One of America's most underrated steakhouses isn't a restaurant at all — it's a football stadium. So which team is winning the Super Bowl of steak?
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00:00One of America's most underrated steakhouses isn't a restaurant at all. It's a football
00:05stadium. So which team is winning the Super Bowl of Steak?
00:09American Beauty is one of the true culinary jewels in Los Angeles. Located on Rose Avenue
00:13in Venice, the steakhouse is only a short walk from the beach, uses fresh, local ingredients,
00:18and grills all of its beef cuts over almond wood before finishing them with butter and
00:22salt. Kimberly Plafke, an expert in sustainable and ethical meat, said the background of the
00:27beef is part of what makes American Beauty a standout.
00:29What I like most about American Beauty is that they offer a variety of beef from different
00:33co-ops and farms, including from Santa Carota Farm, which specializes in grass-fed carrot-finished
00:38beef. This is an uncommon way to feed beef. However, it's perfect for people looking for
00:43sustainable beef, but feel like grass-fed and finished is too lean, and grass-fed grain-finished
00:48is too fatty.
00:49Beyond the beef, Plafke is a big fan of the entire dining experience at American Beauty,
00:54including their wide variety of veggie dishes. You don't leave feeling heavy and sweaty
00:58due to the impressive amount of creative vegetable offers instead of classic steakhouse sites.
01:03Cozy Royale is nestled in East Williamsburg, where, true to its name, it offers a cozy
01:07respite from the typical hustle and bustle of New York. It's run by the same group that
01:11opened Williamsburg's popular butchery The Meat Hook, where Kimberly Plafke was once
01:15a team member. She said of Cozy Royale,
01:18"...it isn't technically a steakhouse, but it eats like one."
01:20Following the same grass-fed and sustainable model as The Meat Hook, Cozy Royale offers
01:25a broad culinary experience. But the steak department is where it really shines, with
01:29Plafke listing its steak frites and steak tartare as some of the highlights. She said,
01:33"...it's a super casual and upbeat environment that takes its meat seriously, but doesn't
01:37take itself very seriously."
01:39What I love about Cozy Royale and The Meat Hook is that it proves that everyday restaurants
01:43can follow a sustainable, more environment- and animal-friendly model, and still be fun
01:47and successful and tasty as hell.
01:50Toro Toro Miami touts itself as a modern steakhouse that draws on the flavorful staples that define
01:55Latin cooking. While you can find Toro Toro locations around the globe, it's the Florida
01:59location that's earned a prized spot on Plafke's list of standout steakhouses in the U.S.
02:04Toro Toro features dry-aged and USDA prime-cut steaks that are cooked on a Rodizio-style
02:09churrasco, which Plafke said, quote, "...gives the best kind of deep char of any grill I've
02:13worked with."
02:14The restaurant also showcases dishes from different Latin American countries on a daily
02:18basis. Each time you go, you may see a different style and flavor profile. This place truly
02:23shows the influence of the community and heritage of Latin culture, which make up such a huge
02:27part of Florida. Best of all, the restaurant, located inside the Intercontinental Miami
02:32Hotel, is not too expensive.
02:33"...We want people from the outside to come in. It's not just hotel guests. You gotta
02:37keep it, you know, affordable."
02:39Tucked next to Lake Travis in a residential community in Austin, Steiner Ranch Steakhouse
02:44takes its name from a 5,200-acre cattle ranch founded by Steiner Rodeo Company, and the
02:49restaurant still retains plenty of the ranch's natural charm and rodeo heritage. Plafke said,
02:54"...the views are insane, and while there, you get to learn about the very, very Texas
02:58history of the property. Plus, the food is good, and there's a lot of it."
03:02Plafke said,
03:03"...the steakhouse menu itself houses all the classics, and some with a little Tex-Mex
03:07flair. There is a reason people say everything is bigger in Texas."
03:11Beast & Cleaver is a family-owned butcher shop in Seattle that specializes in sustainable
03:15meat, but it also doubles as one of the best steakhouses in the country. On Thursdays and
03:19Fridays, the shop transforms into a small yet lively restaurant, with its own inventive
03:24meat-focused tasting menu, known as The Peasant.
