Overview RARE Steak Championship is a touring steak cook-off where 25 to 30-plus steakhouses in each city grill for two titles, Traditional Steak and Creative Steak, and a general-admission ticket covers unlimited steak from every station on the floor. Each restaurant pairs its steak with a signature cocktail, and guests vote for People's Choice alongside expert judges. The 2026 tour schedule took in Atlanta, Dallas, New York, Denver, Houston and Phoenix, with Buckhead Meat and Seafood as presenting partner. DiningOut Events, which also produces TOP TACO, Chicken Fight and the Surf seafood challenge, runs it. On site The night runs 6 to 10 p.m. with live music. It is 21 and over. Early-entry tickets get in an hour ahead of general admission. The VIP tier is OMAKASE: guests walk a sequence of eight chefs, each serving one dish, while bartenders pour Asian-inspired cocktails, sake and a Glenfiddich tasting. Venues change by city; the 2026 stops included POST Houston, Industry City in Brooklyn and Infinity Park outside Denver, where the field included Guard and Grace, Ocean Prime, Elway's, STK and Ruth's Chris. Each edition names a local charity, such as City Harvest in New York. Audience Guests spend four hours on their feet grazing from station to station with a drink in hand, and they carry a vote, so they stop and talk at every tent. DiningOut describes its crowds as active, affluent tastemakers who come back to its festivals year after year. Track record RARE ran in Houston in 2024, then in Dallas at Levy Plaza, Denver at Sculpture Park and Houston at POST in 2025, and made its New York debut at Industry City in September 2026. Porsche activated at the Houston edition; its brand manager, Leah Webb, said DiningOut "made sure Porsche's branding was prominently featured throughout the event and coordinated special touches, like a custom dessert bar, that really made us stand out." Brand presence Every sponsor gets a space and a branded festival banner, with tables, linen, ice and power, and DiningOut will match a brand with a competing restaurant. Spirits brands can enter the cocktail competition, judged and voted like the steak: by pairing with a competing restaurant, pouring through one of their own premium accounts from a branded tent, or mixing independently. Brands can bring their own trailer, bar, DJ booth or step and repeat, and packages can add video, editorial and social content. By 2025, William Grant had sponsored the RARE VIP experience two years in a row.