Comments (2) Best Steak House Chef - 2005

David Holben, Del Frisco's Double Eagle Steakhouse

Prime beef doesn't need much help, really. Just a little salt and pepper plus a grill that flames to, oh, about 2,000 degrees. A few line cooks willing to roast their arms retrieving the steaks help, too. Seems every steak house serves Australian lobster but no big deal. Toss it into boiling water and melt some butter, it's perfect. Ah, but David Holben of Del Frisco's wields culinary talents far beyond the steak-house grill. Great chefs in the Dallas market must create a signature lobster dish, and Holben is known for chicken-fried lobster, a succulent upgrade of the Texas classic. He spent several years cooking intricate and highly rated cuisine at Riviera before turning Culpepper's into a Rockwall destination. Last year he won the coveted Caesar salad competition. Now at Del Frisco's, he's introduced such items as asparagus tempura, tenderloin satays and seared sesame-crusted tuna, along with his famous lobster dish. And that's just the bar menu. Wait until he adds his touch to the dinner menu.