My Steakhouse Adventure

By Lu

I've been in a very good mood lately because I've been eating really well. Other parts of my life like my gym membership has suffered quite a bit. Some people live to eat and some people eat to live. You can guess which kind I am. I have a lot of great friends whom I knew or met through other means, but we bonded through food. Let's face it - it is one of the oldest traditions that people use to bond with each other. Guys and girls go out to dinner for a date to get to know each other. Friends break breads and talk over supper. Families have the best time communicating on the dinner table as well.

I have many rituals with various friends on dining. Sandrine and I go to brunch to celebrate each other's birthday. Helen and I go to our weekend lunches almost every weekend. I have a food club with numerous friends I go to every month. Eve and I talk over lunch every day at work, and she misses me inviting her and Carol to come over in the Spring where I cook dinner and Carol planting flowers  for me. Paul and I have to go to Asian Noodle House every couple of weeks or so to get some wonton noodle fix. Lastly, Tina and I have our steakhouse ritual yearly.

Last weekend was a steakhouse weekend for me. I went to Gibsons for lunch with Helen on Saturday, and then to Mastro's for dinner with Tina. I have never even researched on that diet by your blood type because I am definitely afraid to find out if eating red meat would be a total no no for my blood type. I usually eat red meat in moderation; except last weekend.

Gibsons


The Sliders and The Soup at Gibsons

We discovered that eating lunch at Gibsons is pretty affordable. When you hear the classic name of this Chicago steakhouse, you will assume right away that it's big bucks. It's a good assumption. I myself would never think that I could have a great meal there under $30. Guess what? We did. So folks - if you're looking to have a fancy great lunch that is under $30 for two people - think Gibsons. Unfortunately, they only have 3 locations and they are all in Illinois (Chicago, Rosemont, and Oak Brook). Many celebrities eat here when they're in town because their steaks are great obviously. My ex, Mark, used to take me there all the time. My only complaint about the place is that they don't serve warm bread. They're known for great steaks, big lobsters, and gargantuan desserts!

Helen and I bond over food for years and years. She is probably the only friend I know who likes food more than I do. I go explore good places to eat in the suburbs with Helen and her husband, Michael, as they rarely will go to downtown Chicago. There are quite many places in the suburbs that serve good food too and I usually will find out about those places from Helen.

Well, Helen and I discovered a nice lunch place in Gibsons. They offer a lunch plate consisting of a bowl of their soup of the day and 2 slider sandwiches. You can choose from three selections of meat: turkey burger, filet mignon, or salmon BLT. I had all three and they were great! However, I did prefer the filet and salmon over the turkey burger. The filet mignon slider was so good the meat felt like it was melting in my mouth. It was so tender and delicious. The salmon BLT was served with an aoli sauce that complemented the salmon very well. Their soup of the day was Gumbo. The server informed me that the soup du jour is always the same for that particular day. So, it will always be Gumbo for Saturdays until they decide to change it. The Gumbo was filled with all kinds of fish, and Andouille Sausage. I wish they would put some lobster chunks or shrimps though. Still, I couldn't say it was bad. The server told me that they serve Cream of Mushroom soup on Tuesdays. Oh, I have to make it there someday on a Tuesday so I can have my favorite soup. This plate costs $10.25. Not bad at all!

Mastro's

Tina and I have had a ritual of taking each other out for dinner for our birthdays for years; and then, one year we decided to do steakhouses. We would like to try all the steakhouses in town and to see which one's the best. We're only doing it for a special occasion as we all know it's not going to be cheap. We used to go to two steakhouses a year - one for each of our birthdays. Now, we alternate and do it once a year. First, because we eat out too much. Second, we are running out of steakhouses to try in the city of Chicago.

Through the years, we have visited Morton's, Ruth's Chris, Gene & Georgetti, Keefer's, Smith & Wollensky, etc. With my work, I also have gone to many many steakhouses - Gibsons, Chop House, Sam & Harry's, Fogo de Chao, Texas de Brazil, etc. I also have gone to some steakhouses in other cities. I must say one of the best steaks I had was in Omaha. My friend, Albert, treated me at a steakhouse there called "Anthony's" and it was so good. It was not pricey and fancy as the Mortons of the world, but it was definitely yummy. Albert said Warren Buffet frequents that steakhouse. I wouldn't be surprised if he did. It was yummy!

