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The bone-in ribeye sits atop mashed sweet potatoes, covered with fresh lump crabmeat.

I couldn’t decide what I enjoyed more: Vic’s southern style shrimp and grits appetizer, or the Champagne-affected cackles from the lady lunchers a few tables over.

The dish, a distinct version of a familiar favorite, featured tender shrimp lacquered in a sweet-spicy glaze and perched on pillowy, creamy jalapeno cheddar grits ($10). Creole meuniere and a dusting of thyme, cayenne pepper and other spices brought everything together in a way that was both fiery and delicate. It was a well-executed stand out.

Meanwhile, blushing bride cocktails were making fast work of friends celebrating a birthday a few tables over. Joyous belts of “Happy Birthday to You” spilled out more than once, causing the remaining diners at the end of the midday hour to chuckle. The threesome was clearly relishing the resuscitation of that mostly-dead tradition, the boozy lunch.

Vic’s Chophouse opened earlier this year in the Jefferson Highway spot long occupied by DaJoNel’s, a longtime member of the old guard of upscale eateries known for loyal customers and stately menus. Today, the number of “nice” places around town has expanded considerably, and Vic’s is up against a restaurant landscape dominated by a growing number of established chains, many of them nearby.

Refreshingly locally-owned, Vic’s features typical steakhouse fare like beef, pork and lamb, as well as ingredients and décor that keep it anchored in South Louisiana. The catfish is encrusted in sweet potato and topped with Abita butter. Tasso appears in dishes like the creamed spinach, the flash-fried calamari appetizer and the crispy lobster pasta. And among the a la carte sides are crawfish mashed potatoes and sweet potato fries.

The remodeled dining room, now one level and decorated in hues of mustard and rust, is intimate, dark and can be pleasantly noisy. There are a couple of dozen tables in the main area. On the other side of a glass divider is a bar, television and LSU mural.

At lunch, the menu features several salads, signature dishes like beef tips and risotto, a handful of po-boys and a 16-ounce ribeye. The beef and bleu cheese wedge—organic butter lettuce and fried onion slivers with bleu cheese dressing and filet slices—makes for a fresh, hearty choice ($14). The dressing’s tang plays well with the tender beef.

The oven-roasted duck pizza involves chunks of roast duck tossed in barbecue sauce and placed on grilled flat bread with caramelized red onions, mushrooms and boursin cheese ($10). It’s presented in small triangles with a side of cilantro sour cream. Nice as it sounded, the dish was too sweet and bready, and the sour cream made it unnecessarily rich.

On another occasion at dinner, we started with the stacked goat cheese salad with baby greens and a sweet, thick, blackberry port wine vinaigrette ($8). The hefty salad, enough for two, was hearty and fresh.

Vic’s signature steaks include an eight- or 10-ounce filet, a 16-ounce ribeye, a 22-ounce bone-in ribeye or a 16-ounce New York strip. We opted for the bone-in ribeye, a seasoned, tender slab perfectly cooked to our requested medium rare ($36).

For toppings, Vic’s offers Maine lobster, sautéed mushrooms, jumbo lump crabmeat and sauces like veal reduction, homemade Worcestershire, béarnaise, hollandaise and garlic butter.

Among sides, we opted for the white truffled risotto, which resonated heavily with truffles, so order it only if you like their nasally, earthy pull and are into the starchy simplicity of creamy Arborio rice ($6). A little of this dish goes a long way.

The juicy, pan-seared duck breast, which we were told the chef cooks to medium at a minimum, was toothy and delicious ($25). Here, an 8-ounce breast was topped with a pastry of Brie and a reduction of veal and cranberry. The duck was tender and rosy and the sauce well-balanced.

For dessert, the warm molten chocolate cake, a baked-to-order mini-cake flamed at tableside, was an assertive, punchy ending that dark chocolate lovers would be loathe to miss ($12). It fared much better than the odd white chocolate bread pudding, which I ordered on both occasions and found dense and dry. I had to ask our server if it was the right dessert because it seemed so off the mark ($8).

While lunch was slow, the service was attentive and thorough and the wait staff hardworking and friendly.

With its low lights, appealing fare and cozy, tight vibe, Vic’s is a worthy stop on the local steakhouse tour.