BEST STEAK HOUSE

Expecting a baby? Here's a bit of advice: Call Prime One Twelve now to make reservations for the kid's college-graduation dinner. Think that's an exaggeration? This new restaurant from Nemo/Big Pink owner Myles Chefetz has been packed from about five minutes after opening in December -- and not just because it's situated in South Beach's charmingly renovated first hotel, Brown's. The real draw is the selection of USDA prime steaks, dry-aged between 21 and 28 days and priced from $26 for an eight-ounce filet mignon to $72 for a 48-ounce porterhouse for two. The six optional sauces, including an ultra-rich hollandaise, are their own draw. Side vegetable dishes are much more sophisticated than those found at most steak houses: sweet potato-vanilla bean mash, truffled four-cheese macaroni, and chili-garlic-spiked broccoli rabe, among others. Equally sophisticated are starters such as sautéed Hudson Valley foie gras with watercress, spiced pineapple, and candied ginger. Add a top-quality raw bar and numerous cooked seafood creations (seared tuna with avocado, hearts of palm, and Kumamoto oyster sauce), and this is one steak house even a noncarnivore can love.