Summary: Finally tried Primehouse last night, and I would agree with those who see it as the best steak in Chicago. My Chicago favorites have been Gibson’s, Capital Grille and Morton’s. I had the 70 day aged Ribeye at Primehouse and it was the best steak I have ever had in my 53 years --- and I’ve been fortunate to have eaten at all the notable steakhouses in Chicago as well as many of the other major US cities. Beyond the steak, the service and sommelier were very good and the starters and desserts a little more creative than other Chicago steakhouses. So I would call it the best of Chicago.

The adage “you get what you pay for” comes to mind. While it was the best, it was also the most expensive steak I have ever eaten and probably the highest tab I’ve ever had at a steakhouse. If you want the best at all costs, and we typically do at least at some frequency, Primehouse is it in my opinion. However, we may not go back for one simple reason.

We arrived at 5:30pm when there were only about 6 tables seated. There was one noisy table near us with about 16 people who had evidently spent some time at the bar before dinner (good for them). By the time we were wrapping up a little after 7:00pm, the place was packed and the noise level was nearly unbearable. We actually like a little buzz, but the noise was just excessive to us – and would probably keep us from going back. Yelling at a dinner companion is just not my idea of high end dining…

The details:

Service: Professional, knowledgeable, attentive but not stuffy – we like that. The waiters review of the menu was short and appropriate (Gibson’s and Morton’s are more excessive and unnecessarily showy IMHO). It is true that the busboys do pretty much everything other than taking orders, not a trend that I’m crazy about, but becoming more common all the time.

Starters: Pumpkin and Sage Fritters (a special) – outstanding
Lobster Bisque – outstanding, compares to the best I've ever had even in New England

Wine: Lang & Reed Cabernet Franc – surprisingly good at it’s (low) price point. I would have gone with 'by the glass' given our entrée choices, but the sommelier (Rachel) suggested this choice (a grape that has historically been given little respect). Rachel was impressive, and I’d encourage giving her a chance to recommend for you.

Entrées: Angry Lobster – outstanding, not overdone thank goodness
70 Day Aged Ribeye, medium rare – cooked perfectly, a little crusty for my taste but truly transcendent nonetheless. Dry aged seems to put some people off, but I can't imagine why.

Desserts: Slice of Prime (another death by chocolate experience) – very good
Warm Cinnamon Crumb Cake – good. The cake itself was just a good, basic crumb cake (light on the cinnamon for my taste), but the accompanying mascarpone thyme ice cream and sour cherry compote was wonderful. I considered just getting a trio of their ice creams, hindsight is a wonderful thing...

Midpack wrote:Summary: Finally tried Primehouse last night, and I would agree with those who see it as the best steak in Chicago. My Chicago favorites have been Gibson’s, Capital Grille and Morton’s. I had the 70 day aged Ribeye at Primehouse and it was the best steak I have ever had in my 53 years --- and I’ve been fortunate to have eaten at all the notable steakhouses in Chicago as well as many of the other major US cities. . .
We arrived at 5:30pm when there were only about 6 tables seated.

OK -- so this is my problem. I've been to DB's a countless number of times and tried to order the really, really, really aged ribeyes with no luck . . . they've always been out -- don't get me wrong, I've still had great aged beef. I just don't believe it gets any better. But apparently, I'm dining a bit too late or I need to reserve one of the 70-dayers because you apparently found the holy grail at about 5:30 p.m. -- I need a new game plan!

BR wrote:OK -- so this is my problem. I've been to DB's a countless number of times and tried to order the really, really, really aged ribeyes with no luck . . . they've always been out -- don't get me wrong, I've still had great aged beef. I just don't believe it gets any better. But apparently, I'm dining a bit too late or I need to reserve one of the 70-dayers because you apparently found the holy grail at about 5:30 p.m. -- I need a new game plan!

May well be. After reading this forum I expected they'd have little or nothing of the reserve steaks. But they had them all, and it makes no sense to go halfway IMO so I ordered the 70 day steak without hesitation. FWIW, I'd guess the difference between 55 and 70 days is pretty subtle, but the 70 day Ribeye was superlative...

