Chicago: Keefer's

Chicago may have outgrown its meat and potatoes image, but the city's shoulders are still big, as evidenced by masculine steak citadels like Gibsons, Morton's and the Chicago Chop House. So it may be a sign of the times that the best beef in town these days is at Keefer's. A sleeker, more modern, more...yes, feminine steakhouse, Keefer's rises above the competition with classically trained chef John Hogan's textbook 17-ounce New York strip. It's perfectly marbled every time and seasoned simply with salt, pepper and maître d' butter. Terrific side dishes lean to potato croquettes with fontina cheese fondue and the wine list is packed with big, affordable reds. The menu's seven salads are every bit as satisfying as the meat and you're just as likely to hear the Indigo Girls on the speakers as Sinatra. (The Indigo Girls, in a steakhouse? Is nothing sacred?) The whole operation, with its sky-high ceilings, stone fireplace and curvy granite bar, is a smart update on the dark, staid steakhouses of old. Call Keefer's feminine; call it the anti-Morton's--but also call it the best steakhouse in a town full of them.