The Best Steak Restaurants in the Country
There's never been a better time to be a beef lover. Here are some of the best steakhouses, rib-eye restaurants and spots for steak all across America.
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Detroit: Grey Ghost
Nodding to the alias of the most notorious rum-running pirate on the Detroit River during Prohibition, Grey Ghost focuses on serving flapper-worthy cocktails and equally delicious meat. The restaurant is committed to the art of butchery. The folks here work closely with Fairway Packing Co., who offer an impressive dry-aging room and work directly with Creekstone Farms out of nearby Kansas to source of the best steaks in the Midwest, a tall order by any standard. Standout dishes include the 60-day dry-aged New York strip, prime filet and, on special days, a 60-day dry-aged tomahawk ribeye worthy of an appetite the size of Al Capone’s.
Los Angeles: Gwen
Part European-style butcher shop, part super fine dining restaurant, the expansive Gwen in Hollywood shines in all things meat. Curtis Stone and his brother, Luke, formed their own import company, so they could source their favorite wagyu beef from their native Australia. Guests can see it and all the other carnivorous treats cooking over wood-fired flames in the open kitchen as well as hanging in the glass-encased dry-age room. Locals head to the butcher counter to take home house-made charcuteries and steaks from purveyors like Napa Valley’s Five Dot Ranch, while diners sit back on rich leather banquettes or, even better, cozy up to the chef’s counter for tastings of creative appetizers and some of the best meat in the Golden State.
Boise, Idaho: Chandlers Prime Steaks and Fine Seafood
Idaho may be better known for its eponymous potatoes than for beef, but this Boise steakhouse could easily change that. It specializes in prime corn-fed steaks sourced from the Midwest, and Kobe-style beef from Idaho’s Snake River Farms. The latter cross-breeds Japanese wagyu with American black angus cows to create sumptuously marbled beef, known as some of America’s richest cuts. Those locally sourced steaks are offered as filets and flat irons with sides of broiled tomato Provençale, roasted root vegetables, haricots verts and choice of sauce. Don’t overlook the seafood appetizers while you’re there: Chandler’s selection of shellfish could even impress those who reside on the coast.
Go to: Chandlers Steakhouse & Seafood
Chicago: RPM Steak
Though inspired by classic steakhouses, this hip River North chophouse revamps old favorites. The Duke, named one of the best steaks in the country on Top 5: Restaurants, brushes a juicy, 10-ounce rib eye with garlicky beef butter and herbed salt. It's served with pickled cherry peppers to balance the richness. Sides like mushroom mac and cheese, horseradish-infused whipped potatoes and the Millionaire's Potato — with fontina and black truffle — go way beyond the expected.
Go to: RPM Steak
New York City: Cote Korean Steakhouse
Restaurateur Simon Kim blends Korean barbecue with the American steakhouse at Cote, a Michelin-starred Manhattan hotspot. The lively restaurant is hailed for its in-house dry-aging program that features a selection of USDA Prime and American wagyu cuts, some of which are hung for more than 110 days. Guests can order ribeyes, New York strips and porterhouse steaks, but the specialty here is chef David Shim’s prix fixe Butcher’s Feast that includes a smorgasbord of four cuts cooked on smokeless grills embedded in each table with a spread of seasonal Korean sides known as ban-chan. Cote’s acclaimed beverage director Victoria James pairs the meaty selection with an array of artisanal soju, wines by the glass poured from giant magnums and an extensive bottle list.
Miami: Los Fuegos by Francis Mallmann
Francis Mallmann is known for playing with fire. The Argentine chef and famous grillmaster is the world’s foremost expert on South American live-fire cooking techniques. That’s the highlight of his only U.S. restaurant, Los Fuegos at the Faena Hotel Miami Beach. Oak and charcoal fuel the specially built grill that combines a plancha, parrilla and smoker as well as the open pit that cooks whole chickens and steaks hanging from strings. Though nearly everything is kissed by the orange flames, the star of the show is the steak, in particular the 48-ounce hanging tomahawk ribeye that hovers over the flames to cook, then is served sliced alongside its giant, club-sized bone.
Boston: Mooo…
Wilmington, Delaware: Harry’s Savoy Grill
Harry’s Savoy Grill owner Xavier Teixido cut his teeth at New Orleans’ legendary Commander’s Palace before coming back to Wilmington to purchase Harry’s Savoy Grill, which he expanded with a $3 million ballroom in 1998. The intimate New American steakhouse in the Brandywine Hundred community is known for its award-winning prime rib, always cooked to the ideal medium-rare with au jus and creamy au gratin potatoes. But it also offers great seafood — mandatory in coastal Delaware — and an impeccable 45-day-aged, 18-ounce ribeye, paired with an extensive wine list.
