It was a big deal: Morton’s invited us in to sample some of their food. Yes, Morton’s—the big chain, serving steak coast to coast. The whole affair started with a big menu presentation. The server brought a big cart to the table and essentially walked through the menu options, offering a visual display of meat cuts, vegetables, and more. What we remember most were a big lobster (averaging four pounds that evening) and a big......

The American steakhouse--that dimly lit, mahogany-paneled, mafia-chic hideout for fat cats and their trophy molls--you'd think it would never fly in laid-back, egalitarian Seattle. You'd be wrong. Yet another high-end steakhouse, from Atlanta's 25-unit Capital Grille chain, is opening an outpost downtown, just steps from chain rivals Ruth's Chris (New Orleans, 92 units) and Morton's (Chicago, 70 stores), not to mention a couple of locally-owned, downtown standbys, the Met and the Brooklyn. We were invited......