Pappas Bros. Steakhouse

I had been meaning to get to Pappas Bros. Steakhouse for years. I will not wait that long again.

The room is exactly what you want it to be: Texas grand-hotel scale, hushed and serious. We were seated near the back, given menus we hardly needed, and brought a small bowl of olives without being asked.

We started with a small dish of marinated white anchovies, which set the tone — generous, unfussy, and confident enough not to crowd what was coming. With it we ordered a Napa cabernet old enough to drink itself, and were glad of both.

Then the main event: 44-day dry-aged ribeye, the dish that puts Pappas Bros. Steakhouse on every short list. The seasoning was simple — salt, pepper, restraint — and it was the right call. The signature touch — the sommelier list, longer than the menu — is not a gimmick; it is the reason to come.

For sides we asked for grilled radicchio with anchovy butter and pommes Anna. Both arrived hot, both arrived early, both were exactly large enough to overdo it. We overdid it.

Dessert was the bread pudding with bourbon sauce, mostly because the waiter raised an eyebrow when we hesitated. He was right to.

A perfect Sunday lunch, which is what I came for.