Best Steak in the U.S.

Las Vegas

Vegas has never wanted for great high-roller steak houses. In the 1950s and 1960s, Rat Pack members Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis, Jr., were regular customers at the Golden Steer Steakhouse, the oldest steak joint in town. Today, there are over 25 steak houses on the 4.2-mile stretch known as the Vegas Strip, according to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.

Where to Eat: Celebrity chefs' steak spots rule, including Jean-Georges Vongerichten's Prime, Emeril Lagasse's Delmonico, Charlie Palmer Steak and Carnevino, the Italian-leaning restaurant from Mario Batali and Joe Bastianich. At Carnevino, NYC meat guru Adam Perry Lang heads up the dry-aged-beef program by selecting the hormone- and antibiotic-free beef that's served in the restaurant. As an extravagant feature, sommeliers reverently cart old vintages of wines like Barolos, Brunellos and Super Tuscans to the table and decant them into exquisite handblown Movia stemware.

• Las Vegas Travel Guide

Houston

"Houston is a town that specializes in the manliest meat, beef," Joel Stein once wrote in F&W. More than 255,000 people attended the 2012 Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, an event that includes tastings from many of the city's barbecue joints and steak spots as well as a bull-riding show and contests for the most beautiful steer.

Where to Eat: Two of Houston's best places for steak are housed in unassuming roadhouse-style buildings: At Killen's, chef Ron Killen serves awe-inspiring dry-aged beef and indulgent Kobe tastings, and according to F&W's Ray Isle, a Houston native, Beaver's Ice House has one of the state's best chicken fried steaks. At chef Chris Shepherd's brand new restaurant, Underbelly, there's a full-scale butcher room where whole animals are broken down and each part is used on the menu.

• Houston Travel Guide

Chicago

Chicago's Union Stockyards were the center of the American meatpacking industry for the first half of the 20th century and helped perpetuate the Midwestern city's legacy as a steak town (even if the shameful stockyard conditions depicted in The Jungle led to national food safety initiatives). Founded in 1893, famous Allen Brothers built a strong reputation and still supplies legendary steak houses like Gene & Georgetti as well as Chicago-founded Morton's. The new Butcher & Larder, opened by former chef Rob Levitt, is now in the spotlight for being the city's first shop dedicated to butchering locally sourced whole animals.

Where to Eat: Gibsons Bar & Steakhouse sources Black Angus beef from sustainable farms in the Upper Midwest and ages superb filet mignon, sirloin and porterhouse steaks for 40 days. The porterhouses at Chicago Chop House and Tavern on Rush are also among the best in the city.

• Chicago Travel Guide

New York

From dry-aged porterhouse steaks at the iconic and often-imitated Peter Luger in Brooklyn to the crispy-edged côte de boeuf for two with marrow bones at Keith McNally's chic Minetta Tavern in Greenwich Village, there's no dearth of outstanding steaks in the nation's financial capital. Even non-steak house restaurants use cult butchers like Pat LaFreida, Lobel's, DeBragga and Master Purveyors, and call out their names on menus throughout the city.

Where to Eat: There are so many steak houses (more than 140 in the Zagat guide) that it can be hard to choose. F&W's top picks include Keens, Minetta Tavern, Palm, Peter Luger, Smith & Wollensky, Sparks, Strip House, the Old Homestead and Wolfgang's.

• New York Travel Guide

Washington, DC

Lunch is more than a meal in this city, where restaurants cater to politicos and are often the setting for legislation negotiations. Power lunch spots include the many steak houses just steps from the U.S. Capitol Building.

Where to Eat: The Caucus Room is a popular bipartisan choice: It's owned by former Republican National Committee chairman Haley Barbour, prominent Democrat lobbyist Tom Boggs and Ed Mathias from the Carlyle Group, the third largest private equity firm in the world. Superstar chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten's J&G Steakhouse and Charlie Palmer Steak have discreet private dining areas and serve many congressmen and senators every week. Restaurateur Michael Landrum's unpretentious spot Ray's the Steaks in nearby Arlington, Virginia, is a low-key favorite of locals.

• Washington D.C. Travel Guide

Omaha

Beef is Nebraska's single largest industry, with cattle farms and ranches utilizing 93 percent of the state's total land area. As the country's meatpacking center since the 1950s, it's no wonder that Omaha has so many steak houses and is home to one of the country's largest marketers of beef, Omaha Steaks.

Where to Eat: Gorat's is Omaha billionaire Warren Buffett's favorite steak house. He even reserves the restaurant exclusively for three days every year during a shareholder meeting for his company Berkshire Hathaway. According to the Wall Street Journal, Buffett's standard meal includes "a rare T-bone steak, double order of hash browns and a Cherry Coke."

