Restaurateur Michael Mina may be based in San Francisco, but he still knows what Miamians want in a steakhouse — restrained opulence that enhances rather than competes with the expensive cuts of beef you're about to masticate. Stripsteak shares a home base, the Fontainebleau Hotel, with the restaurateur's Michael Mina 74, but consider this place 74's more sophisticated brother. Leather booths and copper light fixtures give the room a warm glow, which is welcome after walking through the neon-tinged and cacophonous resort lobby. Relax and take a moment to enjoy the warm truffle-scented Parker House rolls as you peruse the extravagant wine list. Stripsteak is not the place to go on a fixed budget, but if you're game to splurge, the evening is well worth it. Steaks with pedigrees so long they might have had bovine ancestors on the Mayflower are poached in butter and finished on a wood-fired grill. Choose from all-American Angus beef from Moyer Farms ($44 to $118), or break the bank with Japanese Miyazaki Prefecture steaks, priced by the ounce. If for some reason you saunter into this palace of beef with seafood on the brain, fret not. The restaurant offers seafood caught on the resort's own daily charter boat, BleauFish. Stripsteak ain't cheap. But memories — and a butter-poached piece of perfect beef — can't be judged by the price tag.
Readers' choice: Prime One Twelve