Mastro’s
In the shadows of the great blizzard of 2011, SteaksandCigars.com’s fine men descended on a dining experience that was ablaze with anticipation. Without giving away the ending right away, let’s say there was something for everyone in this latest pilgrimage.
Firstly, this was hoped to be a record night with regards to numbers, and was so alongside a further addition to the steak night annals with the “official” welcoming of young Brian P. Cartwright to the group. Cartwright’s attendance landed us at the fine number of “9” for diners on the night considering that Brad Ray’s flight was canceled, and thus his attitude lifted, so we were happy to have the band fully together.
Upon arriving just after 715pm at Mastro’s, we found the welcoming crew of 3 blondes (who could not have been any better had they been triplets) to be very disarming as they directed us to coat check and the voluminous bar area were our newest addition was, for the first time in his life, on time. A guy that could not have been any further away from Fats Domino was tickling the ivories and getting some help from a Norah Jones/Alanis Morrisette/Tori Amos backup singer to provide what the bourgeoisie call “ambiance” for the cocktail hour.
With the complete arrival of our party, including Jev and Don (who were a few minutes late but should be forgiven since they have only had 3 year’s notice that dinner starts at 8), we were led to our table. Fittingly, we were dining upstairs, much like one Bears QB did just hours after suffering a grade 2 tear of his MCL and blowing the chances for his team to make it to the big dance. After negotiating what was a tricky, but rewarding, staircase up to the 2nd level, I can see why Mr. Cutler chose to face that carpeted beast rather than the Packers defense in the second half of the NFC championship game.
Our round table was nicely laid out and situated by the window, where Brad Ray and I could look out and wonder only what could have been if we had stayed single and not become (or in Brad’s case becoming) dads. Yes, that was the big announcement of the night, well, that and the fact that Brad chose to distance himself from my offer to help him with all the mind bending things that are going to happen to him and his lovely in the next 6 months and beyond with children.
The wait staff was quite attentive and very genuine in recommending the most expensive things on the menu as “favorites” but also allowing us to overcome the heart palpitations that came with each price announcement that followed the suggestions. I did, however, select a reasonably priced wine (not recommended by the wait staff) that will go down as one of my all-time favs for steak night – the Hess 2007 Napa Cab.
The apps turned out pretty good, with mushrooms stuffed with lump crab meat, complimented by some oysters from Lake Titicaca in Bolivia. We also dined on some chilled king crab legs. A lack of calamari or other group-sharing appetizers was somewhat of a noted drawback. Most of the group went with steaks of the bone-in variety, with Jon Glick, and new, but quietly taking it all in member Cartwright ordering the 33oz Wagyu bone-in ribeye, which was the most expensive steak ($98) on the menu.
Most, if not all the steaks were prepared to perfection, with some complaints loud enough to rise over the now increasingly offensive lounge music from downstairs to be that the meat was chewy or the plates were too hot. Steaks do need to be chewed and they do need to be heated up to cook. The sides we enjoyed happened to be quite expensive and oddly bland, or at least have common taste, in lobster mashed potatoes, gorgonzola mac & cheese, creamed corn and garlic sautéed spinach.
Not quite full, we finished the meal off with some of the “recommended” (read: expensive) desserts and coffees with my lovely acquiring a piece of the triple layer cake. With Glick getting the birthday and seeing the size of the bill, he seized an opportunity to capitalize on an old football pick ‘em bet and self-declared his walking free. Originally met with groans by the group, the motion was acknowledged and we proceeded to the usual final activities with Jev walking free. This time, however, there was no rail riding. He did his best Jay Cutler and walked down the stairs like all the rest of us complete meniscus-having fellas and the night, like the Bears season a couple weeks ago, was finished.
Filed under: General
Welcome Brian “4” Cartwright, a worthy addition to the group.
The evening got off to an impressive start. A massive bar area complete with plenty of tables proved the perfect way to kickoff the evening. The cocktail waitress was attentive and there was no waiting for drinks or attempts to flag her down. She was not even fazed by the somewhat out of the blue request to muddle the limes from Chris “Two Limes” Holinger. It’s nice to have great service for the cocktail portion of the evening as well.
My expectations were high to start the evening and remained high after the excellent happy hour. Would the dinner meet expectations? Despite the occasional pimping of the most expensive items I thought the service was good. Although I prefer that the sides be placed on the table to serve yourself rather then placed directly on your plate but that’s a minor nit. Let’s be honest ambiance and service is nice but when it all comes down to it the most important component of the evening is the food.
