Peter Luger Steakhouse   

Perhaps the most brightly lit steak house in history, Peter Luger is happy to let you see its cooked-to-perfection steaks in the best light imaginable. Rated the number one steak in NYC by Zagat readers 17 years in a row, this Williamsburg stalwart is always crowded, doesn't take any credit cards but its own, has all the ambiance of a German beer hall, and boasts a waitstaff more cantankerous than Archie Bunker. But that's why you love it, because out of all that comes the most amazing meat: buttery, a soft juicy pink on the inside, charred black on the outside, tender and marbled to perfection. Order the porterhouse for two (or three or four), and you can't go wrong at this bastion of Brooklyn beef. The juicy, tasty burgers are renown too -- not surprising since they come from the same source as the steaks. The portions run from massive to elephantine, from the tomato and onion salad, composed of red and white medallions whose diameter is almost that of a Frisbee, to the mountains of creamed spinach and fried potatoes. And of course, here you can get an appetizer of bacon -- just bacon, slabs of it on a plate. -- Erin Franzman