In the times that I have been in Minnesota, I’ve mostly lived in south Mpls and Bloomington. Good steak is going to cost you and even the stuff at Doe’s (which is sold by the pound) can get pricey. My favorite steak in Minnesota used to be Lindey’s up in Arden Hills. After BBQ, I’m something of a steak snob and they have the best cut of meat. Mancini’s is the best steak house followed by Manny’s. Notice the distinction between steak and steak house. Mancini’s and Manny’s have the best old-men’s-club feel. I had one of the best steaks in my life up at Lindey’s but the next time we went it was terrible. Minnesota lacks what a lot of other great states have: a magnificent dive bar steak. I can give you 10 different places in Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, and Texas that are (a’la Doe’s) head and shoulders above a swank place like Manny’s, Murray’s, or Morton’s.

If you really want a good steak, I’d suggest going to Forster’s Meat Market in Plymouth. They have some amazing dry aged steaks that you can grill up on your own and are every bit as good as any steak house in town.

Down here in southern MN, I go to Schmidt’s Meat Market in Nicollet. We have an ice box in the basement and I buy a quarter beef and a hog every year from them. I usually buy a hind or split-side quarter and it gives us all the steaks we can possibly eat throughout the year. We split with some neighbors. Anywho, you can get dry aged steaks for cheap at a local butcher for between $10-20 per pound. If you buy a quarter, it’s even cheaper. And (this is the great secret of great steaks), after a few tries, you can cook a steak every bit as good as what you can find at top flight steak houses. Just make sure to write down EVERYTHING on your first few attempts. Temp, time, everything. It’s actually one of the easiest gourmet meals to make. A high-quality dry aged steak practically cooks itself and you need zero seasoning.