03:26Come Saturdays and Sundays, Beast & Cleaver hosts The Bistro, where customers can order
03:30steak dishes a la carte. Plafke said,
03:32"...this showcases incredibly unique techniques on how to utilize 100 percent of the animal
03:37garums, ferments, koji aging, charcuterie, and the like. But there is always a showstopper
03:42main meat. When I was there most recently, it was a fillet, and it was possibly the best
03:47piece of meat I've ever eaten."
03:49Cheering on the Kansas City Chiefs and catching a peek of Taylor Swift hanging out with the
03:53other VIPs are no longer the only reasons to visit GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium.
03:58The stadium is also renowned for its dining options, and chef David Rose considers Arrowhead
04:03Stadium to be one of the most underrated steakhouses in the U.S. Why? It serves Certified
04:08Tender cuts from Omaha Steaks, where Rose is executive chef. She said,
04:12"...Certified Tender is a hard-to-achieve USDA designation for these hand-butchered
04:16and aged fillets."
04:17What does it mean to be Certified Tender? Without getting too deep in the weeds, it
04:21means the USDA has put these steaks through a rigorous testing protocol."
04:24Of course, there's one drawback. Since Arrowhead isn't a restaurant, you have to already be
04:28attending an event at the stadium in order to try the steak. At least you know that you're
04:32in for one heck of a pre-game meal.
04:35Little Alley Steakhouse in Roswell, Georgia, sources meat from iconic Chicago butcher Meats
04:39by Lynn's, offering up both wet-aged and dry-aged steaks as well as bone-in. But for chef Rose,
04:45there's one steak that's a cut above the rest. Their 60-day dry-aged, 30-ounce bone-in tomahawk
04:50ribeye steak with foie gras butter is phenomenal. The mild nuttiness and butteriness of their
04:55tomahawk steaks because of their dry-aging process is a game-changer, and is heightened
04:59even more when served with their foie gras butter and bone marrow with smoked salt, crispy
05:03garlic, and parsley salad. Located inside a former antique store, Rose also only has
05:08good things to say about the dining experience in general. The old-style classic steakhouse,
05:12generous helpings, and service really elevate the experience even more.
05:17If you're in Las Vegas, food blogger Keita Roberts recommends venturing off the Strip
05:21to check out Echo & Rig. The steakhouse and butcher shop sources high-quality beef and
05:26veggies from around the world, an effort which Roberts thinks pays off. They are brave
05:30with menu choices, with a pig's head terrine and lesser-known but amazing cuts of beef,
05:34like zabaton and bavette. They occasionally even do butchery demos on-site, and you can
05:39also buy your steak right from their butcher counter and take it home.
05:42We have a zabaton on our menu, and then what else we're doing is we're offering multiple
05:46cuts, so we're really gonna have fun with the steakhouse concept.
05:49No matter which cut you order, your steak is cooked over white oak and plated with garlic
05:54chips and mushroom Rockefeller. Plus, you can also get a killer beverage. Roberts said,
05:58not only are their dishes amazing, but the cocktails are top-notch. Knowing exactly how
06:03to craft a quality martini is a must, in my opinion, for a good steakhouse.
06:08Sparrow & Wolf in Las Vegas prides itself on using sustainable ingredients to create
06:12a simple yet creative menu, packed with more than just great steak. Foie gras, Spanish
06:17octopus, black pepper honey pork, and Japanese sweet potato are just a few things foodies
06:21can dig into as well. Roberts said,
06:24It's an Epicurean's dream, with a menu that makes you want to try every single thing or
06:28delve right into the tasting menu. Its 32-ounce, almond-wood-fired Creekstone porterhouse steak
06:33easily ranks among the best options on the menu. Aged in white miso paste and served
06:37with house-made American banchan and garlic naan, it's the best of the restaurant's innovations
06:42wrapped up in one truly delectable meal.
06:44Roberts said,
06:45Like all of their dishes, their steaks come out of the hearth and are served on a shared
06:49platter to be passed around the table and enjoyed with an exceptional bottle of wine.