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May 13, 2008
Chicago Chop House - River North
I'd just finished my meal at Chicago Chop House, and remarked to my friend. "This is Chicago." Now, it's not 'Chicago' in the touristy sense of the word (such as the Rock 'N Roll McDonalds located about a block away, nor in the hip hidden sense of the word (such as the gem, Humboldt Pie Cafe), but in the mainstream Chicago kind of way.
Chicago Chop House is located at 60 West Illinois Street (between State Street and LaSalle Avenue) in Chicago's River North neighborhood.
My meal was a business lunch. We were wishing a departing co-worker good luck, and so we came to dine around the noon hour. From the curb, I was a little dismayed by the large 'Chicago' sign that indicated this might have been a bit touristy. (The neighborhood is an interesting amalgam of the best restaurants in the city and the ridiculous tourist traps. For every Fogo De Chao and Cafe Iberico, there's a Rainforest Cafe, Rock N Roll McDonalds, or a Portillos.) However, once inside the converted brownstone, there was no mistaking the real ambiance of a genuine steakhouse.
The seating areas are on two floors (at least). There was a large bar on the ground level, and a larger seating area on the second floor. The tone is set by hundreds of photographs from Chicago's history. On the stairwell, I caught site of Cubs and Bears memorabilia. Upstairs, there was a wall of fame with 1800s era photos of all the meatpacking moguls. (One of them looked like George Clooney.)
When the waiter came to take our order, we missed out on the opportunity to enjoy their massive wine list, as this was an actual business lunch, but one need look no further than the back wall of the room to see a large selection of wines.
As we perused the menu, we joked about ordering the 96 oz. porterhouse, but the $105 price tag on that slab of cow was a little steep for the expense report, so most of us stuck to the lunch menu. (The typical dinner entree looked to be about $40 - $50.)
The lunch menu was significantly less expensive than the dinner menu. Most entrees were below $25 and only fractionally smaller portions than the dinner menu. I ordered an 8 oz. fillet mignon with a price tag of $18. On the dinner menu, a 10 oz. fillet mignon was listed as $31. When the food came, the most appetizing meal looked to be my co-workers steak salad, which was a salad with a large steak sitting in the middle of it. Now that's how you do a steak salad!
For sides, I can report that their table bread is excellent. It's served warm, and was very popular. My steak came with a side of mashed potatoes and gravy. The potatoes were light, fluffy, and certainly not made from a mix. The gravy was excellent, and I don't generally care for gravy with my mashed potatoes. Finally, the onion rings were also pretty good.
If you're planning a trip to the Chicago Chop House, I'd encourage you to also consider Fogo De Chao. It's a block away, similarly priced, but I feel the meat selection at Fogo is much better, and I prefer sampling all of the different types of steaks, rather than selecting one piece of meat.
Torben Review: 5 stars if I were only evaluating ambiance, and taste... and since I didn't pay for my lunch, I'll give it 5 stars. If I were paying myself, it would get a 4 star rating as I can think of a few other places where I would rather go for a ritzy meal.