Miami Beach: StripSteak by Michael Mina
When the iconic 1950s-era Fontainebleau was looking to fill a two-story indoor-outdoor dining space in its historic chateau lobby, it tapped Michelin-starred restaurateur Michael Mina to work his magic. Mina’s second restaurant on the property (the other is Michael Mina 74) is the second outpost of his Las Vegas original, StripSteak. This adventurous steakhouse offers a-la-carte cuts from the hotel’s on-site aging room and butcher shop, along with signature specials that go well beyond the classics. Beef runs the gamut from a popular eight-ounce filet mignon to whole-roasted, hay-smoked, wood-grilled tenderloin.
Oklahoma City: Cattlemen’s Steakhouse
Set in Oklahoma City’s historic Stockyards City — named for the herds of cattle that passed through the area to satisfy growing demand for beef in the east — Cattlemen’s is the longest continually run restaurant in the city, open since 1910. It remains popular more than a century later for good reason. It boasts an authentic old-timey ambience with red leather booths and dark wood walls, and the steak is prepared with the same attention to detail as it always has been. Every piece of Midwest-raised beef gets sent through a needling machine for tenderizing including the famous Pepper Steak with peppercorn sauce and “Presidential Choice” T-Bone Steak, named after President George H.W. Bush, who ordered it on his visit to the steakhouse.
Go to: Cattlemen's Steakhouse
Buffalo Gap, Texas: Perini Ranch
Texans’ love of smoke runs deep: the state is known as one of the best barbecue regions in the country. The best, according to Texans themselves. The same local mesquite that is used to flavor its famous brisket is used to season the excellent steaks served at Perini Ranch just outside Abilene. Deemed one of America’s Classics by the James Beard Foundation, the restaurant has served certified Angus ribeyes, strips and filets since cowboy cook and rancher Tom Perini decided to transform his hay barn into a restaurant in 1983. Those smoky meats are paired alongside Lone Star State-inspired sides, like green chile hominy and old-fashioned green beans.
Go to: Perini Ranch Steakhouse
Kansas City, Missouri: Jess and Jim’s Steakhouse
Kansas City is a “cow town.” In fact, the city is so proud of its cattle-loving roots that it erected a 19-foot-long fiberglass hereford bull sculpture on a pedestal in Mulkey Square Park in 2002, right across the highway from the original location of the American Hereford Association founded in 1883. Point being, for a steakhouse to make a name for itself in a beef-obsessed city, it’s got to be very good. Since 1938, Jess and Jim’s has been considered a top pick. The family-run steakhouse serves prime aged beef, cut fresh daily for its lauded Kansas City strip, ribeye and 25-ounce sirloin dubbed the Playboy Strip after writer Calvin Trillin whose 1972 Playboy review put the restaurant in the national spotlight.
Austin, Texas: ALC Steaks
You don’t have to look far to find a good piece of meat in Central Texas. And still this independent, family-owned steakhouse has been considered one of the best since 1993, and is a top pick among legislators and lobbyists seeking to satisfy a craving for meat. The menu features about a half-dozen cuts with detailed descriptions of each ones’ individual attributes, ranging from tender filet mignon to a robust grass-fed New York strip sourced from 44 Farms in Cameron, Texas, and dry-aged for 30 days. No matter the steak you chose, it’s going to be cut, aged, seasoned well and seared to sizzling perfection.
Boulder, Colorado: Corrida
Offering unobstructed views of the Flatiron Mountains, Corrida is hailed for its unparalleled panoramas as well as its impressive selection of meat. Inspired by the famed steakhouses of Spain’s Basque region, the restaurant lets ingredients shine, including a wide assortment of steaks sourced from top-notch suppliers, including locally in Colorado and beef from Japan. Cuts like American wagyu Bavette and Kagoshima Eye of Ribeye are paired with a long list of traditional tapas and pintxos like boquerones, patatas bravas and marinated olives, as well as a handful of Mediterranean seafood dishes.
Fort Lauderdale: Chima Brazilian Steakhouse
A swanky steakhouse with Brazilian glamour, Chima combines rotisserie meats with an acclaimed buffet and seductive decor. Set on trendy Las Olas Blvd., just minutes from the beach, this special-occasion destination offers the most-authentic Brazilian rodizio (all-you-can-eat) dining experience in South Florida. Waiters walk around the dining room with 16 different skewers of meat, including picanha (top sirloin) and bacon-wrapped filet mignon, beef ribs and lamb chops, which are carved tableside as soon as you give them the order. It’s paired with an acclaimed culture-melding buffet that is good enough to attract those who abstain from red meat, including sides like Waldorf salad, feijoada and a wide selection of sauces.
