“News of the Day” – Rosebud Steakhouse with a touch of Bernard’s
How can a night that starts at the Waldorf Astoria not be good? The group found themselves nestled in the warmth of Bernard’s Bar to begin the evening. Tucked away on the second floor of the Waldorf, Bernard’s is a gem. Although our server was missing in action and the drinks were astronomical (see $6 club soda), the atmosphere and jovial nature of the group more than made up for the shortcomings. Rick and I were first to arrive, followed by Hans, Chris (in for a return appearance), Glick and Conway. (missing were SM, BR and DC)
As we sauntered the two blocks from Bernard’s to Rosebud; spring and all its promise saturated the evening air. We settled into a circular table surrounded by deep red coloring and an energetic vibe; it had been 5 years since our last visit and not many remembered the first journey.
Because Rosebud Steakhouse is a bit off the main drag (tucked east of Michigan Avenue), the crowd is either regulars, or those that have been sent from local hotels, as such, it lacks a bit of identity. Nonetheless, we were well cared for by an all male staff – while I cannot remember our servers name, he offered good banter and positive insights.
Three appetizers arrived all at once and rather than clutter the table with serving dishes, each diner received an individual plated serving with some of each offering – a nice touch. The appetizers were the best part of the meal – homemade meatballs sitting on a bed of polenta, thick sliced bacon and shrimp dejonge stole the show.
As we transitioned from Apps to Main courses, banter ranged from the mayoral race, to legalized weed sales, to visiting the optometrist for eye care and other male related needs.
Steaks were good, but not exceptional – my bone in filet lacked a lot of flavor other than the natural deliciousness of Grade A beef. Sides were different – a potato gratin smothered in brie cheese was delightful – hash brown potatoes with jalapeno might have been better with eggs – the brussel sprouts with bacon proved adequate.
We closed with one of the biggest chocolate cakes ever seen, and a well played key lime pie.
For credit card roulette, we pressed the waiter for a fair maiden to help pull the cards, however, we were informed the only female still around was a “salad girl” and it was reported per our waiter “she looks like my brother.” Rick was the beneficiary of man hands doing the pulling and walked free.
Rosebud Steakhouse is a fine establishment, having Chris back for a visit to the mid-west made for good times. Scott Martin is perhaps no longer part of the group, he was MIA for a third straight month out watching tennis with Andy Roddick, John McEnroe and others at the Sears Centre.
Onward to spring
Overall – 7.5
Filed under: General
4 Responses to ““News of the Day” – Rosebud Steakhouse with a touch of Bernard’s”
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It was gutsy move for Jevon to suggest the double shot with drinks at one place followed by dinner at another. That said, it worked out well with comradarie and drinks at Bernard’s followed by a nice relaxing walk to Rosebud.
I personally had just gotten off a plane and sprinted to Bernard’s. I arrived out of breath, but was greeted by the twinkle of Holinger’s eye. It was nice surprise to see him. I know he’d RSVP’d yes, but he’s a busy consultant whose often whisked away to one of the coasts at a moments notice.
The meal was delightful. In addition to the topics mentioned by Mr. Jevon above, we also discussed vineyard operations and the future of the Bears. There was a bit of Cubs talk, but I tried to stay mute as I could talk about the currently-in-first-place Cubs for hours on end and then everyone will think I’m a weird/potential serial killer and a nice evening turns into a scary one. Especially because I’ll request “Goodbye Horses” by Q Lazzarus to be played on repeat for the discussion.
I decided to go 12 oz. filet, sans bone, and it was delicious. I believe Holi ordered the wine and made the same mistake I made last time. Have to go something light before dinner and then something more full bodied with the steak. I made choices last time that were violently backwards from this, his were just subtly inaccurate.
The sides and dessert were merely fine. The shrimp was the class of that as mentioned.
Good times were had by all per usual.
7
The dual selection of Bernard’s and Rosebud added a touch of class to the night and given the cameo appearance of Chris “Ryan Bingham” Holinger, felt like the right neutral location to welcome him back. The highlight of our Bernaard’s experience was having the new worst wrong celebrity sighting title yanked from my Jerry Sloan call at Stetson’s, one-upped by Holinger thinking a 5ftsomething black man with a blond afro was Dennis Rodman. This will be hard to top.
