Thick brocade curtains, soft seating, and ornate chandeliers cosset diners in an elegant atmosphere at Marie Livingston's Steakhouse. In 1992, the restaurant's matriarch and namesake parlayed years of menu-making into opening her own eatery, which she still runs today with her two daughters. Her sweet Alabama twang and gracious hospitality float through the air as she works both the front and back of the house, greeting guests at the door and ensuring each steaming dish and housemade dessert represents her name well. A secret-recipe steak sauce coats her selection of USDA Choice steaks and chops, all grilled over an open flame rather than a flat pan or a Senate subcommittee. And accompanying each are fluffy, family-recipe yeast rolls that have kept a stable of regulars coming back for more.

In a building once thought by many in the industry to be unsuitable for a restaurant, elegance enfolds guests and proves naysayers wrong. An entryway with a dome of distressed silver leaf and a vintage red sofa opens onto a dining area enhanced underfoot by marble and hardwood floors, and overhead by bright-red drop lighting. Black and cream flow throughout, with dark baseboards and crown molding lining the light walls, and large curved booths leading the eye to a black granite bar.