Category Archives: Seafood

Prime & Provisions

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Entry

Dining room

Tuna tartare

Chicken for the table

Salmon

Tomahawk lamb

Smores

**** (4 stars)

During the past two years we’ve tried nearly all the high-end steakhouses in Chicago (except for some of the chains, which I presume are more or less the same everywhere). Prime & Provisions is definitely the best we’ve encountered.

The dining room is well-appointed, with a bit of a steampunk feel to it. Lighting is well-designed.

Our server was friendly, helpful and professional, and the support staff was excellent.

The focus here is on prime meat, of course, and it didn’t disappoint, with one of the best New York steaks we’ve tasted anywhere. But there are many other highlights on the menu, as our server pointed out, and we must agree.

We started with the tuna tartare, which had a delightful mustard tang to it, and was served with fresh-made criss-cross potato chips.

We also had the fried chicken “for the table” which was the only disappointment of the meal. My chicken was quite dry (although others’ were moister) but the huge amount of very crispy crust simply overwhelmed the meager chicken within. The bourbon maple syrup was good, though.

We shared a crab Caesar salad amongst the three of us, and there was more than enough. The crab and kale added little, but the Caesar itself was very good.

In addition to the fantastic prime steak, we had the salmon, which was coated with mustard and spices and served on quinoa. It was moist and perfectly cooked, and the quinoa had a nice flavor.

But the winning entree was the tomahawk lambchops. Two large double chops were perfectly cooked, seasoned and sauced, and were frankly the best lamb I’ve had… anywhere.

But wait, there’s more. It was the smores dessert that knocked it out of the park. This is one of the greatest desserts I’ve had, ever, including in three-star Michelin restaurants. A grapefruit-sized sphere of dark chocolate is presented, and as hot chocolate sauced is poured on it, it caves in, releasing a cloud of campfire smoke. Inside is vanilla ice cream, brownie, and below are graham cracker crumbles. The flavor of the smoke, which lingers on the chocolate surfaces, was absolutely incredible. A double decaf espresso was the perfect match.

So with all this amazing food, why four stars rather than five? The noise level was absolutely deafening, rendering communication amongst the three of us nearly impossible. Admittedly we had a party of screamers nearby, who no doubt amped up the level of the whole room, but this would never be a room with reasonable noise levels when full–the curved panels that join walls and ceiling guarantee that sound is reflected right back into the room. It’s a shame, because this is a restaurant I would visit regularly if not for that critical flaw.

Prime & Provisions
222 N La Salle St
Chicago, IL 60601
(312) 726-7777
http://www.yelp.com/biz/prime-and-provisions-chicago-4

Eddie V’s Prime Seafood and Steak

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Bar

Interior

***** (5 stars)

When I want a great steak in Orlando, I go to Eddie V’s. In Chicago’s River North I’ve tried nearly every steakhouse, and yet, when I want a great steak in Chicago… I go to Eddie V’s.

Even though it’s a chain owned by Darden, Eddie V’s is a cut above almost every big name steakhouse in town. And even though it specializes in seafood, it’s really the steaks that are the standouts. In fact, it’s ironic that Darden’s steakhouse chain, Capital Grille, serves choice meat, but Eddie V’s serves prime.

The service is also a cut above, with gracious, personal and professional waiters delivering a supper club type experience.

And the environment can’t be beat, with a classy dining room, vibrant bar, and live jazz most nights. The Orlando location is high-ceilinged and a bit noisy, but the Chicago restaurant is perfect, with more intimate dining spaces and better sound levels.

The seafood is okay, but not really what I’m looking for. The yellowtail sashimi appetizer is excellent, and the shellfish tower is impressive. But much of the other fish is steamed or cooked in ways that aren’t my favorite. So I stick with the excellent apps, salads and steaks.

In all, a great place for a great experience.

Eddie V’s Prime Seafood and Steak
521 N Rush St
Ste R01
Chicago, IL 60611
(312) 595-1114
https://www.yelp.com/biz/eddie-vs-prime-seafood-and-steak-chicago

Remington’s

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Hamburger

Kale salad

Ceviche

Interior

Bar

***** (5 stars)

I really liked the ambiance and food at Remington’s. It seems too narrow to classify it as a steakhouse, and particularly at lunchtime that’s really not what it’s all about. There are a nice assortment of appetizers, sandwiches and salads.

