Tramonto's Steak & Seafood

I went to Tramonto's Steak and Seafood last night for my wife's 30th birthday. I thought I would share our experience with the group.

We arrived at 6:30 for our reservations to find we were only the second party there. (By 7:30 the places was packed, not a single open seat) The restuarant is smaller than I imagined. Unlike most of the large chicago steakhouses, this does not wander from room to room. It's one, medium size dining room with an impressive glass wall of wine separating it from Osteria Di Tramonto on the other side.

Let me start by saying that the service was terrific the entire night. We never had to wait for more than a minute for anything. On top of that the servers were both helpful and friendly. We were a little concerned at first that this was a little too much like fine dining for a steakhouse, but our concerns were soon proven false.

Drinks: I was thrilled to find out they had Three Floyds Alpha King on tap $5. My wife has a glass from their impressive wine list for $10 (don't remember which wine) They apologized for ONLY having like 2,000 bottles. They promised to double that soon.

Menu: The offerings on the menu were a cross between a high end steakhouse and a traditional bistro. Appetizers included Escargots (which I had for $7, they were wood roasted and didn't have enough garlic for my taste but were the most tender I've ever had) other options were a choucroute garnie, shrimp cocktail, etc.

Salad offerings included a traditional garden salad, caesar ($8 which my wife had which was 4-5 ribs of romaine hearts with parmesan and white anchovies) They also had a sweatbreads salad with field greens, pear, and walnuts for $10. They also had a variety of cold seafood platters at $15,$30, and $45 PP which we did not have.

Main course: I had a 14oz prime NY strip. It was served with a roasted bone (marrow inside thankfully!) and roasted shallots. It was topped with sea salt and a pat of butter. My wife had the traditional surf and turf ($45) which was a 6oz fillet and a smallish lobster tail. I never got close enough to get a bite before she polished it off, but she said it was "better than Ruth Chris" which for her is a big complement. We shared an order of the french fries with sea salt and black pepper $5 which were crispy (but not too crispy) hot, and very salty. They went just perfectly with the steak.

Other entree options were a 40oz Tomahawk bone in ribeye which I think was $60, a fillet for $35, steak frites for $21, and a variety of fish dishes.

For dessert (all $7) we shared chocolate cake which was served with sour cream ice cream and a shotglass of milk. I had the michigan cherry pie with ice cream. Both were nicely presented and tasted wonderful. The crust on the pie was buttery and very rich while the cherries were a little sour to cut the sweetness from the filling. The chocolate cake was just good basic chocolate cake with no frosting, the sour cream ice cream just tasted like vanilla.

Total bill with tax and tip was $215. Not a cheap night out, but I felt it was worth the price. I have never had service that good before at a steak restaurant. I also like the variety in the dishes available.

BTW: The namesake of the restaurant was there last night. While not known for being very friendly, he was there. He didn't stop at any of the tables, but he was actually wearing a coat with stains on it, implying that he was doing something in the kitchen other than just looking important.

saluki...Thanks so much for your feedback. His two establishments are a welcome addition to this neck of the woods given all the great reviews they're getting.

I was similarly impressed with the service, wine list, and a selection of beers I did not expect to find at a suburban steakhouse.

Our group found the apps--caesar salad, mussels, beef tartare, and crab cake--generally satisfying, with the caesar salad, which included whole anchovies, approaching very good. If I return, I'll skip the beef tartare (too bland) and the crab cake (too much filler).

I also ordered the 40oz bone-in ribeye, which our server described as dry aged. The steak had great flavor and texture. However, it lacked the punch I expect from dry aged meat. When the manager came around, I inquired and was informed that the restaurant dry ages only the bone-in strip steak.

Mischaracterization aside, we enjoyed our meal. The menu features optional "steak toppers" such as foies gras and slices of bone marrow that some may find excessive (but, for me, gilded the lily quite nicely). Also, steaks come with herb butter by default. I have no opinion of the butter, as I opted out, but my wife* seemed to appreciate it.

All in all, my bone-in ribeye was among the best pieces of wet aged meat I've had in Chicago. Certainly, our group found Tramonto's to be superior to the other neighborhood steak options (Ruth's Chris, Morton's, and Pete Miller's). I look forward to returning, especially to try the dry aged bone-in strip steak.


*Disclaimer: The wife is not a steak purist.

Couple of other questions for those of you who have been there. First of all, what's the "dress code"? I'm also curious if anyone is able to compare and contrast this place with Tramonto's other place at the same location? The older son is going back to college on Sunday and was thinking of taking him out for a special dinner.

I wore jeans and didn't feel out of place. Although the space is comparable to the high-end city steakhouses, the atmosphere seemed a bit more casual (perhaps due to its location?).

As for Tramonto's vs. Osteria di Tramonto, do you want steak or Italian (generally speaking)? Both do a more than adequate job with the food and feature nice spaces. I don't think you can go wrong either way. I'm not sure either is a destination spot, if you're coming in from the city, but they both represent, in my mind, two of the better dining options in the northern burbs.

