Students taking classes in cooking schools in Texas certainly have no shortage of places to grab a great meal. In fact, the toughest decision they might have to make is which award-winning steakhouse to attend. This sentiment was only furthered by the recent release of OpenTable’s Top 100 Steakhouses in the U.S. list. The prestigious compilation of steakhouses featured restaurants from all across the country, but few areas fared as well as the Lone Star State, which claimed 15 of the total 100 spots. Take a look at the breakdown of awards across the state’s different cities and regions:
Dallas-Fort Worth
According to CultureMap Austin, the majority of the 15 Texas restaurants honored on the list are located in the Dallas-Fort Worth Area. Four of the restaurants are actually in Fort Worth proper: Capital Grille, Rafain Brazilian Steakhouse, Texas de Brazil and Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steakhouse. Those looking for a phenomenal cut of beef in Dallas aren’t exactly at a loss either, as the list included such popular venues as Pappas Bros. Steakhouse, Al Biernat’s and Perry’s Steakhouse. Two restaurants not actually located in either of these cities but within their larger metropolitan areas were also included: Four Winds Steakhouse and Estilo Gaucho Brazilian Steakhouse, located in Wills Point and Frisco, respectively.
Houston and Austin
Two other major Texas cities were also included on the OpenTable list, with restaurants from both Austin and Houston receiving honorary nods. From Houston, five establishments were selected for the honor. Vic & Anthony’s Steakhouse was named to the list as well as Killen’s Steakhouse, Pappas Bros. Steakhouse and two separate Houston locations of the popular chain Perry’s Steakhouse. CultureMap has also reported that, in the case of the Perry’s chains, many users had reported that it was not the steaks but the pork chops that made the establishment so desirable. Available as part of a lunch special on Fridays, the chops come garnished with lime and have been a huge success with customers. Somewhat surprisingly, only one Austin restaurant landed on the list, also a Perry’s location.
The list criteria
While the list is certainly not the only objective authority for ranking steakhouses in the U.S., it makes a strong case for itself by having established a stringent rating criteria. According to the Houston Business Journal, the guide is compiled based on rankings from over 20,000 different restaurants, all submitted by verified users. The Journal also reported that the website sifted through more than five million different reviews in order to come up with its rankings. OpenTable has gained notoriety over the past few years as its reservation-booking platform has simplified the way that patrons set times to dine from their home computers or mobile devices. In addition to revolutionizing this process, the raw data from consumer reviews left on the website has the potential to aid restaurants in optimizing their services and help customers decide where to eat.