Columbia, MOSteakhouse

CC’s City Broiler is one of the two rooms Vox Magazine walks diners through cut by cut with general manager Dustin Norem, who calls the filet the cut the kitchen is known for. Alongside strip, sirloin and rib-eye it carries Akaushi beef from the Japanese-American breed, which Norem says guests took to quickly. Order the filet at medium or rarer, or ask for Pittsburgh rare to get a hard sear over a cold center. Sides run to jalapeño twice baked potatoes and creamed spinach with blue cheese.

George Terzopoulos and his friend Dino opened G&D Steakhouse on North Ninth Street in 1968, and the original room moved to West Worley Street in 1970, where it still opens every day. Michael Aslanidis, who co-owns it with his father Angelo, describes guests who first came in with their parents and now arrive with grandchildren of their own. More than fifty-five years on, COMO Magazine writes that the G&D name is woven into the fabric of Columbia.

COMO Magazine places Murry’s among Columbia’s long-standing dining institutions, in the company of Shakespeare’s, The Heidelberg, Booches and the Pasta Factory. Nearly forty years in, it remains non-franchised and locally owned, and the magazine describes the fierce loyalty of customers who keep the bar and dining room busy. The eclectic, no-frills menu and casual atmosphere are what locals and visitors know it by, with live music still part of the draw.