• Video: How to Cook Steak

Minneapolis

"Ever been to a meat raffle? It's exactly what it sounds like, and they're hosted at most every VFW, American Legion and dive bar in the state," says Minneapolis-based chef and Bizarre Foods host Andrew Zimmern. Winning a pile of meat isn't the only way for Minnesotans to get their steak fix: The meat and potatoes town is home to many traditional supper clubs and heritage steak houses.

Where to Eat: The legendary Murray's was immortalized by humorist Garrison Keillor in a 1997 essay called "The Age of Elegance" in Time magazine: "The menu harks back to the Age of Steak; a place where a fiftyish couple can enjoy a Manhattan and tuck into a chunk of cow and au gratin potato." Since 1946, the Silver Butter Knife steak for two, a 28-ounce strip sirloin that's carved tableside, has been the restaurant's must-have dish.

Fort Worth

The city earned its nickname "Cowtown" more than a century ago when cowboys drove cattle through the city on their way to Chicago, the country's meatpacking center. Today local chef Tim Love of the Lonesome Dove Western Bistro has become the de facto culinary ambassador for the state of Texas, and a nationally recognized steak and grilling expert.

Where to Eat: Love serves his signature urban western cuisine and juicy hand-cut steaks with cilantro lime butter at Lonesome Dove, which is located in the historic Fort Worth Stockyards. At his new restaurant, the Woodshed Smokehouse, Love has devoted his menu to meat and serves an incredible 60 ounce bistecca alla Fiorentina with crispy potatoes for four people. Texas classic Ranchman's Café (aka the Ponder Steakhouse) has been serving down-home dishes like excellent chicken fried steak since 1948 and is still wildly popular.

• Dallas Travel Guide

Dallas

According to Forbes magazine, Dallas is home to 17 billionaires, who have a combined estimated worth of $45.7 billion—such wealth engenders a serious power lunch scene at Fearing's and more of the city's many steak houses. Del Frisco's Double Eagle Steak House and Bob's Steak and Chop House are two popular chains that originated in Dallas and now have locations across the country.

Where to Eat: At Fearing's, the legendary cowboy-boot-wearing chef Dean Fearing serves mesquite-grilled bone-in rib eye with vinegary West Texas "mop" sauce, creamy corn bread pudding and tempura asparagus. Smoke chef-owner Tim Byres (F&W People's Best New Chef 2012) has a backyard smokehouse for slow-cooking all kinds of meat, including strip steak, an incredible coffee-cured beef brisket and "The Big Rib," a huge beef rib.

• Dallas Travel Guide

San Francisco

San Francisco has had a surge of chef-butchers and butcher shops that focus on humanely and locally raised meat. Former San Francisco chef Nate Appleman is credited with starting the chef-butcher trend at A16 and SPQR in 2009, and today Ryan Farr of 4505 Butchers is one of the most sought-after butchering instructors in the city. The nationally recognized Niman Ranch network also started here and now includes independent farmers throughout the U.S.

Where to Eat: Although many of the city's fine dining spots emphasize locally raised and grass-fed beef, traditional steak houses are still popular. Since 1949, House of Prime Rib's servers have been dramatically carving portions of well-marbled meat tableside from stainless steel serving carts. San Francisco superstar chef Michael Mina's Bourbon Steak is also a favorite, offering fabulous Angus and American Wagyu steaks that are sourced from sustainable and organic farms like Bassian Farms in nearby San Jose and Idaho's Snake River Farms, respectively.

• San Francisco Travel Guide

Atlanta

Executives at CNN and Coca-Cola's global headquarters in Atlanta frequent the city's many steak houses near the CNN Center and downtown. Atlanta chefs Anne Quatrano and Cliff Harrison run an empire of restaurants and shops dedicated to using local, organic ingredients and serving nose-to-tail cuisine. Located in a former meatpacking plant, their restaurant Abbattoir (French for "slaughterhouse") utilizes every part of the cow on its menu: In addition to rib eye and hanger steak, they serve roasted marrow bones, sweetbreads and warm beef jerky. Their culinary shop Star Provisions has an on-site chef-butcher who hand-cuts meat and specializes in aging meat.

Where to Eat: Chef Kevin Rathbun ate his way through five Chicago steak houses in 24 hours to research his newest restaurant Kevin Rathbun Steak. Cuts like porterhouse for two and a huge 22-ounce cowboy rib eye are topped with salted butter and served with decadent sides, like jalapeño creamed corn. Other popular steak restaurants include Bone's, McKendrick's and Chops.

• Atlanta Travel Guide

New Orleans

Generally regarded as a top seafood town, New Orleans also has a history of great steak—the first location of the international chain Ruth's Chris Steak House opened on Broad Street in 1965.

