Now that Peter Luger Steakhouse has been dragged through the mud and stripped of its century-plus burnish in the New York Times’ zero-star roast as a restaurant nobody needs to go to, maybe it is time to rethink the old place’s $229 porterhouse for four.
This doesn’t mean, though, that New York City’s dedicated carnivores have to turn vegan or weather dry-as-sand chicken breasts. The city sizzles with not-so-pricey steaks — sometimes with fries, veggies and even salad included — that won’t leave you cash poor and cholesterol rich.
Here are some of our favorites:
$28 butchers steak/$30 flatiron
The folks behind St. Anselm showed serious gumption when they opened a steak spot less than a mile from a pre-Wells-walloped Luger.
But its cabin-porn interior, meat-saws adorning the walls and aroma of steak in the air keep the no-reservations joint — my dining companion called its signature offering “hipster steak” — perpetually crowded.
We arrived at 7 p.m. and had to wait an hour — but I didn’t mind as I cooled my heels over a craft brew at the cool, Anselm-owned Spuyten Duyvil beer-and-wine bar next door. Once seated in the restaurant proper, we ordered butchers and flatiron steaks ($28 and $30, respectively).
The former, on a skim of garlic butter was a rich and chewy affair. The latter gained in tenderness what it lost in beefiness, but a sprinkling of fresh horseradish put it over the finish line. I am going to try getting my pair of Luger loving pals to hit this place next time we venture to Brooklyn for an artery-clogging meal. 355 Metropolitan Ave., Brooklyn
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$29.95 steak frites feast
Hungry for everybody’s favorite French steak dish at, say, 2:00 in the morning? Long after the burners at Luger have been set to cool, L’Express is hopping. A New York take on a jazzy bouchon, this spot near Union Square serves a $29.95 hanger steak alongside a pile of thin-and-crispy French fries.
The chubby steak was toothsome and intense, as it should be, topped with a juicy brown sauce. The meat was good but the eavesdropping was better. If you were there with me, you could have enjoyed listening in on a neighborhood girl in her late teens, bemoaning the fact that “all my friends are in their mid-20s and they’re all dicks.” Her chitchat may have enhanced the meal, and I can’t guarantee she’ll be there when you visit. 249 Park Avenue South, Manhattan
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$10 Steak Freak cart
If you work in midtown Manhattan, you don’t want to go to Luger for one of its fantastic lunch-only burgers (yes, Wells dumped on it for inconsistency). But you can make your way to a food cart where the wait tends to be a dozen-deep.
There’s good reason why people line up at cleverly named Steak Freak, a genius food-cart owned by a former Soho House bar back. The surprisingly juicy steak, cut in Luger-style slices and cooked to order (always medium-rare, people), is a bargain at just $10. Plus you get good French fries and envious stares from coworkers when you chow down on Steak Freak at your desk. West 50th St., between Avenue of the Americas and 7th Avenue, Manhattan
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$20 surf & turf bargain
As the name implies, Steak ‘N Lobster specializes in the decadently flavorful combination. Once you give in to the bridge-and-tunnel vibe, you can get a good, well-seasoned New York Strip for just $20. And – oh, what the hell… — kick in another 20 for boiled lobster with drawn-butter. This place is not in the running for a James Beard Award, but Pete Wells would not liken the house crustacean to “cold latex dipped in horse radish and ketchup.” 129 West 29th St., Manhattan
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Ribeye: $2.50 by the ounce
I admit that I’d rather eat a porterhouse than a rib eye. But when you order the former at Luger, you don’t know how much you are getting and, sure as hell, you are not paying $2.50 per ounce for your meat.
At a Japanese import called Ikinari Steak, that is exactly what you will be doing. Employing a concept that shouldn’t work in New York but actually does, the restaurant has customers walking to a counter, requesting a weight and cut (big-spenders go for the filet at $3 per ounce). It comes to the table sizzling, with a little side order of corn and a zippy soy-based sauce to pour on top.
Back in the day, you had to eat here while standing up. It was perfect if you were waiting for a bus. For the rest of us, uh, not so much. But now there are chairs. 90 East 10th St. and 37 West 46th St.
Best London broil: $29.95
I haven’t eaten a London Broil steak since high school when a friend commandeered his vacationing parents’ grill, marinated the cheap cut of meat in some kind of onion-soup concoction and paired dinner with Boon’s Farm apple wine. At old school Donohue’s Steak House — a friend says it’s the kind of a place where a movie mafia-killing would take place — the kitchen crew does my hometown chum many times better. At $29.95, the sliced London Broil (please, order it medium rare) is surprisingly succulent, awash in a tasty mushroom sauce and served with mashed potatoes. Augment dinner with a couple of Donohue’s famously superb martinis — a Gay Talese fave-rave — and you’ll be, like, “Peter who?” 845 Lexington Avenue
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