Peter Luger Awards

Peter Luger Restaurant Review:

For more than a century, carnivores have been traversing the Williamsburg Bridge to the Brooklyn side to sample consistently excellent steaks at Peter Luger. Established in 1887, the steakhouse delivers plus-size porterhouse steaks prepared in a method that has not changed since the first day they fired up the grill. Start with a tomato and onion salad, doused with steak sauce --- the sauce is there strictly for the salad and for dipping rolls into, and should not be allowed to touch the delectable meat. Extra thick slabs of sizzling bacon are another appetizer option. For an entrée, don't bother considering anything but the porterhouse steak for the table; it will send devout carnivores into a delighted daze and may convert a non-meat eater or two. Classic sides include onion rings, french fries, hashbrowns and creamed spinach. The burger, which is only available until 3:45 p.m., weighs in at more than half a pound of beef. Apple strudel served with a mountain of homemade "schlag" (whipped cream) is among the desserts. A limited but reasonably priced wine list has mostly red wines from California, with some French and Italian offerings. Servers are appropriately gruff and shopworn; most of them have worked at the steakhouse for years.