The Summit Steakhouse

For nearly four decades, the Summit Steakhouse in Aurora has catered to a meat-and-potatoes-loving crowd. In some ways, not a lot has changed over the years. Tablecloths and tea lights are still de rigueur. Red roses are given to female guests, and on many nights, a pianist tickles the ivories in the lounge. Entrees such as chicken cordon bleu and Cajun catfish arrive with soup or salad, and steaks that in other steakhouses would be served à la carte come with that soup or salad plus a choice of mashed, baked, twice-baked or au gratin potatoes. Even vegetables arrive the old-fashioned way — that is, drenched in butter. But change is afoot thanks to new owners, who took over in 2013. Let’s just hope that in the process of giving this old-school steakhouse a new vibe, some things remain the same, like the French onion soup, with roasted veal stock and sherry that mark it as one of the best in town.