Have the terrorists won?

Six years ago this week, New York City was in the immediate aftermath of what might have been the biggest tragedy of all time. Buildings were destroyed, lives were ruined, etc.

This year, another tragedy has occurred, albeit on a slightly smaller scale. The famed Peter Luger's Steakhouse lost a star in the New York Times.* Is this a sign that the terrorists have won? Is New York City going to be doomed every sixth September?

The thing is, if you read reviews about Luger's on blogs such as Chowhound, Curbed (which has nothing to do with food really, but people have opinions on everything) and Zagat, the ratings are less than stellar. All of a sudden everyone is a food critic. The internet has given all of us an open forum to become as discriminating as Frasier and Niles Crane. People complain that the steak is too charred, not charred enough, overcooked, undercooked, not tender enough, too fatty,the tomatoes aren't what they used to be, the shrimp cocktail is flavorless, the ice cream is too cold and the waitstaff is surly (which everyone knows). Oh yeah - and the damn place is in Brooklyn.

If you read what the public has to say about Luger's, it shouldn't deserve any stars at all. Everybody knows where they can get a better steak with better service with better prices (that takes credit cards). But why is there still a six week wait to get into Luger's? It can't be all tourists and people that think Sizzler makes an excellent Porterhouse. I have yet to try Luger's, but I'm sure if I did, I would quite enjoy my steak and find a few little things to gripe about. And maybe I've had better steak. (Sammy's in Mendham, NJ is pretty goddamn good.)

Luger's isn't the only famed restaurant people love to criticize. People criticize everything from Per Se to Craft to Le Cirque to the River Cafe. I often wonder if these people have even visited these restaurants or perhaps they're just resentful that they can't get a reservation so they bash it. The average diner at Per Se is not necessarily going home after dinner to log into some internet forum to complain about the wine list. I think most of these people are full of shit and don't know the first thing about food or wine or restaurants.

Peter Luger's may have lost a star, but here is an excerpt from the review (from a critic with a little more credibility than DaisyDuke121) that might make you want to hit the ATM and get into a taxi to the bowels of Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

"What a steak it was. Even before I saw it I could smell it — the acrid top note of its char, the funky bottom note of properly aged beef. I could even hear it, still sizzling from its time in one of the high-temperature broilers.

It was already sliced, and the waiter buckled down to the familiar Luger ritual, putting some filet and some sirloin on each plate, then spooning the pooled juices over it. The beef had a subtle tang, an intense mineral quality, a crazy richness and a spectrum of textures: crunchy at the edges, tender at the bone. I had to keep reminding myself to take it easy, to slow down."

Maybe the terrorists haven't won after all.

*I think Nostradamus predicted this one too.