November 2014.  A time when the people of Chicago (and Illinois) were given a chance to vote for change and they readily accepted the challenge.  I decided to try and extend democracy to one of the last places it seems to exist (save North Korean ) and offered the group a chance to vote for their dinner.  The choice?  Trying the untouched virgin territory of  the chicago suburbs or another night in the city.  The results?  Unanimous disdain for the idea of going anywhere outside of the 312.

So we were headed to Gene and Georgetti.  To bump it up a notch and because we had a full boat of 8 I pressured hard to get us a private room.  After much demurring (and the insistence that we had one last time) they succumbed.  Little did they know the PUP list (and the pup list) would take a chunk out of the action.  While Don Cole was forgiven for having a child that night (Welcome Hans Cole!  err..Theo) Rick with a back and Jevon with a throat were last minute disappointments.  However, as some would say, only the strong survive.

Cocktails started early (before 7) and when i showed up early at 730 the full boat was there.  Hans Crenshaw Brad and Scottie were all seated at the bar in what looked like deep into rd. 2 of the night.   Our table was ready as soon as we wanted it and once the cocktails were polished off, we headed upstairs to our private alcove.

The service was great, attentive and added to the enjoyment of the evening.  Anything we asked for we got.

Apps are not the bread butter of G&G and the bread and butter was the most memorable part.  I was talked out of the clams and believe a fried calamari and something else was all we got.  We all got Cesar salads to fill the gap.

I had the bone-in filet and thought it was pretty good.  Perfectly salted and cooked i felt very satisfied by it.  Sides of creamed spinach, asparagus and the complimentary home fries all went pretty well.  For desert we celebrated Brad Ray’s birthday and the election of Gov. Rauner.  We missed Rick Ray’s thoughts in the political arena.  His ability to rattle off the last 20 secretary of states is unbelievable.

As for the picture – we introduced a new game to dinner – Liar’s Poker.  We played for the dinner and I was lucky enough to win and get a free walk.  Even with the free walk (and a 3rd bottle of wine for the game) total damage came well below the last few dinners.

We headed down below for a final round at the bar and well, let’s just say we learned they don’t serve milk and cookies at G&G.

Bar: 7/10

Waiter: 9.5/10

Apps: 7/10

Wine: 8/10 (10/10 for value)

Steaks: 8/10

Dessert: 3/10

Steak environment: 10/10

Fun Times: Off the Charts

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