TampaBayEats.com

In the span of three months, two national publications have named Bern’s steakhouse in Tampa the number one steakhouse in the country. This month’s issue of Saveur, aptly named “The Steak Issue,” is packed full of talk about steak, ranging from steak knives to steak sauces and even a photo laden tutorial on the various cuts of meat. But the most important to me is a list called the “Magnificent Seven,” naming the nations top steak houses. Of course, the number one steakhouse is Bern’s, right here in our own backyard. We may not be well known in the culinary world, but when it comes to steak, we can hold our own with the likes of New York and San Francisco. But it doesn’t end with a quick mention in a food magazine. If you are one of the rare few that buys Playboy magazine for the pictures, you may have missed the list of America’s Top Ten Steakhouses on page 30 of the May issue. Yes, it’s the issue with Anna Nicole on the front and the lovely pictorial of the Girls of Conference USA, (featuring several from UCF), but I just subscribe for the articles anyway. Bern’s, according to Playboy:

“The dry-aged beef is impeccable, and exacting waiters have been known to apply the vermouth to your martini with an eyedropper.”

I’ll agree about the dry aged beef, but applying vermouth with an eyedropper to me just sounds ridiculous. I’m just here for the beef. This is a serious list and is no page filler; also appearing in the top ten is Crescent City Steakhouse in New Orleans, the old-school joint where Ruth Fertel got the idea for the sizzling platter of steak and melted butter. Once again, we take the number one spot show the nation that not only do we have beautiful women in Florida; we know how to eat a good slab of beef.