DY...We are located an easy 15 minute drive away. I'm sure which place you pick has to do with what you're up for, but I guess I was just trying to decide which place is the better of the two. That may not be a question that is answerable since it's kind of like comparing apples to oranges.

Kwe, I think there's an Osteria di Tramonto thread floating around here somewhere that may help you make your decision.

Again, I don't think you can make a bad choice. However, I will say that when I was a college student, I didn't appreciate house cured meats and pasta made with octopus ink as much as I did a big hunk of meat. But then maybe your son is not quite the neanderthal I was at that age.

DY wrote:Kwe, I think there's an Osteria di Tramonto thread floating around here somewhere that may help you make your decision.

Osteria di Tramonto

DY...you made a good point there!

G Wiv...Many thanks.

saluki9 wrote:Drinks: I was thrilled to find out they had Three Floyds Alpha King on tap $5.

Saluki,

No Alpha King Thursday, though Great Lakes Brewery's hoppy, dense Edmund Fitzgerald Porter was so enjoyable I briefly considered buying a set of EFP pint glasses from the Great Lakes web site.

Lucky our time spent in the bar was enjoyable, as they were busy as hell and we did not get seated for 30-40 minutes past our reservation time. They did recognize the problem and the host circled the bar multiple times apologizing and passing out hors d'oeuvre.

Table service polished and professional, wine list impressive, steaks top quality and, as expected with Gale Gand involved, desserts a highlight.

Enjoy,
Gary

I didn't see above where this restaurant is. Please help. It sounds great, especially if they do have Alpha King.

EvilUs wrote:I didn't see above where this restaurant is. Please help. It sounds great, especially if they do have Alpha King.

EvilUS,

No Alpha King, at least as of last Thursday. Though, as I said upthread, the Great Lakes Brewery Edmund Fitzgerald Porter was stellar.

Enjoy,
Gary

Tramonto's Steak and Seafood
The Westin Chicago North Shore
601 North Milwaukee Avenue
Wheeling, IL 60090
847-777-6500

Figures it would be up in Wheeling where all the other great restaurants are on Milwaukee Avenue. Only 40 miles from where I live in Orland Park.

Went to Tramonto's tonight for my wife's ??th birthday. We were extremely impressed with the service food decor etc.(except for one thing which I'll get to later)

Started with complimentary valet service....nice touch...especially considering that suburban valet service is starting to approach city prices.

We were promptly and courteously seated in a very attractive, sophisticated dining room.

Started the meal with a delicious french onion soup. I can't resist ordering this starter and this one did not dissappoint. It was sweet yet not cloying. Topped with a crouton that did not overwhelm the top of the bowl and covered with a delicious melted gruyere. My wife had the spinach salad, also very good but not incredible ( I am not sure if any spinach salad could be incredible)

My wife ordered the Tramonto cut (16 oz) Prime Rib. It was cooked to perfection and served with a great horseradish sauce and au jus on the side. She loved it ....and there was enough to take home for lunch.

I had the dry-aged NY strip. I ordered it medium-rare and had to send it back for a bit more cooking. I guess my interpretation of medium-rare and theirs differs a bit...but still it was a very minor issue and the steak returned to the table cooked exactly to my taste.

We also had a side of wood-roasted brussel sprouts which were excellent and more than enough for the two of us.

That leads me to the end of the meal and a question. When I originally called in the reservation I mentioned that it was my wife's B-day. When the waiter asked whether we were interested in dessert we both declined. (my wife is on South Beach and I was stuffed). The waiter mentioned my wife's B-day and said "he" would bring her something. He brought out a very attractive albeit small dessert with a birthday greeting scripted in chocolate. The dessert was just ok...but it was a seemingly nice touch on the part of the waiter. Now for my question....the dessert was charged to us on the bill and I am wondering if my annoyance is justified? The charge was minimal compared to the cost of the meal but after a near perfect evening, the small charge seemed to be extremely petty and unnecessary on their part. Am I wrong?

JerryD wrote:Now for my question....the dessert was charged to us on the bill and I am wondering if my annoyance is justified?

Jerry,

Yes, though I agree it's minor and should be kept in perspective.

I had a similar situation at One Sixty Blue this summer, which I posted about here. The upshot was the charge for my wife's birthday truffles was an error and, though I said it was unnecessary, the polite and professional general manager sent us a short note of apology and a $25 gift certificate.

I'd suggest giving Tramonto's a call, I imagine the charge was an error and will be dealt with in a prompt and professional fashion.

Enjoy,
Gary

My girlfriend and I had a wonderful meal at Tramonto's Steak and Seafood last night. We shared the Crab Trio appetizer (crabcake, crab fritter and a small crab leg) which was good but not "knock-your-socks-off".

However, the entrees were exquisite. My girlfriend had the surf and turf with a tender wet-aged filet and a very sweet Maine lobster tail. I had the dry-aged New York strip, a very, very tasty cut with a classic beefy flavor...the portion wasn't huge, which is just as well as far as I'm concerned (I'll always sacrifice size for the sake of flavor), and the bone with marrow on the side was a superb touch. The sauces were wonderful - my girlfriend selected the au poive sauce and I ordered the bordelaise, both of which were rich and delicious.

