Ohio is known around the nation for being an agricultural haven. Farm-fresh meat and produce are available around every corner, and nobody takes better advantage of local resources than Columbus’ iconic steakhouses.
“We do a tremendous amount of tastings, and we’re always on the lookout (for new suppliers),” says Joe Saccone, president of Hyde Park Restaurant Group. “Meat is a science. It’s not just going to the store and saying, ‘Give me USDA Prime this.’ I try to describe it to people: It’s like buying wine. It’s about the genetics (and source).”
Learn to cook like a pro
Photo courtesy of Hyde Park Restaurant Group
Hyde Park surf 'n' turf
Want to know how to cook a Hyde Park steak at home?
Check out Hyde Park President Joe Saccone’s exclusive guide to perfect steaks on our website. Find helpful, step-by-step tips in his own words at www.cityscenecolumbus.com/arts-and-entertainment/scene-online/hyde-park-president-shares-steak-cooking-secrets/
The more you learn about steak, the higher your expectations may become. Before you get your grill piping hot for the first sear of the summer, try to find inspiration from some of central Ohio’s best.
The following four steakhouses share a common goal – making the best steak in the city. Hyde Park Prime Steakhouse, Eddie Merlot's and Jeff Ruby’s Steakhouse both provide a luxurious, modern take on a traditional steakhouse experience. The Avenue Steak Tavern is a “neighborhood steakhouse” according to its executive chef; it’s great for a steak on a special occasion, or post-work happy hour drinks and apps.
Hyde Park Prime Steakhouse
This traditional “white dining cloth” steakhouse has locations in Upper Arlington, Dublin and downtown Columbus.
Hyde Park ensures the quality of its meat by knowing every place it has been before it reaches the kitchen.
Hyde Park Prime Steakhouse
Hyde Park Brussels Sprouts
Writer's note: Each chef I spoke with for this article mentioned adding Brussels sprouts their menus in the past decade.
“That starts with 35 years of being in business. And it’s changed over 35 years since when we started, in 1988,” Saccone says. “Beef has gotten to the point (where) it’s (about) what they’re feeding to the animals. Of course, no hormones, no antibiotics, and all those things are important today.”
Meat suppliers aren’t the only things Hyde Park is constantly revisiting. The options for sides begin with “classics” from the original steakhouse pioneers in New York City and Chicago, Saccone says, and Hyde Park is always checking in with the market to see what it should add and subtract from the menu.
“You’re always going to have your staples – creamed spinach, potatoes au gratin, baked potato, some form of mashed potatoes, right?” he says. “It’s funny because asparagus always sells, but it wasn’t selling as much (steamed with a bearnaise sauce), then we switched over to sauteing asparagus in extra virgin olive oil and then sprinkled it with a little parmesan. And we’ve been doing that for about 10 years. Roasted Brussels sprouts became the big thing about 10 years ago, so we have that on the menu now.”
Keeping ears to the ground and constantly checking in with guests’ desires and feedback, Saccone says, is the key to creating a memorable experience for each visitor.
“I think the No. 1 thing we’ve always strived to do is be better tomorrow than we are today and to have the best steak in the city,” he says, “(to) try to allow the best product that we can (and) put that on the menu and create that memory: ‘That was a great steak.’”
Jeff Ruby’s Steakhouse
Among the most prestigious and glamorous locations in the city, Jeff Ruby’s Steakhouse is known for attracting big names and dishes dressed as lavishly as its guests.
“I do think the experience that’s created inside our restaurant – the emotional connection, the guests coming back and requesting the servers – all of those things tie in,” says Nick Ellison, Jeff Ruby Culinary Entertainment’s culinary director. “It’s better than having the best steak. … It’s all into creating that show and creating that ambiance for the guests. That’s why they keep coming back time and time again.”
“That’s the key to how we start serving some of the best steaks that you can get,” Ellison says. “The second is our seasoning. We have a proprietary Jeff Ruby seasoning that almost all our steaks on the menu get seasoned with. … It’s a family recipe. (A) secret recipe that we’ve used for over 40 years.”
Jeff Ruby’s entrees also come from traditional steakhouse offerings and are even labeled specifically as “Steakhouse Sides” on its menu. Additional sides are ever-changing, depending on the season and chef in charge at a specific location.
“Although we are a growing company and a large company, what I think sets us apart is that we are still very much chef-focused,” Ellison says. “A good chunk of our menus are still handled by the chefs in each location. … They live in these cities, they’re working there, they’re interacting with the guests (and) getting feedback.”
