Dallas Steakhouse Recommendations

[jen_l]

My boyfriend and I are visiting Dallas over the Thanksgiving holiday. We are looking for recommendations on the best steakhouse in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. We'll have a rental car so transportation is not an issue and we don't mind driving for a great steak. While good side dishes are a plus, we really want to know who has the "best steak".

Thanks!

[diningwithDeliaJo]

I recommend Pappas brothers very highly! Kenny's in Addison is good and also Sullivan's in North Dallas. Pappas is my fave, though.

[hypemnd]

The busiest (i.e. most popular) true steakhouses in town are Nick & Sam's (best atmosphere), Al Biernat's (best service), Bob's (best for guys night) and Pappas Bros. (best wine list). All of these places are top-notch by national standards and will have the commensurate hour-long plus wait on a weekend night to prove it.

I find it interesting that people claim that the quality of beef ranges from "poor" to "the best I've ever had" at various places when nearly every steakhouse in the city buys their meat from the exact same purveyor, Allen Brothers, and cooks them in the exact same manner, upright broiler. With that said, I've probably eaten at each of the places listed above in excess of 50 times and have had specific instances where I wasn't pleased with the quality of the steak I received. However, this is highly unusual.

For BBQ, all of the places you mentioned are excellent. Of those listed, the only one I'd probably skip is Snow's, simply because it has zero history, zero atmosphere, a very limited (albeit very tasty) menu, and it's way outside of any major city. The old Texas institutions that comprise most of the rest of the list are much more impressive experiences.

For Mexican, I personally like La Fogata in San Antonio and Fonda San Miguel in Austin. If you have to do Tex-Mex in Dallas, you are going to be stuck with one of the chain options (e.g. Uncle Julio's, Mi Cocina, Cantina Laredo, etc.), which are much better than most you will find outside of Texas, but not life-changing experiences.

I hope this helps. Enjoy your trip!

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Nick & Sam's
3008 Maple Avenue, Dallas, TX 75201

Uncle Julios
1125 N Union Bower Rd, Irving, TX 75061

Al Biernats
4217 Oak Lawn, Dallas, TX 75219

[twinwillow]

I totally agree with the first two paragraphs of your comments.
A very good observation.

[AVinSF]

Thanks for succinct steakhouse reviews. Am celebrating niece's White Coat ceremony @ Nick & Sam's based on research and your reco. Looking forward to it.

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Nick & Sam's
3008 Maple Avenue, Dallas, TX 75201

[kel]

Al Biernat's should not even be on this list. Mediocra food, even less of a staff.

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Al Biernats
4217 Oak Lawn, Dallas, TX 75219

[foiegras]

Interesting (also interesting that many of your posts include the word 'mediocre'). I've never been there, but they were in D Magazine's steakhouse top 5, and were the only place they gave a score of 100 for the filet (which made me put it on my list).

[bhoward]

My big problem with the D Magazine article was that they rated as the first steak a filet--without a doubt the least favorite cut for any steak aficionado. Having said that, Al Biernat's is excellent. My only complaint is that non-regulars seem to be rushed consistently.

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Al Biernats
4217 Oak Lawn, Dallas, TX 75219

[foiegras]

Oh dear, I do not like being rushed (subject of my very first post here). I wonder how frequently filet is ordered--maybe that has something to do with the choice?

[TexasAggieMama]

Bob's Steak and Chop House on Lemmon in Dallas or Legacy in Plano are good choices as well. Old fashioned service, good portion sizes, great beef.

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Bob's Steaks
12675 Josey Ln, Dallas, TX 75234

[Sulan]

I've had a couple of fairly poor meals at Al Biernat's - good people watching, but lousy food. I much prefer Nick and Sam's.

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Al Biernats
4217 Oak Lawn, Dallas, TX 75219

[albatruffles]

thanks, I was leaning towards Pappas or Nick & Sam's..the cowboy rib-eye with truffle butter was talking to me. Also booked Stephan Pyles. I just posted on the Texas board for what we are still looking for on our trip. A big thanks to everybody. I'll report back after our trip.

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Stephan Pyles
1807 Ross Suite 200, Dallas, TX 75201

[kel]

Second the not so good eview. Even the serice was odd--some staff kept touching the ladies in our group--whom they never met before .

[Analisas mom]

Bone-in Ribeye at Stephen Pyles, hands down best Steak I"v ever had in Dallas Texas!!!

[DarnellErwinFletcher]

Al Biernat's and The Place at Perry's are my top 2 steaks.... Bob's (Lemmon Location) used to be but hasn't been as good last couple of visits.

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The Place at Perry's
2911 Routh Street, Dallas, TX 75201

Al Biernats
4217 Oak Lawn, Dallas, TX 75219

[twinwillow]

Second, Al Biernats. Very, very good steaks as well.

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Al Biernats
4217 Oak Lawn, Dallas, TX 75219

[OCNC]

Bob's FTW!

[twinwillow]

I don't know, Pappas Bros. Steakhouse is awfully, awfully good and, with a great wine list too!
To me personally, Bob's Steak House is a downer. (IMHO)

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Pappas Bros. Steakhouse
10477 Lombardy Lane, Dallas, TX 75220

[DallasDude]

You could toss a dart at any of these and win.

[air]

Yeah, there are so many good steakhouses in/around town that it's hard to go completely wrong. Pappa's, Chamberlain's, Al Biernat, etc...