Our side order of asparagus with hollandaise was also great...the best that I've every had, I must say.

In sum, this ranks with David Burke's Primehouse as the best steak restaurant in Chicagoland and head a shoulders above the Saloon, Gibson's, Smith & Wollensky's, Gene & Georgetti's, et al. IMHO.

My husband and I finally made it to Tramonto's Steak and Seafood the other night, and since there has been no mention of it here since May, I thought I'd pass on our impressions.

First of all, I had read so many hot/cold reviews in the months after it opened. It seemed like it was getting nothing but raves in the beginning, but then the balloon slowly began to deflate especially when it came to the subject of service. Service was either too attentive or not attentive enough. From our experience I simply can't imagine what anyone would find to complain about.

For starters we shared a half dozen raw oysters (3 East coast, 3 West coast) and an order of tempura rock shrimp. We wanted another appetizer to share and our server suggested these and they were wonderful.

My husband had the house salad which he raved about and I had one of their specials of the evening...bibb lettuce, chopped avocado, hard-boiled eggs all topped with a slice of crisp bacon and dressed with a very light green goddess. It is communicated to you both on the menu and by the server that Tramonto's makes it a point to buy it's produce from local farmers and patronizes the Green City Market.

As for our main courses, we both went with the 6 oz. filet topped with a slice of seared foie gras. I decided to further up the cholestrol ante by asking for bernaise sauce as well. I might also add that neither of us are big steak/red meat eaters and I think we both fully expected to go there and have fish. We both agreed that this was possibly the best steak we had ever tasted. Another positive to Tramonto's is that their sides are not your typical steak house sides. We shared what was called the Local Market Bean Casserole that was a mix of green and wax beans sauced minimally in a mushroom sauce with fried onions on top. The beans were left whole and still had that nice crisp/tender snap to them. Our other side was French fries served in a paper cone with truffle aioli. Just incredible.

For wine our choice was an '02 Silver Oak Cabernet. I didn't look at the list, but my husband said that was the youngest Silver Oak on their list. It was also a nice touch that they decanted it.

I will also concur with what DY said about dress. While it is a very elegant room, there is still a sense of being relaxed and comfortable. I definitely look forward to returning as well as trying Osteria di Tramonto next door and sushi in RT Lounge.

Tomorrow's my birthday, we're heading to Tramonto's for dinner, sans kids so I'll have an update soon.

Had a lovely dinner at Tramonto's last night for my birthday. I must admit my surprise at the number of people in the restaurant, it was full the whole time; I guess we don't do $200 meals on weeknights very often. LOL

We were greeted by name (res was made via open table for grins) and they did know it was my birthday. A group of 6 walked in as we did and they were definitely catered to, introduced to the hostess, lots of handshaking going on. We were led to our table.

We began with a glass of bubbly, I had a special shrimp risotto with spinach and red pepper foam, it was quite delicious. My husband had french onion soup which we both thought was surprisingly bland. We decided to skip salads and both had surf & turfs. I had the 6 oz filet with a king crab leg. The filet was fantastic, incredibly juicy and very flavorful, cooked perfectly. The crab leg was fine. It was not especially large, was split for easy access along with the big round joint thingy that was a little tougher to get at. My husband had the lobster tail with his filet, he said it was good, I did not get a taste.

We shared creamed spinach which was fine if not special, and he had french fries which were served with truffle mayo and ketchup. They were fine.

He did the chocolate souffle for dessert which was outstanding. It was supposed to be served with candied peanuts and peanut butter ice cream. He asked for vanilla ice cream instead and I'm realizing as I write that there were no peanuts on his plate either. I had a special chocolate malt bread pudding with ovaltine ice cream. It was tasty, though probably too heavy after such a big meal. We didn't finish that.

We thought the service was ok. Our waiter started out fairly attentive but ended up spending much of his time catering to a large table and we tended to be an afterthought (it seemed). He was responsive when we were able to get his attention. Water was filled regularly, bread basket was not refilled, nor offered. I had to motion to him to get my wine, we weren't offered refills on coffee til the cups were pretty much empty.

I'd go back, mainly just because the steak was so good, but I was less impressed this time than I had been when we went a year or so ago (shortly but not right after it opened).

I've seen a deal offered for dinner, and I'm wondering if anyone has been here lately. Is it any good? For $40 you get essentially a starter, main, and dessert. Is that a sign of the times that it's lousy, or is everyone just hurting?

LTH,

Did a BBQ talk at the Westin yesterday, left just after 7pm and both Tramonto's Steak & Seafood and the Osteria were dead as fish on a dock. Not a good sign on a Saturday night.

Good news is the Westin, according to one of the organizers of the convention, was extremely accommodating to their group.

Enjoy,
Gary

At least the Osteria has a reason...it has been closed for about 18 months. You are correct...Tramonto's has been dead for a while. IMHO...it would be closed if not for the support of the Hotel.