Prime & Provisions, Take 1
Thursday seemed like the unofficial start to summer for the gents of Steaks and Cigars. The day came with some fantastic weather, great company and more importantly, women in sundresses. They seem to have come out of hibernation. It was remarked that Chicago in the summer is a bit like Vegas in that someone must fly these women in from other parts of the country. There’s no way some of you have been here all winter. We’ve been watching…….intently……from afar.
In other non-stalker news, excitement was high to try the latest restaurant to burst onto the Chicago steak scene, Prime and Provisions. Situated beautifully on the corner of Wacker and LaSalle, first impressions were great. They have a nice covered sidewalk café seating area tucked into the building, which just begs for a summer happy hour crowd. Inside we were greeted warmly by the maître d and shown to the bar area. Zee German and myself love a nice, wide open bar floor and this did not disappoint. A three sided bar with ample floor space made it easy to find a corner to gather, drink brown liquor older than my eventual wife and catch up as other members arrived. *Note. Scotty actually picked up TWO guys in route to P&P who joined us for a drink before they were ushered away.
About 8:30 we were shown to a table of the rectangular variety, which isn’t preferred, but hard to scoff at as it clearly allows the restaurant to seat more patrons. Drinks and wine were ordered and we were off! While it took longer than normal between drinks and the appetizer ordering, we chalked this up to being a larger table in a brand new restaurant. They were still figuring out a few kinks with using two waiters for larger tables. Important to note that Patrick was an excellent waiter and really tried his hardest to make sure everyone was taken care of. In addition, Lucas, one of the principals came over to introduce himself, ask some questions, listen to some concerns, and really make us feel welcomed, and more importantly, heard. We told him about steak club, blah, blah, blah like we do with any poor, unsuspecting soul who comes within earshot of us. But he seemed genuinely intrigued. Whether he was or wasn’t doesn’t matter. Customer service goes a along way with this group and by taking WAY more time than he should have with us, he definitely won some repeat customers.
Like any good porn actor says, enough fluffing, on to the main event.
Apps ordered were bacon (shocker), jumbo shrimp cocktail (key word jumbo) and Lobster /Avocado salad. The bacon was amazing as bacon always is. I’d put it in the top three behind Michael Jordan’s and David Burkes. Believe it or not, the only knock is it’s actually not fatty enough. The jumbo shrimp were unlike anything I’ve ever seen. They were basically small lobsters, and the cocktail sauce / horseradish combo was off the charts. I can’t believe I’m saying this but I think the shrimp was the best of the three. Of course, since Jevon pulled a Hans and ate all of the lobster / avocado, I’ll reserve final judgment on that until next time.
The meat selection was nice, with a few different options than your traditional steak house. Steak was available a la New York’s finest, Peter Lugar’s, where you order Porterhouse for 2,3,4….alongside your more traditional prime cuts of beef. P&P pride’s itself on using only organic, naturally raised cattle. Most times when you hear “grass fed” you think of Don’s awful steak night selection in Bucktown. Also lean, flavorless beef. I ordered the $72 bone-in rib eye as usual. It’s the only way for me to accurately compare steaks. It should be noted that these $70+ steaks are becoming all too common in the scene. Moving on, my steak was cooked to perfection, and although I’m not a fan of the sizzling plate they served it on, this didn’t affect the integrity of the preferred temperature. It remained a warm medium rare through out. The fastest way to my heart with steak is by the flavoring. This was dashed with a bit of rock salt, on top of the nice char and was really outstanding. Not my favorite steak in the city, but I certainly wouldn’t kick it out of bed. Hell, who am I kidding, my bed might as well be Ellis Island….. bring me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses (only on Wednesdays).
Sides were all above average. I especially liked the au gratin potatoes with gruyere and charred leeks. You’d have to be a savage not to enjoy that. They also did a slightly different take on creamed spinach that consisted of a spinach/kale blend, with a light cream sauce that was really good. I also deemed it acceptable for a healthy vegetable side. Cream sauce be damned!
Friday being the Mayor of River North’s birthday, a wonderfully decadent chocolate caramel cake was ordered in his honor, and happy birthday was sang to him and Shawn Merriman, former LB and steroid user from the San Diego Chargers who was seated a few tables away. Or was it Shawn Marion? Let’s take it to Brad Ray for additional insight. Brad? Oh yeah, we also had vanilla custard beignets, which are maybe my favorite dessert of all time. Not only would I not kick these out of bed, I’d actually buy them dinner, take them dancing, and introduce them to my parents.
