Not long ago, Al Biernat’s underwent a menu makeover, retaining the favorites that made Al’s a hit with his Highland Park neighbors. These include Al’s hearty Prime steaks, the heady lobster risotto, smoked salmon with traditional accompaniments, and Al’s famous salad loaded with avocado, shrimp, and crab. To this add the spicy scotch bonnet ahi tuna “poke,” PEI mussels, littleneck clams steamed in white wine, and oxtail ravioli. Nightly specials often include cuts of grass-fed beef. Eventually all of Al’s Prime steaks will be grass fed.

What made Al’s such a popular stop for the lawyers, bankers, pro sports team owners and other millionaire-ati is the pat-on-the-back, you’ve-always-been-my-best-friend familiarity expressed to almost every guest by Al and his staffers—and that hasn’t changed, thankfully. To walk into Al’s is to be made to feel welcome, whether in the dining room or at the bar.

Al’s bar always hops with Dallas’s top suits, celebrities, and local sports heroes. The wine list is extensive and while it includes many of the usual suspects, it also has attractive bottlings from beyond Napa-Bordeaux convention with a wide range of prices to fit most budgets.