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Why Char made the SteakMap list

Char does something SteakMap has not found on another menu in the country: it wet-ages and then dry-ages the same steak, and prints both numbers.

The Prime cuts are held 25 days wet, then 21 days dry in house — forty-six days of aging in two stages. Those stages do different things. Wet-aging in the bag tenderizes without moisture loss; dry-aging in open air concentrates flavor and builds the nutty character. Running one after the other is a deliberate program, not a shortcut, and the kitchen carries the trim loss from the dry stage on top of six weeks of holding time.

There is also a separate Char Wet Age designation at 28 days wet, applied to the upper choice reserve cuts.

They name the farm

The Prime grade beef comes from Ruth Family Farms in Downing, Missouri — named on the menu, in state, and about as far northeast as you can get and still be in Missouri. Naming your farm invites the comparison rather than avoiding it.

The rest of the board is Sterling Silver upper choice reserve, another named program rather than an unlabeled grade.

The cuts

The showpiece is a 45oz Prime bone-in tomahawk, wet-then-dry aged, which is the largest steak recorded in Missouri outside a lake restaurant. A 14oz Prime ribeye gets the same treatment.

Under the Sterling Silver heading: a 20oz bone-in Delmonico ribeye, a 24oz porterhouse, an 18oz T-bone and a 14oz Kansas City strip — the right cut to find on a Missouri board. The filet comes as an 8oz, or as two 3oz medallions au poivre for a lighter order.

The dry-aged steak sandwich with caramelized onions, a five-cheese blend and horseradish cream on a baguette is the sleeper on the menu, and a smart use of the aging program at lunch prices.

Menu prices

As published on Char’s own menu, August 2026: 45oz Prime tomahawk $135, surf and turf with a 14oz Atlantic lobster tail $128, 14oz Prime ribeye $76, 24oz porterhouse $60, 20oz Delmonico $59, 8oz filet mignon $53.50, 14oz Kansas City strip $48, 30oz bone-in short rib $47, 18oz T-bone $46, petite filet medallions $37 and the dry-aged steak sandwich $27. Caviar service runs $62 for hackleback and $123 for osetra.

See every dry-aged steakhouse in Missouri, or read the guide to the best steakhouses in Missouri.