John Kenneth Galbraith's observation that more people die in the United States of too much food than they do of too little must have been gleaned over a lifetime of eating T-bones the size of small-town airstrips and boulder-size baked potatoes at various American steak houses. It's this conformity of the genre that makes choosing the best steak house, excuse the expression, a real horserace. Morton's crosses the finish line first not merely because of its USDA prime cuts of meat (though these are, it seems, just a little bit tastier than the rest) but also owing to superior service, seafood, side dishes, and desserts -- especially the sultry Godiva hot chocolate cake. Like at all steak houses, you pay for the quality. Galbraith's quotation appears in The Affluent Society, an apt phrase for those who can afford to dine here regularly. Then again there's something about seeing beefy businessmen stuffed into plush red banquettes that makes cutting into a thick steak that much more rewarding.