The Best Steakhouses Rethink Everything

My friend Chad and I used to have a fine dining tradition, when we took a break from our usual haunts—cheffy new restaurants and bars with bespoke ice cubes—and picked an old-school steakhouse for our annual bacchanalian steak dinner. 

Once inside, gin Martinis were the first order of the day. We’d give the menu a cursory glance, but our plan was pretty much set in stone: oysters, wedge salads, medium-rare New York strips,...