Photo by Michał Kubiak on Unsplash
Katz’s Deli and Peter Luger’s Steakhouse Are 2 of the Most Legendary Restaurants in the World, According to an Online Travel Guide
December 27, 2024
An online travel guide has revealed the most legendary restaurants in the world, and two of them are located in New York City: Katz’s Deli and Peter Luger Steak House.
Katz’s Deli Is the Most Iconic Restaurant in NYC
Katz’s Delicatessen was named the most iconic restaurant in the Big Apple and eighth in the world, according to TasteAtlas. Coming in at 15th place is Peter Luger Steak House.
Katz’s Deli has been serving delicious sandwiches and deli favorites at the same location on the Lower East Side of Manhattan since 1888. It is often praised for offering the best Reuben and Corned Beef sandwich in all of New York.
The deli’s official website states that it started not named Katz’s, but rather the Iceland Brothers. Upon the arrival of Willy Katz in 1903, the name of the restaurant was officially changed to “Iceland & Katz.”
However, the trajectory of the store changed when Willy’s cousin Benny joined him in 1910, buying out the Iceland brothers to officially form Katz’s Delicatessen along with Harry Tarowsky, who bought into the partnership in April 1917. Katz’s Deli was moved across the street to its present location.
The deli has been visited by thousands of celebrities, referenced in books, and used as a backdrop for popular movies — most famously the feature film “When Harry Met Sally.” Its corned beef and pastrami are cured using a specific slow method that can take up to 30 days, according to Katz’s website.
“This perpetually-packed place retains its old-school vibe. A familiar menu — including the legendary pastrami — and consistently superior quality,” TasteAtlas said. Typically, Katz’s sandwiches run just under $30 for one sky-high pile of meat sandwiched between two slices of bread.
Peter Luger Steak House Is Just Across the River in Brooklyn, New York
Best known for the dry-aged porterhouse, Peter Luger credits its mouthwatering success to “using the finest, carefully selected meat from USDA Prime exclusively,” per TasteAtlas.
The restaurant has fed patrons since 1887. It is legendary in the New York area and has earned one of the highest honors in the restaurant world: a Michelin star.
“These slabs of finely marbled Porterhouse are dry-aged in-house, then broiled to perfection and finally served with their own sauce, as well as a host of sides (think German potatoes and creamed spinach),” stated the Michelin Guide.
Peter Luger’s official website states that the swanky restaurant once had more humble beginnings. It was initially named “Carl Luger’s Café, Billiards and Bowling Alley” when it opened in 1887. Peter Luger owned the establishment, while his nephew, Carl, manned the kitchen.
“It was not until 1920 that Sol Forman, a seventeen-year-old who had dropped out of high school to work full-time lighting street lamps, established the Forman Family with his siblings just across the street from Carl Luger’s,” said the restaurant’s website. After Peter Luger’s death, the restaurant fell into disrepair and was auctioned off. Forman was the only one at the auction and was able to purchase it for the price of the real estate.
Peter Luger’s beef is kept under carefully regulated temperature-controlled conditions to age properly. Only then is the meat butchered, trimmed, and delivered to the kitchen to be cooked.
At Peter Luger, expect to open your wallet a bit wider for a meal. A single steak could cost anywhere from $89 for a rib steak to $141 for a porterhouse.
Recent News
