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New York City boasts numerous red-blooded steakhouses that have what it takes to wrangle meat-eaters from even the most serious of cow towns. Long Island City’s clubby Jackson Ave. Steakhouse, a ruddy brick building perched near the East River, is no exception. It has been plating its porterhouse since 1996, long enough to show that a high-end chophouse has a place in gentrifying western Queens. Its handsome tavern-like front room displays a splendid marble and brass bar, and its fireplace-graced dining area provides cozy nooks for Cabernet-swirling couples and bankers from the nearby Citibank tower. Prices are indistinguishable from the Manhattan and Brooklyn competition, and so is the beef’s quality and execution. The kitchen takes its meaty métier seriously, sending waitresses back to inquire whether you wanted your rare steak black-and-blue, very rare, or just plain red-inside rare. Even ordered on the raw end of the scale, the Jackson Ribeye’s intense two-inch thickness requires extra cooking time, but it’s worth the wait—and the time is well spent with the long-simmered soup du jour. — Karen Tina Harrison

Soup du jour, $4.95; portobello and arugula salad, $10.95; Jackson ribeye, $39; porterhouse for two, $78