Sullivan's Steak House [Naperville]

dicksond wrote:I could do without Noodles etc, Sullivan's, BD's Mongolian Horror and Rosebud, too.

More sizzle than steak sums up Sullivan's in Naperville. Manly dark wood decor festooned with boxing photos, (mini) wall of wine, spacious bar, attractive, actually very attractive, hostess, and efficient, friendly well groomed servers who can recite the hell out of the menu, but have trouble with questions about ingredients or preparation. In other words, typical chain steakhouse.

Warm butter accompanied rolls that had been left to linger in a humid kitchen, Caesar salad in name only, though iceberg lettuce wedge with blue cheese was crisp and clean flavored. Sunday special Prime rib with salad, side and dessert for $29 seemed a likely choice, my brother in-law and I opting for the 6-ounce for $5 upgrade, 12-oz for $10 available as well. Sides were surprisingly tasty, onion rings crisp and greaseless, potatoes au gratin creamy, flavorful, dry skinned baked potato perfect foil for sour cream and butter.

Onion Rings


Au Gratin Potatoes


Overcooked surf and turf for brother in-law Ed, overcooked daily special scallops for sister in-law Rita and four properly cooked lacking in flavor prime ribs. Actually, lacking in flavor is not quite accurate, there was a strong flavor, but it was the artificial beef flavor of Kitchen Bouquet/Maggi in the au jus pooled on and around the beef.

Prime Rib


Dessert, included with the prime rib special, was slightly watery laughably large creme brulee, cheese cake and scoops of Haagen Dazs ice cream.

Creme Brulee


50% off bottles of wine under $150 that Sunday evening afforded us a 2006 Bethel Heights, though even the Willamette Valley Pinot Noir could not offset the sinking feeling one gets from a mediocre overpriced meal.

Downtown Naperville is well stocked with offshoots of popular Chicago and chain restaurants and I'd venture to guess, including the Naperville Rib Fest vendors, which was in full swing, the cost per per square block of lowest common denominator eats that Sunday evening was exceeded only by Mall of America and Dollywood.

Enjoy,
Gary

Sullivan's Steak House
244 S Main St
Naperville, IL 60540
630-305-0230
http://www.sullivansteakhouse.com

I've been to this Sullivan's several times over the years. "Typical chain steakhouse" probably sums it up nicely. They've been there for a while, and used to do a huge business when they first opened. I'm not sure how they're doing with Hugo's and a Morton's in town, but they still seem crowded when we drive by, at least on weekend nights.

My wife and I ate a quick dinner in Sullivan's bar about 6 weeks ago. We hadn't been there in a while, and I actually thought the food was pretty good (maybe my standards aren't that high). I like their iceberg wedge salad, and our steaks were quite good (comparable to Hugo's up the street -- maybe a bit better). I also like their sides -- creamed spinach, "tower of onion rings" (pictured above), etc. The thing that's irritated me in the past (so much so that we basically stopped going there) was the amateurish service and the servers' constant attempts to upsell you (e.g., "you really should get that filet 'Oscar' style") or offer unsolicited (seemingly scripted) advice and suggestions, even on wine. You're not going to get a bad meal at Sullivan's, but I certainly wouldn't go out of my way to eat there on a regular basis.

Also, Gary, having re-read your post, I'm not sure whether the last sentence was intended to be a jab at Naperville. Sure, there are mediocre chain restaurants and overpriced outposts of Chicago restaurants, but suburban diners could do worse than having Catch 35, Hugo's, Francesca's, Heaven on Seven, Rosebud and several places with better-than-average bar food all within walking distance of each other.

Sullivan's was my steak place of choice - the last time (and probably the last ever) wasn't that great. There are better choices in the same area - Hugo's (new fav), Tango, Catch...

The last time the service was under par. The steak was ok. Maybe my tastes have changed. Maybe they have changed.

Ron A. wrote:but suburban diners could do worse than having Catch 35, Hugo's, Francesca's, Heaven on Seven, Rosebud and several places with better-than-average bar food all within walking distance of each other.

Ron,

I agree they could do worse.

Not a jab per se, more along the lines of humor, but truthfully I rarely go to the likes of Hugo's, Francesca's or Catch 35, preferring Spoon Thai, Honey 1, Khan, Tank Noodle, Sun Wah, 'Little' Three Happiness, Salam, Hai Woon Dae, Taqueria Puebla, Tampopo etc where palate pleasing pop for ones dining dollar goes a hell of a lot farther.

As an aside, you can safely assume anytime I invoke Dollywood I am, at least, attempting humor.

Enjoy,
Gary

In Naperville's defense you can finally get a good beer downtown at Grumpy Bulldog. About 8-10 taps and a nice bottle list with a range of styles, prices, and ABV. Small and the atmosphere is a little bland but the food I had was solid pub grub, and seemed to include fresh quality ingredients. I think the owner's drun a catering business as well.

Grumpy Bulldog
7 West Jackson Ave.
Naperville, IL, 60540

KSeecs wrote:In Naperville's defense you can finally get a good beer downtown at Grumpy Bulldog. About 8-10 taps and a nice bottle list with a range of styles, prices, and ABV. Small and the atmosphere is a little bland but the food I had was solid pub grub, and seemed to include fresh quality ingredients. I think the owner's drun a catering business as well.

Grumpy Bulldog
7 West Jackson Ave.
Naperville, IL, 60540

Grumpy Bulldog seems like a nice addition, although I was kind of sorry to see the guy at Red Door have to close its doors (no pun intended). The food at GB is pretty good -- not great, but probably better than Jimmy's and Features. Given that they're promoting themselves as a brew pub, I was expecting to see a few more beers on tap. However, they do have a very nice bottle list.

Gary -- I know your lighthearted comment was in jest. The places that you mention underscore the variety of high-quality, reasonably priced places available in the city vs. the burbs. Unfortunately, I don't leave my suburban cocoon that frequently these days (except to schlep downtown for work).