Edward

Will be staying at Hyatt Regency in Bethesda & visiting DC. We are on vacation & the last thing I want to do is dress-up, but I want a great steak! Any suggestions?

howard

Bethesda is full of restaurants,but only one steak house....Ruth Chris....I'd suggest going in to D.C.for a great steak either to The Palm or The Capitol Grille..take the metro right from the Hyatt or car or taxi(25 minutes)...a better steak and more fun...half the folks there will be dressed casually!

ingrid

Houston's is walking distance from the Hyatt. But don't flame me if this suggestion is an insult, I never eat steak.

Christina

I eat steak occasionally, but I'm not sure about the upper levels in price or restaurant -- when you say "great steak" it sounds like you want the best, and there are lots of good steak houses in the city that will be expensive as Howard suggests. Ruth Chris is supposed to be ok from what I've heard; I didn't know they had one in Bethesda, but if so, it should be fine. Houston's is a good medium level American restaurant, good for hamburgers etc, but I didn't know they even had steak.
Anyway, I wouldn't worry too much about dress if you just mean you don't want to wear a suit and dressy dress, but if you want to wear very casual sports clothes, Tshirtsj,shorts, etc, then I don't think you should wear that out to eat at too many restaurants except bars and stuff. Nice casual clothes will be fine in almost all places except the top.
I'd suggest you try the Brasserie Monte Carlo in Bethesda on Norfolk, they are a good French bistro and have decent steaks, as many French restaurants do. You wouldn't have to get dressed up.

Mr. Steak

Christina......

Somehow, I don't put a French Bistro and a good steak together.

Mr. Steak

martha

Stick with Ruth's Chris for good steak. Sam and Harry's is overrated, Morton's is okay, Smith and Wollensky's is good but still not cooked in a pound of butter. I haven't tried The Prime Rib yet, but I heard it's pretty good. You don't have to dress up, but if you go to any in DC proper, you'll be outdressed by all the power big-wigs there. Pants and a shirt is okay.

Jim Rosenberg

I would also recommend Ruth's Chris Steak House at 1801 Connecticut Avenue
in DC (202-797-0033) as a solid, reliable choice. It is a chain operation and it stacks up well with similar higher-end offerings such as Morton's -- not quite as ostentatious as some. This is the place to go for an excellent choice of cuts and wines that go along well. Make a lingering evening of it. The ambiance is not overly formal, but very tasteful. You can expect your meal to be well-prepared and served by people who generally seem to know what they're doing. The layout of the restaurant is broken up so you don't end up with that "banquet room" type of feeling -- great for conversation; not too bright for lighting. You don't have to dress up.

Christina

Mr. Steak: who cares what you think. This wasn't your question, and I'll bet you haven't eaten in very many good French bistros as a lot of them do have decent steaks. Part of my response was meant to provide a decent restaurant that they might enjoy in that area as they seemed to want something within the immediate area of their hotel. That is considered a good moderate restaurant in that area with some beef choices.
Love your screenname --- BS