Herrine Ro: There's nothing more indulgent

than a luxurious steak dinner.

Erin Kommor: I - I'm actually tearing up.

Herrine: We visited three iconic restaurants in the city,

Delmonico's, Peter Luger, and Keens,

to find which steak is best in town.

Erin: So, there's amazing steakhouses all over the world,

but New York City has the best steakhouses

because they've been perfecting the craft for centuries.

Herrine: I mean, the three places that we're going to

are truly old-school New York

and are institutions of this city.

And at each place we'll be asking the chef or owner

what they recommend us getting

as first timers.

At every location, Erin and I will be judging

off of three qualities:

one, a perfect medium rare;

two, a beautiful, well-seasoned crust;

and three, a juicy, melt-in-your-mouth, flavorful inside.

It sounds so good. I'm so ready.

Let's go.

Erin: All right, let's eat steak!

Herrine, we're at our first stop, Delmonico's.

It is the first fine-dining restaurant,

not only New York City, but the entire country.

Herrine: I cannot wait.

Erin: I cannot wait either. Let's do it.

Customer: What I love most about this place

is the quality that they put into aging their beef,

the atmosphere, the tradition

that so few restaurants have these days in New York City.

Billy Oliva: I think Delmonico's played a huge role

in making steak what it is today.

Back in the 1800s, the Delmonico brothers

were butchering meat out in the street,

out in front of the restaurant.

So the Delmonico steak back then

was whatever cut they thought was the best.

Today, we believe that the boneless rib eye,

because of the fat content and the marbling,

is the best steak.

So we always use the boneless rib eye.

So, that's this one here,

which is a wet-aged boneless rib eye.

And why do we like it?

Because it has loads of marbling and a lot of fat.

And wet aging is a process where they process the beef,

it gets vacuum packed,

and it sits in its own blood and its own juices

for about 30 days.

We start the seasoning process,

just a little bit of blended oil.

We have some kosher salt that we season with.

We have a Pierre Poivre. It's a pepper mix

with about 11 different types of peppercorns,

and they range from spicy to floral,

and it's just an amazing mix.

So, this is an infrared broiler,

so it gets to be about 1,800 degrees.

After the steaks are cooked, we let them rest.

And then when we pick them up,

all the steaks are finished with a little Maldon sea salt,

and then we have here a mixture

of Wagyu beef fat and butter.

The sides I like with the steaks are,

No. 1, the Delmonico potato.

Then we had an asparagus carbonara.

And then finally the caulilini.

We just serve it with a little pickled raisins,

a little Parmesan cheese.

Erin: Oh, my goodness, she's gorgeous.

Herrine: She's stunning.

[gasps]

Erin: Thank you.

Billy: The asparagus, and the potato.

Herrine: Thank you so much. Erin: Thank you so much.

Herrine: This is such a beautiful spread.

Wow, this beautiful charring is....

Erin: The char is unbelievable.

Oh, my God, it, like, slides through the knife.

Herrine: And, like, it's so fatty

that it's actually glistening.

Erin: Oh, yeah, it's like a Christmas tree.

Herrine: Oh, my God.

Erin: Oh, my God.

The char, honestly, contrasting with the, like,

melty, juicy middle makes my mouth explode.

And the sea salt on top, oh, my goodness.

Unbelievable.

Herrine: I took too big of a bite.

[laughing]

Cameraman: That was a huge bite.

Herrine: This is the grandfather of all steaks.

And it's, quite simply,

the simplest, most indulgent steak

that I've ever had.

Erin: It's the most flavors I've ever tasted

in one bite of steak.

Oh, my God.

Herrine: Wet aging actually, like, gives the beef

its, like, freshest, beefiest flavor.

Erin: I kind of like that better.

Herrine: I don't know.

I really like dry age,

but for a wet-aged steak,

this is the best that I've ever had.

Erin: I really enjoy the fried onions on top.

Herrine: They're a nice little addition

because of the added crunchy texture

and the onioniness, because it has that bite.

Erin: Yeah. It's like, fat, bite, crunch.

There's so much crunch going on from the char

and the onions, and I really appreciate that.

Herrine: OK, it wouldn't be a full steak dinner

without some sides.

Erin: Heck no.

Herrine: So let's try this one.

Erin: The potatoes.

[gasping]

Herrine: Oh, my God. Life is great.

[crunching]

Erin: Oh, my God.

You hear that crunch?

They're so perfectly cheesy.

Oh, my goodness.

