New York is a steak eating town. Every now and then promoters of good health manage to decrease the number of steak houses but the carnivores always manage a comeback. HG was literally at the center of the golden age of New York steak.. A Hearst journalist, HG in the 50’s worked out of E. 45th Street and could take few steps without stumbling into a steak house. Beef Valhalla.
The East 40’s was known as “Steak Row” and these were the places that grilled well marbled, perfectly aged beef: Christ Cella (HG’s favorite); Palm; Danny’s Hideaway, The Assembly, Press Box, Pen and Pencil, Pietro’s, Joe & Rose, McCarthy’s. Some blocks away on W.36th Street was Al Cooper’s (beloved by garment center biggies and HG). The theater district standbys were Frankie & Johnny’s and Gallagher’s. Off the beaten track were Cavanagh’s on E. 23rd Street, The Steak Joint in Greenwich Village and venerable Peter Luger’s in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn.
All wonderful. But, HG’s private joys were steak and vinegar peppers at Delsomma on W. 47th and steak with Spanish potatoes and onions at Fornos on W. 52nd. HG would search but it was very difficult to obtain a nice plate of tofu and sprouts.
What about KEENE’s Chop House? I thought that was a big HG fave.
Loved Keen’s. But, HG is talking steak. The Keen’s dish was (and is) its extraordinary mutton chop. Now that Brooklyn’s Gage & Tollner is a memory, Keen’s is the only place where you can get a mutton chop. Keen’s steak was below the top flight Steak Row cuts.