Morton’s The Steakhouse (Wacker Pl)
What a pleasant surprise… Instead of venturing into the catacombs of the original Morton’s off of State St, we ventured to the latest installment on the South side of the Chicago river.
Auspicious beginnings: upon arriving 5 minutes before the appointed hour, I was warmly greeted by Messieurs Richards and Fedderke. The rest of the crew trickled in throughout the next hour resulting in the below.
Atmosphere and attentiveness at the bar were spot on; a sign of things to come. Glick was a gentleman and treated the group to drinks due to his tardy posting habit.
Once seated in our private dining area off of the main dining room, we quickly switched on the Bulls game and got to business. Bottles of Cab and Malbec were ordered but the Cab was so good, we sent the Malbec back. Our starters were fantastic (and gone as they hit the table): Oysters, broiled sea scallops wrapped in bacon and the tuna tartar successfully completed our surf course and we moved on to the main event.
My Chicago style bone-in ribeye was cooked to perfection; seasoned with a little salt, marbled well and the closer I got to the bone, the more flavorful it got. Textbook execution. Sides were a standard fare which included hashbrowns, Sauteed Brussels Sprouts with Bacon and Shallots, the perrenial favorite creamed spinach and Lyonnaise potatoes. All were well done.
Service was non invasive: the staff stayed out of our way and let the evening progress on our terms. It’s nice when you don’t notice the transitions.
We celebrated Mr. Glick’s birthday and Mr. Crenshaw walked free.
Post game show was at the Barrelhouse Flat in Lakeview where the drinks and laughs continued over a couple games of pool.
All in, a spectacularly successful evening.
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7 Responses to “Morton’s The Steakhouse (Wacker Pl)”
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Great to enjoy another excellent steak with Chicago’s finest gentlemen.
Crabcakes, oysters rockefeller and bacon wrapped scallops followed by a cajun filet, perfectly medium rare, with a little lyonnaise potatoes and onion wrings on the side.
And, finally, the carrot cake that should’ve been at the Custom House. Instead of that little hockey puck of an insult to carrot cake.
Looking forward to the next one already, gents!
The night started for me once again arriving at 7:01 and thinking that I’d at least see Crenshaw at the bar. To my surprise Zee German, The Newyorker, and the Host were already cozied up to the bar. It was nice to have a great crew to start with the free drinks. I certainly enjoyed them, and perhaps in the future I’ll do a better job of curbing my excitement. Thanks again Mr. Glick.
The private room Mr. Holinger was able to grab was clutch. It allowed for Glick to keep his eyes off his blackberry for much of the evening, and instead focus on TV for much of the Bulls game. In all fairness most of the group kept up with the game on the TV and it was much appreciated.
The starters were great. Perfect 10’s on the crab cakes, a proper balance of lump, along with the delicate balance of crispiness. Bacon wrapped scallops had a great sequence to it, from the mapley smokey start to the bacon all the way to the finish of the scallops, they were more than pleasing.
For the first time in my steak night career, I opted for the double cut filet. It was cooked to temp with a minor complaint being that they may have seared it a little too long as the steak wasn’t red perfectly throughout, but nonetheless still tasty.
I’d say the theme of the night, more so than others, was gluttony. Perhaps there were a few too many sides ordered in that we didn’t finish at least two or three of them. I could have done without the potato sides. The brussels sprouts were the clear favorite for most of the group, although not all, while the creamed spinach was standardly delicious.
For the desserts, the carrot cake was the winner in my mind, perhaps just the icing. Next time just give us a bowl of that icing and save a few carrots.
It was a fine evening and thanks for making it happen. I think a return to this fine establishment sometime in the future is inevitable.
It was nice to have made a surprise visit to the group after having to bail on the majority part of the dinner due to prior obligations. In fact, my timing was never better as I came into the private room just as the happy birthday refrain was being sung to Mr. Glick.
From the looks of the stained tablecloths, empty wine bottles and the looks on the fellas faces, it sure seemed like a complete meal with little complaints. As for the remainder of the restaurant, the rest of Chicago could take notice of this review as the place was virtually a ghost town when I strolled in there at 930pm that night.
For once I wasn’t he first one to show up. Entering with Old Man Ray, the crew was already assembled. Mark was well on his way to his 2nd Macallan 50 year scotch, courtesy of Mr. JHL Capital himself for being tardy in postings, and pretty much everything else in life. Great to have Roddy in town for this one as he regaled us with tales of doing mach 5 on the autobahn recently. Sounded so badass.
So Holingwa was able to secure “The Boardroom,” for this visit. It was a nice little side car to the main dining room, not too far removed from any potential action. We got to watch the Bulls game which was nice but in my opinion, wasn’t necessary. I think Steak Night is about reconvening with friends, some of whom we don’t get to see on a regular basis, and engaging in a mix of witty banter and general catching up. Unless it’s the playoffs, I saw we axe any tv watching. But that’s just me.
So anytime you talk about Morton’s with people from other places, they tend to harsh on it a little bit. “It’s a chain, it’s noting special,” is what you hear the most. I’ve always been one to reserve judgement on most steakhouses because I feel anybody can have an off night. It’s like the playoffs in sports….a team can get hot at the right time and ride that wave through a championship as we saw with the recent exploits of the New York Football Giants. In my opinion, this was the best steak night experience overall to date. Morton’s on Wacker scored huge at the Crenshaw Combine.
