It had been a couple of years since we attended Joe’s for Steak Night, one of the best places in Chicago and one of my personal favorites. In my opinion this place should be in the Steak Night rotation once a year.

We started the evening across the street at Eddie V’s. Crenshaw and I arrived to find Zee German off Daddy duty and drinking alone at the bar. We were soon joined by Brad, Mason and Colorado’s finest Roddy. Eddie V’s has a nice vibe for pre-dinner drinks. It’s bustling but not obnoxiously crowded with a band adding to the atmosphere. We all got our drink on and reminisced about the time Brad asked how dinner was before we actually ate.

We walked across the street a couple of minutes after 8:30, unfortunately no Alice Cooper sighting this time but we did spot a celebrity later in the evening, more on that later. Glick joined us at Joe’s and it took about 15-20 minutes to be seated. This was one of the only negative moments of the evening, the wait, not Glick joining.

The dining room was packed as always and the group was seated at a round table on the left side. Starving from the late start I ordered apps immediately,I passed on the stone crabs because they were out of season and are overrated as far as bang for your buck. We went with the fried chicken, shrimp De Jonghe and ahi tuna tartare. The fried chicken is excellent, it could demote Colonel Sanders to Lieutenant Sanders. The shrimp de jonge is a breadcrumb and garlic delight and one of my favorite apps, the tuna was good also. I decided I needed some crab bisque too just to make sure I ate a full meal before my actual meal arrived.

Bone In ribeye medium rare for this guy: prepared, flavored, seasoned and cooked perfectly. Sides included lyonnaise potatoes, Jennie’s mashed, mac n cheese and creamed spinach. All good but the Lyonnaise were the star, I had never had them at Joe’s before and I love their take with the caramelized onions. Joe’s just does everything aspect of the meal well. My only regret is that I ate too much prior to my steak arriving. For dessert we got some key lime pie which generally is an overrated dessert but Joe’s does that well too with that graham cracker crust.

The vibe and conversation at dinner was really pleasant, there was no political talk at all. I pointed out that John Smoltz was at the table behind us. At first Glick claimed this was a Jerry Sloan like call which is a reference to the time he claimed a guy that didn’t resemble Jerry Sloan even slightly was at the table by us. However it was confirmed that it was Smoltz who was in town to broadcast the Cubs playoff game. In fact while watching the game the following evening I realized that Smoltz’s broadcast partner Matt Vasgerian was also at the table with Smoltz. These guys now join the other celebrities we have seen at steak night: Steve “Mongo” McMichael, Alice Cooper, Ken Griffey Junior and Scotty Martin.

Hans won a credit card roulette, at least Mason didn’t continue his Dimaggio like streak. Post dinner drinks were at Siena Tavern. Great evening, food and company.

Cheers.

Joe Predicto

 

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