We first came to RPM Steak on October 3, 2014. The newly-opened restaurant had just been graced by the presence of President Barack H. Obama the night before. I won’t recount the details of that night, but whether it was the Obama hangover or the newness of the restaurant, they did not perform well. However if there is one thing America loves, it’s redemption. While RPM did not blow us away and enter the top elite Chicago steak house pantheon, redemption complete.

 

I strolled in at 7:15 to see Messrs. Crenshaw and Rick Ray at the bar. Fortunately the seat next to them was open and they had left some Oban in the bottle. I quickly saddled up to both. There was a bit of discussion regarding Mr. Crenshaw’s role as a guest lecturer in a recent college level class, a teaching performance that can only be described as Dead Poets Society meets Sam Kinison in Back to School. Quickly thereafter Messrs. Brad Ray, Thoresen and Glick joined and we were promptly seated at a nice table back and to the left, back and to the left.

 

Our waiter Cornel did a nice job. He sensed we were hungry and brought out popovers for us in about 30 seconds. We also thoroughly enjoyed the thick cut bacon and calamari. Both were scarfed down upon minutes of their arrival.

We also ordered a nice Kistler Pinot Noir, while not inexpensive, was better priced relative to the rest of the menu. Positive reviews lead to a second bottle to go with our steaks. Last time the wine list was beyond exorbitant so it was nice to see some variety there.

I ordered a 16 oz. bone-in filet. It seems they have added a bit of salt to the steaks since our first visit, which was just wonderful. All were enjoyed, none were sent back.

The sides included hand cut fries and jumbo asparagus. Both were finished, no commentary provided on their quality, but hard to screw those up and they didn’t.