42 36 n 73 57 45 w 40.7099 n 73.9626 w 40.7099 ; 73.9626 peter luger steak house the interior bar section of the brooklyn establishment restaurant information established 1887 food type steakhouse rating michelin guide street address 178 broadway city brooklyn new york great neck new york website www.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 on long island . peter luger has been named the best steakhouse in new york city by zagat survey for 30 years in a row . 1 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 . 2 3 in 2002 it was named to the james beard foundation s list of america s classics . contents 1 history 2 trivia 3 see also 4 references 5 external links history edit the brooklyn location was established in 1887 as carl luger s caf billiards and bowling alley in the then predominantly german neighborhood which would shortly thereafter be in the shadow of the williamsburg bridge . 4 5 german born peter luger 1866 1941 was the owner and nephew carl was the chef ; 6 when peter died the restaurant declined . 7 in 1950 peter luger s son shut the restaurant and put it up for auction . bernard and lester magrill local auctioneers and frequent patrons conducted the auction . sol forman who owned a metal giftware factory across the street 8 bought it 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 rules forbade the eating of luger s hindquarters . forman had been eating at luger for twenty five years and he needed a place to take his clients . he was the only bidder during the auction . the purchase cemented the friendship between the magrills and formans and lester frequented the restaurant almost five days a week for sixty years . legend has it that lester visited the great neck restaurant one evening and when mistreated by the maitre d he asked to use the house phone . he turned to the offending host and stated it s for you . on the other end of the phone an irate sol forman fired the offending host on the spot and magrill was immediately seated . a rave from ber critic craig claiborne in the new york times was proof that forman had kept the luger faith and the four star review generated a new legion of the faithful . 9 forman opened a great neck new york location which was closed in 1984 after a fire severely damaged the restaurant reopening in a year and a half later in 1986 . 10 forman died in 2001 at the age of 98 . 8 11 among the current owners of the restaurant is amy rubenstein wife of howard rubenstein the legendary public relations man whose clients have included george steinbrenner rupert murdoch and donald trump . 12 famous guests have included james cagney alfred hitchcock robert de niro henry kissinger elizabeth taylor jackie gleason chuck schumer johnny carson and jerry seinfeld . 13 tennis champion pete sampras also liked to celebrate wins at the u.s. open by feasting at peter luger s. in july 2009 while having dinner at peter luger new york governor david paterson secretly had richard ravitch sworn in as lieutenant governor to oversee the stalemate stricken state senate . 14 trivia edit to the present day peter luger steakhouse has not and does not accept any credit cards at either brooklyn or great neck locations . accepted forms of payment are the peter luger card us checks with id and us debit cards . atms with a remarkable service charge are provided in front of the restaurants . 15 wolfgang zwiener took the core principles from his years as peter luger s head waiter before he opened his own restaurant wolfgang s steakhouse . 16 on broadway williamsburg brooklyn williamsburg brooklyn location great neck location see also edit list of restaurants in new york city list of steakhouses references edit zagat peter lugers the special is steak and more steak . new york times . february 14 1993 . retrieved 2010 10 27 . the main dining room with its wood floors scrubbed wood tables dark ceiling beams large wrought iron chandelier and stucco walls says steakhouse . other rooms are more gentrified with carpeting tablecloths red leather banquettes and brass williamsburg style chandeliers . ... the menu is extremely limited even for a steakhouse . steaks are not listed by cut only as steak for one two three or four . it turns out that that steak is a porterhouse cooked precisely to order flavorful tender and the pick of the menu . restaurants . new york times . april 23 1993 . retrieved 2010 10 28 . the main dining rooms have a teutonic air with exposed wooden beams burnished oak wainscoting brass chandeliers and weathered beer hall tables . ... choices are limited to broiled porterhouse steaks in portions serving one to four thick double lamb chops prime rib an occasional special and broiled fish . our story peter lugers bernardo leonard and jennifer weiss . brooklyn by name how the neighborhoods streets parks bridges and more got their names . new york . nyu press 2006 . 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 pgs 27 28 1 william stadiem and mara gibbs artisan 2007 . everybody eats there inside the world s legendary restaurants . p. 28 . isbn 1 57965 322 7 . 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 everybody eats there inside the world s legendary restaurants by william stadiem & mara gibbs artisan 2007 . isbn 1 57965 322 7 . p. 28 3 where the steak reigns supreme . new york times . may 11 1986 . retrieved 2010 10 27 . the restaurant reopened about two months ago after having been shuttered for a year and a half following a fire . steakhouse owner sol forman dies at 98 . new york daily news . november 28 2001 . retrieved 2010 10 28 . sol forman who put the sizzle back in the landmark peter luger steakhouse died last thursday at maimonides medical center in brooklyn . he was 98 . annals of communications the fixer reporting & essays the new yorker tony chews the fat with a 37 year peter luger institution waiter wolfgang zwiener parker billy july 9 2009 . ravitch was secretly sworn in at peter luger s . gothamist . http www.peterluger.com bruni frank 30 june 2004 . eat up but don t tell your cardiologist . the new york times . retrieved 2015 09 14 . external links edit wikimedia commons has media related to peter luger steak house . official website retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title peter luger steak house & oldid 737246366 categories german american cuisinegerman american culture in new york citygerman restaurantsgreat neck peninsulamichelin guide starred restaurants in the united statesrestaurants established in 1887restaurants in brooklynsteakhouses in the united stateswilliamsburg brooklynhidden categories coordinates on wikidatacommons category with page title same as on wikidata navigation menu personal tools not logged intalkcontributionscreate accountlog in namespaces article talk variants views read edit view history more search navigation main pagecontentsfeatured contentcurrent eventsrandom articledonate to wikipediawikipedia store interaction helpabout wikipediacommunity portalrecent changescontact page tools what links hererelated changesupload filespecial pagespermanent linkpage informationwikidata itemcite this page print export create a bookdownload as pdfprintable version in other projects wikimedia commons languages espa ol portugu s edit links this page was last modified on 1 september 2016 at 15 51 . text is 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