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“. . . travel through the city in high-end accommodations, complete with multimedia experience . . .  and a meal at . . . the restaurant almost as famous as the many sports figures who have walked through its doors . . . enjoy an intimate . . . dinner with a New York sports personality.”

— Successful Meetings magazine

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Dinner Hosts

Keens has been a part of sports history for well over a century. There, one or more post-tour dinner hosts add to the tour story of how sports in New York has influenced culture and society.

 

Each dinner host is identified on the ticket calendar at some point four or more days before the dinner, unless the tour/dinner sells out before the host’s name was scheduled to appear.

Before she hosted a post-tour dinner, trailblazing television and radio sportscaster and golf personality Ann Liguori (second from left) presented each guest with a complimentary copy of her book A Passion for Golf (partially visible in lower left)

“. . . food lovers will savor the lunches and dinners offered after the tours. The fact that the meals are hosted by various New York sports personalities make them all the more special.”

— Mom in the City

New York Yankees historian and New York Times bestselling author Marty Appel (third from left)

“Marty Appel . . . was a most gracious and affable host . . . He shared stories. He was kind, thoughtful, and respectful . . . Appel immediately became almost like dear friend sitting down to a nice dinner with us.  We laughed, talked, and shared memories.  Of course, Mr. Appel was able to delight us with stories about Yankees legends and less-known players . . .  That this occurred after such an in-depth and interesting tour made the whole afternoon and evening one that was positive beyond words . . . Keens, the restaurant host, was also tremendous . . . We were provided with a special menu that allowed for a wide selection of great dishes . . .  Keens is a New York landmark with a great history all of its own . . . the perfect location from which to conclude this experience.”

— Start Spreading the News (New York Yankees blog)

New York Times bestselling author Matthew Goodman (fourth from right) hosts a post-tour dinner during the month his book The City Game was released and led The New York Times Book Reviews‘ list of recommended holiday reads. Goodman holds the original 64-year-old passport of a key figure in The City Game, one of the historical artifacts that was part of the day’s tour narrative.

“Keens was founded in 1885 . . . The rooms look so cozy, you might wish you’d gotten a group together and thrown a party . . . Keens has its famous mutton chops . . . and recalls a bygone era when the mere mention of chops was enough to get people salivating . . . The best part of Keens, besides the chop, is the noise level. You can actually carry on a conversation as you eat your way across the menu.”

— Village Voice

Celebrated New York Post sportswriter Fred Kerber (fourth from right)

“. . . conclude at Keens Steakhouse with a sports personality. What a super-cool experience and an interesting and thought-provoking one . . .”

— Michael Patrick Shiels, Michigan’s Big Show

New York Yankees great Mickey Rivers (in hat), the Yankees’ next World Series champion starting centerfielder after Joe DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle

“. . . the tour ended with dinner at historic Keens Steakhouse, where guests dined with former Yankees centerfielder Mickey Rivers.”

— Newsday

Melissa Ludtke (center) with New York Sports Tours’ Jordan Sprechman (left) and F.A.O. Schwarz, Jr.

“. . . 40 years ago, Sports Illustrated reporter Melissa Ludtke, in her 20s, fought Major League Baseball and the City of New York. Female reporters were a no-no in men’s team locker rooms. Melissa took a stand — and won. The landmark Ludtke v. Kuhn equal-rights decree granted women reporters access to the Yankees clubhouse. Other teams followed. The ruling served as a catalyst for equality rights . . . she’s hosting a New York Sports Tour around NYC . . . The [next day] is a Keens Steakhouse private luncheon. Her attorney, who’ll attend, is F.A.O. Schwarz’s great-grandson . . . Lunch is in Keens’ Lillie Langtry dining room, named for its first lady customer.”

— Cindy Adams, Page Six columnist, New York Post

Legendary New York sports broadcaster Sal Marchiano with two tour guests in Keens’ Bull Moose Room, a room inspired by former Keens patron Theodore Roosevelt. Each guest at the post-tour dinner Marchiano co-hosted received a copy of Marchiano’s book In My Rear View Mirror.

“All tours end at Keens Steakhouse, an iconic restaurant that has hosted sports figures for more than 130 years. On select days, the experience continues with an intimate lunch or dinner with a New York sports personality.”

— Insider Travel Report

Former World Boxing Council international champion and Brooklyn native Boyd Melson visits Keens’ historic Lincoln Room after he hosted a post-tour meal. Framed next to Melson is the program purported to be the one President Abraham Lincoln was holding when he was shot by an assassin.