Beverly Hills, California: Cut
There are so many varieties of beef on the menu at this art-filled hot spot that servers appear tableside to help explain them all. Prime dry-aged steaks are grilled over hardwood and charcoal, then finished under a 1,200 degree broiler, ensuring a perfect charred crust. Chef Wolfgang Puck's magic touch with ingredients extends down to the California-inflected sides like Heirloom Tomatoes with Humboldt Fog Goat Cheese.
More About: CUT Steakhouse
Reno, Nevada: Charlie Palmer Steak
What’s the first thing most gamblers want to splurge on when they hit the jackpot? Who knows, but they can think it out over a nice, juicy steak. Casino towns across the country are home to some of the country’s best steakhouses. In Reno, the place to go is Charlie Palmer Steak in the Grand Sierra Resort. The light-wood-walled dining room, filled with contemporary leather accents, is known for its neo-traditional riffs on iconic steakhouse dishes. The menu updates American classics, including seared scallops with braised leeks, ahi tuna tartare and, of course, USDA prime steaks, including a 42-ounce porterhouse and a 44-ounce tomahawk ribeye, both for two.
San Francisco: Lolinda
Argentinean by way of California, Lolinda in the Mission District mixes Latin American flavors with Bay Area sensibilities. The lively restaurant boasts an indoor bar, a rooftop bar with stunning views, and a creative menu of wood-fired fare that’s a stark departure from the old staid steakhouses of yesteryear. The menu features a combination of a-la-carte beef cuts and a wide selection of hot and cold starters. The asado mixto is a must-try. Following a customary parrilla, the smoky smorgasbord for two combines flap loin, short rib, chorizo and morcilla (blood sausage) with potatoes and peppers.
Baltimore: The Prime Rib
Intended to throw back to the elegant supper clubs of 1940s Manhattan when it opened in Baltimore in 1965, this Baltimore prime rib specialist got in on the retro trend long before it became cool again. The place quickly became a destination for its tuxedoed waitstaff, live piano and bass players, and its delicious food. Regulars rave about the crab cakes (it is Maryland, after all), tender filet mignon and the Key Lime pie, but of course the specialty is the namesake dish, a thick slice of juicy beef prepared to the ideal medium rare. Each tender slab nearly takes up the entire plate, which comes adorned with a pile of fresh horseradish to spice it up as much or as little as you like.
Hollywood, Florida: Council Oaks Steaks and Seafood
The Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood is known for its daring. The hotel is currently in the midst of reshaping the South Florida skyline with a giant guitar-shaped tower. So, it’s hardly surprising that its signature steakhouse goes above and beyond the usual offerings. The highlights are USDA prime beef and Japanese A4 wagyu, both dry-aged up to 28 days and cut inside the Himalayan salt brick-walled Butcher Shop chamber. Those well-cared-for cuts are served alongside locally caught seafood, a selection of caviars and a wide choice of wine by the glass. Who wouldn’t want to dine here after winning big?
New Orleans: Dickie Brennan’s Steakhouse
In New Orleans, the Brennan family is considered restaurant royalty, saluted for reflecting and impacting the city’s world-famous cuisine. The meat-focused menu at this beloved French Quarter meat destination follows the family tradition of highlighting local flavors in regional starters like country gumbo, turtle soup and barbecue shrimp. That local focus extends to the steak, too. The roasted prime rib features a Creole glaze, USDA Prime strip is creole seasoned and cooked in a cast iron skillet, and the house filet is topped with flash-fried oysters and creamy béarnaise. As one would expect in a NOLA mainstay, the fare is paired with expertly prepared sazeracs and other classic cocktails.
West Palm Beach: The Alchemist
Set in the midst of West Palm Beach’s bustling nightlife strip, Clematis Street, The Alchemist is not your staid steakhouse of yesterday. With dark woods, trendy crowds and gastropub-style dishes like spicy lobster poppers and Kobe hot dogs, it's hipper and younger than the standard South Florida steakhouse. But the steak is some of the best in town. USDA Prime is the specialty here. The signature dry-aged Tomahawk rib eye for two is hung from the ceiling for 21 days, then is seasoned, broiled and served with a roasted bone-marrow canoe topped with coarse sea salt and a side of charred pearl onion-and-potato hash. Other meaty options include Cajun rib eye topped with spicy crawfish hollandaise, and filet mignon with fingerling potatoes, roasted shallots and pancetta. Sophisticated and cool, as the name suggests, it's the perfect mix.
