I am in the process of doing the wine program for a new steakhouse in New York City.
Not being a big frequenter of such restaurants I have immersed myself in lunch and dinner at every steakhouse in town to understand the mindset of the steakhouse client...

Not that I don't love steak and meat in general, but that I realize that my friends and I eat at all other venues but steakhouses. In the heat of the summer, I tend to eat light; fresh fish and the bounties of the farmers market.

Yet, I found each steakhouse to be so inviting, cool, dark, clubby, and a welcoming refuge from the mid-summer heat. So much, in fact, that I had no problem with ordering porterhouse for two and a big bottle of red wine on 105 degree day at Keen's Steakhouse one evening!
I loved the carefree element of ordering. A nice bottle of wine, a steak and sides in three minutes. No tasting menu, no thousands of specials, no one hundred wines by the glass, no server coming by to interrupt every two minutes. I found it all quite soothing and was left with a warm fuzzy feeling, although that may have been the wine!

I am now a big fan of the New York steakhouse, and I understand completely the success and appeal of the whole experience and the desire to return. Hopefully, I can make my wine list inviting and interesting, yet concise and straightforward enough to fit the bill.