Choice Cuts: Top 10 U.S. Steakhouses
Attention, carnivores: Experts at Gayot.com offer up their annual rundown of the best beef joints, from classic dining establishments to newbies.
Gayot.com

Sell the steak not the sizzle: Gayot.com releases its 10 best U.S. steakhouses for 2008
The iconoculture of American steakhouses sizzles. Tradition is celebrated through firmly ensconced menu items and décor, where carnivores are rewarded with bold cuts of aged meat and classic sides like creamed spinach or a gargantuan baked potato. Béarnaise, bordelaise, Rockefeller and Roquefort make appearances too, often washed down with whiskey or big reds. Today's steakhouse dresses up the classics, both on and off the plate. Contemporary or clubby, the best of the bunch cater to the big, the bold and the hearty appetites, while often accommodating vegetarians and light eaters. Raising the "steaks" from coast to coast are these A1 steakhouses.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.: Gruet Steakhouse
When the winemakers at Gruet Winery decided to create Albuquerque's best steakhouse, they didn't miss. Gruet Steakhouse mixes an American love of beef with the French sensibilities of the owners, Laurent Gruet and Farid Himeur, who have been making French-style sparkling wine, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay in New Mexico since the 1980s. Read more at City Guides.

ATLANTA: Kevin Rathbun Steak
Finding a 100-year-old Lea & Perrins Steak Sauce bottle, authenticated by the raised letters and the JDS on the bottom, referencing its first U.S. importer, John Duncan, was just one of the lucky strokes that preceded the opening of Kevin Rathbun Steak. Revived and renovated, the early 20th-century building retains its old touches, such as its textured brick walls. Read more at City Guides.


AUSTIN, TEXAS: Finn & Porter

Austin's Finn & Porter

Executive chef Jeffrey Cummins (formerly of Napa Rose) is producing food good enough to make this a fine-dining destination for locals as well as traveling foodies. The porterhouse steaks have solidified Finn & Porter's reputation, being some of the best Austin has to offer thanks to 28 days of aging and the kitchen's expert grilling. Read more at City Guides.


BALTIMORE: The Prime Rib Restaurant
Sexy black lacquer walls, a leopard-print carpet, a white, Lucite-topped piano complete with tuxedoed player teasing out jazzed-up standards -- we get giddy just thinking about this place. Huge sprays of flowers fill the wall's arched niches. And the vivacious clamor of a tony crowd, part power brokers, part romancers, greets us like the happy sound of ice cubes clinking in two-fingers of bourbon. Read more at City Guides.

BEVERLY HILLS, CALIF.: Mastro's Steakhouse

Beverly Hill's best steakhouse: Mastro's

An import from Scottsdale, Ariz., Mastro's embraces classic steakhouse traditions as warmly as it welcomes the moneyed clientele that frequent this bustling eatery. A relatively sedate dining room occupies the ground floor, while a lively bar scene -- downright boisterous by buttoned-down steakhouse standards -- awaits upstairs, along with additional dining space. Read more at City Guides.





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BROOKLYN, N.Y.: Peter Luger

New York's best steakhouse for more than 100 years.
For over a century, carnivores have been traversing the Williamsburg Bridge to the Brooklyn side to sample consistently excellent steaks at Peter Luger. Established in 1887, the steakhouse delivers plus-size porterhouse steaks prepared in a method that has not changed since the first day they fired up the grill. Start with a tomato and onion salad, doused with steak sauce -- the sauce is there strictly for the salad and for dipping rolls into, and should not be allowed to touch the delectable meat. Read more at City Guides.

CHICAGO: David Burke's Primehouse
This hotel restaurant near the Magnificent Mile offers contemporary fare like the pretzel-crusted crab cake with poppy seed honey and lobster bisque with green apple essence alongside a lobster stick. But the focus is squarely on steak. Try "South Side" filet mignon or "Kentucky" rib-eye, the latter state acting as the source for all of the top-tier meat served here. Read more at City Guides.


DENVER: Elway's Cherry Creek
Walk in, turn right at the serene water wall and you're smack-dab in one of Denver's most popular local watering holes. Strewn with multiple TVs tuned to sporting events, a baby grand piano and a sports memorabilia display showcasing star Bronco quarterback John Elway's impressive career, it's a lively gathering place for singles on the prowl, pin-striped business executives and couples who enjoy the live music. Read more at City Guides.

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GREENVILLE, MISS.: Doe's Eat Place
In these parts of Mississippi, Doe's is a legend. And the word is out, far beyond the town of Greenville. Real foodies make the trek to this family-owned, bona fide holdout (circa 1941) inside an old grocery store. Since the original Doe's debuted, a few other branches have opened up, but none pass muster like this one. Steaks aged for 21 days are cut daily. On checked tablecloths, indulge in the no frills filet mignon, juicy rib-eye and T-bone. Read more at City Guides.

LAS VEGAS: SW Steakhouse

SW Steakhouse
Wynn Las Vegas visionary Steve Wynn has his initials written all over this vibrant steakhouse. To reach it, diners ride down a regal winding escalator and enter its spacious foyer furnished with plush chairs and couches and a dazzling bar. They are then seated in the elegant dining room or on the patio facing Wynn's Lake of Dreams backed by a lush forest with a calming water wall on which a light show is presented at 9 p.m. nightly. Read more at City Guides.
• See GAYOT.com's list of the top 40 restaurants in the U.S.