Brooklyn: Peter Luger Steak House
More About: Peter Luger Steakhouse
Atlanta: C. Ellet’s Steakhouse
Set in the Battery of Atlanta, just steps from the Atlanta Braves’ ballpark, C. Ellet’s, by James Beard Foundation Award-winning chef Linton Hopkins offers a Southern take on the traditional steakhouse in homage to Hopkins’ grandfather, Charles Ellet. The expansive American menu features regional, carefully sourced beef that is aged in-house. Try the 35-day dry-aged Kansas City strip from Allen Brothers in Nebraska, as well as seafood towers and classic sides. There are more than 900 wines and a rotating cocktail list in both the upscale dining room and the laid-back bar.
Dayton, Ohio: The Pine Club
Open since 1947, this supper club and steakhouse specializes in old-school specialties like a starter of plump shrimp cocktail and unbeatable steaks. The 20-ounce bone-in rib eye dry-ages for 28 days. It's broiled and caramelized, drizzled with butter and served with deep-fried onion rings and the house stewed tomatoes. No wonder Top 5: Restaurants deemed it one of the best steaks in the country.
Go to: The Pine Club
Pittsburgh: Whitfield
It may call itself a neighborhood tavern, with utilitarian decor that harkens back to the space’s days as a YMCA, but the food at Whitfield is far from common. To help open the restaurant the Ace Hotel team brought on Brent Young, the Pittsburgh native co-founder of Brooklyn’s Meat Hook butcher shop as Ace Pittsburgh Culinary Partner. He works with James Beard-nominated chefs Bethany Zozula and Casey Renee to source high-quality ingredients from local ranchers and purveyors. The steaks, from Jubilee Hilltop Ranch in Bedford, Pennsylvania, are grass-fed and -finished, butchered in-house and dry-aged for 21 days. They’re paired with Western Pennsylvania-inspired entrees, appetizers and sides influenced by the areas diverse culinary traditions of Eastern European, Jewish, German and Italian settlers.
Go to: Whitfield
Rapid City, South Dakota: Delmonico Grill
Delmonico Grill serves the best ingredients available from local Black Hills farmers and ranchers including wet- and dry-aged steaks in preparations like a ribeye with an espresso rub crust, and classic crab-topped Steak Oscar. Though beef is the specialty, other dishes include seared orange-miso salmon and the “constantly-inspired” foie gras of the moment, all ideally paired with a California-centric wine list.
Manhattan, Kansas: Little Apple Brewing Co
Little Apple Brewing Co is Manhattan, Kansas’ makes its own beer as the ideal pairing for beef. Open since 1996, the restaurant and brewery serves certified Angus beef, sourced from local and regional producers, earning four Kansas Beef Backer Awards and a National Beef Backer Award. The preparations aren’t fancy, but they’re perfectly prepared. Choose from porterhouse, ribeye, filet mignon, top sirloin and the KC strip.
Newport, Rhode Island: 22 Bowen’s Wine Bar and Grille
Befitting the gentry who inhabited Newport’s grand summer cottages at the height of the Gilded Age, this classic harborside tavern is rich in both ambience and tradition. The sophisticated interior feels as though it was plucked straight from a private club, possibly, the New York Yacht Club’s nearby Harbour Court, with leather-clad seats, white tablecloths and brass nautical light fixtures. USDA Prime steaks are hand-selected from sustainable farms, aged until tender and even more flavorful, served alongside the guests pick of classic sauces like béarnaise, bleu cheese butter and porcini-shallot butter. Those cuts can be paired with accoutrements like butter-poached lobster tails, 650 different bottles of wine and impressive local raw bar samplers. Make sure to don your best blue blazer.
Portland, Maine: Timber Steakhouse
Serving 125 different bourbons, 30 wines by the glass and only prime grass-fed meat, Timber is Maine’s top steakhouse for good reason. The restaurant emphasizes bold flavors pulled from primarily locally sourced ingredients, such as oysters and lobsters from area fisherman, hot house and outdoor produce and, depending on availability, Pine Tree State beef. Starters veer from the usual, with options like Buffalo chicken croquettes and pork-and-peanut spring rolls, before moving into modern interpretations of steakhouse fare such as bone-in dry-aged ribeye and New York sirloin with bourbon-peppercorn sauce.