Moving to Rosebud(which was a pleasant walk given the weather), having been away for over a week, it’s hard to find anything memorable to the actual meal. Given how bad some of the experiences have been (Joe’s, etc)…this is not a bad thing.
The highlight (for me) was not only that we discussed politics at dinner (?!?) but that Rick Ray lead the discussion. When Rick Ray watches a debate (admittedly not much else in sports these days) we knew it was an important election. Good to see Rahm win another term, hope he continues to try and fix everything he’s gone after.
Here’s what I remember:
I had the bone in filet, was good, not great. Holinger ordered the wines, which while not exorbitant, were definitely of the big or go home variety. Dessert was meh.
Bonus points to Jevon for setting up the dual event evening and to Holinger, Bill and Rick for staying out with me late at Streeters the night before Good Friday.
Overall: 7.5
P.S. Wow – considering I just spent a week in Dubai – being #2 is a strange place to be. Either people are getting too busy or attendance is dropping. If only expansion was being considered…
A good call by Thoresen to hold happy hour at another bar as the bar at Rosebud is like Scotty’s attendance: (in your best Charles Barkley voice) terrible. Bernard Bar at the Waldorf provided a great start to the evening. It has a nice lounge like atmosphere, solid old fashions, mediocre service and not surprisingly expensive prices. We walked a couple of blocks to Rosebud with the feeling that we had finally left winter behind and even better weather was on the way.
The appetizers were the best part of the meal. The bacon, meatballs and shrimp all spectacular, not even sure I could pick a favorite. Giving everybody their own sampler plate was also a nice touch. I went with the bone in ribeye, medium rare. Swing and a miss, pretty bad miss like Reggie Jackson circa 1977 type of swing and miss. The steak lacked flavor and was prepared medium, just ok. The hash brown potatoes with jalapenos were not what I expected, they were more home fries than hash browns. They would have been dynamite with eggs, with steak not ideal. The au gratin potatoes with brie were tremendous.
The thing about the waiter that stands out to me is not the service although that was fine. It is his appreciation of the modern cinematic masterpiece Fletch. At one point we were discussing the merits and utter greatness of Fletch and rattling off some quotes. Without missing a beat he chimed in “Yeah but I mean at the very end, when he actually died. That was extremely sudden”. The Fletch knowledge and the fact that he said the hottest girl in the place “looks like my brother” makes me think, this is our kind of guy. The bill might as well have been on the Underhills’s tab because I walked for free.
Post dinner we went to Streeters and played some foosball. Bill and Holi clearly played some foosball in college because they were both skilled, Glick and myself not so much. At one point an inebriated girl with giant fake boobs joined us. Unfortunately she was too inebriated for anyone with morals to attempt to bring her home and motor boat them. Which may be for the best because they looked rock solid and may have caused an injury.
Good times as always. On to the warmer months.
I just wrote a lengthy recap of the evening that word press just swallowed it into the E-abyss. I have to give the short, short version.
Bernards…. where the fuck is this place and once i managed to find it i think the waitress was still lost somewhere in the neighborhood with my old fashioned. Holinger, you need a better travel agent, your flight plans exhausted me just listening to it. Jev, great call on the spring night two step. Conway and Glick, always a pleasure.
Rosebud… you are a Chicago landmark, try to act like one. The apps were top notch and individually served, very classy. Too bad it was a set up for crushing disappointment with a bone in filet that had 3 different climate zones inside a flavorless crust. That’s how Scotty’s like his weather but not how Hans likes his steaks. Speaking of Scotty, where is he? Oh yeah talking shop with Johnny Mac and Wonder Boy at some event where they play a game of skill called tennis. Not a sport. Reeshard wanted to flip the table on me when the topic of local politics was brought up, thank you for your restraint. Wine was bold and beautiful, I enjoyed it and the modest prices. In all, a very good evening out on the town with the finest of Chicago. My hope is soon to be able to muster the stamina to make it out for cocktails and foosball after the May installment.