Lewis Walter "Lindey" Lindemer spent years trying to find a Minnesota restaurateur who would serve his steaks. And when he finally found one who said yes in 1958, he was only allowed to set up shop in the St. Paul restaurant's basement. It was no matter, because even from that subterranean dining room, word about his delicious steaks spread quickly, and within a few years he was putting a deposit down on his very own restaurant.

Lindey's Prime Steak House opened in the spring of 1961 in Arden Hills, with their menu that, to this day, remains refreshingly simple. At dinner, there are only four options: Lindey's special sirloin, prime sirloin, broiled shrimp, or prime chopped sirloin. Though Lindey's sons now prepare each steak, they use the exact same recipe their father crafted more than a half-century ago. The decor is similarly vintage—the dining room resembles a mid-century cabin with knotted-cedar paneling, and a stone fireplace.