Raymond, New Hampshire: Tuckaway Tavern & Butchery
This 14,000-square-foot restaurant in New Hampshire is a “carnivore emporium,” according to Guy Fieri. There’s a full-scale butcher shop, where they grind, slice, marinate, smoke, cut, cure and spin seemingly every protein one could imagine. Those nose-to-tail ingredients are the base of a stellar menu of modern American fare spun together by chef Bobby Marcotte. One highlight is Braveheart black angus steaks cut from humanely raised, vegetarian-fed cows reared in the Midwest.
Go to: Tuckaway Tavern & Butchery
Raleigh, North Carolina: Death and Taxes
Though many surmise that James Beard Foundation Award winner Ashley Christensen (Poole’s, Beasley’s Chicken and Honey, Chuck’s) named her newest eatery for Ben Franklin's claim that “nothing can be certain, except death and taxes,” she drew inspiration closer to her cooktop. The historic building housing her restaurant has served as both a bank and a funeral home at different points. Now, it’s Raleigh’s hottest restaurant, inspired by a trip to Uruguay that moved Christensen to cook over an open-wood fire. The focus is grilling in general, but given the technique, it’s no surprise that Christensen serves an impressive piece of beef. Her Bear Creek Farm dry-aged steak, aged up to 93 days, is simply seasoned, enhanced by notes of wood and smoke, and then served with straightforward spring onion and chimichurri.
Dallas: Pappas Bros. Steakhouse
More About: Pappas Bros. Steakhouse
Indianapolis, Indiana: St. Elmo Steak House
This temple of meat has been an Indianapolis staple since 1902. It’s the city’s oldest steakhouse in its original location and it’s so legendary local lure claims that its beloved horseradish-heavy shrimp cocktail helped Indy win its bid for the 2012 Super Bowl. St Elmo’s steaks certainly didn’t hurt either. The place was recognized as one of “America’s Classics” by the James Beard Foundation for its excellent versions of traditional dishes likes it's perfectly charred ribeye and bone-in filet. All the chops, chickens and cuts are served in the old school way with choice of navy bean soup or tomato juice and pick of baked potato, fries, redskin mashed potatoes and sauteed green beans.
Go to: St. Elmo Steak House
Bozeman, Montana: Open Range
You don’t have to look far to find a great steak in Big Sky Country. There are a whole lot of cows in Montana — cattle far outnumbers human residents in the state. Open Range in Bozeman offers steakhouse-style cuts without any pretense. The airy restaurant is hip, with exposed beams and ducts, and industrial-inspired Edison bulbs. Prime beef, cut in-house, is seared to order in cast-iron skillets served with seasonal vegetables and Bordelaise sauce. One of the highlights is the South American-inspired asado for two, a platter of ribeye, duck leg, house-made sausages, fingerling potatoes and chimichurri with salad and fresh bread.
San Francisco: 5A5 Steak Lounge
5A5 offers a Japanese-inspired take on the steakhouse with a menu that features lobster tempura, yuzu-vinaigrette-topped oysters and a selection of some of the best beef on the planet. A5 100% Miyazaki wagyu, the highest grade of beef that exists, is cut into ribeye, rib cap, filets and New York strips, with various truffle-infused accompaniments on the side. For those looking to save a little bit of cash, the upscale Financial District restaurant also serves Tajima F1 50 percent Japanese wagyu and 50 percent holstein in four- or eight-ounce New York strips or filets, as well as a selection of US certified angus and Australian kobe beef.
Buellton, California: The Hitching Post II
The most-storied steakhouse in a town you’ve probably never heard of along California’s Central Coast, the Hitching Post II was featured in the wine-obsessed movie Sideways and was the inspiration for Rex Pickett’s book that inspired the internationally acclaimed film. The local favorite is hailed for its Santa Maria-style barbecue that traces its roots back to the Spanish rancheros, who cooked their beef over open-fires of red oak. Midwest-sourced beef in cuts like filet mignon and top sirloin is seasoned with garlic, salt, pepper and spices, and grilled over a massive barbecue. The circa-1986 restaurant recently added a tasting room that highlights chef-owner-and-winemaker Frank Ostini’s signature Santa Ynez Valley wines.
Go to: The Hitching Post II
Providence, Rhode Island: Mill’s Tavern
Set in the century-old Pilgrim Mill’s Building right near historic College Hill, this sleekly designed restaurant features brick walls, polished dark wood and vaulted casement ceilings. The kitchen showcases local and seasonal ingredients in creative dishes like maple-Dijon-brined pork chops and mole-braised black angus short ribs cooked in the wood-burning oven. Each day, chef Edward Bolus and his crew hand cut their selections of wood-fired steaks like the 14-ounce aged New York strip served with Mill’s steak sauce, 16-ounce Niman Ranch ribeye with horseradish cream sauce and 10-ounce filet mignon elevated with soy-Madeira mushrooms and brandy au poivre.
