Surf & Turf - Americana gluttony at its finest

I was curious what some of you folks thought might be the best option for the classic lobster/filet combo within the city. Price not being an issue.

More often than not, when I've sought out this pairing I've been dissapointed. Excellent steak but mediocre lobster, or vice versa. What are people's thoughts on places likely to get them both right? Joe's Stone Crab? Chicago Chop House? etc.

N9ne!

I've had both great steaks (probably one of the best in Chicago), and also great shellfish there. They use a premium product and prepare things simply and with care. The service is professional and informed. My only personal beefs with N9ne are the name c'mon and the atmosphere (it's a little uber-trendy for my taste). Although, lately I've noticed the clientele isn't so much.

N9ne
440 West Randolph Street
312.575.9900

I would submit "The Saloon Steakhouse" for your consideration. Excellent steaks, high quality lobster, and great service.

The Saloon is often overlooked and underrated, in my opinion.

The Saloon Steakhouse
(312) 280-5454
200 E Chestnut St
Chicago, IL 60611

Best,
Michael / EC

Ralph Wiggum wrote:I was curious what some of you folks thought might be the best option for the classic lobster/filet combo within the city. Price not being an issue.

Morton's on State

Surf


Turf


Surf and Turf




Enjoy,
Gary

Gary, you magnificent .... (never mind).

Although that looks wonderful, it also looks really, really expensive.

If you're looking for value in a surf and turf meal, I would recommend Sabatino's. Soup, salad, and side dish come with a nice filet and a medium-sized lobster tail (just be careful to say you don't want it overcooked - for some reason the chef seems to like to overcook the tail).

All that for the whopping price of $28.95.

Now, please exuse me, I have to go rob a bank and get my ass to Morton's.

Sabatino's
4441 W. Irving Park Rd.
Chicago
773-283-8331

Edited to say that I did not notice that price was no object. Can I come? Please?

GWiv,
Skip the turf... what's that delightful looking potato thing behind it, and the toppings upon it? That alone looks worth the trip.

For some reason, Morton's never would have crossed my mind. Interesting.

Hi - leesh here - i work at the Grotto On State, it's a great classic Italian restaurant and Steakhouse (and lounge) in the Gold Coast - in the same building as Morton's. currently our surf-n-turf is $59.95 which includes a 9oz Filet Mignon and 10-12 oz Austrailian Cold-water Lobster Tail, and soup or salad. our chef hand selects all the cuts of meat that come in to the kitchen. also, for what's it worth, the owner of the Chop House is a regular here, and they (and Gibson's) send all of their overflow to us. here is a link to a deal i've offered to lth users for the next few weeks:

http://www.lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.ph ... 2670693ce4


ciao
sharon

While hardly the 'classic' version, my favorite surf & turf, hands-down, is Ron of Japan.

Leesh,

I know lots of chefs, and don't know a single one who hand selects all the cuts of meat for their kitchens.

Are you sure it's not the Sysco truck driver hand selecting all the cuts of meat?

JoelF wrote:GWiv,
Skip the turf... what's that delightful looking potato thing behind it, and the toppings upon it? That alone looks worth the trip.

Joel,

Morton's hash browns with a dollop of sour cream and butter, just in case my cholesterol needed a boost.


IMHO one of the better potato dishes available in Chicago.

Enjoy,
Gary

Evil Ronnie wrote:I know lots of chefs, and don't know a single one who hand selects all the cuts of meat for their kitchens.

Are you sure it's not the Sysco truck driver hand selecting all the cuts of meat?

Evil - We don't use sysco. and being as i sit next to the delivery door - i can assure you that i watch our Chef separate out the good cuts from the undesirables. Trust me - i do the bookkeeping on products recv'd, and keeping up on the credits due us from our meat purveyors due to cuts sent back is a full time job in itself!

sharon

Thanks for the ideas. Based on these reviews and those from another board which shall remain nameless, as well as worthless babble from Metromix and Zagats (which panned Grotto with a 15 rating), I think I'll head to Morton's.

Interestingly enough, Ruth Chris's seemed to come up frequently as a good bet. I'm not normally a chain guy but it seemed to get quite a bit of praise. But, Morton's it is. Unless of course people have other strong opinions?

*G Wiv's pictures certainly helped make up my mind!