Unfortunately for me I thought the meal was disappointing. The lobster bisque was great, tons of lobster in it and served in a huge bowl but the food failed to meet expectations after that. When reading the menu the sides sounded fantastic, so many choices and some new options but upon arriving at the table they were not what I hoped for. The lobster-mashed potatoes had an unpleasant fishy taste. I ordered the porterhouse medium rare. The filet side was undercooked and chewy, I have had better steaks. Maybe my expectations were to high but given the price I expected more out of Mastro’s.
Credit card roulette, I did not win again, the saga continues. I feel like when it comes to this part of the evening there is lots of hype, many guys saying “I think Rick is going to win tonight or tonight is Rick’s night to finally win”. These comments build the hype but then I don’t win, it just doesn’t happen. Lots of hype and it doesn’t happen, kind of like Hans’s Super Bowl Party.
One more thing, I love how Martin likes to throw digs at the Bears and Cutler for losing in the NFC Championship in his post. This coming from a Vikings fan whose season was over some time in October and whose quarterback would be texting pictures of his cock to the hot blonde welcoming crew had he dined at Mastro’s.
Always a great evening gentleman, I look forward to March.
Mr. Martin, that was a fine review. I struggled to follow at times, but feel as though you captured the essence of the night.
Mastro’s has loomed over the group for some time; for months we have danced and flirted around our attendance, February 3rd was go time. Situated in the space previously occupied by a favorite of mine, Blue Water Grill, expectations were high.
Arriving promptly at 8pm, Donald and I walked into a crowded vestibule. The energy of this place was contagious. Greeted with news of Ole Gims impending fatherhood, the night took on an even greater anticipation. Unfortunately, like the two weeks leading up to the Super Bowl, the frenetic energy was unsustainable. Appetizers are heavily seafood focused and over priced. They miss the ability to speak to a key audience. That said, I enjoyed the mushrooms stuffed with crab.
My steak was one of my favorites to date. The 12oz Bone in Filet melts in your mouth. All cuts of meat are very large, so choose wisely.
I agree with Lamb Boat’s review of the sides; to call them uneventful is polite. One flavor blended into another. To boot, they priced themselves out of consideration. As an aside, as Brad and I continue our quest for the most perfect creamed spinach in the city, this was not it. Weak to very weak.
Desserts were very good. Donald wisely recommended the spice cake; it was one of a kind.
Towards the end of the evening, lyrics from Kenny Rogers The Gambler floated upward, however, they were crowed by a female voice that butchered many verses. I think it is safe to say that on many bets, Mastro’s needs to know when to hold em’ and when to fold em’.
Atmosphere – bet
Aps- fold
Meat – bet
Desert – bet
Company – Bet big – the best
Overall – win with a 7
Hard to complain when you walk free. Thanks for dinner boys.
Mastro’s seemed to be the talk of the town in terms of the new steak places to hit – so I was excited for our visit. Upon arrival a friendly, good looking hostess greets you as you walk in and head to the bar area. The bar itself is very large although surprisingly crowded – considering there is 2 feet of snow on the ground outside. Our newest member Brian “4” Cartwright had a table secured in the back. No doubt he was excited for his first official steak night; he probably arrived at 5pm. Cocktails were good as was service and banter was witty – as per usual. In true form Cole, Glick and Ole’ Thorzeen show up at 5 past 8. (clearly not arriving “promptly at 8”, as Jevon’s post indicated. I think the balance of the boys would agree with that!)
We were brought upstairs to the dining area and a nice table for 9 – welcoming and elegant. In looking at the menu I found it to have too many options. There was just too much on it which I felt was distracting. Taking a close look at the apps, there was mostly fish – not the best selection for group sharing. The wait staff was a bit much in my opinion and clearly was pushing the big ticket items. If your wallet so desired you can get an ounce of caviar for $200 or a sampling of fresh seafood served over dry ice for $98….per person! Excuse me? I didn’t catch that? I think I will just have the calamari instead. Ohh Wait, that was not on the menu.
Anyway, onto the steak. There were multiple cuts and a special tomahawk wagu rib eye which sounded appealing, until they told me it was $100 bucks. So I went with the old standby, bone in rib eye. Cooked perfect but just, how do you say, “meh” on the flavor side. Not bad….but not great. The sides were just “meh” as well. The process of serving all sides directly onto your plate has to go. I get the service aspect of it but I prefer to serve my own sides. The lobster mashed were actually a surprising low-light as they were more fishy than tasty.