Devils Lake, North Dakota: The Ranch Steakhouse
The big red barn that is home to the Ranch Steakhouse has been attracting traveling salesmen, hunters and locals from all around North Dakota since it opened on a family homestead back in 1946. The remote restaurant is more than two hours north of both Bismarck and Fargo, but it’s still garnered a reputation as one of top steakhouses in the state. To this day, it serves certified Angus beef at a comparative steal. A 12-ounce New York strip goes for $25 including soup or salad and choice of side. A seven-ounce petite top sirloin costs a whopping $16. But don’t let the affordable prices fool you: these steaks are just as good as the ones found at its pricier counterparts.
Lexington, Kentucky: Dudley's on Short
Specializing in American classics since 1981, this Lexington restaurant puts out excellent steak, including steak frites and Tournedos Maxwell, a pair of petit filets topped with crabmeat and buttery bearnaise. On Guilty Pleasures, Bobby Flay calls the dish "the perfect three-course meal in one single bite," albeit one that's "incredibly decadent."
Go to: Dudley's on Short
Houston: Churrascos
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Cleveland, Ohio: Red, the Steakhouse
It’s a story you’ve heard before: guy or gal makes it big in his or her hometown, then moves to a bigger city to reach the pinnacle of fame. Many hometown heroes never make it back, but in the case of Cleveland, the talent always seems to return. LeBron James did. And so did Peter Vauthy of Red, the Steakhouse, whose South Beach restaurant was hailed as the best in Miami. Vauthy debuted an outpost in Cleveland, which is now one of Ohio’s top destinations for meat. Steaks are aged a minimum of 28 days, seasoned with kosher salt, peppercorn and “aglio brushing” (garlic in Italian), then seared in the broiler to seal in all the juicy flavor.
Miami: Bourbon Steak
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Charleston, South Carolina: Oak Steakhouse
In recent years, Charleston has emerged as one of the South’s premier food cities, with an impressive number of acclaimed restaurants for its small size. Oak Steakhouse, situated in an 1848 bank building on historic Broad Street, opened its doors in 2005, just as Chucktown was gaining serious foodie traction. Executive Chef Jeremiah Bacon is a local. He follows the regional ethos, sourcing as much as he can from low-country farmers and fishermen, for dishes like Anson Mills farro mushroom risotto and Southern-style local collards with Benton’s bacon. The beef isn’t local — the Southeast produces far superior pork — but it is Certified Angus Beef brand, available wet and 35-day dry-aged in a handful of cuts. They come from Master Purveyors of New York City, who sell to beloved Peter Luger and Keens Steakhouse as well.
Long Beach, California: Chianina Steakhouse
Atlantic City, New Jersey: Knife and Fork Inn
Legendary, iconic, storied: big adjectives are used to describe this Atlantic City landmark. Originally opened as a gentlemen’s club in 1912, Knife and Fork Inn was the place to see and be seen among the city’s elite. Recently restored to its Prohibition-era glamour, the Dutch-influenced space includes white tablecloths, wood details and a rich mahogany bar, where locals and tourists sip classic cocktails. As you’d expect, the selection of steaks and chops is fairly traditional with classic sirloins, filets and ribeyes simply grilled with a side of house steak sauce or optional upgrades like blue cheese béchamel or lump crab, béarnaise and asparagus.
Anchorage, Alaska: Club Paris
The Euro-inspired, retro western-looking Club Paris has served locals and visitors for more than 60 years. Decked out in neon signage with an iconic mid-century neon Eiffel Tower marquee, the building is one of the few structures that remained standing after the 1964 Great Alaskan Earthquake. It’s not all looks — the steakhouse has the food to back it up. The seafood is fresh as can be and the steaks are aged on the premises and individually cut into various sizes of ribeye, sirloin and filet mignon like its signature 14-ounce, four-inch hunk of filet.
Wichita, Kansas: Siena Tuscan Steakhouse
This elegant Ambassador Hotel chophouse offers steakhouse fare with Italian accents. It serves excellent pastas, antipasti and Tuscan-inspired sides, but as the name suggests, its highlight is steak. Creekstone Farms beef sourced from nearby Arkansas City, Kansas, is grilled with a simple mix of olive oil, sea salt and cracked pepper. Cuts, like 12-ounce prime Kansas City strip and center-cut filet, are served with a savory red wine-veal reduction and compound butter, elegant European-style accoutrement that match the luxe dark wood and wingback chairs of the dining room.
