THE SETTING:
Jerry Sloan.  The Debt Ceiling.  Caves in New Hampshire – all topics of conversation as we embarked on Stetson’s Chop House, a new addition to the steak night list and a first visit for everyone.

We were supposed to have a full house of 9, unfortunately, two suspect cancellations by Scotty, I have a big Friday presentation, and Chris, I have a lady in town Holinger, left us with 7 (more on this later).

THE SCENE:
Stetson’s is hidden, or should we say buried in the Hyatt.  Walking through a large, convention style hotel does a disservice to the establishment.  Unfortunately, because of the location and the nature of the large hotel business, the crowd was sparse and oriented towards the traveler.  Still, nice art, warm mahogany and a spacious dining room make the atmosphere welcoming.

THE BAR:
Spicy snack mix and a warm welcome from Deborah, our bar back, proved a nice touch.  A talented singer tickling the ivory and the good company of Brad, Brian and Hans made for a pleasant cocktail hour.   With Rick arriving promptly at 8 and Mr. Glick and Mr. Cole running behind, we did not feel rushed.

THE SERVICE:
While rather disjointed, everyone was incredibly nice and informative.  Our sommlier offered fine wine choices from the ipad list of grapes and our server, Barbara provided a friendly face to match our surroundings.

THE FOOD:
* Appetizers came quickly and were adequate.  Calamari was tasty, with a chili sauce accompaniment, seared beef lacked much gusto and the crab cakes were dominated by the lobster sauce they sat in.
* A pause: In a move never seen before, we were offered a lemon sorbet in a mini-cone to cleanse the pallet.  Classy.
* Steaks were well received, although several options came over cooked.  Numerous offerings around “extras” such blue-cheese crumble and mushroom topping proved a pleasant departure from the standard fare.
* Sides seized the day.  Au gratin potatoes, creamed corn, steamed asparagus and a stellar truffle mac and cheese were very good.
* Desserts: In a lavish and meaningful move by the team of servers, we were given a taste of every single dessert.  Chocolate covered strawberries the clear favorite.

NEW RULES:
Based on the performance of Mr. Martin and Mr. Holinger, a new rule was passed.  If you are to bail, you must do so by responding to the entire list.  Further, if you bail within 24 hours of said evening, you are to do a shot of the group’s choosing post dinner.

BOYS BANTER:
Our table at the far end of a long room, with good acoustics provided a forum for tremendous conversation and one of the more enjoyable dialogues in steak night memory.

OVERALL: 6
Fun to go to a new place, fairly good steak, moderately priced.   If you are in Chicago for one night, this is not your destination, but for a night out with the boys, it was just what the doctor ordered: It helps when I walked free and enjoyed b-day dinner.

Filed under: General | 8 Comments »