Mastro’s – Fake it til you make it
As the calendar quickly turned from fall to winter for Chicago’s finest dining group, it was quite heartwarming to again have the occasion upon on us when we gathered at one of the city’s finer establishments for the November edition of Steak Night. Bestowed up on us to make the night even more full of magic was an old flame, Dr. Mark Zebro. Upon his original acceptance of my personal invitation, far be it from me to expect any letdowns on this night.
That said, the bar at Mastro’s is defnitinetly not a letdown, and if you go there, it might sadly be near the highlight of the meal. Expansive, good service, nicely lit with accessible for viewing televisions all support attendance here. Mix in a desirably-looking lounge singer with a decent back up band (was there even a band?) and you have a reason to come back.
After changing the reservation a couple times last minute due to uncertain group participation (can we penalize that shit), the clock struck 8pm and away to our table we went. Not sure if word has spread around, but it is nice to see that our group seems to get one of the most central tables in the restaurant of late…just almost perfectly so placed where The Long Island Sound can easily disrupt a few diners. That said, as I noted to young Mason at one point, the table this time around didn’t have too much significance as half the dining room (as well as upstairs) was vacant during the night. Why, you may ask?
The service at Mastro’s was pretty spot on and almost made up for the redic pricing at the place – whether it was for food, booze or wine, which just borders on the insulting when it comes to the knowledge and history this group has. So, trying to be frugal, which was impossible, we ordered the first 2 bottles (of what I think was a 5 bottle night) of Hess Allomi for a cool $75. Complimenting that on the apps was a nicely sautéed shrimp, gargantuan bacon flight and king crab, which began to fill up the group nicely.
Conversation was lively as usual – dashing to and fro from financial markets and the impeachment that will never happen to how bad Matt Nagy sucks. Yeah, I’ll say it again. Mitch isn’t a bad QB, Nagy has abandoned him by sucking away his confidence and creating a toxic environment in which he could have thrived. Oh wait…what were his stats against the Lions that following week?
Back to the food and what is most important – the steaks. Overall good comments were circulated both in temp and cut, however, I wasn’t blown away. Given my go-to these days being in the bone-in filet, a poor temp or lack of seasoning does not hide in that thing. Overall the cook was good but the “steak taste” if there was such a thing, was lacking. I am guessing the sides were good, and certain they were expensive.
Crenshaw walked free for his first CC roulette win in ages, well deserved, and it was the doctor’s birthday as we did acknowledge the others recently celebrating in the group. The night finished early for me but not before an obligatory trip to local luxury bar, Snickers, to mingle with some other white collar folk.
6.5/10
Filed under: General
7 Responses to “Mastro’s – Fake it til you make it”
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Didn’t care for Maestro’s before November 2019 Steak Night and don’t care for Maestro’s after November 2019 Steak Night. I said before, and maintain, the only redeeming part of Maestro’s is the bar. Everyone else must feel the same since the dining room was empty yet the bar still full. The soft jazz is a nice touch, especially with the smoke singer that was performing.
Having one Mark Zebro, RN join us for the evening was fantastic. Great to catch up with him and would be nice to have him back, if not regularly, certainly on a semi-regular basis.
We had a solid round table, which is always a bonus. Other than the crab, I didn’t much care for the apps. In particular, the bacon, was not great. Too thick, having more of a ham off the bone feel. The shrimp was just meh however, the crab was great. This time around I got a bone in filet, which is different for me but was cooked spot on. I still don’t care for the hot plate.
While this never happens, we actually got a super-hot server from the bar come over to do CC roulette to which Scottie promptly replied, “can we get another person over here” …. i was scratching my head on that one. Regardless, I still wasn’t close to winning and Crenshaw walked, which sometimes can cost you as much as dinner as might have been the case this evening. We then went to snickers for a good spell after, was thrilled Zebro stayed the entire time, despite having to re-tile his kitchen the following day.
All in all, an awesome night if not lacking in the food department!
I’m unsure how Glick ever developed an affinity for Mastro’s. Once again, I was completely underwhelmed, and mostly offended by pretty much everything in the restaurant except for our lively group, the credit card roulette girl, and the singer in the band. My steak was one of the worst I’ve had in a while. I felt like it had some sort of sweet glaze on it, and just the quality of the cut of meat seemed subpar. I think everyone enjoyed the gnocchi, but we ain’t here for the gnocchi. I can echo Brad’s sentiment about the post steak night bar bill. While not quite as atrocious as the dinner bill, it was hefty. But I’m glad that we were able to get a group to go out for a few.
Sadly, 5/10 on the dinner
In the pantheon of steak restaurants in Chicago, there is Bavette’s, there is maybe RPM, there is gibson’s for the charm and there is Mastro’s. That is it.
This night Mastro’s proved why it once and again is the best (even if the heated plates are ridiculous).