Lolo, Montana: Lolo Creek Steakhouse
There’s a reason this steakhouse, 20 minutes outside of Missoula, has received so much national praise. Everything comes from Big Sky Country, including the timber used to construct the restaurant, and the wood that fires the grills for the USDA choice steaks. For more than 27 years, ranchers, hikers, fishermen and families have visited Lolo Creek Steakhouse for its exceptional wood-fired meat that sizzles above the open-flame. Now there’s even more reason to make the trek: locally made booze, thanks to Lolo Creek Distillery, a craft distillery set on the property about 75 yards away from the restaurant, accessible by foot or via a six-seater shuttle.
Minneapolis: Murray’s
One of the few steakhouses in the country to have its own trademark steak, this third-generation family-run restaurant is home to the Silver Butter Knife Steak. The 28-ounce double strip sirloin for two was found to be so tender and flavorful by noted steak connoisseur Maurice C. Dreicer on his 1951 world tour, he presented restaurateur Art Murray with his prestigious “Silver Butter Knife.” The name stuck (and was eventually trademarked) making that hefty piece of meat the signature dish of the restaurant. It’s been hand-cut in-house by the same butcher since the early 1980s, and is still carved in front of guests seated at white linen-clothed tables.
New York: Keens Steakhouse
More About: Keens Steakhouse
Tampa: Bern’s Steakhouse
Bridgeport, Connecticut: Joseph’s Steakhouse
With experience at Joe Byer’s Wine Cellars in Detroit, the Helmsley Palace in Manhattan, and 15 years at Peter Luger’s in Brooklyn, Joseph Kustra knows steaks. He brought that fine dining experience to Connecticut when he opened his namesake steakhouse in 2000. The white-tablecloth place is hailed for its USDA Prime dry-aged beef (the porterhouse is a favorite) cooked to guest’s specifications and sliced, so it’s easy to eat. Make sure to start with the bacon appetizer, an inch-thick slab that’s grilled to order and can throw down with the best pork belly in any town.
New York City: Ikinari Steak
Since fist sizzling a steak in Tokyo in December of 2013, this chain of steakhouses has opened more than 100 locations in Japan and, in the span of a couple years, nine in New York City. Why is it so popular? It serves super-thick high-quality meats quickly at very reasonable price points. There’s just one catch: It’s standing room only. Guests get a spot at the counter where they order drinks and sides, then head to the butcher station to pick from a 40-day wet-aged USDA choice aurora angus beef ribeye, sirloin or filet by the ounce. Each one is cut to order and weighed while you’re watching, then cooked over an open fire and served on a sizzling cast-iron platter with an optional drizzle of Japanese soy-based steak sauce.
Chicago: Chicago Cut Steakhouse
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Nashville, Tennessee: Capitol Grille
Nashville is one of the hottest restaurant towns in the country, and Capitol Grille is one of the best places there to try. Set inside the historic Hermitage hotel, the elegant restaurant serves excellent steaks sourced from the hotel’s nearby cattle ranch, Double H Farms. Those local cuts are served alongside comforting southern sides like buttermilk potato puree, creamed corn with crispy leeks and mac and cheese with a white cheddar brûlée. The local sourcing and commitment to regional flavors is evident — one can savor what Sean Brock learned and contributed helmed its kitchen before starting his Charleston empire.
Go to: Capitol Grille
Seattle: The Butcher’s Table
This modern steakhouse in the midst of Seattle’s South Lake Union serves a rotating seasonal menu that highlights Mishima Reserve American wagyu beef. That luxurious meat is served in creative dishes like Pacific Northwest Surf & Turf, topped with house-smoked Penn Cove mussels and a salsa verde of shallots macerated in lemon juice, brown rice miso, garlic, chile and parsley. The two-story space includes a livelier street-level lounge decked out with mahogany and leather-bound chairs as well as a bar serving craft cocktails. Downstairs, the intimate dining room offers a more romantic vibe lit by candles and the cozy glow of the fireplace.
