The NYC Restaurant Serving Up Massive Cuts Of Prime Rib Since 1885

Beef aficionados love to marvel over how many days their steaks have been dry aged, but what about slicing into those cuts in a place that's been open for well over 50,000 of 'em? New York City's Keens, which frequently numbers among the best steakhouses in town, has been operating in Manhattan since 1885. That was the actual Gilded Age, for anyone counting, the same year the Statue of Liberty arrived, and when the beautiful Brooklyn Bridge was a relatively new attraction. Keens keeps attracting its own visitors from across all of our bridges, tunnels, and far beyond for its T-bones, porterhouses, chateaubriands, filet mignons, and one very impressive prime rib.

Imagine, if you please, the biggest darn piece of meat you can conjure. Perhaps it brings to mind a plaid-clad lumberperson, Fred Flintstone's brontosaurus ribs, or the steak emoji. That's Keens prime rib, come to life. The king cut, a name that already implies its size and typically refers to a bone-in selection, nearly covers an entire dinner plate with a thick slab of crimson protein and flavor-enabling deposits of crucial fat. A few of Keens' other menu items are explicitly intended for two or three; this $89 behemoth could very likely do the same. Provided your cravings are set to cattle alone, it's also enough to slake any annoyance over the classic steakhouse practice of selling sides à la carte.

Choosing between New York City's many never-fail restaurants can create quite the conundrum. Any place that's still in demand after nearly a century-and-a-half is doing something right. Keens even has decent reservation availability compared to a lot of other restaurants, provided you book a few weeks in advance for your pick of time slots. As is befitting of one of the five boroughs' earliest eating and drinking emporiums, some old-timey marvels are almost as notable as the big prime rib. Dozens of tobacco pipes once puffed by the likes of Babe Ruth and Albert Einstein are now among Keens' more famous bits of decor. The rest of the house is about as dark and wood-lined as any steakhouse of throwback dreams should be.

Keens has also been peddling its mutton chop as "legendary" for as long as anyone can remember, but, while it's worth trying once, you might want to skip it if you're not sure if you'll ever return. Other cuts, such as the substantial prime rib, likely prove more memorable, and, although its heft does justify skipping the creamed spinach and potato preparations, they're a shame to miss. Red wine and martinis are also, obviously, available for the perfect pairing, as well as anything else they can shake and stir at the full bar.