Where to Eat: Chef Adolfo Garcia puts an Argentinean spin on meat at La Boca, where charred cuts of beef—rosy hanger steaks, citrus-marinated flank steaks—are complemented by an assortment of chimichurri sauces and a wine list heavy with South American Malbecs. At Besh Steaks in Harrah's casino, hometown hero John Besh complements his juicy steaks with local ingredients, including crispy onion rings that have been beer-battered in Louisiana's Abita Amber lager.

• New Orleans Travel Guide

Kansas City, MO

When a steak is named after a city, like the Kansas City strip steak, you can bet that there's a good reason behind it: Missouri has 2.16 million beef cows, only second to Texas, according to the Missouri Beef Council. In the 1940s, the Kansas City Stockyards were a major hub for farmers and ranchers selling cattle.

Where to Eat: The Golden Ox was founded in 1949 by Jay Dillingham, president and chairman of the Board of the Kansas City Stockyards, and is still one of the city's most popular steak houses, serving three-week-aged Angus steaks, including a hickory-charcoal broiled Kansas City strip steak. Barbecue joint Fiorella's Jack Stack specializes in classic smoked meats but also serves nontraditional barbecue items like hickory-grilled Kansas City strip steak.

• Incredible Steak Sandwiches

Milwaukee

Wisconsin restaurants celebrate Fish Fry Fridays year-round, but on Saturday nights at eateries and supper clubs throughout the state, it's all about prime rib. Milwaukee also hosts the annual World Beef Expo, a cattle show where hundreds of heads of cattle are shown, bought and sold.

Where to Eat: Local celeb chef Paul Bartolotta and his brother Joe's steak restaurant, Mr. B's, serves juicy steaks like an Angus rib eye with salt-crusted potatoes and bone-in filet mignon. Steak also headlines the menus at many old-fashioned and beloved supper clubs like the Jackson Grill, which has ten variations, including prime rib.

Boston

Politicians and the business elite often power lunch near the State House in Beacon Hill at restaurants like Mooo, which have a vast selection of beef: dry-aged bone-in cuts, grass-fed and grain-fed. At Barbara Lynch's Butcher Shop, a wine bar and full service butcher shop, diners can taste over 100 wines and purchase grass-fed beef to take home.

Where to Eat: Chef Ken Oringer's chic KO Prime serves juicy steaks from ethically raised steer plus locally sourced vegetables and rooftop-grown salad greens. Located in the city's Leather District, chef/co-owner Tim Cushman's O Ya is a restaurant best characterized as Japanese-New England fusion, with an enormous menu that changes nightly and includes seven Wagyu beef preparations.

• Boston Travel Guide

Indianapolis

Located in the center of a state known for its farms, Indianapolis—host to the annual auto race the Indianapolis 500—attracts tourists from all over the country and has no shortage of amazing steak houses.

Where to Eat: The legendary St. Elmo Steak House has been open since 1902 and is still the most popular steak house in the city, serving juicy boneless and bone-in rib eye and filet cuts. It's also a favorite of race-car drivers and NFL players from the Indianapolis Colts.

• Video: Tips on Grilling Steak

Philadelphia

"In Philadelphia, when you say 'steak house,' you are talking about a cheesesteak place," wrote New York Times writer William K. Stevens in 1985. In fact, the two most popular joints use thinly sliced rib eye steak in their sandwiches. The most popular traditional steak houses are transplants like Morton's from Chicago, Del Frisco's from Dallas and The Palm out of New York.

Where to Eat: The top two rivals in the never-ending South Philly cheesesteak sandwich debate are Pat's King of Steaks and Geno's Steaks, which are located across the street from each other. Both use rib eye steak topped with (wit') or without (wit'-out) onions and a choice of melted cheese (there are message boards devoted to the merits of Cheez Whiz vs. Provolone vs. American cheese).

• Philadelphia Travel Guide

Los Angeles

From old-school prime rib spots like Lawry's to celebrity hangouts like STK and BOA, there's a steak house for every taste in L.A. Among the top purveyors, local rancher Greg Nauta of Rocky Canyon Farms sells naturally raised beef at the Hollywood Farmers' Market, and Amelia "Lindy" Posada and Erika "Grundy" Nakamura (co-owners of Lindy & Grundy) moved from Brooklyn to help bring the meat-artisan trend to L.A. Along with conventional cuts of organic, sustainable beef, they offer custom specials like kalbi (Asian beef chuck short ribs).

Where to Eat: At CUT in the Beverly Wilshire Four Seasons, L.A. chef Wolfgang Puck and architect Richard Meier have created an airy dining room that looks more like a modern art gallery than a hotel restaurant. Puck serves fantastic (and pricey) Japanese beef as well as dry-aged American steak.

• Los Angeles Travel Guide