Great American Bites: Indy's St. Elmo serves steak fit for a champion

— -- The scene: Just a few days before winning the Super Bowl, Giants quarterback Eli Manning ate at St. Elmo Steak House. Coincidence? Maybe, but the restaurant, arguably Indianapolis' favorite eatery, serves up the kind of hearty Midwestern fare that would power a 6' 4" NFL player. And he is hardly alone: In the week leading up to the game, all three famed Manning quarterbacks, Eli, Archie and Peyton ate here, separately and in combination (Peyton Manning is part-owner of adjacent sister restaurant, Harry & Izzy's, also a steakhouse but with a much more modern menu and another location at the Indianapolis airport). In fact, since it opened in 1902, virtually every race-car driver, athlete and celebrity who has visited Indy has dined here, along with state and city politicos, given that it is in the heart of downtown, an easy walk from the Statehouse, many hotels, the Convention Center and NFL venue Lucas Oil Field. Days before the Super Bowl, visiting New York sports broadcasters openly discussed how good their meal here was on the air, and the night before the game, diners included John Travolta and Jessica Simpson.

St. Elmo is the quintessentially masculine classic steakhouse with heavy wood walls and an impressive Tiger-maple bar that was imported from the 1893 Chicago World's Fair. Upon entering, you find yourself in a classic watering hole, and diners can eat at the bar or high-top tables parallel, with a view of the open kitchen. Just beyond is a doorway that leads to multiple huge dining rooms filled with normal tables, and the place is much, much bigger than it looks from the outside. Virtually every inch of wall space is covered with hundreds of photos of St. Elmo clientele, many of them autographed, from Hollywood stars to Indy 500 drivers, visiting athletes to visiting bands - over my table was a framed print of heavy metal band AC/DC, signed by guitarist Angus Young.

Reason to visit: Spicy shrimp cocktail, steaks, Amish chicken, chops, King Crab mac & cheese

The food: Most classic steakhouses - St Elmo's is over a century old and still in its original location - feature only minor variations on a similar theme, one dominated by red meat. St. Elmo strays a little further afield than most, mainly in the way of some odd traditions. Every entrée is served with a starter choice of Navy Bean Soup or a glass of tomato juice - and no one seems to know why. "It's just always been that way - soup or tomato juice," said current owner Craig Huse, whose family took over the business in 1986. "I asked the previous owners and they didn't know why. It used to be called Soup du Jour on the menu, but it was always Navy Bean, every day, so we dropped that. The tomato juice is local Indiana Red Gold brand." Like the juice, St. Elmo tries to use local products as much as possible, most notably Indiana's Millers Amish Chickens, very popular here, as well as local duck, farmed seafood, cheeses and a wide variety of produce.

The other distinction is that all entrees are served with a choice of sides, either green beans or potatoes (fries, baked or redskin-mashed). As a result, while St. Elmo is not exactly cheap, especially by Indianapolis standards, when you order a protein you get a meal, whereas almost every other higher end urban steakhouse is totally a la carte, making bills here roughly half of what they would be at comparable places in New York, Chicago or Las Vegas.

The steaks, pork chops and veal chop with sautéed onions are all hearty portions and very tasty, but the meats are not quite on par with the ultra-rich (and ultra-pricey) dry-aged steaks of the nation's most elite steakhouses. However the food is consistently better than most similar restaurants I have been to (and I've been to a lot of steakhouses). Moreover, some of the non-meat dishes really stand out, especially the spicy shrimp cocktail, the single item for which St. Elmo is most famous and locals insist visitors try. Several large boiled shrimp are topped with a thick cocktail sauce redolent with fresh Missouri horseradish. This is a truly sinus-clearing affair not for the weak of heart, though the heat of horseradish is shorter lived and less debilitating than that of hot peppers.

The salads are also large and very tasty, especially the wedge with bacon and bleu cheese, the chopped or the BLT. Additional sides are steakhouse staples like creamed spinach and potatoes au gratin, and along with the nearly meal-sized salads, they are downright cheap for a place like this (Loaded baked potato with applewood-smoked bacon, $6), but after your shrimp cocktail, soup or juice, meat and side, it's unlikely you will need anything else. The one exception is another St. Elmo signature dish, the King Crab Mac 'n' Cheese. Beloved here long before the current lobster mac 'n' cheese fad swept the nation, this is a dish that you see going to someone else's table and immediately need to order, a ceramic pan of oven-baked macaroni and cheese topped with a huge portion of lump crabmeat.

Is St. Elmo the best steakhouse in the country? No. Is it the best in Indy? Probably. But in any case, it is an iconic Indianapolis eatery that has not lost a drop of charm over 110-years. It is loved by locals and visitors alike, is perfectly located, has very satisfying food and excellent service, all with surprisingly reasonable prices for what is a high-end dining experience. Additionally, the 1933 Lounge, with a more casual bar menu, just opened upstairs, its name a nod to the end of Prohibition.

What regulars say: "Did you have the shrimp cocktail?" asked St. Elmo's owner Craig Huse, my cab driver, and the front desk clerk at my hotel.

Pilgrimage-worthy?: Yes - if you are in Indianapolis, lunch or dinner here is a must.

Rating: Yum! (Scale: Blah, OK, Mmmm, Yum!, OMG!)

Price: $$-$$$ ($ cheap, $$ moderate, $$$ expensive)

Details: Original, 127 South Illinois Street, Indianapolis; 317-635-0636; stelmos.com/home.html

Larry Olmsted has been writing about food and travel for more than 15 years. An avid eater and cook, he has attended cooking classes in Italy, judged a BBQ contest and once dined with Julia Child. Follow him on Twitter, @TravelFoodGuy, and if there's a unique American eatery you think he should visit, send him an e-mail at travel@usatoday.com.