I particularly like the way the place is divided into a number of spaces, with high dividers between central booths. This keeps the noise level down. And the individual table lights create an intimate atmosphere. The front bar space is also nice, and there is a room formed by the wine cellar racking that would be great for groups.

We went for lunch and started with the ceviche, which had a nice assortment of seafood drenched in crisp lime.

The hamburger was large, perfectly cooked, and served with all the appropriate toppings and accompaniments. The skinny fries that came with it were okay, but could have been crisper.

My favorite was the kale salad, an interesting mix of kale, grapes, peanuts and other ingredients in a nice dressing.

Service was fast, friendly and helpful.

Remington’s
20 N Michigan Ave
Chicago, IL 60602
(312) 782-6000
https://www.yelp.com/biz/remingtons-chicago

GT Fish & Oyster

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Chilequiles

Bagels and lox

Entrance

Bar

Interior

**** (4 stars)

Tried for brunch. The bright, glass walled dining room is a good venue for brunch.

Duck chilaquiles were a tasty twist on this Mexican standard. The tortilla strips were appropriately al dente rather than being soggy or too crisp. A perfectly cooked sunny side up egg added some creaminess.

Bagles and lox was very good. Nice, smoky lox, and a healthy layer of chived cream cheese. Pro tip: order a side of bacon and add it for a special treat.

There is a limited cocktail menu and some nice wines by the glass.

Service was friendly and efficient.

GT Fish & Oyster
531 N Wells St
Chicago, IL 60654
(312) 929-3501
https://www.yelp.com/biz/gt-fish-and-oyster-chicago

Maple & Ash

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**** (4 stars)

You enter the upstairs dining room of Maple & Ash quite dramatically, from an elevator at the rear of the building that opens out into a dramatic two-story space that is quite dazzling. Although it is a steakhouse in a city of steakhouses, the experience here is quite different. Servers are much more engaged with their guests, and there are many freebies and extras involved in each meal.

For example, before you’ve even started, there are chips and dip, watermelon radishes with salt, parmesan crisps, and even an “amuse booze” cocktail of vermouth and grapefruit. Crusty bread and butter come next. We were starting to worry we’d be full before the first course arrived.

An extensive wine list has a range of offerings at moderate prices but includes a page of under $50 bargains.

We opted for the “I don’t give a f*@k” tasting menu because it let us sample much of the menu. It’s a bargain at $145. These were the courses:

Seafood platter, not chilled, but rather roasted, featuring lobster, shrimp, scallops, and clams. The was served in a pool of butter which was later used for a tableside preparation of pasta.

Beet and watercress salad.

Rosemary fries with Hollandaise and aioli.

Meatballs with garlic cheese toast.

Bone in ribeye steak served with ricotta agnolotti, roasted squash, and mashed potatoes.

Ice cream sundae tower with three kinds of ice cream and 12 toppings to choose from.

We enjoyed the experience, and particularly our server. I can’t say there were really any home runs, and the steak was definitely not the highlight, as it wasn’t particularly tender. Overall it was a very rich menu, with little respite from heavily buttered dishes. The best items were the dip, the mashed potatoes, and the sundae.

Despite the large size of the room, noise levels were surprisingly pleasant (until a large drunk party was seated next to us) and the background music track is particularly chill.

If you are looking for a steakhouse-type experience that is a little out of the ordinary, it’s worth checking out.

Maple & Ash
8 W Maple
Chicago, IL 60610
(312) 944-8888
http://www.yelp.com/biz/maple-and-ash-chicago

MoonFish

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** (2 stars)

This is a beautifully decorated restaurant with good service that unfortunately struggles to provide even mediocre food. The problem seems to be a combination of the actual recipes and the execution in the kitchen.

We sampled a half-dozen dishes, and the only fairly good one was the yellowtail and smoked salmon sashimi. It’s telling that these two items have only a single ingredient. The double spicy tuna roll wasn’t nearly as good. In general it seemed the more ingredients, the farther things went astray.

