From the desk of Scotty Markets (dictated but not read)

Once again the time of the month arrived for the finest epicurean gentlemen to gather for a night of feast and sport at one of the local steak haunts of the city.  As gracious host of the evening for a full boat…er make that 9, er…make that 8…ok, finally 7; we were all adorned with the fine choice of Chicago Cut Steakhouse for the evening.

Upon my arrival at the restaurant, I was nicely greeted by most of the bunch, and reminded how unwelcoming the bar area (in overall shape and table partitioning) is laid out, as well as the fact that there is either a really small coat room, or just a desire to display everyone’s coats and handbags (Gimms) for the evening in the cavernous hallway the restaurant features on the way back to the kitchen and bathrooms.  The layout of the bar encroaching on that hallway and host stand right in the entry way really begs to wonder who the hell designed the space and why they haven’t fixed it after 5+ years.

That said, drinks were paid for (thanks Don!) by the partakers and on to a lovely table for 5 that we dutifully surrounded in the dining room.  A crowded, bustling dining room was likely the cause of this and all was immediately forgiven, but it does remind one that a manageable seating arrangement like that of The Capital Grille the prior month does have its merits.  Snuggly tucked in, I fired in my most accommodative wine order for the group (Hess Allomi) as well as some apps with the varietals of tuna tartare, lamb chops , pork belly (I mean bacon) and crab and avocado.  Given that it was almost impossible to reach for anything on the table without knocking into the person or his food sitting next to you, props to the waiters for dialing up and dishing out equal portions to the ravenous group.

The real dinner time came with a bone-in filet med rare for the king here, along with some nice other cuts that the establishment featured.  While mine was cooked perfectly and good comments were abound on preparation, my steak did not have a ton of flavor.  Not to say it was bland but given that the béarnaise sauce stood no chance and had me asking for more, fair to say some flavor was lacking.  That said the prep and tenderness like an donkey’s ass was nice enough to not send it back.

Conversation was lively with some discussions of best steak joints in the city along with other high society banter…housemaid cost, au pair arrangements, etc…the usual stuff.  One item we did leave off that is of particular curiosity to yours truly is combining the steak night reviews we gave at the table with bar scene/comfortability as that is seeming to come up more and more at some of these joints which choose to sacrifice a good bar scene to focus on dining only.

Mason was the big winner on the bday celebration and because of the Pats winning their 15^th Super Bowl Championship of the decade, Cizzle walked free on a decent tab.  Note by the time we adjourned just after 10pm, and over the course of the last hour or so of eating, the place emptied, and it wasn’t because of the boisterous group.  Seemed like an oddly desolate feel in the encompassing room to have it nearly half empty no later than 9pm on a non-holiday weekend Thursday in Chicago…which gets me to my point:  Chicago Cut is pretty overrated in my mind.  Service is good, food is good, bar needs some work, layout mechanics of the place stink, and given its near perfect location (right on the picturesque and often frozen  Chicago River), I would come to expect a little more.  Maybe that is just me, but for my bet, this place has lost a good bit of the luster it hit the scene with when it opened several years back.

7/10

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