“New York’s oldest and still the standout among the city’s dozens of high-end palaces of beef . . . Virtually every famous figure in American history the past century has patronized Keens, from . . . Babe Ruth to Albert Einstein . . . Floor to ceiling memorabilia makes Keens as much a museum as a great eatery, and if you can try just one classic NYC restaurant or steakhouse, this should be it.”

— Forbes

Melissa Ludtke (in white) with New York Sports Tours’ Kevin O’Keefe (left) and two tour guests, actress Christine De Lisle and television host Jon Haggins, in Keens’ storied Lincoln Room

“Forty years ago . . . in a federal courtroom in New York City, Melissa Ludtke . . . won the right for female reporters to have access to professional sports locker rooms . . . ‘It’s an odd answer, but it feels both like a long time and a short time ago,” the lifelong Massachusetts resident (Cambridge by way of Amherst) said from New York, where she was in town to host New York Sports Tours.”

— Tara Sullivan, sports columnist, Boston Globe

Acclaimed New York sportswriter Filip Bondy (top, second from left)

“. . . Madison Square Garden . . . is seen towards the end of the tour, blocks away from Keens Steakhouse, the final stop.”

— NY Sports Day

On the evening the New Jersey Devils’ first-round 2018 Stanley Cup playoffs opponent was determined, Devils radio play-by-play voice Matt Loughlin (third from right) served as the Keens post-tour dinner host.

“Keens . . . has long catered to sports figures.”

— Latino Sports

New York Times bestselling author Wayne Coffey (third from left) with tour participants in Keens’ historic Bull Moose Room after he hosted a post-tour meal in the room.

“New York City’s classic midtown steakhouse — still perfect after all these years.”

— Bon Appétit on Keens

“If you’d like, your tour will cap off with a meal at Keens Steakhouse, a Midtown legend founded in 1885. Keens . . . serves a delicious New York strip steak. As a bonus, you’ll dine with a . . . guest who played a part in American sports history . . .”

— City Guide NY

Soccer legend and New York City native Shep Messing (right), star goalkeeper for the New York Cosmos during the team’s North American Soccer League championship run and analyst for MSG Networks game telecasts of the New York Red Bulls, with guests outside Keens’ Lambs Room.

“After the tour concludes guests can enjoy a dinner at Keens Steakhouse, which itself possesses a ton of sports memorabilia while chatting with a sports celebrity such as former Yankees outfielder Mickey Rivers, sportscaster and Douglaston native Mary Carillo, and former New York Cosmos goalie Shep Messing..”

— Queens Chronicle

Two weeks after Columbia won the NCAA fencing championship and two NCAA individual fencing titles, its head coach Michael Aufrichtig (left, in blue) served as dinner host.

“No restaurant in New York City pays the kind of lavish, often kooky, sometimes even touching tribute to the past than Keens does.”

— The New York Times

On occasion, special guests from New York sports history join the Keens hosts and other guests on the tour and at the post-tour meal. Emmy Award-winning sports broadcaster Ed Lucas (second from right) poses with a fellow guest and two New York Sports Tours officials in Keens during a sold-out tour experience. Lucas, who is blind, is the subject of the Jeter Publishing book Seeing Home: The Ed Lucas Story. Each tour guest received a complimentary copy of the book.

“Keens is easy to recommend . . . serves a steak that is in the same league as the best in the city, if not at its top. And you won’t find a more civilized steakhouse.”

— Serious Eats

Acclaimed sportswriter Wayne Coffey (third from right) serves as dinner host five days after the publication of his 2019 bestseller They Said It Couldn’t Be Done, about the 1969 New York Mets. Each tour guest from the book’s March release through June 2019 received a complimentary copy of the book. Greater New York soccer standout Sam Coffey (fourth from right) was at the dinner a day before she departed for Europe to play for the Under-23 U.S. Women’s National Team in international competition.

“The list of dignitaries who’ve dined here is long enough that it might be simpler to name the ones who haven’t.”

— Thrillist on Keens

New York Times writer and The Pride of the Yankees author Richard Sandomir (third from left)

“Our meal was being hosted by . . . Richard Sandomir, who had recently written the book The Pride of the Yankees. At the meal we were all handed a copy . . . Keens Steakhouse . . . has a lot of sports history in itself and makes it the perfect place to end the tour. A specially made menu exists for tour participants from which you can choose a non-alcoholic beverage and a meal option. The meal was intimate and relaxed so that the dinner host and the members of the tour share stories and information, which made it an enjoyable experience with never a dull moment.”