Ceviche, for example, was simply a bowl full of citrus juice with a lot of onion, tomato, fairly flavorless avocado, and a couple of small pieces of equally flavorless trigger fish.

Mussels were served in the thinnest, most flavorless broth I’ve ever seen them in. The strongest flavor in the bowl was actually some celery bits.

Truffle “fries” are actually slabs of somewhat soggy potato, although they were served with a tasty horseradish dipping sauce.

On the plus side, there is an extensive wine list with excellent pricing. In fact if you’re willing to drop some big bucks, the prestige bottles are priced below retail.

I’ve been to several Talk of the Town restaurants, and never had a great experience, but I’d heard enough good things about Moonfish that (after avoiding it for a decade) I decided to finally try it. But it, too, was a disappointment.

MoonFish
7525 West Sand Lake Road
Orlando, FL 32819
(407) 363-7262
http://www.yelp.com/biz/moonfish-orlando-2

Ocean Cut

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**** (4 stars)

Chicago Cut is one of  my least favorite steakhouses in town, so I was hesitant to try their sister restaurant, particular given its Ricky start in the press over two iterations.

But right from the start this experience was better, as fresh crusty sour dough showed up even before I ordered.

Tuna tartare was beautifully presented with summer melons and cilantro.

The lobster salad had pretty stingy serving of lobster for its price, I doubt there was an ounce of it in the entire dish. But the lobster was fresh and sweet.

Wine prices are a bit high by the glass but there is a nice selection of whites to accompany the fish.
Overall quite a nice choice for a high end (and fairly expensive) lunch.

Ocean Cut
20 W Kinzie St
Chicago, IL 60654
(312) 280-8882
http://www.yelp.com/biz/ocean-cut-chicago

The Kitchen Chicago

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*** (3 stars)

We tried this place for brunch on a Saturday, and it was fine. It’s an unusual cross between coffee shop and seafood bar. As a result the mussels were the best dish. They were tender and had an excellent broth and were served with nicely grilled bread.

The poached salmon salad was just so-so. The salmon what rather sturdy, as were the stems of the accompanying greens.

Service was friendly and efficient.

The Kitchen Chicago
316 N Clark St
Chicago, IL 60654
(312) 836-1300
http://www.yelp.com/biz/the-kitchen-chicago-chicago

Benny’s Chop House

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Oysters Rockefeller

Bar

Seafood Salad

Gnocchi

**** (4 stars)

There are so many steak houses in River North that it’s hard to find distinguishing characteristics. Some of the things I liked about Benny’s were:

1. It’s not a chain.
2. Very extensive (if pricey) winelist.
3. “Lyon” salad is an unusual offering for a steakhouse. It’s basically a French bistro-style salade Lyonaisse.
4. Meat is all prime.
5. Meat is available wet or dry aged. I actually prefer wet aged meat as I’m not a fan of the gamey aroma dry aged meat can develop.

One thing I didn’t like was the audio bleed between the live piano player in the bar and the background music in the restaurant. Both were excellent, but not at the same time!

Benny’s Chop House
444 N Wabash Ave
Chicago, IL 60611
(312) 626-2444
http://www.yelp.com/biz/bennys-chop-house-chicago

Da Lobsta

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***** (5 stars)

The staff at this counter server restaurant is really engaged with their guests, and concerned that everyone have a great meal. That makes the place quite special.

The lobster bisque was as good as any I’ve every had, a nice combination of fresh lobster flavors in a creamy base.

My lobster grilled cheese was good, but I might have a lobster roll next time. The bread was perfectly grilled, but the cheese was quite mild and I’m not sure the lobster added that much. However the sriracha mayo that came with it had a marvelous herbal flavor and the combination was excellent.

Those two items plus a fountain drink came to $27, so this is not cheap fast food. But they don’t scrimp on the lobster, and I would definitely go back.

Da Lobsta
416 N Clark St
Chicago, IL 60654
(312) 955-0894
http://www.yelp.com/biz/da-lobsta-chicago-3