Pappas Bros. Steakhouse

One of Houston’s old-guard steakhouses, Pappas Bros. is not only a temple of meat, but a drinking mecca too. Just about as old school and big money as you can get, the restaurant’s wine list is, unquestionably, the largest in the state. When you rob a bank at gunpoint, this is where to spend the money. But if you’re on a budget, the markups are also some of the city’s lowest. Alongside the excellent floor somms, is young gun cocktail bartender Matt Tanner who cut his teeth at Anvil Bar & Refuge. When he revamped the outdated bar, Tanner integrated homemade ingredients and house drinks, while updating the classics for a crowd more accustomed to cigars and three fingers of single malt than chile tincture and house-made grenadine.