David Burke’s With An Assist From St. Elmo’s
For the December 2015 edition of steak night we would return to David Burke’s. Past experiences at this establishment have ranged from top of the line dining experience to missing the mark with aspects of the meal. The word that comes to mind for David Burke’s is inconsistent. How would this trip be?
Cizzle and I arrived about 7:05 to find the bar packed, we quickly went next store to Bacon Bar which is actually connected if you have a guide (more on that later). The Bacon Bar was quiet (at least until I showed up and started talking) and empty. It has a lounge like vibe and feels like a pre-dinner date spot. Unfortunately Cizzle was my date and although I found him engaging and we had a great conversation I don’t plan on a second date. Brad and Hans joined soon after and we were off and running. The service was good and the drinks were strong so not a bad start to the evening.
As previously mentioned the Bacon Bar is connected to David Burke’s if you have an insider with you. The Goodfellas like entrance through the kitchen and into the restaurant was perhaps the highlight of happy hour.
Glick joined the party and we were seated. Jevon’s flight was delayed and arrived about a half hour later. Apps included surf & turf dumplings (a miss), thick cut bacon which was good but not as good as I remember from previous trips and shrimp cocktail. The shrimp were the highlight thanks to the St. Elmo’s sauce compliments of Saint Cizzle. It was my first time trying the St. Elmo’s sauce and it is killer. Bringing, asking for a bucket of ice and then using the St. Elmo’s sauce at a steak house that is not St. Elmo’s should not be overlooked as a truly awesome moment. Bread is usually not worth mentioning but the pop overs are as good as it gets, even better if you get some butter before Hans uses it all.
I went with the 40 day aged bone in rib eye, disappointing. The steak lacked flavor of any sort, just very blah. Sides included Roasted potatoes (with Crème Fraiche, cheddar and bacon), broccolini, creamed spinach and mac and cheese. All good but the roasted potatoes were the stand out. It used to be at David Burke’s you always had a great steak and the sides needed some work, this trip felt like the opposite, at least for the rib eye’s. Dessert we had the cheese cake lollipops which were great, particularly the ones with chocolate.
Dinner conversation included daily fantasy, gun control, cowboy boots and perhaps some additional topics I don’t recall because I had a few too many. Overall I thought service was solid although I had to ask like 4 times to bring a 6th chair.
After dinner we all hung out at the bar in the restaurant and caught the end of Thursday Night Football. Only the Lions (and perhaps the Browns) good give up a last second hail Mary to lose. Not the result Bears fans wanted.
In my opinion the inconsistent theme continues for David Burke’s. Aspects of the meal were on point but my steak was a big miss. However it was a fantastic evening as always. On to 2016, holy shit it’s going to be 2016, where does time go?
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Arriving in a completely empty bar in River North except for Brad, Rick, and Cizzle, I had a premonition this was actually a hit and my last days on earth had arrived. That theory was only reinforced by the waitress leading us into David Burkes through the kitchen. It was indeed a very gangster start to the evening. Good gangster, not bad gangster.
I had low expectations for our return trip to David Burkes. It has always been more about the bacon than the steak for me. For some reason they changed the preparation of the bacon and then undercooked it. Poor choice David. Michael Jordan now holds the crown of best bacon in the city in my opinion. I went off the reservation and went with the bone in filet despite all proclamations of the wonder of dry aged. It was exquisite. Cooked to a perfect medium rare, full of flavor, and a charred crust. I was in awe of the shocking disparity between my steak and the dusty, chewy, scrap they served up to the other fine gentlemen. The sides were all passable and adequate. Its understandable the sides left something to be desired because the starters were indeed far superior. Anytime you can crack open a popover and drop in a pound of butter i am on board. Imported cocktail sauce from the far reaches of Indiana transformed the otherwise bland shrimp cocktail. Somewhere in my first and second bite of the shrimp doused in St Elmos finest I went deaf in one ear and my vision blurred from horseradish annihilation.
