Mastro's Steakhouse - River North

http://chicago.metromix.com/restaurants ... 93/content set to open this fall. I heard they are having open interviews this week. Do you think another steakhouse in a cursed location will fare well? they seem to be well reviewed on yelp in other cities.

Mastro's Steakhouse
520 N. Dearborn St.
Chicago, IL 60654
312-521-5100

I went for a guy's night out on Friday, and I have to say the steak was damn good. They serve 28 day wet-aged prime for all cuts, rubbed with some secret seasoning and cooked in a 1500 degree broiler. I had the porterhouse which was very tender, even the strip side. They normally serve the meat on a 400 degree plate, but when I asked for my steak rare, the waiter wisely suggested a more room-temp plate, and rare my steak was. The rub was tasty without overpowering the steak. Apps included shrimp cocktail with the largest shrimp I have ever seen, and a pretty decent asian seared tuna. For sides we had the lobster mashed potatoes, which had big chunks of claw meat throughout. Everyone loved that dish. We also had the crab gnocchi which was ok, but a little heavy and with not as much crab as the potatoes had lobster. We skipped desert in favor of about 5 cocktails each, coupled with 2 bottles of wine the tab came to just under $200 a head.

The room showed off it's Vegas and LA pedigree, a little flashy with lots of gold, heavy fabrics and mirrors. There was a piano singer at the bar, and plenty of people in to just drink, see and be seen. With the vibe a little less "viagra triangle" than Gibsons but still with a pick-up edge.

In all it was a little pricier than the Chicago native steakhouses, the meat was better than most, the special sides were more extravagant, the room a little more hip, and the service was a little more attentive. But the bottm line is, there may not be room for another steakhouse in Chicago. For low-key wet-aged, give me Erie Cafe. For high-end dry-aged, give me Primehouse. For Chicago tradition, I'll take Gibsons.

If I had to spend the money, and wanted that vibe again, I'd head back.

Erie Cafe
536 West Erie Street
Chicago, IL 60654-5726
(312) 266-2300

David Burke's Primehouse
616 North Rush Street
Chicago, IL 60611-2712
(312) 660-6000

Gibson's
1028 North Rush Street
Chicago, IL 60611
(312) 266-8999

Mastro's Steakhouse
520 N Dearborn St
Chicago, IL 60654
(312) 521-5100

MelT wrote:In all it was a little pricier than the Chicago native steakhouses, the meat was better than most, the special sides were more extravagant, the room a little more hip, and the service was a little more attentive. But the bottom line is, there may not be room for another steakhouse in Chicago. For low-key wet-aged, give me Erie Cafe. For high-end dry-aged, give me Primehouse. For Chicago tradition, I'll take Gibsons.

As an aside on Gibson's (there doesn't seem to be a dedicated Gibson's-on-Rush thread, and I'm not sure it's worth creating one), the last time I was there, in September, it was like the wheels had fallen off. My lamb chops, ordered medium-rare, came out bloody rare. When I sent them back for more cooking, they came back inexplicably the same. When I sent them back a second time (this time with the accommodation from the waiter that they would be removed from the check--he agreed completely with me that the product from the kitchen was not what I ordered), they came back completely well-done, gray, dry and tough. Three chances to hit the mark or even just come close (I'm not that demanding--a few degrees of temperature one way or the other won't bother me), three failures.

A member of our party who ordered the walleye reported that the center of the fish was raw.

Most of my experiences at Gibson's have not been this way, but it's not unprecedented. The time before that temperature seemed to be a real problem for the kitchen was a couple of years ago, and I chalked it up as a "one-off" at the time. But this experience showed it wasn't. To maintain their place on the Chicago steakhouse short list in the face of new competition from places like Mastro's, they really should attend to this most fundamental of problems.

Most of my experiences at Gibson's have not been this way, but it's not unprecedented. The time before that temperature seemed to be a real problem

I agree with that. . . I do get to steakhouses fairly often, and I would bet that about 15-20% of the time at Gibson's I had a piece of meat that was less than what I expected. I order the meat rare and would probably enjoy the meat at room temp. I'll often throw out a comment like "a good vet should be able to bring it back to life." Ordering like that at a steak joint usually gets me the blood red meat I enjoy. So temp isn't really an issue for me. What I have noticed is that on those off nights at Gibson's the meat will have an unacceptable amount of grizzle running through it, or just not be as tender or flavorful as on the on nights. I am guessing that from time to time they dip lower on the "prime" scale than they used to.

From what I understand, there are three subgrades in each grade of beef. I also remember seeing somewhere that beef grading scales have been lowered, so that what used to be high end choice is now somwhere on the prime scale. I can't remember if that was the food network, or linked somewhere in these pages. Can anyone else cite what I am suggesting here?

At any rate, I have just assumed that Gibson's meat has slipped a bit, due to conventional grading slipping or a business decision. All that said, I still choose Gibson's for a traditional Chicago steak experience.

Went to Mastro's again over the weekend. This time I ordered the 33oz "Chef's Cut" bone-in ribeye. Like I said upthread, they serve a very tender piece of meat. The "rub" adds to the flavor. I preferred the porterhouse I had before. Mostly the tenderness that makes this place notable was a bit of a downer on the ribeye cut, especially when ordered rare. There were pockets of flabby fat that were a bit much and the meat was a touch on the mushy side. I guess I prefer my ribeyes dry aged. They wet age at Mastro's.

The lobster mashed potatoes were fantastic, and this time I had the butter cake for dessert. It is one of the best desserts I have ever had.

They pour a stiff drink here, and the price is still high. Watch out for the specials. We were touted an off menu waygu bone-in ribeye, and were not offered the price. Knowing what I know about waygu and the general priciness of the place, I asked. . . . $98. By means of comparison the menu bone-in ribeye was 5 oz bigger and $53.

Other than that, the service is perfect.

We visited Mastro's to celebrate our anniversary. My husband is a big steak guy and that part of the meal did not disappoint. The room is very clubby and dark. I saw the waiters use a flashlight to help a few people who were having trouble reading the menu. Also while we were dining, there was some kind of issue with the lights. They kept going on and off. The live music in the bar was piped in upstairs and lent itself well to the swanky atmosphere

We started with the lobster bisque which was very rich. It almost felt like I was sipping pure butter. The bowl (like all of the portions here) was huge. The bread basket was served warm and had several nice options. I love a good bread basket. The entrees were huge. I tried the chilean sea bass which was almost 2 inches thick with a good crust. My husband loved his steak and it was cooked a perfect medium rare. Since it was the specialty, we spent the $38 (market price) for the lobster mashed potatoes. They were good, but not sure if they are worth the money.

We got a free dessert to celebrate our anniversary with the requisite personalization (and they even spelled the name right). The chocolate cake was very dry and after the big meal, we could barely eat half of it.

Service was good at the beginning, but the waiter seemed to be trying to impress us by bragging about his time in LA and all the stars he waited on. He also was pretty scarce after a larger party came in.

We recently tried Chicago Cut Steakhouse and would put it ahead of Mastro's.