Where Hyde Park has menu items named after Cleveland and Ohio State athletics icons, the Jeff Ruby’s menu is influenced by the founder’s hometown in the southern portion of the state. The steak Collinsworth comes with king crab and asparagus, or you can crown your steak “Burrow” style, with creole crawfish sauce alluding to the quarterback’s days at Louisiana State University.
The Avenue Steak Tavern
Photo courtesy of The Avenue Steak Tavern
The Avenue
At The Avenue Steak Tavern – with locations in Grandview Heights and Dublin – a fun guest experience is at the center of everything.
“Our philosophy is, ‘Yes is the answer, what’s the question?’” says Jeff Lindemeyer, executive chef at The Avenue. “If we have a guest come in and they want something different, we can do different things. If someone wants a side of sauteed spinach, or they want a totally different vegetable or something that we don’t even have, if they give us enough time, we’ll make it happen.”
After 24 years in different Cameron Mitchell restaurants, Lindemeyer has led The Avenue’s team since it was just an idea. His experience has taught him that making guests happy starts with his staff buying in and doing the right thing, even when nobody is watching.
“I always tell my cooks to put love in their food. That’s something you can’t teach,” he says. “It’s cooking it correctly and using care when you’re doing it. We’re not squeezing our steaks as they’re cooking. We’re being nice to the food. It took a lot of preparation ahead of time.”
The Avenue keeps it simple – only putting salt and pepper on the steak before cooking – with an additional cup of seasoning on the side for those who want to spice things up. Lindemeyer keeps the sides list to 13 items – mostly steakhouse staples – similarly inspired by culinary pioneers in big cities.
“I was part of the opening team for this restaurant as the executive chef,” Lindemeyer says. “We went on a trip to New York (and) Chicago and we came back to brainstorm the decor and the menu, the service style, all that stuff.”
In comparison to the traditional “white tablecloth” steakhouse experience, The Avenue is more casual and committed to embracing its communities.
“We want it to be a neighborhood steakhouse,” Lindemeyer says. “We put ‘Tavern’ in the name because we want it to be approachable.”
Cameron Mitchell Restaurants is working on a new venture in central Ohio, Butcher & Rose, set to open this summer.
Eddie Merlot's Prime Aged Beef & Seafood Restaurant
Courtesy of Eddie Merlot's
Eddie Merlot's Steak
Eddie Merlot's similarly emphasizes the origins of its steaks as one of its best features. Using only the top two percent of beef available in this country, hence "prime" being in its name, Eddie Merlot's has been preparing your steak for almost a month before you enter the dining room.
All steaks are dry-aged 28 days before they are cooked, which makes them some of the most tender and flavorful cuts around. It is the exclusive U.S. purveyor of Tarpoly Farms' wagyu beef from Australia, one of few nations with more precise beef grading than the U.S. Its wagyu ribeye is one of the softest cuts of meat you may ever experience, with its fatty edges melting in your mouth like a golden-brown savory marshmallow. Seasoned only with salt, pepper, and house-made steak butter, the flavor of this cut speaks for itself.
If you desire extra flare, however, the Polaris location has plenty to offer. A varied list of steak additions, from lobster tails to scratch-fried onion straws, sits sidecar to its list of cuts on the menu. Everything is made in-house at Eddie Merlot's, which makes even a house salad with a foundation of iceberg lettuce tasty once it's tossed in ranch.
Eddie Merlot's steakhouse broiler is put to expert use on its sides, with "Eddie Potatoes" featuring a crisp film atop this richly seasoned and creamy starch. Another one of its signature accompaniments, the French onion soup is a soft, sweet umami pick-me-up, similarly boasting a crunchy flare to its cheesy top.
As all steakhouses tend to, Eddie Merlot's can have a flair for the dramatic. If you'd like to be the center of attention before you pay the bill, order bananas foster and your server will flambe the dessert in the center of the dining room.
Looking for more?
The Top Steakhouse offers Columbus’ most authentic 1950s supper club experience.
Ruth’s Chris Steak House, an upscale traditional experience, is a world-famous classic.
Smith & Wollensky is seeking a new home for its surf and turf, leaving its iconic Easton corner.
Tyler Kirkendall is an editor at CityScene Media Group. Feedback welcome at tkirkendall@cityscenemediagroup.com.