My thought is to order and reserve the steak ahead of time. Forget seating I'll eat at the bar.

I like Primehouse a lot. However, I did have a bad steak there one night. I had a bone in aged 50 days, and I didn't find the flavor of that particular piece very good. The others I dined with had excellent steaks, so it could have been my particular piece of meat.

I think the sides and eating experience is the best of a steak house in
Chicago. I have had many many friends go there with outstanding results each time. Previous, I had always been a Chop House guy.

I really like Erie Cafe for some reason too! it strikes me as a Chi-ca-ga place.

Midpack wrote:While it was the best, it was also the most expensive steak I have ever eaten and probably the highest tab I’ve ever had at a steakhouse.

For those interested in viewing their menu with prices, you can do so here. The priciest items are listed under "Reserve Cuts".

I, too, was at Primehouse Saturday night. I was very excited to learn that they had the "full range" of reserve cuts. I ordered the 70 day ribeye. It was an amazing experience. It was the most challenging meal I've ever eaten. The deep complexity that the aging gives to the meat made each bite a revelation in flavor. I think trying this cut is something any true steak lover needs to do at least once.

I love dry aged beef and the blue-cheese like taste that it acquires. At other steakhouses where they are aging for about 4 weeks this flavor comes out in a subtle way and complements the flavor of your steak. What I found with the 70 day steak was that the longer aging process brings out that flavor in a pungent way. Instead of it being an addition to the flavor it becomes the focal point in the taste of the steak.

With all that said, I do not know if I would order it as an entree again. I would definitely split it with others if it is available when I return. I think it would be perfect to go with a group of 3 or 4 and order something else off of the menu and order the 70 day to split. It was such an intense meal that I actually felt somewhat depleted afterwards. I would equate eating the entire 20 oz steak with eating a brick of very rich aged cheese. Both are great to taste in small portions but can be overwhelming when eaten in larger quantities.

Sorry for being Off-Topic a bit, but considering amount of "aging" oriented discussion on Primehouse's meats, I thought this article was very interesting,

http://www.mensvogue.com/food/articles/ ... lician_cow

"Think the best beef in the world comes from a tender young Black Angus? Think again. It comes from a tired old Spanish ox who's spent years under the yoke—and a few minutes over hot coals."

BR wrote:But apparently, I'm dining a bit too late or I need to reserve one of the 70-dayers because you apparently found the holy grail at about 5:30 p.m. -- I need a new game plan!

BR,

No problem ordering a 65-day dry-age rib-eye at David Burke in July around 9pm. We arrived around 7, but as it was my birthday one drink in the bar turned in to a few.* It might be luck of the draw, reserving a steak in advance seems a good call.

Enjoy,
Gary

*A few too many )

The bartenders at Primehouse do a terrific job.

G Wiv wrote:*A few too many )

Sometimes a few too many are just the right amount

G Wiv wrote:

BR wrote:But apparently, I'm dining a bit too late or I need to reserve one of the 70-dayers because you apparently found the holy grail at about 5:30 p.m. -- I need a new game plan!

BR,

No problem ordering a 65-day dry-age rib-eye at David Burke in July around 9pm. We arrived around 7, but as it was my birthday one drink in the bar turned in to a few.* It might be luck of the draw, reserving a steak in advance seems a good call.

Enjoy,
Gary

*A few too many )

I"m kind of thinking we should put together another steak lunch and ordering the 65 day dry aged steaks ahead of time to make sure they have them.

Given the LTH love for this place, I'm surprised that no one's mentioned the 777 December 2007 specials; that is all week (through 12/7), they are offering at lunch, 7 wines for 7 buckaroo's. Each day is a different theme/country. Today was the Classic Regions of France; tomorrow is 7 American States and Friday is just plain ol' Spain. It took a wine bargain to get me to try this place.

