Peter’s Clam Bar names a dish to honor muscle man

American strongman Dan Lurie passed away last year at age 90, but his ‘muscles’ live on—at least in the form of a prized mussel dish at one of his favorite restaurants, the newly-re-opened Peter’s Clam Bar in Island Park.

Peter’s, an iconic restaurant that was in business for 73 years before it was badly damaged and shuttered after Superstorm Sandy in 2012, re-opened earlier this summer, under the management of Butch Yamali and his company, the Dover Group.

Yamali was one of Lurie’s biggest fans, having purchased some of the Lurie’s well-known barbells as a teenager growing up on Long Island’s South Shore. Yamali and Lurie later became friends, according to Lurie’s grand-daughter, Illissa Epstein, of Hewlett. Lurie lived in North Woodmere with his wife, the former Thelma Rothman, who remains a resident.

Over the years, Lurie was a frequent guest at Peter’s, and his favorite dish was, of course, mussels. A photo of Lurie, with his well-chiseled physique, is on the wall at Peter’s. It was there before Yamali took over, and the new owner wanted to leave it where it was, Epstein said.

Lurie was a celebrity among body builders. At age 19, he finished first in the 1942 Amateur Athletic Union Mr. America Contest. He won most muscular laurels again in 1943 and 1944. He had owned gymnasiums in the New York area and in Miami, established the Dan Lurie Barbell Company and published a bodybuilding magazine.

Lurie famously armed-wrestled President Ronald Reagan in the Oval Office in 1984. Lurie was 60, Reagan 73. Reagan “won.”

“[Lurie] was a great believer in good health, eating right, and he loved mussels,” Epstein said.

“Dan Lurie’s Mussels” can be found in the restaurant’s clam bar section. Diners get a heaping bucket of mussels for $11.95.

“When Butch heard about grandpa’s death, we both came up with the idea of naming a dish for him,” Epstein said. “He (Lurie) would be very proud,” Epstein said.

“Dan was a gentleman and a personal friend,” said Yamali. “It was an honor to name a dish after him.”