternatives. Ms. Storch said that the company credit card was her grandfather's marketing tactic. "He felt that instead of paying credit card companies a percentage of receipts, let customers walk around with a Peter Luger credit card in their wallet," she said. "It evolved into a prestigious possession, and customers are reminded of the restaurant every time they open their wallets."

There are over 85,000 Peter Luger credit cards currently in circulation. The restaurants, knowing that not all customers are aware of the no-credit-cards policy, will also take personal checks with adequate identification.

The Brooklyn location is known for its long wooden bar. The exposed wooden beams, burnished oak wainscoting, brass chandeliers and weathered beer- hall tables in the dining rooms emit a Bavarian- German-earthy ambience. The Great Neck has one main dining room and a smaller Tudor room. Its warmth is accented with wood paneling and carpeting.

As the restaurant's name implies, the main attraction at Peter Luger is beef. Ms. Storch said that the selection process is crucial, and therefore is done only by members of the family who visit wholesale markets on a daily basis. It begins with fresh sides of beef that usually come from the Midwest. Only short loin is used, and the criteria are that it must come from cattle graded Prime by the USDA. Despite the provenance, executives at the restaurant still examine the color, fat conformation and bones to ensure it meets their stringent standards.

But a little research proved that Ms. Storch is modest about the other dishes on the Peter Luger menu. Most reviews and blogs comment with strong admiration for the beef, but raves about the side dishes are seemingly continual.

"Appetizers are very simple, which is probably why they have always been so popular," she said. "One of the most frequently ordered is the steak-cut sliced tomato and onion salad, dressed with our signature Peter Luger sauce. The sauce is tomato-based sauce with horseradish. It's sweet and tangy, and is perfect on vegetables."

The tomatoes, she said, have to be the very best available, so the company buys from only distributors that have the highest-possible quality.

"We buy from several distributors, including Eli & Ali's in Brooklyn," she said. "They are known as a top tomato company, so we look to them for the quality we demand. We want a vine-ripe beefsteak with a certain tanginess, not ones with a starchy, mealy texture."

The tomato-and-onion salad has an added twist. Diners commonly order a side of slab bacon. It all started one day many years ago when diners noticed employees munching on thick, slab-cut bacon,

2 / 4 and asked if they could order it.

"Today customers order the bacon and add it to the tomato and onion salad," said Ms. Storch. "The bacon has a very smoky flavor, and the combined flavors of the vegetables, bacon and sauce are hard to resist."

Peter Luger's sauce is produced at the restaurant and is available in retail locations around the country, as well as by e-mail through its web site. "We also offer a traditional Caesar salad, and we will serve a traditional Iceberg wedge with blue cheese dressing on request," said Ms. Storch. It wouldn't be a proper steakhouse without some great potato side dishes. And Peter Luger is known for several. It uses Idaho potatoes for its french fries because the very long fries make a great presentation. The flavor of the fries is outstanding because they are fried in the suet from the meat.

"Our German fried potatoes, which are our version of hash browns, are also very popular," said Ms. Storch. "We cube and saut? the potatoes with onions and sweet peppers, and put them in the oven until they are crisp and golden. Our onion rings are sliced thinly, dusted with seasoned flour and tossed into a fryer for just a minute. They're served piping hot."

Vegetable sides include fresh broccoli and creamed spinach, the latter being the veggie side most popular among diners. Ms. Storch said they don't smother the spinach with cream, preferring to let the flavor and texture of the vegetable take center stage on the dish.

The dessert menu leans strongly toward fresh fruit and includes apple strudel, fruit tarts, pecan pie and fresh fruit in season.

"Our prepared desserts are made for us by local bakeries," she said. "Fresh fruit is used in all of them. For our fresh fruit plate, we use large, high- quality strawberries such as Driscoll's and Israeli melons when they're in season. We order only the most wonderful fruit of the season, and we'll source from anyone who has it."

If you're wondering what patrons typically wash all of this wonderful- sounding food down with, it's Peter Luger's famous martini.

"They are huge, and served nice and cold," said Ms. Storch. "Our entire beverage service includes only juices made in our restaurants daily from fresh fruit."

Special supplier for special tomatoes "Peter Luger is a tremendous operation with a tremendously great reputation," said Peter Kroner, director of corporate development and purchasing for Eli & Ali's in Brooklyn, NY. The Forman family members are compulsive about quality, and they demand the best. We typically visit them with several varieties of field tomatoes, but if they dont like what they see, theyll tell us to go home and bring back another case. They literally cut and taste the tomatoes they are going to purchase before they commit.

They commit a bunch with Eli & Alis however, and volumes increase during holidays and other busier times.

Mr. Kroner explained that the Formans like a tomato with a green gel. Seeds inside the paddlewheel of most commercial tomatoes are fairly clear and somewhat watery, he said. But tomatoes with green gel are produced from different seed and are grown in specific areas of the country, primarily the West. The people at Peter Luger feel these are sweeter tomatoes. Green- seed tomatoes are not as

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popular among consumers in retail stores, likely because the green seed is not familiar. But it is an outstanding tomato. We fly the vine-ripe Beefsteaks in for our customers like Peter Luger.

Commenting on the first impression of the restaurant, Mr. Kroner said, The ambience is simple, but tasteful. It can get loud when its busy, but that draws a lot of movers and shakers to it for lunch and dinner daily. I dont enjoy a steak anywhere in the city like I do at Peter Luger, and thats saying a lot because I love a great steak. Its the finest in the world in my opinion.