PRICE:
Frommer's Very Highly Recommended

When restaurants open other branches of their originals, red flags go up. Does that mean the restaurant has instantly become a chain and thus quality has eroded to chain-food status? In the case of Frankie & Johnnie's, the legendary Theater District former-speakeasy-turned-steakhouse, which opened another outlet in 2005 in the two-story town house owned once by actor John Barrymore, those fears were quickly allayed after one bite of their signature sirloin. It also helps that the dining room on the second floor of the town house is gorgeous, especially the Barrymore room, the actor's former study with stained-glass ceiling panels, dark wood walls, and a working fireplace. Not only are Frankie & Johnnie's steaks underrated in the competitive world of New York steakhouses, but the other nonsteak options are superb. The crabcake appetizer had an overwhelmingly high crab-to-cake ratio, while the sides of hash browns were the best I've ever had. Pastas and seafood are abundant on the menu and I'm sure they are excellent, but what's the point? Service is steakhouse old-school, and if you are staying in Midtown, the restaurant provides complimentary stretch limo service to and from the restaurant.

Copyright: Excerpted from Frommer's New York City 2009, (c) 2008, Wiley Publishing, Inc.

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