I was very happy to report on Peter Lugars Steak House a few months ago and now I have been to their neighbor down the road, Mortons of Great Neck.


I certainly hope Mortons of Great Neck is not typical of the Mortons franchise in general because if this is the case they will soon be out of business.

I was invited to a dinner by one of the labs that we use. This was to learn about a new allergy test. The lecture aside (and the fact that the lab would not sanction anything except beer wine or soda) I will get down to the nitty gritty of this place.

First the air conditioning was on so strong that everyone was freezing the patuties off. The room was noisy and even with the doors closed to the main dining room I could not easily hear the speaker.

Salad: A limp lettuce salad (called Cesar) with far too much bottled dressing and enough salt to preserve an elephant.

Steak: Although I ordered a medium rare, my partner a medium well, and another table mate a medium, the orders were taken by a young lady and served by an old man. All of the steaks looked to be done the same. Medium.

The steaks were soft and tasty but not like the one I had savored just a few months ago.

Sides: Greenbeans in enough garlic to actually be Garlic with some greenbeans (I am still tasting this today more than 12 hours later) and lumpy mashed potatos.

No coffee or dessert because I just got tired of waiting.

My rating 1/2*

I'll never go there again.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Docbarry,

quote:

Steak: Although I ordered a medium rare, my partner a medium well, and another table mate a medium, the orders were taken by a young lady and served by an old man. All of the steaks looked to be done the same. Medium.

There is no place like Luger's period.
If your intent was to compare the two.
Then i understand your dislike for Morton's.
I have only eaten at Morton's once in Atlantic City.
It was alright i prefer Dry Aged Steak.
The best for that is Luger's.
To be honest i do not even know if Morton's Dry ages their beef.

Morton's is a chain; it may be a high end chain, but it is still a chain and consistency will vary from meal to meal and from location to location.

Comparing Morton's to Luger is like comparing high school to Harvard Law School....when I do not have a chance to frequent Luger in Brooklyn or in Great Neck, I will settle for Bobby Van's (again, a chain, though with far fewer outlets than Morton's) OR when on business in Seattle I wind up at The Metropolitan Grill--always consistently good. I have not had a chance to sample Bern's in Tampa.

I actualy think I have salmonella food poisoning.

I have been feeling queezy all day and my partner also reported similar symptoms. Probably from the salad.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Docbarry,

I tell you Old Homestead on 9th ave and 14th st in manhattan is also excellent.
If i can't make it to Lugers thats were i go.

I've only been to the Mortons in Chicago. It was outstanding. But then, that was the original.

I frequent Morton's quite often. I have a wine locker and cigars at the Santa Ana location and find the service and food outstanding. Its a great place to unwind.

Bummer about the service you had, sounds like you were in there for a banquet of some sort
I've been to many a restaurants and the one thing I've found is that you can't judge your dining experience based on banquets. Menu's typically are not the same as well as the service. IMO.

My 2¢

Doc, that is a shame. Mortons here in Indy is one of my favorite places. Always great food and service. I think it safe to say that any company in the service industies is subject to a "failure" if you will. I don't think the failure itself defines them, I think how they handle it does. I would deffinetly tell them about your experience. The mortons I had experienced here in Indy would surely make it right, at least dinner on the house.

Doc,
If and when you ever visit Buffalo I highly recomend The Buffalo chop house.
www.buffalochophouse.com. It is an outstanding steak house for prime aged beef. It also has a fabulous wine list. Unfortunaly there is not a good cigar lounge near by but if in Buffalo it is a must.

quote:

Originally posted by littoines:
Doc,
If and when you ever visit Buffalo I highly recomend The Buffalo chop house.
www.buffalochophouse.com. It is an outstanding steak house for prime aged beef. It also has a fabulous wine list. Unfortunaly there is not a good cigar lounge near by but if in Buffalo it is a must.

They sent my brother a $10 gift card. Wow, big f'in deal haha. Your meal would now only come to $90.

quote:

Originally posted by jms2788:

quote:

Originally posted by littoines:
Doc,
If and when you ever visit Buffalo I highly recomend The Buffalo chop house.
www.buffalochophouse.com. It is an outstanding steak house for prime aged beef. It also has a fabulous wine list. Unfortunaly there is not a good cigar lounge near by but if in Buffalo it is a must.

They sent my brother a $10 gift card. Wow, big f'in deal haha. Your meal would now only come to $90.

