See, it's a matter of perspective. I think there is a propensity of cooks to under cook steaks and I think that is happening more and more often.

Although I'm sure it's been mentioned already in this thread, I have to suggest Donovan's and Fleming's here in San Diego.

Can you please tell us more about 4: Happenings?

Just for the quality of the meat itself, Peter Luger's is tops. ^

That's what a steakhouse is all about in my book - I can cook a fine steak at home on my own, but I don't have access to the same quality of meat as the buyers at Luger's. (Supermarket and mail-order steaks need not apply.)

Berns still is my favorite, but after going to BsAs earlier this month, Cabana Las Lilas vaults into my top five.

La Brigada in BsAs also was superb. For the money, you can't beat the food down there.

I know it's a chain, but I've always been impressed with The Keg.

And I'll put in a plug for two of my homies: Jim's Steakhouse in Peoria and Club 41 in St. Augustine, Ill. (population 152).

The Grill on the Alley, in Beverly Hills is also wonderful. (and you may run into a celebrity or 2....and/or their agents!) :)

I'm also a fan of Pacific Dining Car..though I haven't been there in years. Mastro's is another great one with great service though very expensive.

Bern's

Spencer's (Spokane location only)

The Met

Two favorites
 

A search of this thread did not disclose my two (2) favorite steak houses, so here they are:

Pietro's in NYC, it is located on the east side of Manhattan, in the midtown business district, close to Grand Central Station.
Champany Inn in Linlithgow, Scotland. It's a suburb of Edinburgh.

Just reading through this great thread. As a steak lover I find that I have eaten in many places mentioned here. However, for the best steaks (not steakhouses) my vote will always go to Argentina.

Again for the steak (beef de lomo), it has to be El Establo in Buenos Aires. No fancy decor, great attentive waiters and steaks cooked perfectly over coals. All this and a bottle of the best red wine for around US$25-30.

I was taken there first time by the crew on my flight. The waiter took all the drinks orders and the meals for twelve of us, without writing anything down. What steak, how it should be cooked, any extras (here the steak is a meal in itself and usually is not served with anything else) all this in his head. He got everything right first time.

Then you can watch your steak being cooked over coals in the restaurant. the taste and texture are divine.

Looking forward to using some of my miles to pop back one weekend this year with a couple of my colleagues who also agree with me on El Establo.

I may be biased, but IMO from all the Ruth's Chris I have dined at, the best by far is close to where I live in the Toronto suburb of Mississauga.

Gallery restaurant in Ballantyne resort has Best Steaks!
 

I recently dined in this hotel, not known in the past for great food. Time cures all it seems! Gallery Restaurant was recently renovated so I thought I would give it a shote and was very, very impressed! They serve Prime Beef from Smithfield by far the most tender, juicy and flavorful beef I have tasted in Charlotte and outside NYC..

You can tell the employees have a commitment to quality and excellence in beef which is evident in the entrees featured in the Butcher’s Block section of the Gallery Restaurant dinner menu.

The Gallery Bar is not bad either offering one of the best selections of over 40 distinctive Single Malts. The bar’s menu includes some of the most rare and finest scotches from the collections of MaCallan, Glenfiddich, Glenlivet, and Glenmorangie. In addition to the better-known distilleries, Gallery staff has also composed an inventory of some of the exceptional products from some of the smaller more mysterious distilleries from every region of the Scots Isle. The result has been the creation of a library of fine Scotch Whiskeys that will satisfy everyone from the inexperienced Scotch beginner, to the most seasoned of Scotch connoisseurs.

I am returning for sure!

I think many people would agree with you about El Establo. The entraña there is great too. And, surprisingly, wonderful pizza. This is also an excellent steakHOUSE. A wonderful all around experience.

Lugar's hands down the best.
Wolfgangs, almost as good.
Sparks is good and has an awesome wine list.
Craft, meh.
Quality Meats, very good but PRICEY
The Strip House, very very good.
Palm, only the original palm is worthwhile as they are the only Palm that still serves dry aged beef.

Someone here was talking about Lobel's dry aged beef. I agree, it is very good (though not as good as lugar's get real). However if you like to do your own at home try the butcher shop Christo's steak house in Astoria. Their butcher shop porter house is MUCH better then lobels.

Since you know your NYC steakhouses, have you tried Pietro's?

Speaking of which, it might be nice if everyone would indicate what city their steakhouses are in. Lugar's is well known, but probably half of the people reading this thread don't know it's in Brooklyn and a huge majority have NO idea where the rest of those places are.