Cheesecake pops, pretty bullshit concept if you ask me. Give me a carrot cake or give me death. Although i would happily accept Mastros butter cake as well. Aaron Rodgers served up a bitter end to our otherwise splendid evening. I give David a 7.
well well well…it’s not often you get to spend a great night out with a few of chicago’s best dressed gentlemen and December’s steak night was a classic.
First off to Rick’s outfit – to commemorate the occasion Joe Predicto wore cowboy boots which really went well with his bolo tie. We took to calling him Tex. Tex Predicto may have to be his stage name.
Hard to imagine this being topped, but Crenshaw’s holiday gift of st. elmo’s sauce was the highlight on a very memorable night.
On to the meal – David Burke’s is an enigma to me. It could/should be part of the elite of Chicago’s steak house but seems to lack the certain oomph.
Service was great, our waitress was accommodating to all of our requests and I think bringing an ice bucket for the cocktail sauce was above and beyond.
Apps were ok – not sure I agree with rick on the potstickers – I found them quite good. Shrimp cocktail was amazing with the sauce.
Steaks – I have always felt that dry aging a steak as a way to charge more was the greatest bs move since the invention of the surf and turf. let me understand, you let the steak sit out longer, so it loses all it’s natural flavor and tastes like boiled jerky…and I pay for this? You pull, I suck?
Hans and I went to the South Side (which given recent events may be the closest I end up to the real south side in some time) and enjoyed our non-aged bone-in filets.
Desert was cheesecake pops.
Moving on, we moved to the bar and got to watch the Lions snatch defeat (and Aaron Rodgers Facemask) from the jaws of victory though one of the more memorable hail maries in recent history.
Overall: Solid 7.5. good steaks, great service and an awesome time.
Straight off the plane from Louisville, KY – i came straight to dinner for a 9pm arrival. My co-worker thought I was crazy to be going out – but clearly, he does not understand the dedication to the tradition and the joy of first Thursdays. To stave off my hunger, I had indulged in a few fish tacos at chili’s in the airport, so I arrived not famished and instead, got to do a tasting of many steaks and many sides.
David Burke’s has been at the top of my list for a long time; but it is perhaps time for them to take inventory and re-up their game. Everything was good, but lacked some of the depth and weight of times passed. I will say, the sides have stepped up considerably, but some of the steaks were hit and miss.
A sighting of Chris Skarrett at a nearby table made for a great surprise visit.
I have January and the start of 2016 glory
Probably the worst David Burke’s food experience I have had. This place can’t seem to be consistent. Some nights the food is out of this world and sometimes it is so-so. This evening is was below so-so.
I arrived at the bar next door a tad late and had a scotch with Hansy, Reeshard and Cizzle. Good banter and a Goodfellas entrance into the restaurant started the evening off nice. A small group, it was a fun change of pace – conversation can be had and enjoyed with the entire table instead being confined to your third with a drunk Scottie touching you and talking so close he is practically nibbling your ear.
Anyway, Mr. Crenshaw, coming off a steak dinner the night before (#wellplayed, #nojudgement), was very thoughtful and brought some of the world famous St. Elmo’s cocktail sauce for the group. We chilled a bottle and indulged with the shrimp cocktail. The cocktail sauce might have been the best aspect of the food this evening.
I was all excited for the Bacon as I remember it being some of the city’s best – but they changed it and it was average. Balance of apps were good but unremarkable (again, save: St. Elmo’s cocktail sauce). I was looking forward to my 40-day dry aged rib eye. I can honestly say it was bad. Maybe 5 out of 10. Lacked flavor, juice and was too dried out.
A note on the wine list too – would be nice to have more of a price range for some reasonable options. Going from $65 to $135 is BS. Throw in a few decent bottles at $75-$90 bucks.
We did see one Chris “C-Murder” Skerret with his wife and some colleagues. Before he recognized us he thought we were gay because Crenshaw had a Christmas bag and was handing out gifts. When we told him what was going on, we went from gay to awesome.
Consensus – I am done with David Burkes for a while. It has missed the mark too many times and I am tired of paying top dollar for below average food.