Cleveland Rocks…the Steakhouse
Cleveland, Ohio, is home to the Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame, but there are more reasons than just that excellent museum to visit the city.
Cleveland has a few steakhouses that are part of larger national organizations but also many that are unique to the area, found nowhere else in Ohio, the Midwest…or even the world. That’s what we find most intriguing about Cleveland.
Here are six of Cleveland’s best steakhouses, each one unique, each one offering a different atmosphere and different takes on the highest quality USDA prime steaks.
XO Prime Steaks. Cleveland’s XO Prime Steakhouse is all about the prime beef. The chefs at XO Prime Steaks do all the classics – filet, ribeye and strip – but they also offer some less common and undeniably spectacular steaks like an A-9 Wagyu Strip Steak from Greg Norman’s ranch in Australia and an A-8 Tomahawk Ribeye. Accompanying these steaks are exclusive Chef Compositions like Black Lacquered Salmon and Rigatoni with Peppercorn Crusted Sirloin Tips.
Cabin Club. The Cabin Club was once a timber-framed hunting club; now it’s one of the Midwest’s premier dining establishments. There are fantastic Center-Cut USDA Prime Strip Steaks and Center-Cut Filet Mignon. The center cut is considered one of the premier cuts of any steaks because they are not only more tender than other sides of a cut but also because they’re usually quite uniform in size, which means they can be cooked more evenly so they’re more certain to be cooked to a perfect medium-rare or medium-well.
The Diamond Grille. Akron’s oldest steakhouse, and still going strong, The Diamond Grille survives into the twenty-first century because it’s so darn good. The Royal Filet Mignon is an extra cut of the very finest sirloin; the Boston Strip is considered “the ultimate in fine steaks,” and the Long Bone is a ribeye like you’ve never eaten before. Everything is served in a vintage dining room that has seen some celebrities and a lot of superior meat pass through since 1935.
Red, the Steakhouse. One of Cleveland’s most notable steakhouses, Red, the Steakhouse, is known for aged, USDA prime steaks (ribeye, New York strip and filet mignon) and aged certified Angus beef (ribeye, New York strip, filet mignon and porterhouse). Slightly out-of-the-red-meat-category, there’s also a free-range veal chop and New Zealand lamb rack.
Strip Steakhouse. Housed in Ewers Barn, a structure that goes back to the 19th century, the Strip Steakhouse is a newer restaurant that has quickly established an excellent reputation. Strip Steakhouse boasts some exclusive cuts and preparations, including Jake’s Steak (10 oz. butter-basted top sirloin), Big Daddy (24 oz. Porterhouse, rubbed in sea salt, fresh garlic and lemon) and Boiler Maker (a 10 oz center cut ribeye, rubbed with sugar and spice and then blackened in a cast iron skillet with a splash of Irish whiskey).
Hyde Park Steakhouse. Cleveland’s Hyde Park Steakhouse offers many of the classics – like ribeye and filet – but also a few steaks you’d be unlikely to find anywhere else, including 36-day dry aged bone-in ribeye and a 40-day dry aged bone-in New York strip. There’s also an Australian Wagyu filet mignon and a 100% Japanese strip loin from the Wagyu Miyazaki Kagoshima region.