Wolfgang's Steakhouse

[deprofundis]

I'm not going to say that until I have something like 6 or 7 steaks there, a process that could take me a year or more! All I can say at this point is that I had one full-on Luger-quality steak, and a great overall experience.

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I had a nice meal at Wolfgang's (Park Ave.) on Saturday night, so I'm bumping this thread up. Fat Guy: have you made repeat visits to Wolfgang's since? Have subsequent visits confirmed that, as you earlier stated, there's no reason to travel to Luger's anymore?

I arrived at Wolfgang's with 2 friends on Saturday night at around 8:15 for an 8:30 reservation. The place was very busy, and there were probably around 30-40 people waiting near the front desk and around the bar. We didn't have trouble getting a seat at the bar, though, as most people were just standing around. The drink prices seemed high even by Manhattan standards - $7 for a mug (smaller than a pint glass) of Budweiser, but whatever. $12 for a glass of red. $15 for a mixed drink. They give you homemade potato chips at the bar, which are very salty but tasty. A couple chips were kind of soggy.

We waited around until 8:30 and asked the hostess again about our table, and she said they'd come get us at the bar when it was ready. The system seemed completely disorganized, and I suspected we would never be seated. We waited around for another 10-20 minutes before I gave up and slipped the headwaiter some cash. We got a table in literally about 60 seconds. I could see how this would be a huge turn-off to a lot of people, but the hassle to get a table really doesn't bother me that much, as long as the food is worth it.

We ordered two strips of bacon, the tomato and onion salad, the steak for 3, and sides of mushrooms, sauteed spinach, and the hash brown style potatoes. The bacon was about 1/4 inch thick and had a great smokey flavor. The tomato and onion salad was good - it's probably really enough for 3 even though the menu says it's for two - but I personally probably wouldn't get it again because raw onions give me agita. The sides were all excellent, but the spinach was a little salty for my tastes. The potatoes were definitely a highlight, but they are very filling and I want to try the dessert next time.

The steak: the porterhouse for three was HUGE and we probably could have gotten away with the steak for 2. It was not a porterhouse for 2 with an extra strip. It was actually 2 real porterhouses with 2 bones total. It was cooked perfectly to medium-rare, although it did continue to cook a little more as it sat on the sizzling plate. The char on the exterior was perfect and gave the texture a slight crunch. I could definitely tell the depth of flavor with the dry aging. I haven't been to Luger's yet (plan to in the next few months), but this was definitely the top steak I've had anywhere, although I admit that I need more data points for comparison. The total bill, excluding tip, came to $228. We had no room for dessert, but they looked great.

Edited March 16, 2009 by deprofundis (log)

[Sneakeater]

Located just across the street from the HQ of the Citigroup Corporate and Investment Bank, I suspect the new Wolfgang's won't lack for patrons.

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How poignant that sentence now seems.