St. Elmo Steak House has been a landmark in downtown Indianapolis since 1902. It is the oldest Indianapolis steakhouse in its original location and has earned a national reputation for its excellent steaks, seafood, chops, and professional service.

Founded by Joe Stahr, the restaurant was named after the patron saint of sailors, St. Elmo. Starting with a beautiful tiger-oak back-bar purchased in Chicago, the restaurant was simply a small tavern with a primary menu. Through the years, its classic turn-of-the-century Chicago saloon decor has changed very little beyond the inevitable expansions.

From 1947 to 1986, the colorful odd-couple team of Harry Roth and Isadore Rosen skillfully guided St. Elmo to continued success before turning over the reins to veteran restauranteur Stephen Huse, the present owner. In 1997, Steve partnered with Craig, the current operator.

St. Elmo was considered a dining bastion for men for much of its history. It was, and still is, a place where salespeople and tycoons came to seal the deal, where attorneys and politicians strategized and plotted, where coaches and players celebrated wins and lamented losses, where celebrities came to unwind from a show. St. Elmo Steak House was deemed one of Forbes' "10 great classic restaurants well worth visiting."

The hotter-than-hot sauce complements the legendary shrimp cocktail. Aged steaks are skillfully cooked. Select a clubby dining room or one of the private rooms, sip fine wine and enjoy the atmosphere of this institution. Let dessert be the authentic New York-style cheesecake with a drizzle of hot fudge sauce to cap off the meal. Service is professional. Classic cocktails, local craft beers on draft, and a red-heavy wine list add to the experience.

Detail information:

Address: 127 S. Illinois St. (Maryland St.), Indianapolis

Website: http://www.stelmos.com

McKendrick's has long held destination-steakhouse status in Atlanta, turning out skillfully prepared meat in a white tablecloth setting, complemented by an extensive red-focused wine list, good craft beers, and premium liquors not to mention well-trained, professional service.

McKendrick's is proud to serve the finest USDA Prime Beef available. Our hand-cut beef supports our commitment to quality. The menu is more than just steak, featuring South African lobster tails and the freshest seafood delivered daily.

Lobster bisque is a menu signature, and deservedly so. The bone-in filet, once an occasional special, is now a regular selection, although the rib-eye provides the rich, beefy flavor we enjoy. If dining with a chum, consider sharing the porterhouse steak. Contemplate, too, the crab cakes, the soft-shell crabs when in season, tempura lobster, oysters Rockefeller, or any of several fish dishes. Smaller steaks at smaller prices rule for lunch at McKendrick, but the burger, a glorious indulgence of quality meat, bacon, and cheese, is worth a trip. Everything is à la carte, even the béarnaise sauce for your steak, so bring your gold card. Those who eschew meat may dine on a fine array of well-prepared vegetables or opt for a salad. Desserts are all made in-house; we recommend the Key lime pie. McKendrick's is located in a pleasant park-like shopping center across from Perimeter Mall.

Detail information:

Address: 4505 Ashford Dunwoody Rd. (Abernathy Rd.), Atlanta

Website: https://www.mckendricks.com/

Chef John Tesar presents his modern take on the Knife steakhouse at Dallas. Watch the chefs in action from a seat at the green-tiled counter facing the open kitchen, or settle into one of the booths or tables. The adjacent lounge serves the whole menu, while the patio attracts patrons with its cozy outdoor fireplace.

Tesar utilizes Texas-raised, all-natural beef at this upscale steakhouse boasting a wide variety of specialty cuts alongside signature C-Vap cooked burgers. Dinner choices also ballyhoo chicken, lamb and pork, and charcuterie. Bacon-crusted bone marrow and caviar are highlights as well, and if you have a bone to pick with meat, there are plenty of alternatives. Knife restaurant also features vegetarian entrées, fresh seafood, pasta, seasonal salads, and raw bar selections.

The cuisine at Knife melds classic and modern steakhouse dishes featuring all-natural born and raised Texas beef, pork, and lamb in dry-aged prime cuts prepared in cast irons and standard steakhouse broilers, as well as specialty cuts such as flat iron, Waygu skirt steak, tri-tip, culotte, beef cheeks, pork belly, oxtail, pigs head, and exotic Akaushi beef.

Meanwhile, the wine roster is vast and varied, and the bartenders are more than adept at slinging cocktails. Desserts might include “Chocolate & Coffee,” composed of dark chocolate coffee ganache, whipped milk chocolate crémeux, chocolate sponge, and milk chocolate-coffee ice cream.

Detail information:

Address: 5300 E. Mockingbird Ln. (N. Central Expy.), Dallas

Website: http://www.knifedallas.com/

While Denver's dining landscape is saturated with shrines to beef, this progressive, high-roller ode to cattle from prolific chef-owner Troy Guard is a cut above the rest. Guard and Grace Restaurant have the super-stylish quarters, furnished with a soaring walk-in wine cellar, chef's counter overlooking a vast open kitchen, posh lounge, and raw bar, is a sight to behold, as are the starters, side dishes, and slabs of the steer.

