Joe’s – The Final Reckoning
February found me at the wheel of the bus we call steak night and I thought it would be fitting to give Joe’s one last chance at winning over my palate. Previous dinners have been inconsistent and not been up to the high level everyone else seems to think. Except Jevon of course. Since the famous stone crab is in season I figured now was the time.
The standard operating procedure with Joe’s is to head across the street to Eddie V’s beforehand to take in the crooning piano player’s soothing melodies in between sips of bourbon. The reason being the bar at Joe’s is one of the worst in the city. Poor service, over crowded, too much traffic down the middle heading to the dining room, and honestly just a bad atmosphere. Eddie delivered and it may be one of the best, yet least known bar scenes in a steak house.
Upon arrival at Joe’s we were seated at a nice 6 top in the back of the restaurant and immediately began the debate over expansion of the league of extraordinary gentlemen. It is my opinion we are good at our current numbers since it provides a more intimate setting to catch up with everyone. It appears there are a few solid contenders in the expansion draft nonetheless. The potential for an interview process also was discussed, of which I am in favor.
Obviously I went for the crab, 6 piece Select, among the other starters which included the steak tartare and the shrimp de jonghe. Two things happen at this point: 1. the crab was mediocre at best, the mustard sauce is top notch, but we are not paying $50 for a condiment. Case closed on Joe’s famous stone crab, its just alright. 2. our waiter Steve-O pulled his first bitch ass upsell move. I asked will there be enough steak tartare for the group, questioning the size of the portion. He said oh yeah sure. That somehow translated to him bringing us out two servings in lieu of the one I ordered. When questioned, his smarmy answer was, obviously you needed two. No that wasnt obvious Stevie boy. The shrimp de jonghe, great. The steak tartare, perfect. I do realize the irony of ordering steak tartare before ordering a massive steak but, it is steak night after all.
Classy move on Joe’s part, the lemon and hot towel hand cleaning post apps, nicely done.
I decided to go for broke and went with the bone in ribeye. A first for me. This was absolutely perfect. The sear on the outside was a salty crust with a warm red center. The entire cut was done right and gone in no time. Sides were the Jennie’s potatoes which I think Jennie learned to cook from watching TV in the 60’s. The creamed spinach was good, not great. The sprouts delivered in my opinion.
Throughout dinner the majority of the conversation focused on membership and the potential expansion. There was a brief discourse clarifying the rules on posting. It is ratified that the host has 1 week from the date of dinner to post. All diners have 2 weeks from the date of the dinner to post. Should the host fail to post, he buys drinks the following month and the diners are off the hook. However proper etiquette is to still post.
Key lime pie and peanut butter pie topped off the evening, both were quite good in my opinion. Peanut butter pie too the cake, pardon the bad joke. It still was no carrot cake, but we cant all be sophisticated enough to see the merit in carrot cake.
The final blow from young Stephen, who had a mysteriously high pitched voice, was to hand us the bill. It was astronomical. The two bottles of Adelsheim were $65.00 a piece, low by most standards, yet quite tasty, and the cab for during steaks was $80.00. In this case what ran up the tally was that bearded sonuvabitch Stevan. Apparently when he asked if you wanted the wet aged or dry aged he was fishing for an extra $25.00. When I ordered, he said non nonchalantly, do you want the wet or dry aged, everyone is ordering the dry aged. Oh really Steph, everyone is getting the dry aged? Well then I should have that too. Did you mention it costs a toe? No you didn’t. I will haunt your nightmares buddy boy.
We headed off into the night a little lighter in the wallet but a solid evening otherwise. Screw the crab, go to Joe’s for the steak but ask before they date rape. We found ourselves at the Red Head Piano Bar. This place sucks. From there to meet the women at Pops for Champagne. No one with a set of cojones likes drinking champagne when its not new years, so i hit the road home and booked this as well done.
Filed under: General
February steak night found us knee deep in winter, literally figuratively. With snow piled up to our eyeballs, and the bone chilling temperature, there’s no better way to warm up than with a few glasses of expensive brown liquor and some red meat. And there’s no better place to do so than at Joe’s.
A semi-controversial pick by some, being that we had been here within the last year, but one should never turn their nose up at arguably the best steakhouse in the city. Bavette’s is the only place I rate higher, but as for the steak itself, it’s a pick-em. And since stone crabs are in season, it was a righteous pick in my book.
