Steakhouse comeback

After years of languishing in the shadows of trendier cuisines, the steakhouse is making a comeback. And the new generation of steakhouse is most decidedly not your father's beef barn.

Gone is the fusty, stubbornly masculine attitude that once defined the genre. In its place is a contemporary style more suited to a sophisticated twenty-first century clientele.

The menu is given an update, too, though there's no question that beef still enjoys top billing. JK's, for instance, which opened in July in North Hills shopping center in North Raleigh, proudly notes that its steaks are cut from prime or top choice corn-fed beef from a small purveyor in Nebraska and aged in house.

But the rest of the menu goes far beyond the traditional token nod to chicken and pasta alternatives. Here the offering includes the likes of grilled quail with white and green asparagus, wild Alaska salmon with gnocchi and sugar snaps, roasted Amish free range chicken, and grilled tuna with white beans, mussels and Virginia ham. The list's strong seafood offering is a reflection of the fact that owner J.K. Norfleet also owns a sibling restaurant of the same name on the Outer Banks.

There's an undeniable masculine feel to the dining room and lounge, with a recurring Wild West horses motif running through the artwork against a backdrop of sage green and mahogany. But large sprays of flowers, potted greenery and an oriental rug on the slate floor of the foyer soften the atmosphere. This may not be your Dad's steakhouse, but he wouldn't feel out of place here. Nor would Mom.

Meanwhile in Chapel Hill, Bin 54 is expected to open by the end of this month at Glen Lennox shopping center. The steakhouse is a joint venture between prolific local restaurateur Giorgios Bakatsias and Charlie Deal, a newcomer from California.

The decor promises to live up to Bakatsias' reputation for dramatic design with touches such as Brazilian cherry floors, a custom curved bar and a dine-in wine cellar. The cellar will be stocked with a selection whose strong showing in Riesling, pinot noir and syrah varietals runs counter to steakhouse tradition.

The bill of fare shows a few flashes of innovation, too. Among the dishes you never would have seen on a steakhouse menu 20 years ago are sea scallops with truffled whipped potatoes, and Szechwan pepper-crusted tuna with soy sherry butter sauce. The bulk of the offering stays true to steakhouse tradition: shrimp cocktail, oysters on the half shell and Caesar salad for starters, followed by the usual assortment of steaks and chops.

But they're hardly usual in terms of quality. Among the listings you'll find a bone-in 18-ounce prime rib-eye, a 32-ounce dry-aged T-bone for two, Colorado rack of lamb, Niman Ranch pork rib-eye, and chicken from Cliff's Meats in Carrboro.

The focus here is clearly on quality of ingredients rather than elaborate preparation. Steaks are simply seasoned with salt and grilled over wood flames.

Come to think of it, steak doesn't get any more traditional than that.

Greg's Hot List: The many flavors of Indian cuisine

Remember when going out for Indian food meant deciding between chicken curry and lamb curry? Our choices are much broader nowadays, thanks to the wide variety of restaurants that have opened in recent years, giving the Triangle a taste of Indian regional cuisines. Here's a sampling:

Bombay Grille, 2223 N.C. 54, Durham, and 1305 NW Maynard Road, Cary
Specialty: Northern Indian (especially good tandoori), with a nod to Indo-Chinese

Cool Breeze, 740-E E. Chatham St., Cary
Specialty: Chaat (Indian snack food)

Dale's Indian Cuisine, Ninth Street North, 811 Ninth St., Durham
Specialty: Northern Indian (curries and tandoori), lunch buffet

Pao Lim, 2505 Chapel Hill Blvd., Durham
Specialty: Indo-Chinese (lots of chilies)

Sitar India Palace, 3117 Shannon Road, Durham, and 6016 Falls of the Neuse Road, Raleigh
Specialty: Northern and Southern Indian

Spice & Curry, 2105 N.C. 55, Durham
Specialty: Northern and Southern Indian

Suchi Indian Cuisine, 748-K E. Chatham St., Cary
Specialty: Southern, including Hyderabad (chicken biryani); Indianized Chinese

Tower, Morrisville Square, 144 Morrisville Square Way, Morrisville
Specialty: Southern Indian

Udupi Cafe, 590 E. Chatham St., Cary
Specialty: Southern Indian; lunch buffet