St. Anselm

There’s a great new steakhouse in town—no, make that an amazing, wonderful, game-changing new steakhouse—and the funny thing is that it doesn’t even know it. The place is called St. Anselm, and according to owner Joe Carroll, it’s not a steakhouse at all but an unassuming little spot that serves simply seasoned grilled meats and seafood. The Underground Gourmet, having eaten at a steakhouse before, would beg to differ. You don’t put a bunch of meat (not to mention iceberg wedges, spinach gratins, and thick slices of grilled bacon à la Peter Luger) on a menu and expect people not to notice. On the other hand, you don’t often encounter whole mackerels, head-on chickens, shishito peppers, and haloumi cheeses on most steakhouse menus, either. Nor do you typically find cooking this good and prices this reasonable (barring a couple large-format blockbuster items, easy enough for the U.G. to sidestep and stay on budget).