Pickled golden raisins?

That's so light and refreshing

and much needed next to the cheesy potatoes.

Herrine: I'm really excited about this, 'cause this is,

like, their creative spin on a carbonara.

Erin: Oh, I really, really like that.

Herrine: Although the sides are great,

I still think that the steak is the star of the show.

Erin: Oh, 100 billion percent.

Herrine: I really am curious

to see how this wet-aged, iconic steak

will compare to our next stop,

which is known for their dry age

and has been around not as long,

but long enough to seal its title

as the best steakhouse in New York City.

Erin: Better than this?

Herrine: Well, coverage-wise,

it's considered the best.

Erin: Well, this is gonna be tricky.

Herrine: Mm-hmm.

Erin: Herrine, I'm so excited.

We get to go to Peter Luger next.

Herrine: So, the reason why Erin is so excited

is because Peter Luger is arguably

the best steakhouse in New York City.

It's been around for over a century,

and this place has truly mastered the craft of steaks.

Erin: Let's go!

After you, milady!

David Berson: So, I think Peter Luger has

garnered its reputation as a New York City institution,

frankly, due to a lot of hard work.

I think it starts with our attention to detail

in selecting each piece of meat

that comes into this restaurant.

Customer: There's three or four places

I routinely go for steak in New York City.

The top place, when I want to impress a client

or show off a little bit,

I bring them to Peter Luger's in Brooklyn, yeah.

It's quintessential New York,

from the brusqueness of the waiter

to the day to day at the bar.

It's just an actual New York experience,

compared to the glossiness

of some of the other finer steakhouses.

David: The experience we're hoping to provide is ideally

that a customer is gonna have

the best steak they've ever had.

So, the steak I definitely recommend our guests order

is our porterhouse for two.

It's kind of the quintessential Peter Luger steak.

On one side you have the filet mignon,

and on one side you have the sirloin.

Both: Yes, we are.

Herrine: Can we get the steak for two?

Both: Medium rare.

Herrine: And then, what else do you recommend

for, like, the full experience here?

Erin: Yes, yes. That sounds amazing.

Herrine: Great, thank you so much.

David: A Peter Luger steak begins with one of our purveyors,

who we've been buying meat from for decades,

and because of our relationships with these purveyors,

one, they know what we're looking for,

but we're also offered first selection

at the prime meat they have available.

And prime meat is the highest classification by the USDA.

We then dry age it downstairs in our own dry-aging rooms

for an unspecified period of time.

Once it's been dry aged,

which helps the steak break down

and becomes much more flavorful and tender,

it's then brought up to our kitchen,

where it's broiled.

When describing our steak,

I always think of something my great-grandfather said,

which was like, "simple deliciousness."

We're really about letting

the highest-quality steak we can buy shine

with just a little salt and a tiny bit of butter.

When we cut the steak,

which kind of goes against traditional preparation,

it allows us to put out a much, frankly, hotter product,

but also it's something we've become synonymous for.

And we think it's the best way

of enjoying the porterhouse steak.

We cook the steak to order,

and we send it out sizzling hot to the guests.

That's it.

Herrine: The steak is about to come.

And the reason why I know this

is because they put this plate on.

'Cause the steak is gonna come,

and it's gonna go down this way,

so there's an incline so that all that fat

and that butter is gonna pool at the end.

We can hear it! We can hear it sizzle.

[sizzling]

Erin: I'm unwell.

Thank you.

Oh, my God.

Herrine: Thank you so much!

Erin: Thank you!

Potatoes.

Yes!

Ooh.

[laughing]

Both: Thank you so much.

Herrine: It's a perfect medium rare.

Erin: Oh, my God.

Herrine: OK, enough talking. You want to eat?

Erin: Yes, let's taste it.

I never wanted that to end.

That was one of the most beautiful things

I've ever ingested.

Oh, my God.

The crust on the outside is so perfect.

And it's just, like,

it's not too much butter.

It's the perfect amount of butter

and, like, a tiny little bit of salt.

And then the meat was cooked per-fect-ly.

[Herrine laughs]

Like, it melted in my mouth.

Herrine: You get that little bit of the

charring, smoky taste.

And it's crunchy, but the inside is so, so soft.

David said that the filet is the best part here.

Erin: The aromas coming out of it.

Herrine: Uh-huh.

Erin: You know when you have something so good,

you're at a loss for words?

Herrine: That has only happened to me a handful of times.

And the first time I had the steak here....

Erin: That just happened to me.