Photo courtesy Midlothian Chef's Kitchen
1. Butter-poached Filet Mignon
$40 at Midlothian Chef’s Kitchen
Butter-poaching helps this tender cut achieve melt-on-the-fork status. Chef-owner David Dunlap, formerly of The Inn at Little Washington, slices thick filet mignon topped with house-made bearnaise, while buttery carrots, rich bone marrow custard and trumpet mushrooms fill out the plate.
2. Dry-aged New York Strip
$42 at Julep’s New Southern Cuisine
Aging 40 days in-house softens this center-cut steak, so that even rare, it pops with umami flavor crystals. Chef Cory Chaney prefers his strip medium-rare with demi-glace, alongside duck fat-poached fingerlings. Head here for a “very Richmond” evening: frosty mint juleps, local art and a historic downtown location.
3. T-bone
$52 at Red Salt Chophouse & Sushi
Prime hand-cuts are the lifeblood of Short Pump’s modern steak and sushi palace, where the hardest decision is determining which flame-kissed, garlic butter-topped chop will hold the table down. Go “baller style” and add the coffee rub with shallot cream to accentuate the two sides of the T-bone — New York strip and filet mignon.
4. Hanger Steak
$50 Edo’s Squid
A nonworking cut that hangs from the diaphragm of the cow, hanger steak is second only to filet mignon in flavor. Known as the “butcher’s cut,” hanger steak has become almost impossible to find locally without special ordering. At Edo's, this staple of the Italian trattoria’s menu arrives sliced and ready to serve family-style, with arugula salad and red-sauced penne.
5. Cowboy Cut Bone-in Rib-eye
$56 at Buckhead’s
The classic steakhouse experience at Buckhead’s received a face-lift last summer, when its decor, lighting and wine cellar were refreshed. Unchanged, however, is the grain-fed, corn-finished and amply marbled Black Angus Braveheart beef rib-eye served with traditional sides such as truffle fries, creamed spinach and hollandaise-soaked asparagus.