SADLY, SAMMY’S ROUMANIAN STEAK HOUSE IS NOW CLOSED.
Oy vey! Chopped liver!
I’ve never been a fan of liver. I remember (as every good Jewish boy does) growing up having chopped liver out on the table with the veggies and potato chips at a family gathering. Now ours was most likely store bought (sorry Mom!) and I remember eating it on some Ritz crackers. And although I had difficulty stomaching that metallic, livery flavor, I was hungry (dinner was still cooking) and it was there, so I ate it. But it must have been close to twenty years since I dipped some carbs into chopped liver. But I never forgot that it was a huge part of our tradition and heritage.
And I don’t think any restaurant in the city does a better job at maintaining that Jewish heritage than Sammy’s Roumanian Steak House. It’s not that they just make the right food and do it well, but they offer an entire experience, which explains why there is a cover charge on Friday and Saturday nights. When you walk down the stairs into the basement restaurant (which smells slightly of mold), you are transported to your grandmother’s living room (circa 1976). If your grandmother had a habit of hosting Bar and Bat Mitzvahs.
The walls are covered with party photos and there is even a live performer. We got there early enough to see some behind the scenes. Dani Luv arrived, set up, ate his dinner, and then went into his schtick. Once he started playing his Semitic version of Sinatra tunes and the joint started jumping with parties of 5 or more, I had an overwhelming desire to bring my mom and dad to this restaurant. And my brother and grandparents and cousins and aunts and uncles.
He wasn’t the only show here. The servers toss the chopped liver in a big bowl with fried radishes and onions and a nice helping of schmaltz (chicken fat). They season it with salt and pepper, and toss the shakers up in the air, very much like Tom Cruise in Cocktail. And during this extravaganza, Dani is cracking jokes and calling the server a “schmuck”!
This place was amazing! And to top it off, the food was great. That chopped liver was creamy and rich, but didn’t have that overwhelming metallic bite. Maybe it was the schmaltz that balanced the flavors. It was crunchy from the vegetables and it worked so well on the warm bread. I’m not sure if it’s because my palate has matured or because Sammy’s knows how to sweeten a previous daunting dish, but I loved this stuff. Not that I really need to find a reason to eat it – it’s not like these are lima beans.
Would Sammy’s Roumanian Steak House’s Chopped Liver make my Top 100 of the year? I never would have guessed that I’d award chopped liver a 9 out of 10, but it’s so rich and indulgent here that it’s sort of hard to resist. I kinda want some right now! What have they done to me?
