Keens Steakhouse

Frommer's Review

Until the latter part of the 20th century, Keens, which was established in the same location in 1885, referred to itself as a "chop house." They are now officially known as a steakhouse, but I wish they had remained true to their roots and hadn't submitted to modern-day marketing and made that change. To their credit, they are a steakhouse in name only. They serve the basics of a steakhouse -- the porterhouse for two, aged, T-Bone, and filet mignon with the requisite sides like creamed spinach and hash browns -- but they still serve chops: lamb chops, prime rib, short ribs, and most notably, mutton chops. It is the mutton chop that has made Keens the true original that it is. The monstrous cut has two flaps of long, thick, rich, subtly gamy meat on either side of the bone that look kind of like mutton-chop sideburns. So which came first, the sideburns or the chop? Keens is no gussied-up remake of old New York: It's the real thing, from the thousands of ceramic pipes on the ceiling (regular diners were given their own personal pipes, including celebrities like Babe Ruth, George M. Cohan, and Albert Einstein) to the series of rooms on two floors with wood paneling, leather banquettes, fireplaces (in some), a clubby bar with a three-page menu of single malts, and even the framed playbill Lincoln was reading at the Ford Theater that infamous evening in 1865. You might have a better porterhouse at Peter Luger Steakhouse, but you'll have more fun at Keens.

Note: This information was accurate when it was published, but can change without notice. Please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the companies in question before planning your trip.

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