Bern's stars in 'Saveur'

Here's a list of "best steakhouses in America, " worth more than the slick paper it's printed on. Saveur magazine's June-July "Steak Issue" salutes seven great red meat palaces in the nation, one of which is Tampa landmark Bern's Steak House. Saveur applauded the endless choice of thickness, eight shades of doneness and the grand wine cellar.

Other than the relatively new Craftsteak in New York and Las Vegas, the magazine liked meat and potatoes joints of similar vintage to Bern's (1956). The other winners were the Five O'Clock Steakhouse in Milwaukee; Gene and Georgetti in Chicago; Gorat's in Omaha, Neb.; and the Pacific Dining Car in Los Angeles, all at least 40 years old. Brooklyn's Peter Luger Steakhouse is the granddad, at 130.

The glossy's foodies like their steaks dry-aged for two to three weeks, served with red wine and cooked medium rare. To get steak right at home, they advise:

• Don't be afraid to cut a steak slightly and peek at its color.

• To avoid overcooking,  take it off the heat before you think it's done.

• With thick steaks,  remember that lean cuts,  like filet mignon,  cook faster than fatty ribeyes.

Which restaurants would you add to the list?

Restaurant news

While Janet is gone, we'll keep you posted on Tampa Bay area restaurant news and reviews. We 'll post some of our favorite summer recipes, too. Maybe you can share your favorites, as long as they don't require anyone to stay in a hot  kitchen too long.

Two popular hotel restaurants,  Grand Hyatt Tampa Bay and St. Petersburg's Renaissance Vinoy, have made some changes.

Wine Exchange fans raise a toast in Tampa

Organic babies? New business for the little seedlings

Jolly green giant: Publix joins South Tampa's natural-foods scene

Keep up with this week's tastings and events.

New eats for St. Pete

RattleFish to open in St. Petersburg

Julian's at the Heritage closed in April. The space at 234 Third Ave. N in St. Petersburg will be shuttered until June, when it will reopen as RattleFish Reef. It will follow in the same vein as the original RattleFish Raw Bar & Grill, a Bayside Marina waterfront restaurant at 5210 W Tyson Ave. in Tampa. An inventive seafood-heavy menu in a lively, youthful environment. The upstairs will be transformed into a VIP lounge. Call (727) 823-8308.

A new taste of the South

At the site of the long-defunct Hampton House of Jazz at 1113 Central Ave. in St. Petersburg, Savannah's will open in June. The new restaurant, owned by Edyth James (formerly of Saffron's) and her partner John Warren, will celebrate foods of the South, from Louisiana's gumbos and jambalayas to Georgia's peaches and peanuts, Alabama's black-eyed peas and grits, Virginia's hams and Florida's own citrus, some of it with a Caribbean flair. For information, call (727) 374-6168.

Grouper on hold at the Columbia

The Columbia Restaurant has removed grouper from the lunch and dinner menus of its seven restaurants in Florida. "We are taking a proactive response to the difficulty in meeting the demand for authentic Florida grouper by taking all grouper items off of our menu," said Richard Gonzmart, president for the Columbia Restaurant Group. They plan to offer the fish only as a special if they receive whole fish from their suppliers, not merely fillets. This will address growing concerns about inferior fish species being substituted for Gulf of Mexico grouper.