Pappas Bros. Steakhouse, Dallas

Find it: 10477 Lombardy Lane, Dallas; 214-366-2000; www.pappasbros.com

The dish: Yeah, so it comes from Houston but Pappas Bros. offers, without a doubt, the finest steak-eating experience in North Texas. The greatest bites come from the New York strip, a burly steak with compliant texture, best if cooked with a sear to the outside and red silk inside. You’ll dream about the butter-swept, salt-and-pepper crust long after your meal is history. Best of all: Pappas Bros. is all about lavish service for the pampered palate, but you don’t have to get all dressed up to partake.

Don't wander away without also trying: The lobster bisque, riddled with pieces of tender shellfish, and hints of cayenne and cognac. As for dessert, the rich, classic cheesecake is served precisely as it should be, a little cool but never cold – a lovely, not-too-sweet, just a bit tangy flavor experience that you know could never be the insulting sort that comes right from the food-service truck.

You should know: That 34,000-bottle wine inventory is overseen by Barbara Werley, one of two master sommeliers in Texas (and just one of fifteen sommeliers variety in the world). If she recommends a bottle, you’d be a fool not to drink it.

Honorable mentions: Del Frisco’s, Fort Worth and Dallas; Bob’s, Grapevine; Charlie Palmer, Dallas