Conversation was lively. Vegas was discussed. There’s a real buzz for Jon Glick’s bachelor party weekend. Gambling systems, good wholesome girls, and healthy living were topics of interest. And, we decided to add two new members to the group, effective for the June outing. Let it be known, that although our informal interview process didn’t work out quite as we imagined, this does not excuse our new members from the requirement of wearing bow ties, and having a few words prepared. I stand firm on this. All in favor? The “ayes” have it.
Scotty walked free after not showing up for five months. I’m thinking a new rule should be proposed next month about showing up to collect your winnings. Two months max to collect? Talk amongst yourselves….
In conclusion, these Thursdays have become less about the food, and more about the people. I look forward to these nights to catch up with friends, have a few laughs, and try to hustle free drinks out of someone. I’m looking forward to June, new members, summer and sundresses. And may God bless the Chicago Blackhawks. Onward…..
Filed under: General
The bar scene upon arrival was great. A hopping bar and good ambiance. We were able to score a little spot to enjoy our beverages. An order of Oban on the rocks hit the spot. The scotch was serviced with one large cube, which I always like. The bar here is a cool scene and was enjoyed.
We were promptly seated at 8:30 at a nice table for 8. The apps were very good. The shrimp as Cizzle described it was enormous. Each shrimp seemed like the size of a lobster tail. The bacon was great as well. Perfect honey seasoning.
We did get the Porterhouse for 4, Peter Luger’s style and it was spectacular. The only issue is that the Porterhouse came on two seperate plates and one of the plates was medium rare as ordered and the other one was medium plus, but nonetheless was great.
I also did appreciate the birthday singing. Shawn Marion and his buddies did chime in, and it was Shawn’s actual birthday, born exactly one day before me. Kendrick Perkins and some other NBAers were there as well.
The real damper on the evening was the atrocious service. The meal was 3+ hours long and always felt like we were waiting for food, drinks or the checks. They did knock some off the bill as well.
They did provide us with 2 waiters, which almost seemed to be part of the problem. It was as if neither one would take control and always thought the other one was taking care of us.
It’s a good steak place in the making, but has some kinks to get out.
As a result of the long steak night, most of the crew went home prior to the after dinner drink. However, Zee German, Mr. Jonathan and I did enjoy some old fashioneds at Untitled. Forgot what a crazy place that is on Thursdays…
6.5 for now, but upside potential.
Anytime we have the opportunity to try a new steak house I get excited yet apprehensive. It is wonderful to experience a new menu, ambiance and different takes on traditional favorites, however Service is always dicey in the early months. I was hoping Prime and Provisions would prove the exception.
Essentially located in the loop, this is a spectacular piece of real estate. A nice big bar with vibe and a little separation from the dining area; great outdoor seating as well. I see this becoming a regular for business lunches when they start turning day service in a few weeks.
As per usual the evening was started with an Oban, one big rock and what was a nice pour. Scotty showed up with two best friends who were here for an investment conference but had yet to go and we’re asking me where the high school girls hang out….
We were seated about 15 minutes late and the group was hungry and ready to eat. That proved to be difficult as an hour passed before we saw food. I think Jevon put it best with the service of new restaurants….”it feels like you are waiting to be punched in the face”.
Punched in the face we were as dinner was about 3.5 hours, choppy and exhausting at the end. As John mentioned, credit needs to be given to one of the partners, Luke, for taking much time out of what was surely a very hectic evening to listen to the table. That goes a very long way with me. One of our table servers was Patrick and this poor guy seemed to be swimming against the current all night. He was working his ass off and it just wasn’t going his way. We had another server who was not very present and perhaps the reason for some of the discord. In the end management applied a credit to our bill which was the proper way to address some of the issues we encountered. Ok, ok…enough about the service. I am sure it will get better and I will for sure be back to witness that as the food was great. Here goes…
The shrimp cocktail was the biggest I have ever seen. It is the best I have had in Chicago and second ever only to the famous St. Elmo’s in Indianapolis. The horseradish was awesome. The bacon was supremely thick cut and delicious. The lobster crab salad, P&P’s take on the “Crab Louie” looked awesome but was gone after passing through only 3 of the 8 diners….some may not blame the heavy scooping hands of Don, Jevon and Hans rather the miss by our host only ordering one. Apps get 8.5 – 9
For steak, I ordered the bone in medium rare. Arrived on the sizzling plate which for me is usually more an area of concern that my steak gets over cooked. Not so, prime has it down and it was cooked to perfection. The steak I have to say was one of a kind. Not because it was the best I have ever had in Chicago, but because it was unique for sure. For the first time the pitch of grass fed, no GMO’s yadda yadda made a difference. You could clearly taste it in the meat as it was over fatty and mushy like you sometimes may get. Despite the lean nature of the cut it delivered in fine form with a wonderful blend of char and flavor. I also tried the porterhouse and it was absolutely delicious. Steaks; strong 9.
