Last weekend my wife and I were walking down Stanton Street on the Lower East Side when we were stopped by a group of French speaking people who were looking for a restaurant recommendation. Specifically they were looking to eat at an American steakhouse. I immediately thought of and recommended Peter Luger Steakhouse in Williamsburg which is also very close to the Lower East Side.

Peter Luger is perhaps the most well known steakhouse in New York. It has been around forever. Many celebrities go there. The scene is also quite unique with sawdust on the floors and gruff German waiters who do the ordering for you. Some might argue about whether it’s the “best” steakhouse or not. I think that most people would agree it’s worth the trip if you’re a visitor to the city who doesn’t mind spending a bit of money on good steak.

I thought my mission of helping was accomplished but one of the women in the group then asked if they could walk there. While Williamsburg is just a walk across the bridge it was probably more walking than they were looking for so I had to think again.

A few different steakhouses ran through my mind. There’s Del Frisco’s which is up on 6th Avenue and 49th Street. And just a couple of days before I had dinner at The Old Homestead Steakhouse at 9th Avenue and 14th Street. I have been to both of those places more than once and would definitely recommend them. Unfortunately neither of those places was in walking distance. Then an idea came to me.

A good friend of mine used to work at a place on Chrystie Street (near Delancey Street) called Sammy’s Roumanian Steakhouse. I have never eaten there but I have been inside at dinner hour to witness the live music, large family-style tables and frozen vodka…along with the steaks of course. Sammy’s is a place that is perfect for a group and also not very fancy or pretentious. Since there were a few people in the group and they were dressed in a casual manner I went with Sammy’s as the recommendation pointed the group west down Stanton Street to Chrystie Street.

At that point we went our separate ways. My wife and I had a nice dinner at a place called Antibes Bistro and then headed back towards Chrystie Street on our way to the Bowery Ballroom for a music show. It just so happened that we walked right by Sammy’s so we decided to peek in the window to see if the group we had sent over was there. The live music was playing, people were dancing, and we could see steaks and bottles of vodka on the tables. And sure enough our group was there. Some were seated at a large round table and a couple of others were dancing. It felt good to know that we had pointed some strangers to a good meal and a good time.

There’s a bit of irony of this scenario. Although the people asked to be guided to an “American” steakhouse they ended up at a Roumanian steakhouse that just happens to be in America. My first choice, Peter Luger, I consider to be more German than American in the style of the food, drink and the decor. The Old Homestead and Del Frisco’s are definitely more American-style steakhouses. That’s part of the beauty of New York though. You will often find many variations on a particular theme. Exploring all of those variations is a big part of the fun of the city.