Nov. 22 (Bloomberg) -- It sounds like a steakhouse.

A reservationist I spoke to called it ``a fine-dining take on the classic American steakhouse.''

More than half the main courses coming out of the kitchen are steaks. Chef Michael Lomonaco, the customers and even the Web site consider Porter House New York a steakhouse. I'm not convinced.

The name is clever, exploiting our most recent celebrity foodstuff, the mighty porterhouse steak, which promises a chunk of filet, a hunk of sirloin, a nice bone -- and dining contentment. For New Yorkers, the classic strip steak is no longer dazzling enough.

The response has been predictable. This new addition to the ``restaurant collection'' of the Time Warner Center is packed almost all the time.

The focus of the one-page menu, the showpiece dishes boxed in with double black lines, are porterhouse cuts of beef, lamb, veal, pork and -- a stretch here -- monkfish. The veal is succulent; the too-thin, too-dry, too-salty pork chop a squandered $34; the USDA dry-aged beef bloodless.

Aside to our federal regulatory bodies: The designation ``USDA prime'' is fast losing its luster, if it's supposed to guarantee juicy meat.

A friend who sulked as I ordered a 2003 Pesquera, nicely rounded and fairly priced at $58, gloomily argued that it would never stand up to the power of our prime porterhouse. After we ate, he rightly declared the steak to be a disappointment to the wine.

Just Four Steaks

Of the 17 main courses, only four are beefsteaks. That's not so terrible, since some steakhouses offer fewer, but they're really distractions from what chef Lomonaco does best.

Move along to the seemingly endless other choices, and Porter House New York becomes precisely what the Time Warner Center needs: an accessible, sensible eating establishment with decent prices and classy, comprehensible food. I suspect Cafe Gray, one floor below, was intended to fill this all-purpose niche, but somehow it became too glittery, too elite, too European.

If you must have a steak, pick the chili-rubbed rib-eye from hormone- and antibiotic-free beef. It's toothsome, even if the rub is disappointingly one-dimensional. The other steakhouse standards are fine.

The onion rings, which a friend declared ``buoyant,'' are big, sweet and crisp, although the portion isn't steakhouse-size. You get six, which comes out to $1.50 per ring.

Crusty and Creamy

Hash browns, served pancake-style, seemed to be improving daily. More onions, more crust. The spinach, loaded with heavy cream, has left the vegetable family and entered the dairy department.

The beefiest dish on the menu is the sliced duck breast. I can't imagine the size of the beast it came from, or how many riders it threw during its rodeo career. It comes with a bonus of roasted foie gras (beats seared every time). The tastiest beef item is the well-seasoned tartare.

The butter is unsalted. That alone might disqualify Porter House New York from steakhouse status.

The fourth-floor space occupied by Porter House New York was previously Jean-Georges Vongerichten's V, which was the better steakhouse. V was reviled for its deconstructionism (such as onion soup in parts) and for its disco-forest decor. Factor in common sense and Porter House New York is clearly superior.

It does not appear to be an artistic and architectural masterpiece -- unless you recall the awkwardness of V. If you do, then you might consider designer Jeffrey Beers the da Vinci of the 21st century.

Burnished Look

It's hard to believe you're in the same locale. Considerable sectioning, partitioning and floor-raising has occurred. Everything is leather and cherry wood, buffed. The look is a little international -- nothing says New York -- but it doesn't feel cheap.

The tables up front, worth begging for, have views of the Columbus Circle fountain. The booths along the long, windowed wall overlooking 60th Street offer uninteresting vistas, and during my visits the wooden blinds remained closed, a wise move.

Many of the best dishes are seafood, including a hefty jumbo-lump crab cake (underseasoned, but much of the food is), an oyster pan roast that can compete successfully with the legendary version at Grand Central's Oyster Bar, and a straightforward slab of swordfish. That monkfish ``porterhouse'' is outsized, wrapped in pancetta (bacon would have been tastier) and beautifully cooked, but I'm not certain anybody needs that much monkfish, essentially a bland fish.

The best of the vegetable selections is macaroni and cheese, an artful amalgamation of north (gooey style) meets south (dry style) meets an Italian chef (a touch of Parmigiano Reggiano).

Fair Desserts

Desserts are too simple, perhaps a misguided attempt to be homespun. Even if the whipped cream doesn't come from a can, you'll think it does. Every dessert is worthy of honorable mention at a state fair.

Lomonaco, who ran the restaurants of Windows on the World and famously survived 9/11 because he happened to be shopping when the attack occurred, did the best work of his career at Wild Blue, a small restaurant within the Windows complex. The food here reminds me of Wild Blue's, but it isn't quite as refined, perhaps because this place is three times the size.

Wild Blue was also elevated by the great Windows wine list. The one here is appealing, even if it isn't particularly strong in chardonnays and cabernets, ordered almost robotically in steakhouses.

Maybe you're still not convinced this isn't a steakhouse. Here's one more chilling piece of evidence: A woman friend declared the place ``romantic.'' I think I've made my case.

The Bloomberg Questions

Cost? Prices range from $10 for a green salad to $78 for the 38-ounce beef porterhouse for two.

Sound level? You might forget anybody else is in the room.

Date place? Absolutely, especially at one of the prize tables overlooking Columbus Circle.

Tip? Beware the Archie Bunker-style cushioned chairs in the bar. You'll sink so low you might never reappear.

Special feature? The wine list is particularly strong in syrah and shiraz, ideal matches for the food.

Lunch? Yes, on weekdays.

Will I be back? Sure, and I'll order fish.

Porter House New York, Time Warner Center, 10 Columbus Circle. Information: +1-212-823-9500 or http://www.porterhousenewyork.com.

(Alan Richman is a restaurant critic for Bloomberg News. The opinions expressed are his own.)

To contact the writer of this story: Alan Richman at thecritic@optonline.net.

Last Updated: November 22, 2006 00:17 EST