Portland, Oregon: Ox
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Miami: Graziano's
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Washington, D.C.: Ray's the Steaks
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St. Louis: The Block
It’s a simple idea with profound results: source ingredients from the greater St. Louis area while supporting the local community and economy. That means mostly grass-fed beef, purchased from Creekstone Farms in Arkansas City, Kansas, and Rensing’s Farm in New Douglas, Illinois, fills the case of the attached butcher shop, which is trimmed down from whole animals on the premises. Its signature Butcher’s Cut (a.k.a. hanger steak) is seasoned with a house-made spice mix and special steak sauce, served with a side of garlic herb fries. The Block’s menu goes well beyond the steakhouse classics, but it regularly offers a rotating cast of steak specials straight from the butcher that bring in the locals time and time again.
Thomasville, Alabama: Big Mike’s Steakhouse
Mike Cole (Big Mike) had a dream. He wanted to open steakhouses in rural towns, so that residents wouldn’t have to drive hours in search of great steak. To make that happen, he paired up with friends Scott Powell and Caine Conway to debut a casual chophouse in Thomasville, Alabama. The perfectly cooked crunchy crusts and juicy interiors of Cole’s 28-day-aged, hand-cut steaks are so good, the team now has an additional two locations. All of the steaks are seasoned with a special seven-spice blend, wood-fired and topped with a garlic-herb butter. It’s hard to go wrong with any pick, but the $34 Big Mike, a 24-ounce ribeye served with salad, bread and choice of potato, has been called one of the best steaks in the state.
Philadelphia: Butcher and Singer
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Denver: Elway's
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Napa: Cole’s Chop House
Milwaukee, Wisconsin: Five O’Clock Steakhouse
This old-school supper club is like walking into a time warp, back to the days when a night on the town often included a nice steak dinner. The Milwaukee icon has served slow-roasted prime rib, hulking porterhouses and other steakhouse classics in its wood-lined dining room since 1946. Not much has changed over the decades — Five O’Clock still serves high-quality USDA Choice meats, noteworthy wines and mid-century-cool cocktails including martinis and sloe gin fizzes in a space that feels like a favorite for stars of yesteryear. It even has an upstairs piano bar called the Alley Cat Lounge, where diners sip nightcaps while watching free after dinner shows.
Burlington, Vermont: EB Strong’s Prime Steakhouse
Burlington is a laid-back college town with more casual pubs and cafes than upscale restaurants. That started changing when EB Strong’s opened its doors in 2012. Set in a beautifully restored Church Street building that was long a department store, the dining destination now contains all the emblematic components of a classic steakhouse, including rich mahogany, marble and gleaming tiles. The menu features a selection of corn-fed Midwestern-sourced USDA prime beef aged a minimum of 21 days and trimmed in-house. Those cuts are paired with a large California-centric wine list featuring at least 19 wines by the glass and many more by the bottle.
Louisville, Kentucky: Le Moo
Little Rock, Arkansas: The Butcher Shop
Long before the current butchery obsession became part of the national food conversation, Little Rock’s Butcher Shop had an in-house butcher on its kitchen staff. Since 1982, The Butcher Shop has been serving excellent hickory charcoal-grilled steaks from high-quality grain-fed beef straight from the Midwest. Cuts, like ribeye, prime rib and bacon-wrapped filets are aged four weeks, then cut and set out in the restaurant’s gleaming display case. Each is cooked on the wood-fired grill, which gives a nice smoke and char. Like good old-school haunts, these cuts come with a house salad, homemade dinner rolls and choice of baked potatoes or fries.
Minneapolis: Burch Steakhouse and Pizza Bar
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Shell Beach, California: F. McLintocks
Think a filet mignon isn't decadent enough? Head to this Western-style steakhouse for a bacon-wrapped filet mignon. The kitchen plates a nine-ounce piece of beef tenderloin, wrapped in applewood bacon, grilled until the exterior is perfectly caramelized and the bacon juices flavor the steak. The meat is smothered in two ounces of melted blue cheese and a port wine reduction. Alfonso Ribiero says the result "oozes with flavor."
Go to: F. McLintocks
Boston: Grill 23 & Bar
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Phoenix: Durant's
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Atlanta: Kevin Rathbun
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Omaha, Nebraska: Monarch Prime & Bar
Nebraska has plenty steakhouses — it is cattle country, after all. There are some great old school steakhouses in Omaha, but Monarch Prime & Bar has become the city’s latest hot spot for good reason. When it debuted in late 2017, it became the first place Omaha to dry-age its steaks in-house. Chef Patrick Micheels hangs his 45-ounce wagyu tomahawk chop for 60 days until it's tender enough to taste like butter. The menu, including pastas and French onion dip, is nearly universally appealing. That’s why the five-course chef's tasting is the pro move.
Las Vegas: Prime Steakhouse
Prime Steakhouse at the Bellagio