The Crew: Jevon, Brad, Rick, Glick, Hans, and yours truly.
The Cocktails: Eddie V’s, located right across the street is becoming a bit of a regular hang out for pre-dinner drinks. It’s got a large and lively bar, solid drink list, and the sweet, soothing sounds of lite jazz from the house band. I had three scotches. A mistake I make over and over again at steak nights.
The Apps: Stone Crab. They’re real, and they’re spectacular. Shrimp de jonghe. They were two really solid selections.
The Steaks: Dry aged Bone in rib eye. No one can cook a better steak in the city. Period. I SAID PERIOD. Perfect char, perfect seasoning, perfect temperature. For $75 it should be perfect. (RPM are you listening?)
The Sides: Brussels sprouts were top notch. Creamed spinach was good not great, and the potatoes were serviceable.
The Dessert: Peanut butter pie and Key Lime. I only had the PB. It was great.
The Conversation: A rule was clarified on posting. The host has a week from dinner to post. If he does not, he is responsible for drinks at his next attendance. And if he does not post in the allotted amount of time, no one else is held to any posting time frame. (Although it’s proper etiquette to post regardless) Everyone else has two weeks from the date of dinner.
We also discussed new membership. There are two recommendations up for discussion. Seems like a lot to add at once, so it probably remains to be seen when this will happen. But whenever it does, a member who is not familiar with the candidate will be required to “interview” them prior to approving them to come on board.
In conclusion, a great night, with great food, and great people. You can take me back to Joe’s every steak night for all I care.
I say this every time we go to Joe’s, in a city filled with great steak place’s Joe’s stands out. It remains one of my favorite places and I am always excited to go back.
Eddie V’s provided the backdrop for pre-dinner cocktails. Crenshaw and I arrived to find a tan, relaxed Brad just back from Aruba sipping (gulping) an Oban. We immediately moved to the far end of the bar to spare the couple next to us our antics and we were off and running. Conversation centered on Brad’s trip and Crenshaw’s new job. Hans joined soon after and Glick was even there early enough for a cocktail.
We headed across the street to Joe’s and unfortunately this time there was no Vincent Furnier sighting, I assume because school is not yet out for summer and there is snow everywhere.
Jevon met us at the restaurant, hair looking extra curly and we were seated.Apps included Stone crabs with their famous mustard sauce, shrimp de jonghe and steak tartare. I like stone crabs but when you factor in the price, how much meat you actually get, they are over rated. I almost feel like you would be better off getting some shrimp cocktail with sides of the mustard sauce which is fantastic. The shrimp de jonghe is a garlic delight, it’s both delicious and will keep you safe from any vampires. An extra order of steak tartare was included, at the time it seemed like an honest mistake from the waiter until a pattern of shady behavior started to emerge from our friend Steve.
I went with the dry aged bone in ribeye medium rare and it is on the Mount Rushmore of Chicago steaks: great flavor, nice sear and cooked perfectly. Our waiter asked us if we would like wet or dry aged steaks, not an unusual question for a steak house and at the time I didn’t think anything of it but it turns out our used car salesman waiter had a reason for asking. In hindsight I don’t ever remember being asked the wet vs. dry question before at Joe’s. The spouts were surprisingly good and the mashed potatoes were good too. The peanut butter pie was excellent and even though I am not a huge key lime pie guy this was as good as key lime pie gets.
Overall the food was fantastic but the price was highest steak night on record. I believe the final tally was the ridiculous $240 a person, which should never happen. Thank you Pete Carol and the Patriots because I had a free meal thanks to our playoff drawing and there could not have been a better time to walk free. Usually when there is a bill that high it is because Holinger ordered some wine made specifically for King Louis XVI or there was an over indulgence on alcohol and a large volume of wine was consumed. None of this was the case. It came back to the waiter. The rib eye is listed on the menu at $57.95, somehow our steaks were $75 each. Apparently the dry aged was more, he didn’t mention this and there is no mention on the menu of wet or dry aged. The waiter was an ass but I don’t think we truly realized how big of an ass until it was too late. I have never had that experience at Joe’s before, the service is usually great.
I would like to give a shout out to Glick, when the bill came he wanted to question it and we all told him to let it go. Our reason I suppose was a combination of past incidents (points, questioning things that shouldn’t be questioned), too much alcohol and just being ready to move on. However in this case he was right, we should have questioned the cost of the steaks, especially given the waiter’s pattern of behavior. The more I think about the waiter the more it makes me angry.