First off, the wine special was well worth it. It's a bit different than Smith and Wollensky's wine week. It aint all you can drink (the pours are not what I'd call generous, although I did finagle a bit more champagne), but the general quality of the wines was good. These are were all solid, if not spectacular wines, but wines more than worth the $$. They were Roederer NV; Trimbach Reisling; Merlin-Cherrier Sancerre; Fougeray de Beauclair Clos Marion Fixin; Chapoutier La Bernardine Cnp; Chateau de Pez Saint Estephe and Clos L'Abbeillay Sauterne.

As I've said before, I've rather come to the conclusion that I'm a wine philistine, that I have no wine snob potential. I'm just not a lover of old world wines, finding them flat or zipless. Take the Sancerre, it was not an exemplar by a long shot, but compared with New Zealand Sauvingnon Blancs that I love it was almost like yellow water. Overall, the best wine was the first, by far, I'm surely down with French Champagne. The worst was the last, the Sauterne. It lacked complexity and balance of better such wines.

Now, the food. I had the dry aged NY strip, ordered medium rare. One cut in and I knew they were out $45. It was nearly all gray within. At least it's obvious. None of that, "the chef tasted it and finds nothing wrong" crap I hate. The second version was only marginally better, but a lot, I realized, was the preparation. They were too intent on getting a crust and by producing such a pronounced crust, about 1/4 inch in, they just could not get the steak a nice bright red. It reminded me of the old tuna steaks that were popular a few years back, a wide rim of gray, with something approaching red within. Also, I found the steak not particularly tender for a prime piece of meat. I'm spoiled by locally raised, organic (and aged) meat I have in my freezer.

Some of the rest of what we had we really liked. The amuse of duck liver pate would have been worth paying, and brandade, a special for the french wines was intense like a French version of lox and bagels. We also really loved a double stack of tuna/salmon tartare with 3 sauces (don't ask me to name 'em). In contrast, my wife's coq au vin missed too. There were no lardons on her plate and that was evidence or indicative I might say, of the richness missing in the dish. It tasted more like a chicken finished with a sauce rather than a long, hearty braise.

Service at all levels was outstanding. The missed steak bought us an extra side and a bit of dessert.

We're gonna see how the USA does tomorrow.

Well, I was a bit surprised I saw no LTHers at David Burke today. As I suspected, I much more enjoyed the North American wines. I am a philistine. The wines for the most part were sweeter, fruitier and, well archtypical of New World wines.

The wines today: Gruet Blanc de Noir from New Mexico; Kung Fu Girl Riesling from Columbia Valley, Washington; Gypsy Dancer Emily Ann, a Pinot from Oregon; Kluge Abermarle Simply Red, from Virginia (!); Cab from Darioush "Caravan"; Mt. Pleasant Vintage Port from Missouri (!!) and Inniskillen Pearl Icewine from Canada.

Of these, I would say that the Kung Fu Girl was the kinda wine that might turn people off; very fruit forward, too much so for my wife. I've always liked the Gruet, and it was the one wine that, comparatively speaking, was drier than yesterday. It was a lot more winey than the Roderer--it's a great value too at less that $15 a bottle. The only wine I did not like was the Port, which had some off chemical-y type tastes to it. My wife DID like that one as she found it less port-y than typical. The best of the lot was that ice wine. Over the top intensity, sweet yet balanced. It's really a wine to seek out (although certainly not a cheap one at $73 for a 1/2 bottle).

Food wise, I enjoyed today more too. I had the "burker"; it's not the best steakhouse burger around, not S&W, but still darn good. Better, was my wife'd plat du jour, which was a petite sirloin. What a difference a day makes. Yesterday and today we both sirloins, both dry aged. Today's was a small steak, about 12 ounces, flat instead of the slab yesterday. The size made all the difference. The steak, being thin, was simlply grilled. My wife asked for rare, from the grill, it came out a nice about medium rare (which she was fine with), with nice char lines. It was moist and very flavorful. Yesterday, my steak was broiled, and all that time to char the outside just dried things up.

I think we are gonna skip Spain.

