Murray's Steakhouse in Minneapolis.
While the small very old fashioned smokey-mirrored restaurant was not that great, the steak truely was.

Market Inn - Washington, DC
Elks Lodge - Dickinson, ND (incredible value)
Morton's - various
Capital Grille - various
E.B. Green's - Buffalo, NY
Schimmels - Jackson, MS
Old Hickory Steakhouse - Nashville, TN (in the Opryland Resort Hotel)
Sparks - New York, NY
The Char - Beckley, WV
Manny's - Minneapolis, MN
Little Rhein Steakhouse - San Antonio, TX
The Little Bear Inn - Cheyenne, WY

Elk Creek Saloon on Hwy 90 half way between Rapid City and Sturgis. Not much to look at from the outside and would probably scare off most people, but a surprise once you are inside.

Glad to hear about Billy Bob's at Sam's Casino in Las Vegas. We were just there last week, but weren't able to eat there. Will save it for next time.

Funny how only a few people mention steaks served in actual steak country. If you're in Nebraska, Iowa, Wyoming, Oklahoma, etc. one fine Friday or Saturday night and see a mom and pop steakhouse whose parking lot is jammed with cars, stop in. Chances are you'll get the steak of a lifetime. We're spoiled and generally don't even order steak on vacations. That said, my husband ranted and raved about a steak he had last month in Vegas at Mon Ami Gabi.

Tess, I'm no expert on that matter, but most steaks I've had in places like Omaha and "beef country" were "fresh". To me there's nothing so good as a really well aged steak, which has much to do with how much I like it. It seemed to me that slow aging is not so popular in the area you're talking about. Is it?

NeoPatrick,
Depends on where you are. Most steakhouse owners and chefs around here are pretty savvy as to aging their steaks. Everyone has their own timetable/formula for proper aging, it seems.

We don't ranch or farm but regularly buy a half a beef from friends, have it processed and wrapped locally, then freeze the meat. I'm enough of a 'city girl' that I about passed out the one and only time I had to visit the processing plant to pick up the beef. Honestly, I had serious thoughts of becoming a vegetarian after that and haven't been the same since.

The old method of aging meat in known as dry aging. Dry aging is done by hanging meat in a controlled, closely watched, refrigerated environment. The temperature needs to stay between 36 degrees F and freezing. Too warm and the meat will spoil, too cold and it will freeze, stopping the aging process. You also need a humidity of about 85 to reduce water loss. To control bacteria and you need a constant flow of air all around the meat, which means it need to be hanging in a well ventilated space. The last and most important ingredient in this process is an experienced butcher to keep a close eye on the aging meat.

There are many reasons that butchers don't typically age meat these days. First of all the cost of aged beef can be very high. Because of the weight loss of aged beef, the price per pound can be pretty outrageous. If you add in the time, storage space, refrigeration, labor that price just keeps moving up. For aging to properly improve the quality of a cut of meat, it should contain substantial marbling. This means that there is fat evenly distributed throughout the meat. Only the highest grades have this kind of marbling and make aging worthwhile.

Because of the high price and the space necessary to age meat, dry aging has become very rare. Actually only a few of the finest restaurants buy aged beef. Many in fact, have taken to aging their own beef. This can be a risky job if you don't know what you are doing and I strongly suggest a good sense of smell to anyone who tries it. If your ages meat doesn't smell right, throw it out.

Aging takes about 11 days before you see much improvement in the flavor of the meat. After that the flavor continues to intensify, but so does the loss of weight and the risk of spoilage. Eventually the meat will be worthless so many fine restaurants who do their own aging will limit it to 20 to 30 days.

I am surprised by all the votes for Gibsons. I think both Mortons and Ruth's Chris have it beat in Chicago. Particularly the Ribeye at Ruth's Chris.

Coerper's 5'o clock club in Milwaukee may be the best yet. These are all close in quality, some of it just depends on the luck of the cut and the cooking.

Not sure if it was the best, but it was the most interesting & most probably the rarest steak I have ever eaten. It was located on the main square in Maastricht & was an Argentinian joint called Gauchos (a chain of some sort, I am guessing). The steak was the most tender/succulent steak I've ever eaten (& it was practically raw). Peter Lugers is on my short list.

Cattleman's Steakhouse, OK City
Golden Ox, Kansas City
Charlie's, Orlando
McCormick & Schmick's - steak & lobster - in Boston.. both were "melt-in-your-mouth" good
Amarillo Grill, Kansas City, but has since closed. Think there are still some in Texas & Oklahoma.

Now, my favorite of all those, probably Charlie's... aged steaks, you pick your own, but very expensive!

Most memorable steak dinner was at the Cattlemen's Steakhouse at Indian Cliffs Ranch. Its on a 30,000 acre working ranch. 35 miles east of El Paso TX, rather a long drive, but worth it.

Very nice at sunset.

Lowake (low-A-kee) outside San Angelo is great, used to have an airstrip for people flying in,
old man Zentner started it (i think)
they still have Zentners steakhouse, but its not really good anymore.
You can get great steaks in Abilene, Tx also Perini Ranch and Joe Allens are pretty good, the "Texas Roadhouse" chain restaurand in Abilene has great steak cooks, the Abilene Tx Roadhouse, is much better than any others.
You can get the best chicken fried steak at Mary's in Strawn, (A lot of yall won't know what chicken fried steak is, but its pretty good too)

I can only reliably speak to Boston area places. The best I've had there were at:

Grill 23 and Bar (Kobe cap)
The Oak Room (tenderloin)

The worst expensive steak I've ever had was a porterhouse at the Morton's on Boylston Street. Tough and gristly, and it cost a ton.

westtexas - Zentner's was sold in late 2007. i went back in the day when it was really good.

Twin Petit Filet Mignons at Salt (the grill at the Ritz Carlton Amelia Island).

Absolutely unforgettable.

Jack's Grill-Redding CA. =P~

Florence, Italy. Bistecca alla Fiorentina. But not if you do not like rare steak.

Best: Elk Ribeye at the Bunker Hill Cafe in Bunker Hill, Kansas: http://www.kansastravel.org/bunkerhillcafe.htm

Close 2nd: Steak Venato at the Renaissance Cafe in Assaria, Kansas: http://www.kansastravel.org/renaissancecafe.htm

Keith

Keith,

Sure are some good places to eat in Kansas. On a business trip a long time ago, I was mildly surprised because everywhere I ate the food was really good. Small towns, cities. The decor was simple at the mom 'n pop places, but the food was excellent.

Bookmarking these if I ever get back to Kansas.

Abe and Louie's on Boylston Street in Boston. Worth every penny, and costs a lot more than that!