Suggested by Glick with a location assist from Mason, September 5, 2019 brought with it a Steak Night first; private dining for the NFL season opener. The Venetian room at Wollensky’s Grill suited the group well with a table for 10, including the live broadcast.

I settled into the room for drinks as opposed to the bar. Crenshaw and Rick soon followed with Scottie unexpectedly crashing through the doors. The problem with Scottie there is it was 20 min to kick off and he was supposed to be at Soldier field with his wife. After some awkward greetings he did what ‘Captain Sneaky’ (college nickname) does, and vanished without a trace.

The ordering process differed from the norm so we could maximize our time in the room. Once a few folks came in we just started ordering some apps and wine. No real method to the madness. The menu for the private room was the same as the restaurant – which varies a bit from the Grill’s traditional offerings. We started with the grilled bacon, crab cakes and angry shrimp. All were real solid with my top marks going to the shrimp. The bacon was good but had more of a pulled pork taste as opposed a bacon log. Flowers pinot, always a good choice, was the wine we started out with.

The decision was made to get a bunch of different steaks and have them sliced up so the group could sample a bunch. We were recommended the chateaubriand and rounded out with the porterhouse for two and a bone in rib-eye. The chateaubriand was just decent while I enjoyed the other two cuts. The meat was enough for me, however may have been one steak short of a complete order, to be fair. Groth 2014 for wine with the steaks which was excellent.

With the desserts we kept it to the cheese cake and chocolate cake, which were decidedly differing in size.

As far as the game goes, the Bears were No Bueno and leave a lot of open questions heading into the rest of the season. We hit up Snickers for the after party.

I thought this was a great night all in all – Just a Scottie shy of a full boat, which is rare these days. Changing up the month to month is a good idea when the opportunity arises. Kudos to Glick who floated the idea and Mason for his $.02 on the venue. Service and ambiance were what was expected.

Evening: 9

Meal: 7.5

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