If you really want to cash in your 401(k) to purchase a slab of beef as big as you are, this might not be your first choice in a highly competitive and already crowded arena. That's not to say, however, that you'll walk away from Smith & Wollensky unimpressed by the size of the portions, dissatisfied with the quality of the fare or troubled with the efficiency of the waitstaff. In fact, if this were the only steakhouse in the city, Chicago would have nothing whatever to be ashamed of. But there's clearly a host of other choices for a red meat fix in this town, and Smith & Wollensky doesn't really do anything to vault itself into the top tier the way a Morton's or Chop House does. And a second mortgage probably demands a little something more.

Centerstage Reviewer: Mark Loehrke