It’s time to celebrate! You’re finally getting that promotion that you’ve worked so hard for! Or Grandma is turning a momentous 90 years old! Or you’re getting married in September and need a menu to inspire impressed looks from your esteemed guests! For a long time, the go-to move in such circumstances has been a foregone conclusion: “Surf ’n Turf.” As long as people have been getting dressed up for dinner, nothing has said indulgence and celebration like filet mignon and lobster tail beside one another on your plate, beaming at you in all their opulent glory. Not anymore.

“The traditional version of surf ’n turf is outdated,” admits Mark Liberman, Executive Chef of San Francisco’s brand-spanking-new, Mediterranean-inspired restaurant, AQ. “Nowadays,” Liberman observes, “people rarely even serve filet mignon or lobster tail on their own, let alone in the tired version of old surf ’n turf.”

But when it comes to wowing diners, pairing surf with turf can still raise an impressed eyebrow or two. Chef Chris Kobayashi, of Paso Robles, California’s ambitious, family-owned bistro Artisan, suggests the key is catering to “an American palate.” This means indulging indulgence: rich textures, heavy emphasis on protein, and a presence of both bold and delicate flavors in a dish. Today’s chefs are capturing the essence of surf ’n turf, but re-imagining its purpose and potential in sexy new ways.

Often the first step in achieving such inspired combinations is, not surprisingly, thinking seasonally, and not just in terms of produce. “Proteins themselves have seasonal tendencies,” notes industry veteran Chef Shawn McClain, who oversees Sage in Las Vegas, as well as several highly-lauded Chicago restaurants. McClain emphasizes light proteins in the summer versus heavy ones in the winter; this gives clear direction to each dish he creates.

For Chef Brian Collins, of Lido Restaurant in Pismo Beach, CA, it’s all about where his proteins come from. “My biggest inspiration is eating locally,” he offers. The abalone, paired with crispy pork belly on his fall menu, is local, as is the octopus, complemented by Spanish chorizo. To match the local surf with an ideal turf, he often begins with a classically rooted dish and changes things up by using cuts of meat that the diner may not be used to seeing.

McClain opts for underutilized cuts in particular, like oxtail, which he braises and pairs with seared scallops, wild mushrooms and a salted caramel sauce at Sage, an iteration of one of his signature dishes in Chicago. Restaurants everywhere are seeing a resurgence in these delicious animal parts that have gone sparsely used for so long, explains Kobayashi; but as he grew up eating Asian at home, he is very familiar with such “awkward ingredients,” as he affectionately describes them.

Justin Simoneaux, Executive Chef at The Boxing Room, San Francisco’s Cajun spot, also chooses to honor his roots in his quest for quality surf ’n turf pairing. A Louisiana native, he is more than familiar with classic Cajun combinations of smoky, spicy meats and sweet, briny seafood. This popularity, Simoneaux explains, is due in part to the pigs and shellfish found all over southern Louisiana. “More and more people are using cured meats nowadays,” Simoneaux notes; his own love of Cajun charcuterie can be found in The Boxing Room’s charred Monterey squid with house-made, tasso-cured ham. His nod to Louisiana flavors, as well as a spot-on pairing of local surf with a house-made take on turf, bringing uniqueness and authenticity to the dish.

There is more to success on the new frontier of surf ’n turf than simply knowing how to prepare delicious proteins. McClain explains, “The old surf ’n turf presented two equal proteins: steak and lobster. These days, it’s more about combining elements,” structurally building a dish around one protein, then working another in to complement. The goal is a complete, cohesive dish wherein you are able to put a taste of each different element on your fork and take that ‘perfect bite.’ The delicious whole should always be greater than the sum of its parts.

This “whole-experience” harmony is where true success is achieved, believes Chef Paul Piscopo of Trace restaurant in San Francisco. The fennel sausage in his sea bass entrée adds great depth to the dish, an intensity that was missing when they decided to take bacon out of the beans in an effort to make the dish a more vegetarian-friendly side. Additionally, Piscopo is able to control the intensity and flavor profile of the sausage by making it in-house, another means to achieving balance and harmony between the surf and the turf.

Yet even with an ideal pairing of complementary proteins, there is still ground to cover in achieving cohesive and palate-pleasing surf ’n turf. McClain suggests that the sauce is the way to do it, and the right one can add body to a fish or seafood, helping it stand up to meat that may be inevitably richer. Hence, chefs understand the appeal of pork, a meat available in a myriad of cuts and with seemingly limitless versatility. Kobayashi notes that his Asian roots have reinforced pork as an outstanding flavor booster in a sauce, in addition to standing on its own as a featured protein. In all its forms and flavors, “It really is ideal for pairing with seafood,” he muses.

Once a chef has achieved surf ’n turf success, the job is still only halfway done. Anytime boundaries are pushed or classic ideas challenged, it is going to take some effort to earn the diner’s trust. While adventurous eating is undoubtedly on the rise, one still must carefully examine a restaurant’s clientele before deciding how to proceed with off-the-beaten-path proteins or previously unheard-of flavor combinations.

Earning such trust and the level of challenge therein, often depends on the cultural diversity of an area. Chicago, for example, has a very ethnic food scene, McClain observes; it tends to make diners more adventurous when it comes to ordering less familiar menu items. Diners in culturally diverse areas will be more likely, for instance, to choose a stinky blue over American cheese on their burger; this attitude belies an opportunity to push boundaries all over the menu.

Michael Fagnoni, who runs the kitchen at Hawks restaurant in Granite Bay, along with his wife, Molly, is no stranger to hesitant diners. With Hawks located in a relatively conservative area, Fagnoni relates that it is not uncommon to get patrons with a “cowboy mentality,” expecting steak and mashed potatoes. To entice guests into trying more adventurous proteins and pairings, Fagnoni makes sure to keep the rest of the set “very enticing.” Fresh, tasty, well-prepared vegetables and familiar ingredients that complement a more unique surf ’n turf can be the secret to unlocking a diner’s adventurous side. Even a detail as ostensibly small as menu placement can affect a dish’s popularity: outside-the-box entrees placed at the top of a menu tend to scare patrons off. Ideally a chef will gain a diner’s trust with a few familiar entrees before presenting any surprises.

If this is present-day surf ’n turf, the future holds promise. Man’s evolution in cooking meat has certainly come a long way from holding a mastodon leg over the fire for a few hours; and a chef’s ability to take a delicate creature from the ocean and serve it alongside a rich slab of roast beast is nothing less than daunting. But as our cooking has evolved, so have our palates; and it is the imaginative cooks that separate themselves from the pack. Creativity and flexibility are key: something as simple as using lardo to baste a piece of fish, McClain offers, can significantly alter the flavor profile of a dish. Being open-minded and looking for combinations like these can yield the most unexpected results. “You never know when you’ll create the next lobster and filet mignon,” Koboyashi jokes. Surf ’n turf doesn’t have to be ostentatious anymore. It just has to be good.