Appetizers include fresh oysters, oak-fired octopus jazzed up with a white bean and celery salad, house-cured pork belly, and carrots sharing space with herb yogurt and crumbles of pistachio. The beautifully seasoned bone-in rib-eye is a head-turner on every level. Side dishes include foraged mushrooms, loaded baked potatoes, and crispy Brussels sprouts. For dessert, don't miss the sticky toffee cake. The wine room has 3,000 bottles; while the prices are lofty, it's easily one of the most impressive wine lists in the city.

Detail information:

Address: 1801 California St. (18th St.), Denver

Website: http://www.guardandgrace.com/

Named the highest-rated steakhouse in New Orleans, this old-school steak restaurant is a powerhouse. Chophouse New Orleans focuses on its top-quality, USDA prime-only meat, from barrel-cut filets to top-of-the-line cooking techniques. Every detail counts. The easygoing atmosphere complements the great food and bustling, live entertainment nightly. Visit our story to read more about our favorite city, New Orleans.

Chophouse New Orleans Restaurant, from the dining room to the cuts of beef, everything is big at Chophouse, a steakhouse that offers a serious challenge to its local competitors. The nicely lit space with white tablecloths, exposed brick walls, and hardwood floors are just on the other side of a walk-through wall connecting it to a fun, high-energy cocktail lounge showcasing vocalists and live piano music that fills both areas.

Meanwhile, the menu features USDA Prime steaks, including a 40-ounce porterhouse, as well as dishes highlighting Gulf-sourced shrimp or fish. The wine list is as extensive and well-thought-out as it should be in an upscale steakhouse, presenting a wide variety of reds that complement the meat. For dessert, go all the way and order the $28 giant slice of chocolate cake for the table. Stay around after dinner and enjoy cocktails in the lounge.

Detail information:

Address: 322 Magazine St. (Gravier St.), New Orleans

Website: http://www.chophousenola.com/

Butcher & Singer, from restaurant mogul Stephen Starr, exudes a sexy '40s supper club vibe. It is a great spot, with its reconfigured front bar, soaring 28-foot ceilings and crystal chandeliers resurrected from the Fontainebleau in Miami. Sink into a leather-tufted booth with a perfect Manhattan and get ready for some first-rate beef, buttery, juicy, and salty-seared on the outside.

Start with the shellfish platter, a briny top of the catching mix that includes meaty Alaskan king crab legs and tasty orbs of jumbo lump crab meat. Then move on to the juicy New York strip with a side of stuffed hash browns, addictive layers of potatoes, Vidalia onions, cheese, and sour cream. There's nothing new here, and that's precisely the point. Butcher & Singer will make you feel like Bogey and Bacall on a date. The notable (and pricey) wine list offers more than 200 old- and new-world selections. For dessert, pretend you're on a cruise and order baked Alaska, a hot and cold treat that never goes out of style.

Detail information:

Address: 1500 Walnut St. (S. 15th St.), Philadelphia

Website: http://www.butcherandsinger.com/

On a trip from New York to California, Bernard Laxer and his wife Gert stayed in Tampa, where they opened a small restaurant. In 1956, they moved to Howard Avenue, which is the beginning of Bern's Steak House story. Obsessed with quality, Bernard started his farm to grow to produce for the restaurant and assembled the world's most extensive restaurant wine cellar with more than 500,000 bottles encompassing around 6,800 different labels. Yes, you read that correctly: the world's most extensive restaurant wine cellar is Tampa, Florida.

Bern's Steak House Restaurant can seat 740 diners in many different rooms, including the Harry Waugh Dessert Room upstairs (named after an English friend of Bern's who suggested having a separate space for the sweets). There is an ultra-private room with a back entrance for the high-rollers, celebrities, and U.S. presidents. Bern is responsible for many decorative items throughout the spaces, which he collected over the years, including numerous photos he took himself.

Menu of Bern's Steak House Restaurant with a whole page of caviars, soups, and salads, including a tableside-prepared Caesar, foie gras, escargots, vegetables, fresh fish flown in daily, shellfish, live lobster, lamb, duck, top-quality chicken, sauces and, of course, the steaks, which are aged in-house for five to eight weeks. You can choose from a list of dozens of items, priced according to the cut and thickness, with even a ruler to remind you of the meat's measurement, so you don't under-order or over-order. Suppose you need assistance from your waiter, who will be happy to help you select the steak of your dreams. Save room for a sweet from the 35-plus-item dessert menu that you will eat in a private booth equipped with a phone for requesting songs from the resident pianist. And do allow time for the 15-minute kitchen and wine cellar tour.

At Bern's Steak House Restaurant, you will find anything you desire, including pre-war Sauternes and seventeenth-century Madeira, 200 wines by the glass, and over 80 in the Dessert Room.