So Sharon,

Who does the Grotto do business with any company which requires such a great amount of meat to be returned? Why such a high ratio of bad to good? Is this what you mean by hand selected?

I'm pretty happy with my purveyors. When they mess up, I just don't do any more business with them. It needs to be right the first time.

Evil Ronnie wrote: Who does the Grotto do business with any company which requires such a great amount of meat to be returned? Why such a high ratio of bad to good? Is this what you mean by hand selected?

it's not so much that we get a huge amount of bad quality meat, it's just that not all the cuts delivered are to the high standards that our chef expects. we have a good relationship with our vendors - we won't cut them off just because some of the product they deliver is not up to our chefs expectation. we are respectful to them, and they in turn do good business with us. This enables the Grotto to put out good quality food to our guests.

I've known and worked with a lot of chefs who don't personally look over the quality of product they put out for their customers, and treat their vendors with "disrespect". that's why i don't work for them nor dine in their restaurants anymore. i would hope that any self-respecting chef would do this for his or her customers. if i'm gonna pay, i would like to pay for the best. but that's just my opinion.

ciao
sharon

leesh wrote:

Evil Ronnie wrote: Who does the Grotto do business with any company which requires such a great amount of meat to be returned? Why such a high ratio of bad to good? Is this what you mean by hand selected?

it's not so much that we get a huge amount of bad quality meat, it's just that not all the cuts delivered are to the high standards that our chef expects. we have a good relationship with our vendors - we won't cut them off just because some of the product they deliver is not up to our chefs expectation. we are respectful to them, and they in turn do good business with us. This enables the Grotto to put out good quality food to our guests.

Although the magnitude may be different, I suppose it is similar to when I go to the butcher. Even though I respect both the butcher and the product, that still doesn't change the fact that I personally want to experience the glee of choosing the perfect steak/chop/roast/etc. for my needs.

Sharon,

If the meats delivered to the Grotto by your meat purveyor consistently are not up to your chef's expectations, then why fool around with such a company? You're not talking about a few bad heads of romaine here.

Thanks for the suggestions everyone. We went to Morton's on Friday.

Upon walking in I was completely underwhelmed by the setting and decor. Certainly nothing special, if even a bit tacky. I know that's the steakhouse way, and other places go for the ugly decor with poorly framed pics of celebs and regulars on the wall, but I can never get used to spending so much money in such drab surroundings. I'll always prefer the darkly lit, mahogany-laced old boy's club approach to steakhouse decor. We had to wait 20 minutes after our reservation time which isn't long, but it's annoying. Although it's not a fraction of the time that Gibson's made us wait a few years ago. Is it endemic to steakhouses to not give a damn that you have a reservation?

This is where the complaints end.

We ended up eating the single best steakhouse meal we'd ever had. Truly phenomenal.

Started with a scallops wrapped in bacon appetizer and a tomato salad. Both perfect. Our main course was splitting the NY Strip and a 3.5 lb lobster. The strip was cooked, charred and flavored to perfection. Really one of the best steaks I've ever had. The lobster was a monstrosity and sparked one of those work-vs-reward discussions about whether the hassle of getting into the claw was worth it. It was.

The sides were equally great. Creamed spinach was good although I guess I have white trash tastes as one of my favorite iterations of this comes from Boston Market. A simple man I suppose. The hashbrown side that G Wiv's picture made an essential order, were unbelievably tasty and perfectly textured.

The dessert was the only underwhelming part. The Godiva cake which is a chocolate cake with warm oozing filling. Something that for some reason I've seen more and more restaurants serving in the last few years. This was good, but not as good as other place I've had it around the city.

All in all, a great (but quite expensive) experience. One I will certainly do again. Although the next time I'll likely just stick with the steak, as it's simply too good to share.

Thanks again for the tips everyone.

echoing trixiep's post:
we ate up close to a grand's worth of n9ne's surf n turf:



yah, it's a 'chain' now, and yah, the hostesses are still all faux models but... we had a great time. citysearch reviewers consistently mentioned the lousy service, but besides the slow check (understandable as our party was huge and rowdy), which the manager promptly personally corrected and apologized for, everything was a-ok. they even waited 30+ min for my entire party to arrive w/ nary a complaint!