Tonight I decided it was too long since I had been to a steak house so I decided to hit up Benjamin Steakhouse in Midtown. The chef, Arturo Mcleod, spent 20 years at Peter Luger's, so he knows his steak. The restaurant, adjacent to the Dylan Hotel and formerly Britney Spears' flop NYLA, is a magnificent space. It is elegant and regal, with soaring ceilings two stories high. The centerpiece of the main dining room is a huge working fireplace, which is turned on during the Winter. That is exactly where I sat, like a king on his throne.
I started off with three appetizers; Lump Crab Cake ($19.95), Canadian Bacon, Extra Thick ($3 a slice), and the Caesar Salad ($11.95).
The Canadian Bacon was truly extra thick, had a wonderful glaze on it, and was quite delicious.
The Caesar Salad was perfect. The lettuce was fresh and crisp, and the dressing had a slight flavor of anchovies, which I loved. It was definitely one of the best Caesar salads I have encountered.
The Lump Crab Cakes were great as well. I hate crab cakes that are made with mostly breading, and the breading on these crab cakes was almost non-existent, just the way I like it!
For my main course I wanted to get a Porterhouse, and they only had a Porterhouse for 2 ($82.95), so I went with it! (Please note I planned on taking home leftovers, for I knew there was no way I could consume all this food in one sitting!) The Porterhouse came out on a sizzling platter and it was a great presentation. The meat was perfectly cooked medium as I requested and had a great char to it. I will tell you this was by far the best steak experience of my life. It was a great and wonderful steak. Benjamin Steakhouse also makes its own steak sauce, which I added at times to give the meat an extra little sweet tang.
Of course to really get the true steak house experience I ordered a side of Creamed Spinach ($8.95) and the German Potatoes ($11.95). Both were great. I loved the kick of garlic to the spinach and the slightly burnt top to the potatoes.
Benjamin Steakhouse is the quintessential steak house. If I were to picture what a steak house is and should be, Benjamin Steakhouse would be it. The staff was very attentive too, placing more steak and creamed spinach on my plate for me at times! (Of course, I was one of the few diners there, for it was an early dinner, but they were still great.) In fact, I entertained many of them with my magic throughout the meal!
So if you need to fill that steak craving and want to feel like a King, Benjamin Steakhouse will satisfy all your desires.
Benjamin Steakhouse
52 East 41st (bet. Madison and Park)
New York, NY 10017
212-297-9177