Detail information:

Address: 1208 S. Howard Ave. (Marjory Ave.), Florida

Website: http://www.bernssteakhouse.com/

Bazaar Meat by José Andrés Restaurant is a massive, Philippe Starck-designed space with a viewing area sectioned off where it displays cured meats, plus a fire stage of sorts showcasing wood grills and rotisseries. A lodge décor prevails, punctuated with hunting motif murals, alligator heads, antler chandeliers, and chairs with whimsical images of animals wearing sunglasses.

As a chef, José Andrés is considered a pioneer of Spanish tapas in the U.S. It should not surprise that dishes are designed to be shared, such as the croquetas de jamón with creamy béchamel filling, bagels, and lox cone composed of dill cream cheese and salmon roe; or Ferran Adrià liquid olives. Steaks come out sliced to share, like the 16-ounce Châteaubriand tenderloin accompanied by a glass of red wine and truffle Perigord sauce and pommes soufflé.

The creative cuisine is complemented by Zarabanda, a food-friendly Saison/farmhouse ale made exclusively for Bazaar Meat restaurants by Deschutes Brewery; 500 bottles of wine and sherry from around the world, with a large portion from Spain, France, Italy, and Napa. The 27-liter program consists of large format wine draft systems made especially for the restaurant. Desserts change seasonally and may include salted caramel candy, lemon meringue tart, milk chocolate, and hazelnut cream puff.

Detail information:

Address: 2535 S. Las Vegas Blvd. (W. Sahara Ave.)

Website: https://saharalasvegas.com/restaurants-bars/bazaar-meat-by-jose-andres/

Baltaire is a steakhouse for the locals, who, in this case, are ritzy Brentwood residents. The name invokes "warrior and strength" in Celtic, but this contemporary steakhouse is chic and sophisticated. The façade and the double-sided fireplace on the street set the tone: modern, elegant, and vibrant. Enter to discover a vast and sprawling space with French oak flooring throughout the cocktail bar, the lounge, the dining room, the terrace with its retractable roof, the private room, and the wine cellar. View the chef and his culinary team in action through the floor-to-ceiling glass in the aesthetic kitchen. The poised restaurant calls for white tablecloths.

Let us put chef Travis Strickland, an habitué of steakhouse kitchens including Chicago Cut Steakhouse, to work. If you are into shellfish, you will be satisfied with the oysters of the day, shrimp, Alaskan king crab legs, or Maine lobster, each of which can be ordered separately or all together as a plateau. To prepare the meat to your liking, Strickland proposes you choose from a porterhouse, bone-in rib-eye, Kansas City or New York strip, tomahawk rib-eye, or the very luxurious and decadent A5 Japanese Wagyu. All are cooked on imported French Montague broilers at a radiant heat of 1,600°F. Baltaire can add sauces, but the quality of the cuts is so good that, frankly, it is not necessary.

Other options include Dover sole filleted and deboned tableside in French copper pans, Chilean sea bass, Colorado lamb chops, or roast chicken. For sides, expect to find the usual suspects: lobster macaroni and cheese, sautéed spinach, roasted mushrooms (not the best), or olive oil whipped potatoes. You should ask for a California cheese board before the sweets (bourbon croissant bread pudding or chocolate silk pie). Baltaire serves wines in glass, half bottles, or complete.

Detail information:

Address: 11647 San Vicente Blvd. (Darlington Ave.), Los Angeles

Website: https://www.baltaire.com/

American Cut Steakhouse pays homage to the steakhouse's best authentic and aspirational New York dining experience. LDV Hospitality, in partnership with Chef Marc Forgione, captures the nostalgic glamour of yesteryear and adapts this ambiance to today's modern social life through these restaurants.

American Cut Steakhouse in TriBeCa is an 80-seat temple of red meat with a menu encompassing short ribs, filet mignon, hanger steak, porterhouse, veal, rib-eye, Wagyu, New York strip, and steak tartare.

American Cut combines bold flavors and a unique style to create our take on American classics, like our house-favorite Chili Lobster and famous Pastrami Ribeye. A mix of tableside preparations, including the 40 oz. Tomahawk Chop flambé and OG 1924 Caesar Salad create a theatrical and colorful interactive dining experience.

Joining the meat all-stars are lamb, roasted chicken, foie gras, bone marrow, and various seafood entrées. With so much to choose, we recommend a 20-ounce bone-in rib-eye, dusted with pastrami spices, is unique and explosive in meaty flavor; the tomahawk rib-eye for two, seasoned only with smoked salt, gives the former a run for its money. Pair them with indulgent sides like truffle-infused twice-baked potatoes with melty New York cheddar. For the steak-averse, there are seafood options such as salmon and Dover sole. Desserts at American Cut Steakhouse include a sorbet trio or a show-stopping Crackerjack sundae complete with popcorn ice cream. Naturally, the wine list is loaded with (predictably pricey) robust reds that match up nicely with the food. Classic cocktails are available as well.

Detail information:

Address: 363 Greenwich St. (Franklin St.), New York

Website: https://www.americancutsteakhouse.com/