Peter Luger is an institution, the take your dad who loves meat there place forever. I've had a few amazingly satisfying steaks in my time when family's been in town, but I'd never tried their more affordable and highly praised lunch time burger until a recent day off.
The place is a bit more calm on a weekday, but it had gotten pretty full by the time we left the crisp white shirts, dark wood, and nautical dishes behind us. While we didn't need a reservation on a Friday afternoon, on a weekend it probably wouldn't hurt.
The burger is nice and fat and, unsurprisingly, the meat itself is to die for. Cooked perfectly medium rare, which is not the easiest for some restaurants, (other bloggers have even complained about Luger's as such a culprit) I found it fresh, salty and beautifully pink inside.
The huge pile of ribbon thin onion rings were also worth writing home about, the kind of snack that's terrible for you but so good it pops up afterwards in dreams. While I've adored their famous steak sauce on steaks in the past (we even have a bottle in the fridge), it's a perfect topping for a beef burger as well.
My only complaint was the bun, and it's really just a personal thing. I know a substantial bun is necessary for just the basic operations of a hulking burger, but I happen to prefer mine a bit squishier, the kind of bun that does its job but bows down in submission to the all mighty innards. But still, it's a great meal to be had in classic settings – worth the trip during the day (it's only available for lunch) and the comparatively cheap (in this expensive burger crazed city) $9.
But what do you think?