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Review Thu Jul 02 2015
Steaks with a View at Chicago Cut Steakhouse
Whether you're a tourist or snow-beleaguered veteran of Chicago, everyone appreciates a great steakhouse, especially in a city that inspired Upton Sinclair's The Jungle.
With a stunning view of the river, Chicago Cut provides an elevated dining experience, complete with tuxedoed waiters, handsome patrons, and a masculine interior. The restaurant has its own dry-aging locker, in-house butchers cutting up USDA Prime beef, and sophisticated broilers that can cook a lot of steak really quickly. Chicago Cut also adores its celebrity diners and updates its website regularly with pictures of movie stars and rock stars.
The food and beverage menus are fairly innocuous and comfortably standard. The seared foie was cooked well, although none of its accoutrements (Marcona almonds, a rather matte blackberry jam, and butter-laden brioche) were executed particularly well. The lollipop lamb chops were nicely charred, perhaps on the verge of being overcooked, though all was saved by the delicious mint fava-bean puree. The burrata and tomatoes, with fresh basil and aged balsamic vinegar was well-balanced, and next time, I may try the Lobsterscargot--or lobster tail pieces slathered in garlic butter.
The steaks and seafood dishes tasted better, especially the Chilean sea bass with sake glaze and crispy shallots. The outside was crispy, the glaze was salty and sweet, and I enjoyed that I could actually discern the fish taste. For the turf, the New York strip had a lovely dark crust, good flavor, and was, in my opinion, more reliable than a lean filet. The accompanying mushrooms and Brussels sprouts were fairly good, although the truffle scalloped potatoes might be overly pungent for someone not familiar with truffle oil. Dessert was key lime pie and a chocolate ganache cake, the latter of which was particularly decadent and enjoyable. Layers of mascarpone between moist chocolate cake, all topped with a rich ganache--left me in a happy mood.
Food aside, what really made my dining experience was the romantic landscape of the Chicago River. Secluded from the noisy street and quite disposed to refreshing breeze, Chicago Cut should be anyone's top contender for dining with a view.
Chicago Cut Steakhouse
300 N. LaSalle St.
Chicago, IL 60654
312-329-1800