A year and a half ago, I tried Primehouse at lunchtime with a group of LTHers, and I have to say that although I enjoyed all of the sides and appetizers, I was underwhelmed by my bone in ribeye, which was chewy and had little to no discernable dry aged flavor.

After tonight's meal, I have to say that I am a David Burke's Primehouse convert. My 75 day dry aged ribeye was the most gloriously funky steak that I've ever tasted, in spite of the fact that it was undercooked (I ordered MR and what I was served was rare). It was so flavorful, with a bearnaise so perfect, that I didn't think about sending it back for a second.

Raw oysters, Caesar salad, and asparagus were fine, but the tuna/salmon tartare was stellar. The popover has changed and is now much less crusty and more traditional in texture. Service was fantastic and the room couldn't be more comfortable.

Our last several visits to Smith and Wollensky have unfortunately been kind of blah and I'm in no hurry to return.

My only criticism is that I was not offered a black napkin.

I am a convert.

HI,

I was at David Burke's recently and also received an undercooked steak. I asked for rare, I got bleu. I wasn't 100% sure of this until the steak was taken home and looked at in full spectrum light. I now know the trick for both our experiences: order one step higher than you want.

Regards,

For the last year or so, my wife and I have been wanting to try Primehouse and we finally went on Friday. We had the best steak of our lives in Florence and were really looking forward to the dry aged choices. We had 7:30 reservations and brought along my brother for an early birthday present.

All I can say is that we were all pretty underwhelmed with the restaurant. After reading the posts here, I was expecting something along the lines of (if not better) than the Morton's or Gibson's in the Viagra Triangle. First of all, the crowd, as my wife put it, was pretty pedestrian - really reflected a hotel restaurant, with people walking through and kids whining and crying. Not a good start but we were trying to focus on the main event - the food.

Two of us ordered the 80 day aged delmonico with fried oysters and tarragon cream for $67 (20 oz.) and my wife went with the 40 day bone-in ribeye. I tried the caesar salad and there were two lobster bisques. Our sides were the asiago and truffle oil fries and the creamed spinach. Here are our thoughts:

The service was not great. We felt a bit rushed and there was no interaction with our server except that she thought everything was "fantastic." I actually had to stop the bus boy twice from taking our plates before we were finished. We had to stop our sever to ask about the sides (are they big enough to split? any recommendations? etc.) as well as track her down for a glass of wine. The atmosphere was a bit strange - the music was light rock and loud and the bus boys literally did everything (including knocking into my chair with their carts multiple times) but take our order. When our food was delivered, we had to literally raise our hand to notify the bus boys which plates went to whom - a pet peeve when paying $100+ per person.

The Food: We were excited for the popovers but they were cold and the butter was even colder (not spreadable) - I wrapped a piece of popover around a small tab of butter, like a mini taco, to taste it.. My caesar salad was good but not worth the showy presentation. The lobster bisques were good and very rich. Our steaks were undercooked (I usually order medium and the waitress recommended rare, I countered with a medium rare and it was served very rare). The age was nice on the steaks but when you age for that long, the meat loses much more than the fat (or marbleing) so that over half the steak is literally fat. A 20oz. steak was reduced to probably 8 - 10 oz of actual meat, which was fine considering the flavor (not the price). The fried oysters on top of my steak had the crunch and chew of popcorn shrimp - not a good thing. The tarragon cream sauce had to be scraped off my steak with a knife since it overpowered the steak flavor. The sides were okay - with the french fries being the better than the spinach. My wife ordered the chocolate cake with smores ice cream and it was okay as well, not great (my wife likened it to a refrigerated box cake). As a table of three, we didn't even finish it - not that we couldn't but we just weren't interested in doing so.

Overall, all I can say is that we won't be back. Good individual dry-aged steaks. I really like dry-aged steak and maybe should have tried a less fatty cut, like the strip. It's way too expensive for the dining experience. For $100+ per person (without a bottle of wine) I would expect much better and informed servers and less bus boy interaction. Also, there should be more attention to the details: cold food, undercooked steaks, timing of the meal, attentiveness. There seems to be more hype than this place deserves. Our table of three didn't think the dining experience came close to the "old school" Morton's of even Gibson's. If we had the rate it on a 4 star system, it would get a nice 2 1/2.

