i was wondering which of these you guys think is the best, or if you have another that is better...and i'm too stoopid(!) to put together one of those polls.

nick & stef's
arnie morton's
dan tana's
the palm
pacific dining car
ruth's chris

Have you ever gone to one of the Clearman's restauarnts? There are a few in the burbs of LA. Warning....bring your own wine and glasses.

that's not much of a warning! i prefer it that way! but no, i haven't. a quick internet search brought up one in san gabriel and one in pico rivera....they get the mm stamp of approval?

Have gone to the one in Pico Rivera since I was a kid. Last time there in the Spring, I brought in 3 bottles, my own Riedels and no corkage was charged. It is a feed bag, great steaks, unpretentious but still has a archaic elegance.

Post deleted by davidn

I have no idea, tbird, but I am not a fan of the Nick & Stef's in DC. Not a food problem, rather a service problem.

TBird - From the list, I like Arnie Morton's.
Pacific Dinning has great wine list but the food is just OK and overprice. But their wine list is very fair(Insignia @$150, Paloma @ $65, Bryant @$400 etc...) They even have Karl Law. and David Arthur for great prices)

Not on your list but I also like Arroyo Chop House in Pasadena and New Otani Hotel in Little Tokyo which has top notch Teppan style steak with Kobe beef or dry aged Angus beef. This place is not your typical Benihana. It has very nice view of Japanese Garden. By far this is the best Teppan Yaki joint in LA area. If you decide to go there, try their Garlic Fried Rice at the end. They use all the fat from the beef to cook this fried rice on the grill in front of you. Good stuff

Tbird:
I'm not voting, because I've only been to one on the list, and my vote wouldn't be fair. But FWIW, it was Nick and Stef's, and I wouldn't go back unless someone else was paying, and I couldn't talk them into someplace else. Too commercial, lousy service (I know that this changes over time, and according to the luck of the draw of waiters), just OK steak. Mediocre wine list, and the total bill was equal to that of some truly fine dining establishments in LA.

Hey. Other than that, it was great!

thanks jimmy. that is the only one that i haven't been to, and was gonna suggest it for an upcoming event....rethink in progress!

If you are interested, here are the Zagat numbers on LA's top rated steakhouses:
(Food) (Decor) (Service)

Ruth's Chris-26, 20, 23
Mastro's- 25, 24, 23
Arnie Morton's- 25, 22, 24
Arroyo Chop House- 25, 23, 23
Fonz's- 25, 20, 23
The Palm- 25, 19, 21
Lawry's- 24, 21, 24
Balboa- 24, 23, 21
Nick and Stef's- 24, 22, 21

Been to Nick and Stef's in NYC and would never go back. Wine list prices are just stupid and the food is not worth $35/steak. Going to Marc Joseph's tomorrow night, supposed to be the new great one in NY. Will try and report back.

For a different kind of steakhouse, I would suggest Picanha Churrascaria, a Brazilian grill restaurant. It is a unique meat eating experience, the wine list is nothing but the corkage is small. They waiters bring large skewers of many different types of grilled meat to your table. Very tasty, not expensive and fun.

The Pacific Dining Car...Isn't that the place near downtown with the $18 hamburgers???

stealth, cheeseburger.....$17.50...

Oh yea, your right, I was out of line, it was a cheeseburger....

But the real important question is "do they have good cabs to match with the burger?".