Sullivan’s Steak House – In the Midst of a Deep Freeze
As another steak night beckoned, and needing to get the flow of the New Year off to a good start (actually it already was gleaming with the OSU dismantling of the Tide), the noted steak gentlemen of Chicago descended upon the next venue fit for our enlightenment – Sullivan’s. Given that a schedule adjustment was made to accomodate those with festive New Year’s schedules, the group’s dine was moved to January 8th, which was fitting for most of us – having nearly a packed house of 8 attendees also put us in the deep freeze of winter with outside temps struggling to approach zero degrees.
Fittingly, that seems to be where Sullivan’s business activity might be as well. Having been here a couple times in the last few years including a steak night visit, the restaurant vibe seemed pale in comparison to what had been experienced prior. Did the weather do it? Was it the falling oil prices? The fact that the “walk us through our sides” group was returning for yet more mischief?
Getting to the meal and service probably answers that better than anything. The bar area is rather comfortable and was in decent shape for the evening as I arrived to find a few of the fellas waiting for me. I was a touch late as I had arrived a the venue a few minutes earlier to find the dining room completely empty and turned around and walked out…only to find this was the right place. A true stinger like the Jack Frost that nipped at my nose the whole walk over that evening. Jack Frost I hate you.
Post bar, I was able to frankly take the group myself to the table. This was a true honor and one that more hosts of the evening should try. I actually got to feel what it was like seating easily the largest group of the night at pretty much any table we wanted. Nicely for us there was an 8-er laid out in the middle of the dining room where we could make all the noise we wanted and not offend anyone since the restaurant was on fire at this point as 4 new diners (2 couples) had inexplicably chosen the place for dining pleasure that night as well.
The service was as close to impeccable as a dead restaurant would get, so that is good. Kenny, the waiter, was a bit too animated, used his hands a lot and the pic above proves it. For the apps, the calamari still showed it steps up to the plate when called upon (a past group favorite) and I happened to like the garlic meatballs as a change of pace from usual apps. Picked some wine I can’t recall as the vintage was off on the menu and thus we got a bit younger wine than anticipated. The steaks came out mixed – some over done, some perfectly cooked, and some with some interesting cuts – shame on those who do the steak for two as you clearly get your punishment from the restaurant on that one. I particularly enjoyed the au gratin potatoes as the perfect steak compliment and was hoping for a good round of liars poker – only to have Mr. Glick take the free dinner down after a long and painful season of pick ’em on the Yahoo! site. Well done for sticking it through all the way on a 17 week season.
The gentlemen went off in the night to their respective endeavors and all in all the meal was sufficient but the ambiance was a bit lacking. Sullivan’s had been a curiously forgotten staple of the group and before this month, I wondered why. Now the picture has become a bit clearer and with new blood moving into town, Sullivan’s might want to think of a refresh to stay relevant.
7/10
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5 Responses to “Sullivan’s Steak House – In the Midst of a Deep Freeze”
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As one of only two tables in the restaurant am surprised Mr. Martin was able to get a reservation. He must have pulled the local celebrity card.
Theme of night was returns, return of everyone to Chicago post NYE, return of polar vortex, return of Don Cole and (most importantly) the return of Richard “The Thrill” Ray. Rick wore a purple ascot to mark the occasion and with his smoking jacket looked quite dapper.
Converssation revolved around hopes and expectations for new bears GM, with zee german and I making a wager on whether the kid would have the balls to hire shanahan; I was in the no camp. (update – zee german owes me 1/2 a dinner. I may give him a respite given it was a wine fueled bet.)
Sullivan’s (the red-headed stepchild of the Del Frisco’s chain) is certainly an underrated steak house. I’m just not sure it ‘s kept up with the competition. I just read Scottie’s review and it appears great minds think alike.
Bone in filet, good but not great. Ceasar salad was ok. Creamed spinach,eh. Dessert ditto. Given last few restaurants, it seemed to blend into the mix. Price was worse than G&G so think that’s another negative. Although Mr. Martin has far better taste in wines than me so that may have been difference.
Overall 7
I arrived right on time at 7PM. I thought I was the first to arrive when I saw a bearded gentleman at the bar who seemed to be reliving his days in ‘Nam as he looked longingly into his Oban. Upon closer inspection, this was actually Brad. The rest of the group was soon to arrive.