— Socially Superlative magazine

“. . . so extraordinary . . . it is easy to imagine stepping back in time . . .”

— Atlas Obscura on Keens

Seven months after longtime New York hockey writer and NHL executive Frank Brown (third from left) hosted this post-tour dinner, he was selected by the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association to receive, from the Hockey Hall of Fame, the Elmer Ferguson Memorial Award for excellence in hockey journalism.

“No chophouse in the city (and therefore the country) has a stronger pedigree, and none exudes a more pleasingly funky sense of old-fashioned charm.”

— New York magazine on Keens

Sports marketing pioneer Barbara Paddock (fourth from right), recipient of Women in Sports and Events’ Women of Distinction Award in its first year

“. . . astonishing that a 120-something-year-old restaurant has managed to stay both relevant and wildly popular in the middle of Manhattan.”

— James Beard Foundation editors on Keens

Former New York Times sports editor Neil Amdur (in jacket)

“‘It’s my favorite steakhouse,’ says chef Daniel Boulud, whose New York restaurants include Daniel . . . ‘There’s so much history there,’ says Will Guidara, co-owner of Eleven Madison Park and NoMad . . . ‘It feels as New York as any restaurant in the city.’”

— Bloomberg

Left to right at a New York Sports Tours event at Keens to recognize former Sports Illustrated baseball reporter Melissa Ludtke are Sports Illustrated managing editor Chris Stone, New York Post sports columnist Ken Davidoff and former New York Post sportswriter Henry Hecht.

“I attended a luncheon in Manhattan, hosted by New York Sports Tours, which commemorated the 40th anniversary of Ludtke vs. Kuhn . . . It was great to meet Melissa Ludtke and learn more about her courageous battle as well as the support she received from her employers at Sports Illustrated and contemporaries like Henry Hecht, who wrote for The Post at the time.”

— Ken Davidoff, sports columnist, New York Post

Richard Sandomir (third from left) shared stories connected to his book The Pride of the Yankees and from his many years covering sports for The New York Times.

“. . . at the iconic Keens Steakhouse . . . our charming dinner host was New York Times’ Richard Sandomir, the author of The Pride of the Yankees.”

— Woman Around Town

Award-winning author and former New York Yankees executive Marty Appel (third from right)

“Keens… Perfectly charred steaks and chops are served in this shrine to old New York, one of the only remaining truly old-school steakhouses in the city. Before you’re even served… have a look around. There’s memorabilia from more than 100 years of New York history… as well as a collection of more than 50,000 pipes from back when regulars, including Babe Ruth and Teddy Roosevelt, would store theirs there.”
— The Daily Meal

Neil Amdur (front left) hosted a post-tour meal for a private group from Manhattan.

“For steakhouses, bragging rights are about the best beef, and it is virtually impossible to top Keens.”

— USA TODAY

Richard Sandomir (third from left) hosted a post-tour meal for a private group of related New York Yankees fans.

“A treasure trove of American antiquities . . . Aside from Keens’ unmistakable mise en place, this dining establishment’s signature is the signature mutton chop . . . All the other classic steakhouse offerings are here and they’re all divinely on point. Especially their supersize martinis and house-made bread, both perfect for soaking up all the juicy goodness on display.”

— Brekke Fletcher, Esecutive Editor, CNN Travel

Dan Schlossberg (fourth from left) hosted a special United Nations General Assembly week post-tour dinner.

“. . . tender steaks and . . . classic, turn-of-the-century aesthetic. For a steakhouse that delivers on both fronts, head to Keens Steakhouse in midtown Manhattan. Established in 1885, Keens rocks a charmingly vintage aesthetic, with wood-paneled walls, framed portraits, and crisp white tablecloths . . . If you want a traditional NYC steak-dinner experience (i.e. if you want to feel like Don Draper or Roger Sterling while enjoying a great meal), Keens is the spot for you.”

— The Manual

Outside Keens before he hosted a tour meal, former World Boxing international champion Boyd Melson of Brooklyn (third from left) poses with New York Sports Tours’ Kevin O’Keefe (second from left) and two tour guests, American film producer (including of sports-themed classic Rudy) Cary Woods and director-actress Teressa Tunney, granddaughter of boxing legend and New York City native Gene Tunney. Gene Tunney is the subject of an original mini-documentary shown exclusively on the tour.

