The Best in DFW

Al Biernat's 

Irrepressible owner Al Biernat honed his hospitality skills at Dallas' Palm steakhouse more than a decade ago, and regulars at his restaurant on the edge of Highland Park are legion. The prime, bone-in, dry-aged New York strip from respected Chicago meat purveyor Allen Bros. is as good a strip as you'll find in steak-crazed Dallas. As an alternative to beef, try the luxuriously textured filet mignon of elk. Creamed spinach and whipped sweet potatoes are standout side dishes. No matter how full you are, don't skip peanut butter banana cream pie or Key lime pie for dessert.

4217 Oak Lawn Ave. 214-219-2201. www.albiernats.com. Full bar. $$$-$$$$.

Bob's Steak and Chop House 

A perpetual favorite of power brokers and professional athletes, Bob's revels in the steakhouse classics. Once you delve into your bone-in Kansas City strip, it seems more like a journey than an entree, a terrain of crispy charred bits that segues into lush meat and lustrous pastures of fat. You're either in or out with the signature glazed carrot that appears on entrees: Count us in. The dining room's tarnished, golden light looks so soft and thick that you feel you could reach out and swoosh it around. Bob's has other locations, but none rivals the original.

4300 Lemmon Ave. 214-528-9446. www.bobs-steakandchop.com. Full bar. Dinner only; closed Sundays. $$$$.

The Capital Grille 

Even if a dining room with enough wood paneling, dark suits and stern-faced portraits of historic Texas notables to fill a boardroom is not your style, there are plenty of reasons to like the Capital Grille. The restaurant's muscular decor is equally matched by its heavyweight menu. On-point starters include crunchy fried rings of calamari, a crock of excellent French onion soup and a wedge salad with tart buttermilk dressing dotted with blue cheese and crumbled bacon. Steaks here are dry-aged Black Angus beef, prepared simply with salt and pepper or rubbed and sauced in a few luxurious ways. Knowledgeable wine service.

500 Crescent Court. 214-303-0500. www.thecapitalgrille.com. Full bar. $$$$.

Del Frisco's Double Eagle Steak House 

The restaurant is now 15 years old and owned by a local private equity group, but you'd be hard-pressed to discern that co-founder Dee Lincoln or any of the other employees answers to anyone other than Ms. Lincoln herself. When things are right (and they usually are), the thick salt-and-peppered prime sirloins, rib eyes, filet mignons and Colorado lamb chops are flawless: nicely charred on the outside, meltingly tender and full of flavor. The wine list is packed with earthy, structured reds, though they lean to the expense-account side. Desserts, including a luxe lemon cake, are made in-house.

5251 Spring Valley Road. 972-490-9000. www.delfriscos.com. Full bar. $$$-$$$$.

Morton's, the Steakhouse 

The Dallas outpost of multiunit Morton's has been in the same location at Elm and Houston streets for more than two decades. Latte-brown leather banquettes, low ceilings and thickly spackled walls washed with soft light augment the retro feel. Meals typically begin with a tightly choreographed display and description of plastic-wrapped meat, but those in the know ask for the written menu and dispense with the theatrics. Steaks are prime-grade beef and wet-aged, and the sides are mostly successful versions of chophouse staples. The wine list features some prominent names and a few surprises.

501 Elm St. 214-741-2277. www.mortons.com. Full bar. $$$-$$$$.

Nick and Sam's 

Discerning Uptown and Highland Park crowds cram this place nightly. Its clubby furnishings and seductive lighting make for a debonair hangout. And the food, which doesn't quite reach the heights of the service but delivers soundly on the chophouse essentials, apparently keeps regulars in jolly spirits. Splurging on the $78 dry-aged cowboy rib eye and the $130 chateaubriand for two offers carnivorous rewards, though you'll be nearly as happy with a nicely charred filet mignon for $37. For some of the most wonderful service you may ever receive, request server Willie Randle when you call for reservations.

3008 Maple Ave. 214-871-7444. www.nick-sams.com Full bar. Dinner only. $$$$.

Pappas Bros. Steakhouse 

The Dallas outpost of Pappas Bros. Steakhouse elevates itself through extraordinary wine service. True, the multichambered space oozes red-blooded elegance, the steaks are meaty masterpieces and the servers perform their jobs with efficient, easy charm. But Pappas is foremost a place to turn up as thirsty as you are hungry – and not just for a Napa cabernet fruit bomb. As at the end of most chophouse meals, sweets seem nearly impossible. Yet here comes the server and his display cart, flashing treat after treat: towering chocolate cake, an even more architectural riff on marshmallowy moon pie, a solid brick of cheesecake.

10477 Lombardy Lane. 214-366-2000. www.pappasbros.com. Dinner only; closed Sundays. Full bar. $$$$.