I showed up late and missed the cocktail session, but was excited that the rumors of a special Zebro sighting were indeed true. Rick was dressed for the occasion wearing his favorite Alabama Apologist outfit with a nod towards the 1979 Penn State -Alabama National Championship, the first championship he could bet on and what began his life long affinity for the crimson tide (minus the Mike Shula days).
Dinner was great – Bubby and I split a great bone in ribeye after we polished off the amazing shrimp app. Desssert of the Butter Cake was so good, young Birthday Crenshaw had tears when we asked him to pass it along.
All in all – 8 for the dinner, +10 for the Company thanks to the special cameo.
A return trip to Mastro’s. We were rolling 8 strong and had a special appearance by the President of the Saquon Barkley fan club himself, Nurse Zebro. It was great to see Zebro, it had been awhile. The bar area at Mastro’s is certainly festive and they have a pretty good band adding to the ambiance. However, it’s like $16 for Tito’s and Soda which is just insulting. The prices in general here are ridiculous.
The dining room was somewhat dead. We had a round table which always adds to the experience. I enjoyed the shrimp and crab legs (even if they are never worth the price) as far as the apps go. The bacon was good but more because it was bacon then because it was special. I had the porter house medium rare and my steak was excellent which surprised me a bit because historically I don’t love Mastro’s. I still think heated plates are stupid. The gnocchi were awesome, first because it is just a unique side, second it was delicious. The lobster mashed potatoes sucked, not because there was no lobster which is often the case. I had a huge piece of lobster but it’s just this weird fishy mashed potato mix up of flavor. This goes for lobster mac and cheese too. Lobster in potatoes or mac and cheese is a huge scam, these two flavors do not belong together and there is no reason to pay a premium to make the dish worse.
The greater Chicago area already heard my thoughts on the Bears, Nagy and Trubisky since the Long Island sound tends to pump the volume even more on certain topics. Complimentary ear plugs are available at coat check. The Bears are a fucking disaster, so frustrating on so many levels.
Winning credit card roulette should not be a punishment. The unwritten rule was always the winner buys the first round; we should probably get back to that. It’s not cool to win and maybe pay more than the dinner bill. Crenshaw thought he forget his coat at Snickers the next morning, went down there only to find out he hung it up on the back of his door at home. Good times. Mastro’s was better than usual this time but I had low expectations. The prices are egregious, and this place will never be a top tier place for me. Great evening as always.
Mastro’s is essentially a car payment for most, but in the end you don’t get to drive off. Its absurd. My steak was good and the portion was on the spot given it was split. The only reason to go to Mastro’s is the butter cake and the staff of the opposing sex. I am in agreement with Reeshard on all of his points except for supporting the Tide and that egregious ascot he was wearing on this fine Thursday evening. Whoever thought up putting seafood in mashy p’s or cheesy mac was an idiot savant, idiot for the basic culinary flaw, savant for inventing a new way to fleece tourists. Any time we stray into these two menu abominations I immediately regret even thinking well I guess i will try it. I did not make it to Snickers to further the bar tab but it sounds like a good one. Looking forward to December gents. 6/10.
P.S. Mark Zebro we miss thee! Great to see you and make it a more frequent occurrence please.
It’s been far too long, but what a trip it was to be downtown with the fine gentlemen of steak night.
Our gracious host and Brad Ray welcomed me to the bar after the world’s longest uber ride from suburbia with the driver who decided to practice his schtick as a self proclaimed up and coming comedian. It was the first time I had set foot inside of Mastro’s, and the bar was impressive. Not overwhelming, not too flashy, but just a great place to enjoy a few glasses of scotch with a good live band as the night moved on. The scotch tasted better than ever on this Thursday night.
As we moved to the table, the room surprised me. Ambiance was not here, at least for the steak night crew. I had a different image of the inside of this place. Where was everybody?
In terms of apps, the crab legs were the star. I believe the servers brought out condiments or accoutrements to use alongside the legs but nothing was needed to add to the flavor of those succulent legs. If there’s a return trip here in my future I’ll absolutely add an order of these. Bacon slabs were ok. The shrimp and sauce was a real crowd favorite from what I recall as the table attempted to absorb every last bit of the sauce with the bread accompaniment.
One of my weakest moments in the few steak nights I have attended happened during the main meal. Eating merely half my nicely cooked ribeye was a low moment. I recall it tasting generally ok and cooked to the proper temp, but I just wasn’t ready to put the foot to the metal and take a deep dive into the meat sweats. The leftovers made a nice hangover recovery the next day. Also, whomever’s leftovers that were left in my bag were equally as beneficial for my hangover the next day.
The star of the night, as expressed by a few others, was most certainly the butter cake. Could this have been my first butter cake? I may never know. It for sure won’t be my last, though.
Ending the night at Snickers and having possibly two too many was a much needed reminder of the limitations of my liver these days. Still all in all, great to be with you fine gentlemen as usual. Here’s to hoping for more regular appearances, and better timing in responses on this blog. Great to be with you gentlemen.