Frank's Steakhouse vs. The Stockyard

[Heather29]

Hi everybody
I'm trying to decide where to bring my boyfriend for his birthday dinner. He is a huge steak fan. If you had to pick, which one would you go to?
Thanks in advance for your opinions! :)
Heather

[Northstar22]

My first time at stockyard was 2 weeks ago and I'll tell ya I passed on the steaks and went with the Lobster Roll {fox 25 morning news did a feature on Lobster Rolls so I was hooked} I was very impressed. It was huge, loaded with meat, light on the mayo and a little celery. I want to say it was $20.00 but it was well worth it.

[lipoff]

Definitely the Stockyard. I've never had a bad piece of meat there, the salads are extremely fresh, and the fresh bread is amazing. But the important thing is the meat, and it never dissapoints. I usually order the Teriyaki Steak, or sometimes the Boston Favorite or Prime Rib. The Teriyaki Steak is a real sleeper in their menu --- I don't think many people order it, but it is amazingly flavorful.

There's nothing wrong with Frank's, and it's also a good time, but I think the average quality of their meat is worse than the Stockyard's. A steak lover will appreciate either one.

If you want to spend (much) more, go to Grill 23 or Locke-Ober for even better meat.

[mwk]

I'd prefer Frank's. I love the Bourbon St. Sizzler steak, and they have a very nice tomato/mozzarella salad as well. Plus, the atmosphere is that funky old-school steakhouse. I expect the ghost of Frank Sinatra to show up sometimes :)

[DoubleMan]

Neither offer great steaks, but Frank's has a cabaret singer on Saturday nights----tought to top that!!!

[Ali G]

FWIW, I'd pick The Stockyard, but I always say that cause it has some nostalgia for me. I'm a steak lover too, but I tend to go after the prime rib at the Stockyard instead of the sirloins, fillet, etc. Last time I was there it was cooked perfectly medium rare and everything was great. As someone said before, the bread, service, etc is not noteworthy and it doesn't have some of the refinement of one of the high end steakhouses. I'm ok with that. I know what I'm going for..which is a decent piece of meat, maybe some fried scallops, and a much lower bill at the end of the night. I can only do the pretentious, high priced, steakhouses 1-2x a year when I want a dry aged cut of beef.

[KitchenAid]

I gave up on the Stockyard after they took the fantastic shepherd's pie off the menu.

[Bob Dobalina]

I have not been too impressed with either.

My one trip to Frank's - had a strip, cajun style or somesuch - asked for it medium rare - came out Pittsburgh - black on the outside, absolutely raw on the inside - was really disappointing, although the leftovers the next day were great, when I sliced it thin and finished cooking for a steak sandwich.

Went to the Stockyard recently and the meat was ok, but nothing to write home about - over-cooked too - seems really hard to get a true medium rare.

Also, as a side note, went to Ruth's Chris over the weekend in Hartford area and tried the strip med. rare - it too was overcooked - the meat was mostly without any flavor and I truly dislike the fact that the meat is cooked so hot (and smothered in butter) that it continues to cook much more on the hot plate. It was close to medium rare when it came out and was assuredly medium three minutes later. :(

The best steak both in terms of flavor and doneness recently was a t-bone from Whole Foods on my buddy's backyard grill. Perfect!

Not much help I know.

[Luther]

I've never had a bad steak or french fry at the Stockyard, but the busy atmosphere might not be for everyone. Also, the sides/bread are pretty forgettable and low quality.

Also, Stockyard no longer sells a Porterhouse (T-bone only).

[hiddenboston]

I like Frank's a lot better. I've had some really bad meals at the Stockyard.