Timeless: Keens Steakhouse!

While we were in New York we lunched at Keens Steakhouse.
Keen's has been operating since 1885.
In fact, Keens was around even before that when it operated out of The Lamb's Club, a private club for actors. When Keens first opened in its current neighborhood (on West 36th St. between 5th and 6th) it was in the theater district. Now, it's more like the garment district.
Everything around Keens has changed; except Keens.
Very, very few restaurants (especially in a big, sophisticated city like New York) remain in business as long as Keens. Which means that this place must be good -- and we're here to tell you that indeed it is!
We enjoyed a tasty, relaxing lunch at Keens (steak sandwiches and salads) amidst the unique atmosphere of this cushioned, clubby eatery which retains a timeless quality right down to the maitre d and well-trained, attentive waiters. At Keens you can choose the main dining room, the pub room or the bar. Both the bar and the pub room feature lower-priced entrees and all three offer specials. The bar offers a huge selection of single malt scotch.
Go to Keens for steaks, chops and hearty fare. And if you're a real carnivore, try the Mutton chop - a legendary treat.
BTW: Keens Steakhouse owns the largest collection of churchwarden pipes in the world. The tradition of checking one’s pipe at the inn had its origins in 17th century Merrie Old England where travelers kept their clay at their favorite inn – the thin stemmed pipe being too fragile to be carried in purse or saddlebag. Pipe smoking was known since Elizabethan times to be beneficial for dissipating “evil homourse of the brain.” Keens's pipe tradition began in the early 20th century.
The hard clay churchwarden pipes were brought from the Netherlands and as many as 50,000 were ordered every three years. A pipe warden registered and stored the pipes, while pipe boys returned the pipes from storage to the patrons.
The membership roster of the Pipe Club contained over ninety thousand names, including those of Teddy Roosevelt, Babe Ruth, Will Rogers, Billy Rose, Grace Moore, Albert Einstein, George M. Cohan, J.P. Morgan, Stanford White, John Barrymore, David Belasco, Adlai Stevenson, General Douglas MacArthur and “Buffalo Bill” Cody.
This place is truly unique. As Cindy Adams says: "Only in New York, folks; only in New York!"