FYI, if you live or work in the 60611 or 60610 zip codes, you can bring your business card or utility bill to DB Primehouse and get 50% off your food bill (lunch only). The offer is good until March 31.

Went today for the first time. I've been waiting for my chance to spring on a dry-aged steak, but today wasn't the day ("meatcoma" makes yet another monday afternoon at my desk an entirely too painful experience). Mentioning that their burger was on TOC's top 5 steakhouse burgers, I found 5 friends to sample the goods.

I was the only one who ordered mine below medium (medium rare), although all (from my med-rare to a well) arrived at around the same degree of done-ness. While I relished the opportunity to show the well-doners a sample of the reddy goodness, it seems that a steakhouse would pay more attention to degrees of done-ness. Nobody sent it back, though. Comes with pretty good fries, skin off, which to me is always a downside. Comments ranged from gross (non-fan of red meat) to pretty good to very tasty.

Juicy, very lightly or unseasoned, altogether decent burger, although whether it is top 5 of anything is not a debate I'm willing or qualified to take up. Still, with the 50% off offer, my diet coke, burger & tax came to $8.32 - $11.32 with tip - but you can bet that next time I'm getting a steak.

Midpack wrote:Summary: Finally tried Primehouse last night, and I would agree with those who see it as the best steak in Chicago. My Chicago favorites have been Gibson’s, Capital Grille and Morton’s. I had the 70 day aged Ribeye at Primehouse and it was the best steak I have ever had in my 53 years --- and I’ve been fortunate to have eaten at all the notable steakhouses in Chicago as well as many of the other major US cities.

So I gotta ask: how much does 70 day-aged ribeye cost?

The menu can be found here:

http://chicago.menupages.com/restaurant ... uisineid=0

The steak is $66.

With amyliz's report, that makes how many--about 250?--reports so far here that David Burke's Primehouse can't cook meat to the customer's order.

Seems like a dealbreaker, doesn't it? Unless the meat itself is so good that not getting it how you wanted it isn't even a factor.

riddlemay wrote:With amyliz's report, that makes how many--about 250?--reports so far here that David Burke's Primehouse can't cook meat to the customer's order.

Seems like a dealbreaker, doesn't it? Unless the meat itself is so good that not getting it how you wanted it isn't even a factor.

. . . not a deal breaker for those of us who have always had their steaks perfectly cooked at DB's.

BR wrote: . . . not a deal breaker for those of us who have always had their steaks perfectly cooked at DB's.

I agree, every steak I've had at DB's has been perfectly cooked to my taste.

I admit that I've always preferred my beef served on the more rare side, because I think that level of doneness best showcases the flavor and quality of the meat. Most chefs and beef connoisseurs I've heard comment on the subject generally agree, and I get the impression that David Burke's errs on the side of cooking steaks rarer for that reason.

Just my $.02

BR wrote: . . . not a deal breaker for those of us who have always had their steaks perfectly cooked at DB's.

Full agreement there my friend, full agreement.

Agreed here too. My steaks have never been anything but perfect at Primehouse.

HI,

I once ordered a steak rare at Burke's, it was bleu or one step rarer than rare. Due to the lighting, I wasn't 100% sure until the leftovers were reviewed later.

Regards,

The replies saying "Well, my steak was perfect" only heighten my curiosity. It seems inarguable that there has been a higher-than-you-might-expect number of reports on this thread of the opposite. So, to what do we attribute the fact that some here are getting their steaks exactly right at DB's, but so many are not? I can think of a couple of possibilities off the bat.

1) The kitchen is inconsistent; on a given night, you might get lucky. And then again you might not. The patron at the next table might get lucky. And you might not.

2) The people who have complained of incorrect doneness are the ones at "fault" (bad word, but I can't think of a better one) in that they have a different idea of the meaning of doneness-words than that shared by the rest of the world.

