Red
3355 Richmond Road, Beachwood, Ohio
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"I always felt that all steakhouses were the same," says Brad Friedlander. "Same look, same menu, same everything." So in 2004, the 25-year veteran of the Cleveland restaurant scene built his own, painting a sleek, minimalist room crimson and installing talented Culinary Institute of America grad Jonathan Bennett in the kitchen. The result is a trendy, completely original operation with enough craftsmanship and buzz to fill three restaurants. Bennett, a former pig farmer from North Carolina, has populated his kitchen with fellow cooking school alums, and the attention to detail is obvious. Take the garlic fries, one of 11 wonderful sides: Any steakhouse worth its salt damn well better have good frites; Red's are crisp and supple and close to perfect. The impeccably seared prime rib-eye comes with a choice of seven homemade sauces from béarnaise to horseradish crème fraîche, but with a sprinkling of kosher salt and Tellicherry pepper, who needs them? Bonuses: nearly 20 wines by the glass, and upscale childhood desserts like ice cream bars and doughnut holes. Cleveland conquered, Friedlander is next setting his sights on the most notorious meat market of all: Miami's South Beach.

Photo courtesy of Red