There are times when you just need to feast on a thick, juicy slab of red meat [unless, of course, you’re a vegetarian]. When the urge strikes, the corridor has plenty of places to chow down. Here are a few executive favorites:
Sullivan’s, Baton Rouge
Step back into Chicago circa 1940 in this steakhouse. Their specialty is the 20-ounce bone-in Kansas City strip. Don’t forget a side of Sullivan’s renowned horseradish mashed potatoes. Desserts are made in-house and there’s an extensive wine list and famed martinis, not to mention bourbon, single malt scotch and cognac. Sit back and relax to whatever live jazz band is playing.
Ruth’s Chris, Baton Rouge, Metairie, Lafayette
From humble beginnings on Broad Street in New Orleans, this hometown favorite is now a publicly traded global phenomenon, with a location in Hong Kong and home offices in Orlando, Fla. Its signature steaks are seared at 1,800 degrees and topped with fresh butter so they sizzle to the table. Need we say more?
Sno’s Seafood & Steakhouse, Gonzales
The best of both worlds go together here?top your steak with shrimp, crawfish or crab meat, after a round of oysters on the half shell or fried alligator.
Mr. Lester’s Steakhouse, Charenton
Decisions, decisions. Do we get the 8-ounce pepper-crusted filet, the 16-ounce veal chops, the 18-ounce New York strip steak, the 20-ounce Ribeye or Cheateaubriand, the 24-ounce T-bone, or the 32-ounce Porterhouse topped with sautéed baby Portabellas? Something that leaves room for a praline parfait or bread pudding would be good. Feel free to light up afterwards in the cigar bar.
Dickie Brennan’s Steakhouse, New Orleans
This is quite possibly the manliest steakhouse on our list. Maxim named it one of the “10 Best Steakhouses in America”; Playboy put it among the “Top 12 Steakhouses in America.” With Brennan in the name, we know it has to be good. “We grill our chops, sear our strips, oven-roast our prime rib and broil our filets,” the restaurant brags. ’Nuff said.
Crescent City Steakhouse, New Orleans
This establishment practically counts as a historical artifact. John Vojkovich, a Croatian immigrant, started serving sizzling, butter-drenched steaks in 1934. Potatoes are a must, whether Au Gratin, Brabant, Lyonaisse, French fried, cottage fried or German fried.
Young’s, Slidell
A Times-Picayune restaurant critic once said this of Young’s: “It is the site of some of the best meat eating I’ve done in recent memory.” Don’t expect much ambiance, but then again, that’s not why diners are here in the first place. The fact that the parking lot is always full?even though there’s no sign identifying the restaurant?tells you everything you need to know.
Harlequin’s Steakhouse, Lake Charles
Owner Nic Hunter may very well be the corridor’s youngest-ever restaurateur.
At the age of 12, he started working in the restaurant his grandfather?New Orleans native Edward E. Hunter?originally opened in 1956 as a lounge. Four years later, Nic was running the place.
“I just really loved it,” he says. “I felt a real drive to do that. It was my purpose at the time.”
At the age of 20, he became the legal owner, even though he was too young to drink any of the alcohol Harleqin’s served or set foot in its video poker room. Nic’s first decision was to move the steakhouse from La. 14 near Chenault Air Force Base to I-210 in the southwest part of the city. It paid off?sales have tripled.
The menu has expanded to compete with other restaurants in town; the majority of off-the-menu specials are seafood dishes. But it’s steak that has earned Harlequin’s its reputation.
“My philosophy is that you start with a good product, you have someone who knows how to cut it properly, a little seasoning and a light basting sauce when it hits the grill,” Nic says. “And you have to get it to just the right temperature.”