If you're really willing to drive, run a search for the Four Winds Steakhouse in Wills Point.

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Four Winds Steakhouse
21191 FM 47, Wills Point, TX 75169

[healthyscratch]

I'd go to Pappas just to say I went to the place where a buncha Cowboys stuck their rookie teammate Dez Bryant with a $50K+ tab a few weeks ago... Great steaks though, and yeah, maybe the best steakhouse wine list in Dallas. Although Nick and Sam's is right up there on both counts.

[albatruffles]

Are there some good Texas blogs that showcase these steakhouses?

I looked a bit at the above recommendations. Pyles and Chamberlains looked up our alley. But, I think the real question is if you had to recommend one steakhouse to take out of towners. What's the one place you would say, "You have to go here for a true taste of Texas."

[luniz]

I don't think that I'd send anybody to a steakhouse for a "true taste of Texas". In fact I'm not sure if I would say that you can get "a true taste of Texas" in Dallas. Pyles is more of a restaurant than a steakhouse and I think it gives a pretty accurate representation of Dallas and maybe to a lesser degree Texas. I also think it's worthy of bringing out of town guests. I haven't been to Chamberlain's although the chef/owner is pretty good a barbecuing in my experience. You could also look into the possibility of a reservation at Fuego at Pyles, not sure you can get one this close to Thanksgiving but it might be worth checking based on your list of favorite restaurants.

[albatruffles]

Well, we are going to Dallas, then Austin, and a quick day trip to San Antonio. If you have some amazing recs around these areas, we would love to hear.

For steaks, I'll research all the recs we are getting here (thanks thus far)
BBQ - Franklins, Smitty's, Snow, Kreuz, Louie Mueller, and City Market (that's what we are thinking)
Tex-mex - no clue
After that, please help. What should we add for the true Texas experience.

[twinwillow]

You're definitely on the right track for BBQ. The places you've named are the best in Texas.
At Louie Muller I can personally recommend the beef rib, (fatty) brisket and their "regular" sausage. Not, the jalapeno sausage. See the pic.

[Mike C. Miller]

Taste in BBQ is as personal to Texans as anything. But for what it's worth, I'd put Mueller's at the top of my list. The brisket is as good as any body's and the original sausage is the best sausage that I've put in my mouth in 51 years. Bar none. It's worth traveling around the globe to try. (And I've never had any brisket that good.)

[amokscience]

Personally, I'd skip Kreuz out of that list. Smitty's made me very happy on a recent visit, LM a tad less so (but certainly good) ... Snow's you may have to plan to show up early, City Market is tops on my need-to-visit list. I will echo exactly what TW said about LM, my visit was identical. I don't much care for the sausage in that area in general (taste or texture).

Read plenty about BBQ on the Texas forum and there should be a fair amount of San Antonio recs, especially around Tex/Mex.

[luniz]

If you go to all those BBQ places, you'll be very, very happy. Looks like you really do your research. I had a religious experience at Smitty's, it's my favorite, but Snow's is very good also, but you have to get there *early*. I like Gonzalez Market better than Luling myself, they had mutton and some darn incredible smoked chicken of all things. If you go to Smitty's or Kreuz on Saturday you can try the smoked prime rib, also keep in mind that this is a German tradition in Central Texas and smoked pork chop is part of the tradition.

One thing you might want to look for in Austin is a good chicken fried steak, hopefully pan fried with a real gravy. Although you might get meat-ed out and just want to eat some hippie food for a break too and Austin is probably the place for that. Are you in Texas for a whole week?

For Tex Mex I'd probably ask on the Texas board for help around San Antonio, try to get some real Tex Mex or even Mexican from the valley instead of mediocre chain stuff that people on this board like to recommend.

[twinwillow]

Hoover's in Austin is famous for for home style soul food chicken fried steak and smothered pork chops.

[luniz]

I've been there, the CFS was good, probably better than average, but not something I'd go out of my way to go back to. You can't really rely on "famous" for any sort of an indicator of goodness.

[Mike C. Miller]

I second Hoover's, but Threadgil's still has a great CFS, too. Hard to pick between the two.

[air]

I'd put a higher priority on going to Franklin over Snow's, especially since location and hours make Franklin more accessible (Snow's is only open on saturday morning). In any case though you are doing a great job on aiming to hit the right places. Would be good to look up some food trucks in Austin too.

[twinwillow]

I concur!

[Westy]

I agree on the BBQ, but would also include Black's BBQ.

[Bigr72]

Not a true steak house, but Kenny's in Addison is great.

[kel]

Our experience has only been mediocre.

[DallasDude]

Charlie Palmer dry ages their own. Wonderful place. Pyles has a fantastic bone-in ribeye that is legendary. Chamberlains has great steaks in Addison offering many cuts including the buttery Wagyu. One of the better presentqations I have seen in ages is Nick and Sam's. Definitely a destination.

Dry age definitely has a different flavor and tang that some may or may not appreciate.

[twinwillow]

Dry aged steak is the only way to go.

[DallasDude]

If I left that in question I was wrong. Yesh dry age.

[luniz]

Do you have a preference in terms of steak? Cut, aging, etc?

[albatruffles]

Typically we would order a ribeye, porterhouse, maybe a filet. As far as aging. We've never given thought as to choose a restaurant based on how they age meat. I would go with a 30 day dry age. But, overall we just want the best tasting Texas steak the city has to offer.