Two Louisiana Restaurants Make Southern Living’s ‘Best Steak’ List

If I asked you to name a food that Louisiana was famous for almost all of you would say crawfish. Those who didn't say crawfish probably said gumbo. But if you take a short trip across the great Cajun Prairie from Scott toward Crowley and up to Eunice chances are you'll notice in addition to the crawfish ponds there are quite a few pastures.

In those pastures are some of the estimated 750,000 head of cattle that are being raised in Louisiana. So, in addition to crawfish and gumbo, you can count Louisiana as a "Beef" state too. Who among us doesn't appreciate a good steak? Or maybe you lean more toward round steak with rice and gravy. It doesn't matter it's all Louisiana Beef and the Louisiana Beef Industry Council and the Louisiana Cattlemen's Association make sure our palates are offered nothing but the best.

If you ask me the difference between a good steak and a great steak comes down to how that meat is prepared in the kitchen. Cooking steaks is an art form. There is a perfect point when meat is at its best on the grill and it's up to the "grillmaster" to make sure that meat is pulled from the fire at just the right time to provide a palate-pleasing experience.

Southern Living Magazine recently published their opinions on the "great steakhouse of the South" and if you view the list you'll see a great steak doesn't have to be cooked in a fancy restaurant. In fact, some of the best steaks on the list are prepared at places that don't fit the mold for "steak" if you know what I mean.

Southern Living's Tara Massouleh McCay curated a list of the 30 Most Legendary Steakhouses in the South and out of the 30 places on the list two were Louisiana steakhouses.

One of those on the list is an icon in the New Orleans food scene. I am willing to go out on a limb and guess that you have heard of Dickie Brennan's Steak House on Iberville Street, haven't you?  The purveyors of beef at Dickie Brennan's prepare each steak based on "what's best for the cut".  And you can also choose incredible turtle soup or maybe a bowl of gumbo as a starter.

The other Louisiana restaurant earning a spot on the Southern Living Steakhouse List also hails from New Orleans. It also happens to be the oldest steakhouse in New Orleans. It is Charlie's Steak House on Dryades in the Big Easy. What makes Charlie's unique is this, there is no menu. The waitstaff will tell you what you want to eat and if you're smart you will listen to their advice.

Oh, and be sure to check out the back of the Charlie's menu for the list of "drinking accessories" to go along with that piping hot sizzling steak their going to place before you.

The complete list of Southern Living's choices of Legendary Steakhouses in the South is available online, here.