Pappas Bros. Steakhouse Houston Downtown
This is a Wine Spectator Grand Award cellar, roughly 4,370 bottles deep, and it is built for a steakhouse: 2,268 reds anchor the book, with American Cabernet and blends the single largest category at 627 listings. The real strength runs two ways, top Bordeaux and the heart of Burgundy, with serious depth in Cote de Beaune, Gevrey Chambertin, and stacks of Meursault and Corton Charlemagne on the white side, plus Barolo and Champagne well represented. Prices cover a wide field, from about $35 up to $28,500 for Chateau Haut Brion, with a median near $310, and the trophy shelf is real, several bottlings of Domaine de la Romanee Conti including Romanee Conti and La Tache. Know going in there is no glass program, this is a bottle house, so guide guests by budget and by region. It rewards the table that wants a great California Cabernet with a steak as much as the collector chasing grand cru.