Sides also were good. Potatoes were unique and bursting with flavor, mushrooms hit The spot and creamed spinach blended fresh greens and touch of cream for a more natural take on this dish usually soaked with heavy cream. Sides, 7.5
Dessert was beignets and they were delightful. 9.
Look, the service and lack of flow made it a really challenging dining experience. It certainly wasn’t for lack of intent or effort, it just was and I expect it to improve.
Food: 8.5-9
Overall: 6.5
Note: Martin walked free and in true fashion power ordered multiple lagavuelins at the end of the night. He also had me sign something as I was driving away for the evening, likely adding to his winnings via increased account fees or something to that effect.
A nicely warm evening brought us to a familiar situation in putting a new establishment in the ‘hood through the arduous paces of steak night, where only failure could be expected. More on that in a moment, but what a night to have the gathering of fine gentlemen as a bustling buzz was in the air amidst the upper 70s and promises that sundresses are awaiting…
That all said, P&P was indeed bustling itself, as I arrived having scored one Don Cole outside, and we progressed into the lively bar scene inside. The group was mainly assembled in the far corner, which due to restaurant design, landed us right on the runway for food and drink coming to/from the kitchen and bar.
Having introduced the group to my two … yes, two boyfriends from out of town, we got down to some typical summer imbibing and even got the chance to have a little more than usual since the restaurant had trouble being prompt with their seating for an 8pm reservation. We did finally get a table in the middle of what seemed to be a decently popular night for dining at P&P given the fading NBA stars that would soon show up and away we went…or so we thought. The two waiter experience here was a disaster from the start and it was unreal how long it would take to get appetizer orders in or even to get a first round of drinks once seated. These two guys taking care of us had very little on the ball and even less when it came to communication with us or between themselves.
When the apps did finally arrive, the shrimp was colossal, the bacon a little too colossal and the bite of lobster-flavored avocado I had wasn’t too bad. Overall the apps were ambitious and above satisfactory.
Myself and 3 others went for the jewel of the menu, which was the 4 man (or woman) porterhouse…medium rare. While, as noted above, we did get two portions that were each cooked differently, the medium rare piece was quite amazing. Good flavor and sear on the steak, and the inside was just as good as getting to third base (American Pie style). This steak was seriously good.
Progressing to the desserts, a good bite or two and a couple Lagavaluins to celebrate and the ire of the crew was again lifted due to service breakdowns and my walking free…which was well earned.
I do apologize for my lack of attendance lately, but hey, success is calling me away from town much more than I would like it to. I did try to go into the computer mainframe and change my attendance record but was unable to, so I won’t hide from it. Also, if we want to make this group even more left-leaning with more rules and regs about when earned/contest dinners can be cashed in, I’m all for it. Just sad TDI wasn’t there to pay for part of mine this time since I’ve had him walk free on me so many damn times…see everyone in June.
3 for service
8.5 for food
i must say, I was hesitant to go this place so early. A week into their opening, it was a scary proposition. We had some bumps along the way, but overall a wonderful evening. The service was lacking – I appreciated John and Don speaking to the waiters and subsequently to the owner. We could have waited till the end and been filed with regret, instead, we coached them up and they course corrected. Unfortunately, they veered back off the road at the end. It was like a hockey game with a great 2nd period, but a terrible 1st and 3rd.
The food was tremendous; most notably the meat, which is what matters. I wish I had not done the filet – the porterhouse, ribeye and KC were all better. I very much enjoyed the apps; a bit too much perhaps. The sides were just ok.
