A good rendering of Chicago’s most fine gentlemen descended on yet another worthy venue in September for an evening of feast and sport the likes of which no one will ever forget…well, except maybe Don Cole who ceremoniously canceled with 5 minutes left on the shot clock until dinner.  This left us with 8 diners for the evening as Rick Ray was on a date somewhere with a certain someone, who shall remain a secret.

Besides the usual draw, the night of steak had a special lure as we were drawn in celebration of young Guillaume Conway’s early retirement from the publicly-traded rat race in his desire to delve into something much more challenging.  A few of our select gentlemen joined him at his private terrace on Michigan Avenue overlooking the park thankfully not named after that edgy 18-30 demo (millennials) for a few pre-dinner bevs and the night was off and running.

Making our way to the venue was high class as Mr. Conway afforded us a black car SUV ride with a driver we will just call “Aswipeay” because he drove like one.  III Forks, in its tucked away oasis of location just off Wacker/Lake Shore Drive provides some nice breathing room for those who enjoy the relatively massive greenspace that the area displays along with the peace and quiet of the area’s contained ecosphere.

Dale at III Forks was a wonderful hostess and immediately seated us in a side room with a view to the restaurant where we all snuggled in comfortably.  Vinnie showed up not more than seconds later with an introduction and walk through the cuts, sides, and wine, 2 of which were likely due to be ordered in excess.  That said, we settled on the app round with hamachi, lamb meatballs, veg ravioli, and seared scallops which all were winners in my opinion.  To top it off, Zee German was shut out from getting any ravioli, which was fine work by the table.

Moving onto the steaks was a wild adventure due to both the choice and exorbitant pricing that faced the group, from tomahawks to wagyu to dry-aged, the III Forks meat lineup presents a lot of choices, but none too cheap.  It seemed like the group as a whole meandered comfortably through the selections and will leave it to each to comment on theirs; as I thoroughly enjoyed my bone-in NY strip, enhanced with a 42-day dry age on it.

Conversation was live and we even had the pleasure of seeing out waiter slam into the clear glass door of the private room and spill everything he was carrying, including some expensive cutlery.  Other highlights included some bread tossing into the awaiting open mouth of Daddy Gimms and some general teasing when it came to my recent performance in Las Vegas and one member’s employment of an au pair as the best deal on the planet.

Sadly, eventually the evening was drawn to an end with young Mason setting a steak night record with his breakneck winning pace of credit card roulette continuing as he enjoyed yet another free dinner on the group, while some members tore off into the night in search of another oasis similar to what III Forks delivered us for our event.

8.5/10

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