All in all, Mastros was just decent. Maybe it was the initial hype, maybe it was jay cutler and Kristen cavalari not being there maybe it was the egregious pricing. For my money, there are many other steak places in Chicago I prefer.
Glick collected on the suicide pool (he also ordered a $100 steak, well played sir…) Ole’ thorzeen walked free again and it was glicks b-day.
7
Auspicious beginnings courtesy of the hostesses & broad shoulders of the bar/lounge area. The steaks tasted like success. But Matro’s is still rough around the edges.
In stark contrast to several of our recent nights, the vast expanse of the bar/lounge area was overwhelming at first: I almost missed the group of good looking gentlemen tucked away in the back. Ray dropped the bomb of another bun in the oven over well muddled beverages and many laughs were had.
Once we got to the table, what began perfectly devolved into some minor disappointments: the only redeeming appetizer were the stuffed mushrooms in an otherwise dismal spread.
Service was mediocre: I had to repeat basic requests on two occasions and our waiter was obviously trying to up-sell us at every turn.
The wine was well picked.
The steaks could not have turned out better, though I did suffer from some steak-envy when the wagyu rib-eye made its appearance on the 2 plates to the left of me (thanks for the taste, fellas).
Happy birthday to Mr. Glick indeed: Mastro’s specialty dessert is not to be missed.
Cart, it’s great to officially have you on board, nice to know that Scotty can still get away for an evening with the fellas even though Sienna is now the apple of his eye and Brad, we all can’t wait to embrace you as a father in a few short months.
Cheers!
Great dinner. Welcome to the team Cart! Congrats Mr. B Ray…the world will definitely be a different place.
I believe we accomplished two great things this evening: 1. we invited a new member to the team thereby removing my status as the new guy 2. We managed to have full attendance at the dinner and didn’t institute anymore rules.
Well done on all fronts. I look forward to the next meal together.
First of all I want to address the meal then back track to the cocktails with a dramatic finish on dessert. This is the Quentin Tarantino of reviews. i threw caution to the wind and selected the NY. usually i am more of a filet guy but i figured what go go wrong with a new yorker in this hyped establishment. Here is where I take serious issue with Mastros. It was cooked perfectly upon initial review. That is of course until it graced my refined palette. Chewy, disappointing flavor, and overall mediocre is giving it a fair review. The sides were nothing short of the bottom of the steak night barrel that is if we do not include Petterinos.
And now we re back downstairs at the cocktail hour. Sharing a cab over with Rick, Brad, and Scotty gave me an opportunity for a pre dinner game of “Who’s hand is that?” Being welcoming by the one and only 4 to a cozy little back of the bar table was a welcome sight. The $17 / glass bookers bourbon bill was less pleasant. I will make sure a lime never goes unmuddled from this point forward. I pause to congratulate Brad and Sam on the conception, well played good sir. Perhaps you should cash in my belated cabinets wedding gift for a changing table?
Dessert was overall quite good compared to the disappointing main course. I am always happy to treat Jev to a free meal but at this point it might be better to just concede the fact that he is paying off the wait staff or the credit card has bent corners….
6
PS looking forward to a wintry thaw in March and continuing out after dinner for a cocktail or two with the strong of will. It is my call and we are going to Ruth’s Chris. I have not been, i hear the last time we attended it was an epic evening….. Sweat suits are not permitted.
Thank you all for the kind welcome, and thank you for letting my join in your company. Mastro’s was a great way to start things out in an official manner. The atmosphere was pleasant and spacious, and the bar had an impressive liquor display that reflected the menus price-point. This all became an afterthought as Brad Ray announced his soon to be fatherhood! Congratulations Brad.
The dining portion of the evening continued the relaxed vibe as good conversation was exchanged in front of a large glass windows that revealed a cold but beautiful Chicago. The service was great and the appetizers were delicious and a great way to prepare for the amazing cuts that were about to present themselves. Mr Glick and I split an amazing American Wagyu that will not be forgotten. The sides were good but not memorable compared to the steak, but still nothing to turn away. In the end I was impressed with the overall experience and would be happy to return.
Looking forward to future nights fellas.
I give it a 7.
I got screwed on this . . . Mastro’s proved to be a much better ambiance than my last visit, although I am thoroughly confused by the sizzling plates. It does great things for the steak, but absolutely destroys the sides.
Welcome Cartwright and congrats to Bradley.