You can’t miss The Waldorf-Astoria Hotel at 301 Park Avenue. The hotel takes up the whole block from 49th Street to 50th Street and from Park to Lexington Avenues. The Bull and Bear is a flagship restaurant located on the Lexington Avenue side of the Hotel. It is the only place in New York City that serves dry aged certified Angus beef prime. Less than 1 percent of all U.S. beef meets the high standards required for this certification. Bull and Bear steaks are further dry aged for 28 days. Aging makes the meat tender and flavorful.
Starting with the best ingredients means the taste, when properly prepared and served, will be perfection. And perfection Bull and Bear is. Diners are met by Utrech, Holland-born Ferry van Lier, The Waldorf’s senior food and beverage manager. His European good manners and friendliness is to be remembered and echoed during every step in the service after Ferry has shown you to your table.
Bull and Bear Captain Ubie, originally from Lima, Peru, takes over the service. He addresses diners by name with courtesy and hospitality. Ubie has served presidents and royalty for 29 years working in the very room where Bob Hope, Jerry Lewis, Al Pacino, both Presidents Bush, and others dined. “Jerry Lewis likes that table. He comes in with kids. When he sees me he sings ‘Ubie, doobie, do.’ President Bush likes that round table. Bob Hope often sat here. He liked this table against the wall.” Ubie was told that he should write a book about his experiences. If he does it will be resplendent with tales about the grand age of fine dining at The Waldorf.
Ubie is a specialist making Caesar salads. He used to prepare them at table but now makes them to order in the kitchen and serves them elegantly on fine China plates.
Listen to Ubie’s wine suggestions. The Bull and Bear is the only restaurant to feature Sparkling Point methode champenoise from North Fork, Long Island, New York. Not made in Champagne region of France, it cannot be called Champagne, but the Brut 2004 compares favorably to the best Champagnes.
Sparkling Point is offered by the glass at $17. Other wines by the glass range from $14 to $20. Bottles of Peter Lehmann 2005 Shiraz $55, Brander 2006 Santa Ynez Merlot $55, Puligny-Montrachet Monnot 2005 Chardonnay $167. Wines top out at $655 for Chateau Cheval Blanc 2001, St. Emilion Cabernet Sauvignon from France.
We took Ubie’s advice and ordered the Iced Shellfish and Raw Bar platter. At $62 it contains ample portions of fresh chilled lobster, shrimps, oysters, Alaska king crab legs already sliced to make them easy to eat, lump crab, and little neck clams. Everything on the platter was fresh and delicious, the shrimp and lobster cold and firm.
You have to leave room for the beef. It is one thing to sate the palate on tributes to gourmet dining but at The Bull and Bear, beef is king, and this ranch knows how to prepare it right.
Cuts of beef are available in Choice or Prime. There is a difference in price; Angus Prime is so hard to come by it commands a premium. Filet mignon 12 ounce is $44 for Choice, $57 for Prime. Prime has a flavorful taste that is immediately perceived. It is not necessarily gamey but leaves a flavor on the tongue that is not fatty, rather savory and distinct.
New York strip is featured, 14 ounces of tender glory $56 for the Angus prime. Porterhouse bone-in is thick and 24 ounces of delicious meat, $60. For those with a hankering for prime rib, Bull and Bear’s oven roasted bone-in double, more than enough for two people, at $95, flakes off the bone with an aromatic beef flavor that activates the taste buds with special craving.
If you can eat dessert after polishing off the main course you are good, and so are assortments of cakes and ice cream with the best cappuccino in town. Never mind those high priced coffee stores. Bull and Bear has them knocked cold.
Reservations at Bull and Bear can be made at 212-355-3000 or 800-WALDORF.
Dr. John Christopher Fine lived on a farm during his youth where they raised cattle for market. He is the author of 24 books and writes for major magazines and newspapers in the United States and Europe.
