Ben Benson's

123 W. 52nd St., New York, NY - (212) 581-8888

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Posted By Michael Stern on 7/28/2003 5:05:00 PM

Midtown New York has a handful of first-class steak houses where the beef is prime … and priced accordingly. At The Palm, Sparks, Gallagher’s, Smith & Wollensky, and Ben Benson’s, you’ll easily spend $50 for a meal, not including drinks, and not counting the four-pound lobsters, which can cost $100 each, à la carte! None of these establishments are fancy; they have efficient staffs, mostly men, who are so efficient they verge on brusque; and the food they serve, made from the finest groceries available, is simply prepared and bluntly served. When we crave such a forthright meal, we usually find ourselves at Ben Benson’s on 52nd Street, where the wainscotted walls are decorated with pictures of Mr. Benson’s beloved horse and dogs and other sporting quadrupeds, and the wood floors rumble as white-aproned waiters push linen-topped service trays arrayed with comely cuts of beef and plate-size discs of hash brown potato.

Sip a dry martini and plow into a basket of raisin bread and hard-crusted dinner rolls while perusing a long, interesting menu that includes a fascinating “prime rib steak,” cut like a slab of prime rib, but marinated and then grilled like a steak. Note also the salads, which are first-class, especially Ben Benson’s “special salad,” a gigantic heap of cool, finely chopped marinated vegetables and – unless you say otherwise – many bits of anchovy. There is roast beef hash on Thursday; and the shrimp scampi amd crab cakes are some of the best we’ve had anywhere; but it’s the classic cuts of steak that reign in this dining room. You will not find a better sirloin – charred on the outside, firm-bodied, and packed with the flavorful juice that dry-aging cultivates. Hash browns are speckled with bits of onion and pepper, but if you like them extra-crisp, be sure to tell the waiter; otherwise, they arrive as a big, soft cake of spuds. As creamed spinach devotees, we can tell you that Ben Benson’s is some of the best anywhere; and if you’re on a diet (why are you HERE?), the simple baked potato is gorgeous.

There is dessert, available for viewing near the entryway, and it does look lovely. You have our respect and congratulations if you have appetite for a piece of cheesecake after one of Ben Benson’s great steak-and-potatoes meals.

Scorecard

Overall: Legendary - Worth driving from anyplace

Ben Benson special salad	Bread Basket
sirloin steak	Shrimp Scampi
creamed spinach	Hash Brown Potatoes
Cold Seafood Platter

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""Please cut into the steak to see if it's done the way you wish," the waiter asked when this sirloin was set before us. We sliced easily into the hunk of beef to find it perfectly medium-rare, as requested."
Michael Stern

"The breads themselves are extra-special at Ben Benson's. It's small torture not ruining one's appetite by devouring the whole basket with preprandial cocktails."
Michael Stern

"This is half of a Ben Benson's special salad: finely chopped marinated vegetables. When we were debating at our table about whether we wanted it with anchovies or not, the waiter suggested he divide it in half to please everyone. Ben Benson's is that kind of place."
Michael Stern

"Our dining companion wanted something light and refreshing for lunch, so she chose the cold seafood platter. It turned out to be enough seafood for a party of three. We'll be having the leftovers tonight for supper!"
Michael Stern

"We civilians cannot buy (or dry-age) the blue-ribbon beef available at Ben Benson's. This sign is in the entryway, above a bowl of pretty strawberries available for dessert."
Michael Stern

"Ben Benson's walls are covered with handsome images of animals."
Michael Stern

"This awning is the entryway to an only-in-New York dining experience."
Michael Stern