Veal Chops Peter Zenger

In 1947 Henry Castello, who’d worked for many years alongside John C. Bruno at the Pen and Pencil Steak House in New York City, opened what would become a rival establishment just a block away, at 139 East 45th Street. His two partners in the venture were Harry Storm, a fellow bartender at the Pen and Pencil, and Fred O. Manfredi, a former waiter captain at Voisin. (The name came courtesy of Bob Considine, a prolific and adventure-seeking syndicated newspaper columnist.) Castello’s restaurant career had been interrupted by World War II, during which he saw service as a machine-gunner in the U.S. Army, but now, back in civilian action, he was determined to make the Press Box the newest success story on Steak Row, alongside such establishments as Danny’s Hide-a-way, The Editorial, Joe & Rose’s, and, of course, Bruno’s Pen and Pencil.

The formula for cooking steaks at the Press Box was about as simple as it gets: gas burners, no seasoning, and two pats of unsalted butter on each steak as it rested after cooking.

In 1949 Castello had the idea of honoring famous newspaper correspondents by establishing a “Hall of Fame” within the restaurant, with the first “inductee” being Ernie Pyle, the Pulitzer Prize–winning American journalist and war correspondent, who’d been killed by enemy fire during the Battle of Okinawa in 1945.

In time Freddie Manfredi would return to his native Italy, leaving Castello and Storm at the helm of the restaurant. In 1958 they added the Peter Zenger Room, and that same year some scenes from film Bell, Book, and Candle, starring James Stewart and Kim Novak, were shot in the restaurant. (By one account Castello himself scored an uncredited role as a ranch foreman in the 1959 film Escort West, starring Victor Mature.)

In 1967 Castello decided to retire, and Mike Wayne and Harry Lewin, the owners of the Old Homestead restaurant at 56 Ninth Avenue, added the Press Box to their holdings. (Lewin, Wayne’s brother-in-law, had purchased the venerable steakhouse in New York City’s meat-packing district in 1951 and later given up his law practice to devote all his time to the restaurant business.)  In 1972 Wayne and Lewin unveiled the Graziano Room at the Press Box, so named in honor Florence Graziano, the artist from whom the restaurant had bought some two dozen paintings over the years.

By 1975 Wayne reportedly was buying a million pounds of meat a year for the Press Box, whose beef locker could store more than 8,000 pounds of meat. But in 1976 Benjamin R. Weinberg, Wayne’s father and the chairman of the restaurant’s parent company died, and the Press Box was soon sold to Fred Brunhard, a Polish-American restaurateur who added such dishes as sour borscht and stuffed cabbage rolls to the menu. He rebranded the 30-year-old establishment as the “Polonez Press Box Restaurant,” a move that was almost certainly ill-advised, as Brunhard soon dropped the “Polonez” like a hot pierogi.

The Press Box quietly went out of business in 1990. The space was later taken over by King Hunan, a Chinese restaurant, and today is home Hop Won Express, a fast-food-style Chinese restaurant, and, on the second floor, Uncle Charlie’s Piano Lounge.

Print Recipe

Veal Chops Peter Zenger

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Serves 6

The Press Box made its debut in 1947 at 139 East 45th Street in New York City and was a mainstay of New York's "Steak Row" for more than four decades. In 1958 its owners opened the Peter Zenger Room, named for the 18th-century freedom-of-the-press pioneer, and added this dish to the menu as a specialty of the house.

Ingredients

• 6 rib veal chops
• 1/4 cup whole-wheat or all-purpose flour
• 5 eggs, divided
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 3/4 cup dry breadcrumbs
• 8 tablespoons (1/4 pound) unsalted butter, divided
• 3 tomatoes, chopped and well-drained
• 2 cups sour cream
• 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions

1

Pat the veal chops dry, then pound with a mallet or heavy skillet until they are very thin.

2

Separately place the flour and the yolks of three eggs in two shallow bowls. (Reserve the egg whites for another use.) Beat the egg yolks, then stir in the salt and pepper. Place the breadcrumbs in a third shallow bowl.

3

Dredge the veal chops, one at a time, in the flour (shake off excess), then in the egg yolks (let the excess drip off), and then in the breadcrumbs, making sure that the chops are coated evenly.

4

In a skillet, melt 6 tablespoons of the butter over medium heat and brown the chops on both sides.

5

Melt the remaining butter in a shallow baking dish and transfer the chops to it. Cover with the chopped tomatoes and place under the broiler for 30 seconds.

6

In a bowl, mix together the sour cream, the remaining two eggs, and the Parmesan cheese until well-blended. (The mixture should be very thick, so add more cheese if necessary.) Generously coat the chops and place under the broiler until they are evenly browned, watching carefully to avoid burning. Serve at once.