But come to think of it, if explanation 2 is the right one, you would expect all steak houses to garner roughly the same number of doneness complaints here. But that's not the case. DB's seems to get far more of them.

So, something seems amiss.

riddlemay wrote:The replies saying "Well, my steak was perfect" only heighten my curiosity. It seems inarguable that there has been a higher-than-you-might-expect number of reports on this thread of the opposite. So, to what do we attribute the fact that some here are getting their steaks exactly right at DB's, but so many are not? I can think of a couple of possibilities off the bat.

1) The kitchen is inconsistent; on a given night, you might get lucky. And then again you might not. The patron at the next table might get lucky. And you might not.

2) The people who have complained of incorrect doneness are the ones at "fault" (bad word, but I can't think of a better one) in that they have a different idea of the meaning of doneness-words than that shared by the rest of the world.

But come to think of it, if explanation 2 is the right one, you would expect all steak houses to garner roughly the same number of doneness complaints here. But that's not the case. DB's seems to get far more of them.

So, something seems amiss.

What was YOUR experience?

Good question. My experience was that I was there for lunch once only, and shared a dry-aged sirloin, which I thought was fine but unexceptional. (It was done to our order. No complaint from me on that score. My curiosity re the apparent doneness problem has to do with the high number of complaints from others, whom I believe.)

Would I have been more wowed by DB's had we ordered the 75-day aged ribeye instead of the "run of the mill" dry-aged prime sirloin? Perhaps. But at $40-some for the steak we ordered, I thought I had a right to be more wowed than I was. It was good, no better than that. I've had better.

While I'm replying: SMT's theory to explain the frequency of DB's doneness errors--that the chef likes to cook everything a little rarer than ordered in order to "showcase the flavor and quality of the meat"--may be correct, but I think customers have a right to expect their steaks to be done to their liking. Call me crazy.

riddlemay wrote:Call me crazy.

Kidding aside, you will need to factor into your calculations the fact there is more than one person cooking the steaks. With shift changes, days off, breaks I'm guessing there is at least 4 individuals manning the grill during the course of a week.

Taking into account optional style, degree of age and requested doneness of the meat, adding in chef differential.....................

Wow, lots of calculations, easier to simply go to David Burke and have a steak, med-rare bone-in rib-eye for me please.

Enjoy,
Gary

riddlemay wrote:The replies saying "Well, my steak was perfect" only heighten my curiosity. It seems inarguable that there has been a higher-than-you-might-expect number of reports on this thread of the opposite. So, to what do we attribute the fact that some here are getting their steaks exactly right at DB's, but so many are not? I can think of a couple of possibilities off the bat.

1) The kitchen is inconsistent; on a given night, you might get lucky. And then again you might not. The patron at the next table might get lucky. And you might not.

2) The people who have complained of incorrect doneness are the ones at "fault" (bad word, but I can't think of a better one) in that they have a different idea of the meaning of doneness-words than that shared by the rest of the world.

But come to think of it, if explanation 2 is the right one, you would expect all steak houses to garner roughly the same number of doneness complaints here. But that's not the case. DB's seems to get far more of them.

So, something seems amiss.

I think a lot of it has to do with the fact the DB's recommends their dry-aged steaks cooked to rare. If you like it that way, you'll get it that way. If you care for your steak medium or above, you're screwed.

My experience was that my waitress didn't care how I wanted it cooked, it was coming rare. I never mind medium rare, especially if it's a good steak but it should come medium rare. Some steak houses will typically under cook the steaks in the event it has to be sent back (they just throw it back on the grill / in the oven for 2-4 more minutes). I don't like to send my food back, so I didn't on my $67 delmonico. I just ate it rarer than I preferred and I'll never be back. I've never dealt with a staff that "argued" with my steak preference. My interaction was like this:

me - "medium please"
waitress - "the chef prefers rare"
me - "how about medium rare?"
waitress - "he really prefers rare but ok"
Result - Rare.