While the city may be chock-a-block with steakhouses, it's hard to argue with this gem's deft cooking. Duck behind the limestone facade and you’ll find a clubby, multi-level space with private nooks, a lively, well-stocked bar, flat-screens displaying the latest games and an upstairs wall of windows overlooking Van Cortlandt Park.

A true American steakhouse ought to have a substantial shrimp cocktail, and at Jake’s this classic starter arrives fresh and delicious with the sweetness of plump shrimp offset by a tangy cocktail sauce. Any steak on the menu can be topped with Gorgonzola and a thatch of frizzled fried onions, though a succulent and well-marbled T-bone seared to rosy-pink perfection begs for little beyond a fork, knife and good conversation.