The always scintillating discussion began at the bar and continued through dinner; topics included John Fox’s hiring, the forthcoming NFL conference championship games, airlines that go out of the private jet terminal, oil prices, interest rates and how Sullivan’s used to have the best cigar bar in Chicago upstairs.
The bar was actually a happening social scene in contrast to the near empty dining room. Scotty picked us out a nice table right in the bosom of the restaurant.
Kenny was indeed a lively waiter considering how dead the place was. His only error was that I asked for anchovies on the Caesar which never came. Small mistake in caring for a rowdy group. The calamari app was beyond delightful, it has an extra pepper spice in there that makes it unique and delicious. Scotty’s wine pairing was also delightful.
I had the bone-in filet. It was slightly overcooked, but it was perfectly salted. I enjoy a healthy (or I should say unhealthy) smattering of salt in my steak, and Sullivan’s didn’t disappoint. The dessert came very suddenly after the meal and next thing I know we were out of the restaurant.
The after party at Snicker’s stood in some contrast to our general post-steak venues. I suspect we were the only ones there in suits/steakwear that day.
All in all, Sullivan’s was fine, the company was wonderful, the meal was generally average. 6/10.
There have been plenty of epic returns. Devin Hester in the Super Bowl. George Soros shorting the British pound and returning billions, Novak Djokavic ripping a forehand return to save match point against Roger Federer in the 2011 US Open semis and of course Rick Ray back at steak night in January 2015. Ok, so maybe no one was yelling “Rick Ray you are ridiculous” but it felt good to return to steak night.
Historically I always felt Sullivan’s was underrated, maybe lacking some of the cache of other places but always delivering and offering a top notch meal and experience. I am a huge fan. However I dined at Sullivan’s on Christmas Eve with Momma and Poppa Ray and Mr. and Mrs. Balanaby and it was disappointing. I chalked this up to the B squad working a slow holiday night and hoped this trip would be a return to the standards of the past.
Much like the Minnesota Vikings Super Bowl trophy case, the place was empty. Maybe it was the artic temperatures that even made me bring a coat. Perhaps people were trying to make good on recent resolutions to eat more kale and less steak. Such nonsense does not keep Chicago’s finest away and we were 8 strong.
The Asian, pepper, chili glazed calamari is some of the past around. I went with the bone in ribeye which was good (better than my X-mas visit) but not as good as I remember from past trips to Sullivan’s. The au gratin potatoes are great. I assume the wine order was Holinger-esq because the bill was a lot and we didn’t really go crazy on anything else. Overall a solid meal but not up to the top tier experiences of previous visits. Which makes me wonder what exactly is going on with this place recently, are there new people involved? I have probably eaten here close to 10 times and the two most recent visits have easily been the worst two.
After dinner drinks were at Snickers where the guy to girl ratio was probably worse than most gay bars but good times none the less. Looking forward to February.
January’s excursion ushered in a new year with an old friend. Sullivan’s has been a mainstay on our lost for quite some time and I’ve always held it in pretty high regards for a national chain steakhouse. I’m not so sure I think the same thing after this time.
We had a full group, sans Jevon this time, and saw the triumphant return of Sir Rick Ray who finally left his back troubles in the dust. I’m always excited for the calamari at Sullivan’s and it didn’t disappoint. They do a sweet chili glaze that has just the right amount of spice to it, and stands out among others in the city. The other apps were uneventful and not worth mentioning.
For the first time, I actually split a steak. Brad and I went for the dry ages long bone ribeye. I always think that cut is the sucker’s cut. The long bone is ridiculous. It never really makes it stand out any more than a regular bone-in. We just wanted the dry aged and that was the only way to get it. It was cooked fine, but lacked any real flavor. Pretty average all around.
The sides were mediocre too. There really isn’t much to talk about here in terms of food. When the calamari app is the focal point of the evening, something is wrong.
As always the company was outstanding, the conversation lively, and drinks plentiful. Post dinner cocktails brought us to Snickers. Pretty sure Hans got a BJ from a streetwise vendor. Steak night is always a great night regardless of the restaurant and looking forward to February.
This is some bullshit here, I posted an eloquent lambasting of Sullivans and for some reason it was taken down. It could have been the expletive laden diatribe I went on about their treatment of a fine cut of meat or perhaps the other foul mouth bashing, but nonetheless it was still posted.