Sure, the steak is great. You'll find one just the right size to slightly exceed your appetite, cooked to perfection and seasoned with exactly that combination of ingredients you never seem to get right for the home grill. But, hey! What about that atmosphere? It's enough to make you want to put on a tie. The kids'll love seeing it get cut off and will giggle at all the embarrassing hoo-ha for birthday celebrants. Get the tikes goofy balloon hats as big as they are, then take in the show at Trail Dust Town or ride the miniature train through two tunnels, past the graveyard and funky Chinatown to the Museum of the Horse Soldier. What's a steak without the sizzle?

Runners up:

2. El Corral, 2201 E. River Road, 299-6092
3. TIE

• McMahon's Prime Steakhouse, 2959 N. Swan Road, 327-2333
• Sullivan's Steak House, 1785 E. River Road, 299-4275