If there's one single food item Texans are most passionate about, it's steak. Or barbecue brisket. Or tacos.
But, for today's purpose, let's just agree on steak.
Given that passion, it's no surprise to see Texas so well-represented on Open Table's list of the Top 100 Steakhouses in America. Five restaurants from the Houston area join nine in the Dallas Fort Worth Metroplex to ensure that either end of I-45 is well-regarded when it comes to seared hunks of beef. Even the veggie-loving hippies in Austin land a spot.
Want to talk snubs? The most obvious name missing has to be Taste of Texas.
The rankings are compiled from reviews submitted by Open Table users after they've dined at a restaurant, which separates this list from those by other national publications where the writer hasn't ever visited most of the places listed.
The good news is that the Houston area's three best steakhouses, Pappas Bros. Steakhouse, Vic & Anthony's and Killen's Steakhouse, all make the list. Two locations of locally-based chain Perry's round out the city's representatives. National chains with a presence in Houston that have other locations on the list include Del Frisco's Double Eagle Steakhouse, Chama Gaucha Brazilian Steakhouse, Capital Grille, Texas de Brazil and no fewer than 13 locations of Ruth's Chris.
Want to talk snubs? The most obvious name missing has to be Taste of Texas: The Memorial area juggernaut famously doesn't accept reservations, which makes it ineligible for rankings compiled by an online reservation service. Mexican steak house La Casa del Caballo does use Open Table and serves a four-pound rib eye cap that's certainly one of the city's best steaks, but a four-star plus rating from 180 people isn't good enough to make the list.
The other problem with this list might be slightly less obvious, but it is still worth noting. Diners can eat a really great steak without going to a steakhouse.
Just ask anyone who's ordered the nightly butcher's cut steak at Underbelly or the 32-ounce, 30-day, dry aged, Texas Wagyu ribeye at Pax Americana (feeds four comfortably if you order a few extra dishes). River Oaks restaurant 60 Degrees Mastercrated has a four star rating with almost 300 reviews boasting a menu built around deliciously beefy Texas-raised Akaushi beef, but it's listed on Open Table as a "Contemporary American Restaurant" rather than a steakhouse.
Credit Open Table with a solid B of an effort — decent representation, just a little incomplete.
Both the Dallas and Houston locations of Pappas Bros. make the list.
The Bridgeland location will feature a double drive-thru.Courtesy of Michael Hsu Office of Architecture