The wait staff was attentive, and stayed out of the way. You didn’t rally notice them, and you always had what you wanted. That’s how it should be done.
On to the food. I’m not a huge crab cake guy. These were done to perfection. I can’t remember a better one in a long time. Bacon wrapped scallops? Perfectly charred bacon wrapped around a succulent scallop. Really nice.
My bone-in ribeye steak was cooked and seasoned to perfection. I had it topped with grilled onions for some extra flare. It’s hard to say if it was better than some of the others I’ve really enjoyed but it was on par with anything else for sure.
I honestly think my favorite thing all night was the bacon and onion brussel sprouts. We got two bowls and if I had any self control over potato pancakes, I would have eaten a full one myself. Outstanding. Creamed spinach was great as usual, and the other seven sides I remember as being well above average.
Mr. Glick celebrated his 23rd birthday, and I walked free. Makes the night that much better.
Like I said, the steak was as good as any of the others I’ve had. Not better, but equal. Its everything else that really tied the room together for me.
All in all I give this one a “exceptionally strong” rating. Numbers are erroneous. We need a system.
First time caller long time listener.
Stiff price to pay for not posting but happy to support everyone’s habit. Although I wish some of you could appreciate the finer things in life such as miller lite.
Solid night, great job on the set-up by Holinger. Having the ability to watch the Bulls in mute was a nice distraction for my crackberry habit. Steaks were in line, sides well done and some good app picks. Holinger has almost completely redeemed himself for the Petterino’s debacle. Puts the onus on Rick Ray to crush it for the great Chicago Chop House massacre.
Highlight of the evening was the cameos by Mr(s). Richards and Martin. Its been too long.
Love you love your show.
The distinguished group of Chicago’s finest gentlemen had never been to the Morton’s on Wacker and were ready to check it out and chow down.
I was able to escape work early and arrived with Cizzle Crenshaw a couple of minutes after 7:00. Hans, Holinger, Zebro and special guest Roddy were already at the bar and sucking on their poison of choice. Perhaps the fact that the drinks were on Glick brought everyone out early, then again Glick had not arrived at a steak night before 8:30 in about 6 months. Would he be on time to settle the bill?
To Glick’s credit he rolled in at 7:45, didn’t complain or try and get out of it and paid the bill in full, and it was a hefty bill. Thanks Glick. The sight of the bill made Glick state that he would never not post again. At the time that statement felt a bit like when you have a massive hangover in the morning and you say to yourself “I’m never drinking again”. Yet someone 10 hours later you are at Stanley’s and back on the sauce. It looks like Glick is being true to his word, at least for this month.
We had our own private room with a TV that showed the Bulls/Knicks game, sounds awesome but it was not. I’m not a fan of having a game on during steak night, especially a meaningless regular season NBA game. Everyone was drawn to the TV, I felt myself drawn to the TV and watching and I could care less about that game. This was even pre “Lin-sanity” as he played zero minutes that night. The TV definitely took away from the dinner time conversation and classic banter that is a staple of steak night. One of the worst dinner time banter sessions on record. What did we talk about? I couldn’t even tell you. No TVs during steak night. It’s not an official rule but it should be.
The bacon wrapped scallops were great. I went with a Cajun bone in ribeye, usually I don’t get seasoning or a topping on my steak but once in a while I do. The Cajun flavor was excellent, complimenting the steak rather then over powering it. Nicely done. The sides were kind of disappointing, the lyonnaise potatoes were crunchy and lacking any unique flavor. The hashbrowns and onion rings were good but they are hashbrowns and onion rings-basic but nothing special about them. I didn’t have any but apparently the vegetable sides were good but you don’t make friends with salad. The key lime pie and carrot cake were both excellent.
Some how the bill was $177 a piece, one of the more expensive dinners, which I suppose was partially the Holinger effect. Lucky for me I was eating compliments of Brad Ray and the Alabama Crimson Tide.
On to March.
In a steak night first, this post is coming to you from the not so comfortable confines of a Southwest airplane gliding seamlessly over the midwest towards the rocky mountains. The evening started off in wonderful fashion with Roderick joining int he fun hailing from NYC. The bar was packed upon our early arrival, however a few minutes into our standoff with the bar, it graciously opened up and made room. Within a few moments the crew trickled in and we were off to another solid steak night. Mortons is not one of my personal favorites, but like everything in life it deserved a second chance. I must say the private room dining has been hit or miss as well with a disappointing experience at Chicago Chop, but a great experience at 3 Forks. Mortons offered us the boardroom which, in retrospect did not enhance the experience. Eyes glued to a pointless Bulls game lessened the usual banter. Appetizers seemed to vanish upon arrival with the favorites being of the seafood variety in crab cakes and scallops. I made a game time decision away from my filet tot he ribeye and was not disappointed. Perfectly cooked and seasoned, I polished it off without challenge. Sides were the standard fare, but the sprouts stood out loud and clear. A must have upon our next return. Scotty was nice enough to grace us with his presence and some of the crew wandered out into the night to see what was still standing. Good sir Roderick and I did the gentlemanly thing and retired for the night. Looking forward to the next, zee german