We stand at a point of transition for steak night – expansion will bring more reasons for people to bow out or feel less accountable. If we get too big, do we lose our way? Time will tell.
Look forward to coming back to Prime and Provisions in a few months time to see if the service kinks get worked out.
Looking back on Steak Night outings to new openings only Michael Jordans passed muster on its first attempt. Service is always a debacle no matter how much planning and prep they do with the staff. Its just inevitable. Bennys was bad, P&P was worse. I am sure they can turn it around in time but we should learn from our past mistakes and wait a few months before descending upon a new establishment. The bar area was indeed a good layout, we were in a bit of a heavy traffic corridor. Early banter included the black hawks, the bulls, DC moving to the suburbs, but don’t worry he will be back in town alot…. The bartender also needs a quick education on the proper number of fingers of brown liquor to pour, the answer is all 4, but that may be asking too much of this rookie group.
A rectangular table in the center of the room normally would be a serious problem for acoustics and conversation. They did a good job with the sound attenuation and it was actually a perfect setup for us to observe the rest of the patrons which included a number of NBA has beens who notably were drinking heavily before facing the Bulls on Friday. Perhaps this is what ultimately led to their defeat at the hands of a D Rose bankshot with less than a second remaining, probably not since they were riding the pine at the time. The service started out well, but also crashed and burned in epic style. It seemed like the dynamic duo assigned to our table had no idea what their job was and were both avoiding us. I will be the naysayer in the group on P&P’s bacon. It was seriously undercooked. The fat should be fully rendered and seeping out of the meat with a layered maple smokey flavor. This was barely past par cooked, chewy fat and tough meat. Learn from Jordan and Burke, they have it done right. I want to see the shrimp that this tail came from, he must have done a couple rounds of steroids with Scotty to amass just a huge tail. It was astonishing. The Lobster Avo was delicious, but I was innocent of over consumption this go around, I swear.
The steak for 4 at $235.00 was another example of dashed optimism. It was okay, just okay. I found the steak to be properly seasoned, but inconsistent. The sizzling plate was placed on an angled to help the butter drain to one end, nice touch. I would not go for this selection again, I also think for this price you should be served up the entire damn cow, carve off what you want and then ride the rest home, thank you Denis Leary. Sides were all passable, I did enjoy the twist on the creamed spinach. The dessert was a return to glory. Give me a beignet and I will find something to dip it in. Wow. The cake required a chainsaw to get through its dense deliciousness.
Obviously the service was an issue, give them a couple months and lets run it back. I also want to see about the upstairs dining room, which given our expansion plans may become the norm, private rooms. We shall see, or perhaps we will just continue on with a consistently rotating group of 5-7 gents, with an aberration of perfect attendance now and then.
A trip to Untitled with the birthday boy and the soon to be wed was a seriously bizarre outing. I was truly impressed by the young woman in steel underpants that was using an angle grinder on her crotch to shoot sparks into the crowd. I am fairly certain OSHA would have a problem with her lack of protective eye wear and use of a dangerous powertool with in inches of your birth canal. I could be wrong. our bartender was a mad scientist of brown liquors and hoist a shot of Stagg on young William. That is not something you shoot at close to 180 proof, it most likely resulted in a new chest hair or two. looking forward to June and the nights of summer with Chicago’s finest.
So much promise with such an underwhelming delivery. To say I was disappointed would be the understatement of the year for me when it comes to my treasured first Thursdays…
With its location, I was excited to finally have a new steak place in the loop that is only a stone’s throw away from the office. And on a night in which I could barely afford to be away for long, I thought that the steak gods had blessed me…but then quickly realized that Balaam was intent to wreak havoc over the special day.
Indeed, after spending more than 1.5 hrs waiting to order our dinner, I could tell that we were in for a rough evening. Luckily, the food was absolutely stupendous – though I dare not say worth the wait (after 2 hrs, nothing can truly be worth the wait, except the bone-in filet served up at MJ’s), but good nonetheless.
We pleaded our case relentlessly with our “team” of waiters (really, anything but a team), as well as one of the owners, but when you have NBA players as clientele, do you really care what the most influential steak bloggers think? Apparently, no because nothing changed.
Even when trying to leave the place, they held us hostage for another 30 minutes. Needless to say (but will do so any ways), this was one of the most bizarre and longest dinners in steak night history.
Service was a 2, food (even with scolding hot plates) was a 7.