Trostel's Greenbriar Johnston steakhouse

"Stepping into Trostel’s Greenbriar," says the Des Moines Register, "is a step into an older era of restaurant. It’s a place where carpet and white tablecloths are still valued, the menu is long on steaks and game, and throwbacks like wedge salad and French onion soup are prominent." For all that, Trostel's Greenbriar is a steakhouse without pretentions; it's a place to get excellent steak and service without the attitude but with the hospitality that is, alas, all but absent from many of the "modern" steakhouses one encounters in all the major cities. The menu is full of dishes you know and love, starting with apps like the jumbo Gulf shrimp cocktail and the slow-roasted prime rib cut into bite-sized morsels, a prime way to set up your belly for lots of good meat (and maybe fish) to come. Let's start with the steak (as that's probably what you came for): indulge in the beef tenderloin Oscar (a classic: the meat is topped with crab meat, asparagus spears and Béarnaise sauce) or the ribeye with Trostel's trademark gunpowder crust. If fish is more what you're in the mood for, there's lots to choose from, including the pan fried walleye filet (lightly breaded with roasted fingerling potatoes, and sage brown butter sauce) or the pan seared sea scallops on mushroom risotto. For lighter appetites, salads are abundant: we like the char grilled gunpowder strip loin salad, chicken raspberry pecan salad, or the avocado tostada. Of course, there is a wine list with abundant options, as this is, after all, a classic steakhouse.