$10.00? That won't get you a soft drink in the place.
One day James you will be able to take clients there and write it off as a buisness expence. Then spend the money on good cigars.

quote:

Originally posted by littoines:

quote:

Originally posted by jms2788:

quote:

Originally posted by littoines:
Doc,
If and when you ever visit Buffalo I highly recomend The Buffalo chop house.
www.buffalochophouse.com. It is an outstanding steak house for prime aged beef. It also has a fabulous wine list. Unfortunaly there is not a good cigar lounge near by but if in Buffalo it is a must.

They sent my brother a $10 gift card. Wow, big f'in deal haha. Your meal would now only come to $90.

$10.00? That won't get you a soft drink in the place.
One day James you will be able to take clients there and write it off as a buisness expence. Then spend the money on good cigars.

Haha, I hope so. Yeah, he picked up the gift certificate and said something like "oh wow, I can get a 3rd of a side salad" lol.

quote:

Originally posted by jms2788:

quote:

Originally posted by littoines:
$10.00? That won't get you a soft drink in the place.
One day James you will be able to take clients there and write it off as a buisness expence. Then spend the money on good cigars.

Haha, I hope so. Yeah, he picked up the gift certificate and said something like "oh wow, I can get a 3rd of a side salad" lol.

No, no, no. JMS, if you are going to become a lawyer, you must master the intricacies of legal billing: first, you take the client to dinner; then, you write a memo to the file re anything that you talked or thought about that might have to do with the client's legal issues; then, you bill the client at your normal hourly rate for your time (rounding up on the quarter-hour); then you write off the actual expense to the extent allowable by the IRC and regs.

Repeat as necesssary.

quote:

quote:
Originally posted by littoines:
Doc,
If and when you ever visit Buffalo I highly recomend The Buffalo chop house.
www.buffalochophouse.com. It is an outstanding steak house for prime aged beef. It also has a fabulous wine list. Unfortunaly there is not a good cigar lounge near by but if in Buffalo it is a must.

You know i e-mailed them i asked them if there beef is dry aged.
Never got a response.I go up to Buffalo a couple of times a year to see my buddy Jimbo.
He has season tickets to the Bills.He always takes me to a game.I thought it would be a nice way of saying thanks.Taking him to dinner.

quote:

Originally posted by minalpharetta:

quote:

Originally posted by jms2788:

quote:

Originally posted by littoines:
$10.00? That won't get you a soft drink in the place.
One day James you will be able to take clients there and write it off as a buisness expence. Then spend the money on good cigars.

Haha, I hope so. Yeah, he picked up the gift certificate and said something like "oh wow, I can get a 3rd of a side salad" lol.

No, no, no. JMS, if you are going to become a lawyer, you must master the intricacies of legal billing: first, you take the client to dinner; then, you write a memo to the file re anything that you talked or thought about that might have to do with the client's legal issues; then, you bill the client at your normal hourly rate for your time (rounding up on the quarter-hour); then you write off the actual expense to the extent allowable by the IRC and regs.

Repeat as necesssary.

Actually, you should dictate a memo on that. Then the secretary can bill for typing the memo, you can bill for reviewing the draft and make corrections, etc.

quote:

You know i e-mailed them i asked them if there beef is dry aged.
Never got a response.I go up to Buffalo a couple of times a year to see my buddy Jimbo.
He has season tickets to the Bills.He always takes me to a game.I thought it would be a nice way of saying thanks.Taking him to dinner.

Just a little up date here fellows.I called the phone number on the web-site.Spoke to the manager the beef is U S D A grade prime.The bad news is it is Wet Aged . At the prices they charge your getting a supermarket steak.I think i will pass on that one. Back to the old drawing board.

quote:

Originally posted by Fat Weed Esq:
Actually, you should dictate a memo on that. Then the secretary can bill for typing the memo, you can bill for reviewing the draft and make corrections, etc.

I thought that was understood, forgetting that we are dealing with the uninitiated, thanks, Fat man. While we're at it, guys, and since I didn't spell it out, when billing under the scenario I described, you also bill for your travel time to and from the restaurant, during which time you can make calls to other clients (this is the "sweet spot," where you can double-bill).

Doc, you are 100% correct concerning the Mortons in NY. Stick to Lugars and Sparks in the city.

the Mortons in hartford CT gave me an excellent meal and was worth every penny.

second, my ex wife was a paralegal and helped institute computerized billing. All the attorneys kept stopwatches at their desk and billed for the minute and seconds. They said with all the seconds accounted for billable time went up signifagantly.

Finally if you are ever in Palm Desert CA, try LG's Steakhouse

quote:

Finally if you are ever in Palm Desert CA, try LG's Steakhouse

Do they sell Dry Aged Beef?