Clockwise, from top: a hanger steak from Lobel's, strip steaks from Niman Ranch and a filet mignon from Allen Brothers.
		Steaks: How to Get It
		Other Sam Gugino "Tastes" columns

If beef is, as the commercials say, "what's for dinner," then prime, dry-aged steaks are what's for special dinners. A great steak also makes a delicious gift for red wine lovers, since beef and big reds partner as naturally as Fred and Ginger.

How do you get the best steaks? In the old days you would simply ask your butcher, but good butchers have become an endangered species, and on top of that, high-end steak houses such as the Palm and premium meat retailers like Lobel's in New York have snapped up much of the finest beef. But now their steaks can be delivered to your doorstep.

Before dialing 1-800-GIMME-STEAK, however, here are a few guidelines. The U.S. Department of Agriculture grades beef based on several factors, primarily on the amount of fat or marbling within the muscle of the meat. The more fat, the more flavor, tenderness and juiciness. Prime is the highest grade for beef, and indicates meat with the highest fat content. Less than 4 percent of beef is graded prime. Meat that receives the grade choice has less marbling than prime, though some choice beef can be quite good. Black Angus steak is a breed that has become increasingly popular; most of it is graded choice.

Aging is important too. There are two types of aging, dry and wet. To dry-age, meat is kept uncovered in rooms where the temperature and humidity are kept low so that moisture in the meat evaporates, and thus flavor is concentrated. Enzymes in the beef break down muscle fibers and tenderize the meat. Dry-aged beef costs a lot per pound because as much as 25 percent of the meat's weight is lost during the three- to seven-week process. For example, a dry-aged, 16-ounce, boneless strip steak from Allen Brothers, a Chicago-based meat purveyor, costs $37.50; from Lobel's, $34.75. Most beef lovers believe that dry-aging produces a superior product to wet-aging, a process in which the meat is aged in sealed plastic bags. While the enzymes still tenderize the meat in wet-aging, there is little or no evaporation. Because there is less weight loss, wet-aged meat is cheaper, but it lacks the concentrated, slightly gamy flavor of dry-aged meat.

Some companies sell both dry- and wet-aged meat, so make sure you specify when ordering.

Which cuts of steaks should you order? My favorites are strip loin steaks, often called New York strips, and rib steaks, the latter being slightly fattier. These cuts, which come from very developed and thus flavorful muscles, have considerably more flavor than does a filet mignon, especially when they remain attached to the bone. They are not quite as tender as filets, but I find the firmness in both cuts of steak more appealing than the somewhat mushy texture of most filets.

Of the prime, dry-aged, mail-order New York strips I tasted, my favorite was an unbelievably tender and buttery piece of Australian-raised Wagyu beef from Lobel's. Wagyu is the same breed of steer that is raised in the famed Kobe region of Japan. Lobel's more conventional Midwestern American strip steak scored just ahead of a steak (also from Midwestern beef) from The Palm, the famous steak house chain. Both were precision cut to a thickness of about 1 3/4 inches, and both steaks cooked up beautifully, with a nicely charred outside and a beefy, medium-rare interior. Not far behind was Allen Brothers' Midwestern steak. It was faultlessly cut at 2 inches thick and was juicy and delicious.

One might argue that Allen Brothers lost points because, like most mail-order steaks, it came frozen. However, it's hard to tell if the difference can be attributed to the freezing or to the inherent nature of the meat. Many steak aficionados insist that steaks that are frozen will be less juicy when defrosted. But the Allen Brothers steak was plenty juicy, just not quite as flavorful. Still, if I had a choice, I would opt for fresh steaks.

Quality dropped off with the next two. Niman Ranch in Oakland, Calif., sells hormone- and antibiotic-free beef from humanely treated cattle that are fed longer on grass and less in feedlots than most cattle. Instead of grading its beef, Niman believes that the treatment and greater maturity of its cattle provide the needed taste. However, while the fresh strip steak I tried was fine, it didn't have the depth of flavor the top four had. Omaha Steaks International, perhaps the best-known name in mail-order steaks, was the least impressive of my tasting. Its frozen Private Reserve Prime strip steak (choice is also available) was reasonably beefy, but it had a chalky texture.

For a different kind of steak experience, try Pasture Perfect, a new line of beef from the New England Livestock Alliance, a cooperative of farms with members from Virginia to Maine. The animals are entirely grass-fed (which gives the meat heart-healthful Omega-3 fatty acids) and sorted for tenderness using ultrasound equipment. Due to the fact that they use different breeds of cattle than those conventionally used for beef, cuts are smaller. The Pasture Perfect New York strip had a rich and earthy quality. It was a bit chewier than the top four, but was still quite juicy.

Though it's not my favorite, filet mignon is the most popular steak because it is the most tender of the cuts. In fact, it's so tender that it is rarely dry-aged. However, it has the least flavor, because it comes from a part of the animal that has little muscle development. Here again, the more robust nature of Pasture Perfect's beef made its filets stand out above the others. Among the more conventional filets, I'd give Lobel's the nod, perhaps because it was the only one dry-aged, over Allen Brothers.

If you can't decide between a New York strip and a filet mignon, try a porterhouse: It contains both cuts, separated by a bone. This is a family-size steak, generally big enough to be shared by two or more people. (Lobel's porterhouse weighs in at 3 1/2 pounds.) The T-bone steak is a smaller version of the porterhouse. Stanley Lobel, president of Lobel's, also likes hanger steaks (the kind used in steak frites) and skirt steaks (frequently used in fajitas), both of which are extremely flavorful but are often not very tender.

To make the most of your steak, remove it from its wrapping and leave it at room temperature for one hour before grilling. (Frozen steaks should be put in the refrigerator 24 hours ahead to defrost.) Season it with kosher salt and freshly cracked pepper and give it a light rub with olive oil. To get a sufficient char on the outside while keeping the inside rare to medium-rare, strip and rib steaks should be at least 1 1/2 inches thick, which means about a pound when boneless.

Depending on the heat of an oven broiler, a 1 1/2-inch- thick medium-rare New York strip should take about 15 to 17 minutes, turning over once halfway through. Cooking times may be a bit shorter with outdoor grills, so check the steaks periodically to avoid over-charring. (Most beef experts suggest cooking to an internal temperature of 130° F for medium-rare. The USDA recommends 150° F.) Steaks should rest five to 10 minutes before serving.

Cabernet Sauvignon and steak is a classic match, but the key component is less the wine's variety or even its flavor than its tannin level, because tannins cut through fat. Perhaps that's why I preferred a youngish St.-Estèphe (Bordeaux) to a Napa Cab. I also found several other wines I enjoyed with steak, including an earthy Argentinean Malbec, a Sangiovese-Cabernet super Tuscan and, despite its low tannins, a red Burgundy from Santenay.

Sam Gugino, Wine Spectator's Tastes columnist, is the author of Low-Fat Cooking to Beat the Clock (Chronicle Books).