“Beveled-glass doors, two working fireplaces and a forest’s worth of dark wood suggest a time when ‘Diamond Jim’ Brady piled his table with bushels of oysters, slabs of seared beef and troughs of ale.”

— Time Out New York

Prominent New York Yankees beat writer Pete Caldera of The Record (second from right) and former New York Times sports editor Neil Amdur (third from left)

“. . . an amazing place to eat — there really is something for everyone . . . It is vibrant and fun, but not loud . . .”

— Johnny Prime on Keens

Lee Lowenfish (middle), author of Branch Rickey: Baseball’s Ferocious Gentleman, took in a tour experience with several guests including actress and Rickey granddaughter Christine Young (not pictured). Each guest received a complimentary copy of Lowenfish’s book. In 1947, when he was president and part owner of the Brooklyn Dodgers, Rickey signed Jackie Robinson to break baseball’s color barrier.

“When people picture a steakhouse, they picture Manhattan’s Keens, whether they’ve been there before or not . . . Keens owns the largest collection of clay churchwarden pipes in the world — tens of thousands, hung upside-down on the low ceilings—and some of them belonged to famous Keens regulars such as Teddy Roosevelt, Babe Ruth, Albert Einstein, General Douglas MacArthur and ‘Buffalo Bill’ Cody.”

— Robb Report

Author and broadcaster Dan Schlossberg (middle) hosts a post-tour dinner where each guest received a complimentary copy of The New Baseball Bible, the latest of Schollsberg’s 38 baseball books.

“There’s an option to finish your New York Sports Tour with a dinner at the iconic Keens Steakhouse, a restaurant with a sports history all its own. While you enjoy delicious fare, you will also have the opportunity to dine and chat with one of the Tour’s celebrated hosts. ”

— Broadway World

Marty Appel (left), author of Casey Stengel: Baseball’s Greatest Character, poses with a tour guest after signing a copy of the book. Each tour guest received a complimentary copy of the book.

“Beloved New York steakhouse Keens . . . well-loved for its no frills feel . . .”

— Business Insider

Renowned former New York sports broadcaster Sam Marchiano (left) and women’s sportswriting pioneer Melissa Ludtke, together at a special New York Sports Tours event, have each served as a post-tour host at Keens.

“As​ Melissa Ludtke​ looked​ into​ the crowd,​ 40​ years​ to​ the day​ that she won the​ legal fight​ that​​ opened the doors of MLB clubhouses to her and female sportswriters everywhere, overwhelming nostalgia and evidence of her trailblazing legacy stared back at her. The crowd, assembled at an intimate gathering in midtown Manhattan . . . laughs when Ludtke tells the story of a 10-year-old Lesley Visser, who would become the first woman on an NFL beat, asking her mother for shoulder pads at Christmas. It hums with approval when she describes Lawrie Mifflin, a female sportswriting pioneer at the New York Daily News in the 1970s, starting a varsity field hockey team at Yale then covering it for the school newspaper when no one else would. It nods in support when she thanks former New York Post baseball reporter Henry Hecht for sending players unsolicited outside the clubhouse doors, where Ludtke would be standing, so she could interview them and do her job for Sports Illustrated.”

— The Athletic

Award-winning author and former New York Yankees executive Marty Appel (third from right) poses with tour guests in Keens’ famed Lincoln Room

“Purchase some gift cards for . . . New York Sports Tours. This . . . luxury bus tour gives guests . . . the option to dine after the tour at the iconic Keens Steakhouse in Midtown and enjoy a wonderful meal.”

— Broadway World

Richard Sandomir (seated on left) pauses before a dinner where each guest received a copy of his acclaimed book The Pride of the Yankees.

“Keens Steakhouse . . . walls and ceilings are filled with historical artifacts . . .  The staff is friendly and well-versed on the history . . .”

— Untapped Cities

Author Marty Appel (center) pauses with New York Sports Tours guests Danielle and David Varady of Greater Kansas City. Appel’s latest book subject, Casey Stengel, was from and nicknamed after Kansas City..

“New York is home to plenty of notable steakhouses. But few can say they’ve served the likes of Teddy Roosevelt, Albert Einstein, and Babe Ruth . . . This is Keens Steakhouse, and it’s been standing here since 1885 . . . The steakhouse’s list of loyal customers has grown considerably since Babe Ruth visited.”

— Taryn Varricchio, Insider

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