Despite that jackass Steve it was a great evening as always. On to March.
Joe’s is still amazing – the steak is cooked like no other. I was totally stoked when Joe’s was picked as I missed the last go around. So, I ignored Jevon’s poo-poo comments and turned my focus to sinking my teeth into the best steak char offered in this great city.
I was well rested from a week in the sun and looking forward to our night which was to start at Eddie V’s (on a count of the Joe’s bar sucking). I arrived first at what I consider a wholly under-rated bar. Eddie V’s provides lots of room, great bar keeps (at least this time – no wild turkey substitution for my Oban) and jazz trio keep the atmosphere in good form.
J-cizzle showed as did Rick Ray and discussion began. Because of his new job, Cizzle will not be attending tomorrow night’s Machine Head concert. While he will be missed – Rick ray scored one hell of a ticket in picking it up. But I digress…
The balance of the guys made it and we eventually made it over to Joe’s. I love the stone crab – especially when in season. Expensive, yes – but still a favorite. I could also garnish about any food on planet earth with the mustard sauce. The warm towel and lemon to clean up after the crab is a high class touch.
I got the rib-eye steak, dry-aged, medium rare. Standard and perfect. Completely perfect. Joe’s has a way of charring the outside of their steak that no one in the city can touch. I don’t know how Jevon can be upset about sinking his teeth into that crust. A good friend of mine, Joe Boulukos, once said “If you don’t like Blue Cheese, then you don’t like fun”. Profound insight. I redirect to Mr. thor-zeen and say….if you don’t like Joe’s for Steak Night, then you probably picked Stetson’s in the past. If I knew it was $75 in advance – I still would have ordered it (regardless…F Steven)
Another Joe’s stand out not to be topped is the key Lime – also the best in the city, IMO.
Outside the food, there was much debate about rules, new members etc. Regardless of the timing or IF this even happens, the rule on someone calling them without notice to interview is amazing.
Love Joe’s and I will never stop.
Not sure I appreciate the venom from ole gimms there. Riddle me this – in a city with thousands of places to eat, how do we end up here for the 6th time, and for the 2nd time in less than 6 months? I will let it go, but guys, it is just not that good.
I will say, this was the best food I have had in all of my visits to Joe’s. Part of the glory of the evening was the energy the group had, part of it was a perfectly cooked bone-in-filet, The group was in good form with a lot of blustery banter. I think we probably took too much time on the topic of the expansion draft, but it resulted in some funny items.
My main focus on this post is on our server, Steve. Oh Steve. When you come to the table and ask if we have been there before and you get a resounding yes, tread lightly my friend. Lingering to pour wine and push more bottles is annoying, not good service Bringing more food than asked, poor taste. Upcharge on the steaks, tacky. Pushing for more apps, over the top. I get that there are a lot of tourists and a lot of corporate cards, but let’s try to know the group and play to the tonality. You missed the mark young steve
Look, I agree, Joe’s is a top contender, from bread to dessert, they do it right, it is just not that far above that we need to be there all the time. I hope we can say see you in the back half of 2016 or perhaps even 2017.
Second attempt as the first didn’t appear to make it past the sensors.
Joe’s has always had a special place in my heart. It was where I had my first steak night. The first time my parents met Liz’s mom (and my dad tried to explain the “I’ll have what she’s having” scene in When Harry Met Sally) and where I met Ken Griffey jr.
That said, Joe’s always acts like everyone who comes there is there for the first time and this time it rubbed us the wrong way. We were treated like one-time guests and that was disappointing. 2 weeks after the dinner the sting of the dry/wet ribeye switcharoo still sticks. It was sleazy, it was slimy and it was plain wrong.
Crew was great, business was discussed. Additions were considered. Process was agreed to. And Rick wore his pink cardigan with a white shirt to highlight breast cancer awareness (his favorite subject to represent.)
Apps were solid, love the crab. But the steak tarare on top of steak too much.
My steak (I didn’t get the ribeye bamboozle) was ok, but given the up-sell that occurred it’s hard for me to think it was worth the price we paid. Dessert never misses
Given the time lapse the Stev-O treatment was a negative 1.5 to the place. The conversations were lively and the time was great.
Overall: 7.5