Steak, on a plate: $32. Sides, salad, soup: extra, extra, extra. Service competent, but not inspired. Granted, the petite-cut of rib steak is a beautiful cut of meat, cooked exactly how a steak should be cooked - the exterior a deep, luscious brown, with fat crisped around the edge, the interior a deep meaty pink shading to dark red at the center, the bone practically daring you to pick up the meat and chow down. But still, $32 for a steak and nothing else? That seems a bit steep to me, and trust me when I tell you that unless you are independently wealthy, you'll think of almost nothing but the price while you are eating it. And that is one of the cheaper cuts on the menu; a dry-aged Porterhouse steak will run you $52.

Tournedos at the Inn on Broadway is what it is: a New York-style steakhouse, with New York-style prices. But when you unblushingly charge the prices the establishment charges, your customers have a right to expect nothing less than perfection. They deserve to leave feeling like they've had an experience, rather than reeling from sticker shock. There was not a moment on my first visit to Tournedos when I wasn't constantly conscious of how much everything cost, and the dining room did nothing to help me relax. The imposing black leather banquettes, the museum-lit wine cellar, the astronomically priced wine list, and the pretentious and gigantic menus all made me feel just the tiniest bit unworthy to have dinner there. Tournedos was made for power lunches and business deals. It's not really the sort of restaurant where you'd go to declare your undying love for someone, or to propose marriage, but it's exactly the sort of place you'd go to slide a prenup across the table along with your Montblanc pen.

Chef Tom Polizzi's cooking is technically flawless - every steak, every potato, every bowl of bisque, and brussels sprout that leaves his kitchen is perfectly cooked. His crab cake ($18) is the best I've had in Rochester, largely because the only binder in it is a bit of mayonnaise. Sweet lump crab meat, mayo, and a judicious use of spices make Polizzi's crab cake superb, and finishing it with a rosy orange lobster sauce makes for both a tasty garnish and a pretty presentation. Still, I've had comparable crab cakes for $10 each (with slaw on the side) at crab stands in Baltimore, so I'm guessing that the mark-up must go to shipping costs.

I can recommend Tournedos' famous seafood bisque without hesitation, even at $12 a bowl. In conception, it's not unlike seafood bisque anywhere - the creamy soup itself tastes almost identical to the bisque at the Oyster Bar in Manhattan, where it sells for $7 - but what sets it apart is the bountiful seafood that Chef Polizzi floats in the broth. Huge chunks of lobster claw, lump crabmeat, meltingly tender scallops, and shrimp crowd into each delectable bite.

All sides are ordered a la carte for $6 each (half portions of most of them are available), but our standout favorite were the brussels sprouts. These were simply best sprouts I've ever eaten: tiny, tender without being overcooked, vibrantly green and sweet, they were the thing on my table that I kept coming back to again and again, constantly astounded that that much-reviled vegetable could taste so good.

And then there are the potatoes: homefried with pancetta, mashed with black truffle butter, and french fried. I was prepared to really love the homefries; the addition of pancetta seemed inspired. But they were simply OK - well cooked, but not terribly exciting. The mashed potatoes were creamy without being either too loose or gluey, and the truffle butter brought earthy savor to every bite. With a little shot of leftover bordelaise sauce from my steak as a gravy, they were absolutely perfect. The battered french fries, though, were underwhelming; steak fries with a crispy coating that were largely indistinguishable from the fries at lesser restaurants, although the spicy, garlicky remoulade that the chef sent out to dip them in was excellent.

I was also intrigued by the chef's take on mac ‘n' cheese, gemelli carbonara. I could quibble over whether a bechamel sauce with cheese and pancetta is really carbonara, but the results were tasty enough. I did, however, note that unlike everything else that arrived at our table, the surface of the carbonara had the dull, dry look of something that had sat under the heat lamps for a while - not a big deal at a place with a lower price tag, but at easily $200 for dinner, you have a right to expect perfection.

The best thing on the table on both of my visits, however, was free: pastry chef Janice Plant's bread is delectable and instantly addictive. Crusty outside, gloriously chewy - almost cakelike - within, the bread is so good that my companion and I went through two loaves at each meal we had at Tournedos, and begged to take the leftovers home with us on our second trip to the restaurant. As it is served with a nice whipped butter and good olive oil with herbs and two fat cloves of roasted garlic, I'd be tempted to order a bowl of soup and bread and count myself a lucky man.

Chef Plant uses her God-given breadmaking talent at lunchtime, too. Her baguette makes for a very, very good sub roll, forming a substantial but not tough base for Tournedos' take on a cheesesteak - a sandwich composed of shaved prime rib topped with sauteed peppers, onions, chopped portabella mushrooms, and provolone cheese. The sandwich was excellent, tasty and rich with all the flavors bright and distinct, but at $13 for a cheesesteak it better be sensational. It is, and it's easily substantial enough that two people could split it, share a salad, and have a very nice (and not astronomically expensive) lunch.

Lunch is, in fact, the best time to come to Tournedos if you are looking for anything like a bargain: the sandwiches, including a very good sliced roasted pork sandwich with a nice crunchy cole slaw and a zippy barbecue sauce, are large enough that you'll have to share them or take leftovers home in the unlikely event that you have room for dinner later on. And at least at lunch time it won't seem odd to spend your entire meal talking business with the one you love.

To find Tournedos in City Newspaper's online Restaurant Guide - including a map, user reviews, and more - click here.

Tournedos

The Inn on Broadway, 26 Broadway

269-3888, innonbroadway.com

Lunch Mon-Fri 11 a.m.-3 p.m.; Dinner Mon-Sat 5-11 p.m., Sun 5-10 p.m.