Steak is the operative word at the seven-month-old AJ Maxwell’s. This quintessential New York City steakhouse offers only five big-beef, red-meat choices. I sampled two of them, and found them to be the best two dishes of the night.

Yes, there were advocates for other entrées. The plump double (or triple) Colorado lamb chops, for instance, made a big splash as well. They were juicy, tender, towering treats, but the dry-aged, bone-in rib eye steak is the king of the roost at Maxwell’s. This sprawling, tender, tennis-racket-shaped slab of minerally, deeply flavored meat is everything a great prime steak should be. (Its large, protruding bone does indeed look a bit like the handle of a tennis racket, and the massive, circular beef attached to it completes the picture.) Nevertheless, there were those who thought the dry-aged sirloin was its equal, and they, too, had a valid point. This tall hunk of beef was running with juices and full of red-meat flavor (sirloin can be chalk-dry and grainy -- this one isn’t.)

While respectable appetizers and desserts are second bananas to main courses, side dishes (judging from the two we tasted) are every bit as fine. The perfectly seasoned creamed spinach was rich and rewarding, while the smooth, lump-free Yukon mashed potatoes were light, tasty, and ideal for combining with the spinach. A flaky, broiled Chilean sea bass on a pool of balsamic satisfied the fish fanatic at our table. A dessert sampler plate of fresh fruit, carrot cake, tiramisu, and dense chocolate cake drew the meal to a close.

AJ Maxwell’s is a masculine, big-city, white-tablecloth spot. Its prominent, imposing center pillar, massive mirrors, marble floors, leather banquettes, old-fashioned saucer-shaped chandeliers, and overall spaciousness provide patrons with a cosseted, relaxed milieu. Servers (women as well as men, in a welcome deviation from most conventional steakhouses) wear traditional black vests and white aprons.

AJ Maxwell’s is owned and operated by the second generation of a knowing restaurant family. The Passarellis have run many a successful eating place in both Manhattan and Long Island (including the respected Bobby Van’s). The affable, loquacious Lenny Passarelli, its manager, is no doubt responsible for the quality ingredients obvious in every dish here. Rockefeller Center, 57 W. 48th St., 212-262-6200; www.ajmaxwells.com.

Richard Jay Scholem was a restaurant critic for the New York Times Long Island Section for 14 years. His A La Carte Column appeared from 1990 to 2004. For more “Taste of the Town” reviews, click here.