Well, our last steakhouse visit was Mastro's. It is a new steakhouse for the city of Chicago. I saw it driving by a month or two ago. I recognized the name knowing that they're represented elsewhere before. I also read an article on People's Magazine on how Emmitt Smith loved their chocolate cake. So, instantly I wanted to try it. Tina, surprisingly, also had the same hunch. It didn't take a lot of efforts to make it happen.

The place was definitely high-end. It was modern and chic. We were seated in the lounge area and it was cool, but so very dark. This would be one of the first chances I had to use my new camera. Oh, was that a bad venue for it! So, pardon me - my pictures still suck even with the new camera. It was really hard to fiddle with the camera when your food arrived on the table. I now realized why I didn't take the time sometime.

Chopped Salad

We started with a chopped salad. Nothing much to say except it was delicious; yet, nothing special. Next, we got our meat. I chose a bone-in filet. Tina went for the bone-in rib-eye. It's so funny - she wouldn't even eat red meat not so many years ago. Now, she ordered a 22 once rib-eye! Don't fret! She couldn't possibly eat the whole thing. She brought home over half the steak. Another thing Tina and I would like to know by doing the steakhouse adventure is to find out who has the best rib-eye. So, one of us must always order the rib-eye.

The bone-in filet, pardon the ugly picture

We ordered Mastro's signature side dish, lobster mashed potatoes, as well as sauteed mushroom. We loved our steaks and sides. I liked my filet, and Tina thought her rib-eye was much more flavorful compared to my filet. I agreed. I will always suggest to people to order a bone-in rib eye or New York strip over a filet, except if you're in Asia. Asian steakhouses do not get the idea of bone-in rib-eye.

I usually prefer dry aged beef as I think the flavor is more intense - as long as they trim the meat well. However, Mastro's wet age their meats and I loved it. It has a really good flavor. I liked the sides as well. The mushroom was meaty, thick, and had good texture and flavor. Tina liked the lobster mashed potatoes, but I'm usually not a big mashed potatoes fan. The lobster was good, and if you like butter, you won't be disappointed. I got confused for a second looking at the mashed potatoes whether I was eating at Mastro's or Paula Deen's house.

Losbter Mashed Potatoes, that is a pool of butter! Scary...



Butter Cake

To close, we ordered another of their signature items for dessert, the butter cake served with vanilla gelato and a big serving of homemade whipped cream! Paula Deen..seriously, you should call Mastro's and establish a partnership in butter. The cake was huge. I took home the leftover and it was my dinner for two nights in a row!

Compared to the chain steakhouses, Tina and I both agree that Mastro's was up there. The food was excellent. The service was exceptional from the waiter to the guy cleaning the table. They were so nice and personable. Tina said they called her to confirm the reservation, and then they also called her a couple days after our reservation to follow up on our experience. Now, that has never happened to me before! It's the WOW factor for sure. It deserved a point.

Before Mastro's, I thought Ruth's Chris had the best service. Morton's had the best bread and their Shrimp Alexander was delicious. Gene and Georgetti's had the best flavored meat. Smith and Wollensky? Baaaddd. We didn't like it.

Another thing to mention on Mastro's - everything was served extremely hot! The plate was sizzling hot - it literally sizzled when you put some of the side dishes on the plate. Now, Ruth's Chris made a fuss about how hot their plate is. However, my experience there, the heat went away so fast and then it was cold. At Mastro's, it stayed hot to a point that I had to blow on my steak so it wouldn't burn my mouth. Obviously, the steak had a nice crust on it and it was juicy when you cut into it. Thus why it's up there on our list!

I thoroughly enjoy my ritual with Tina. I don't know where we're going next year - there are still a couple we have to try. I look forward to it. Tina is one of those friends who are always fair to me. We have a friendship that feels easy and always balanced. She taught me that as friends it is so important not to take the other for granted and to show appreciation. I appreciate her for it. Every year, I also feel that our friendship each year is better than the year before. Same goes with the steakhouse. Let's hope next year steakhouse will be even better!

My pilates teacher said that our body will naturally come out of hibernation in April. April is the time to be serious in dieting and exercising to get the optimum result. Believe me, I am hitting the gym soon, just right in time to shed the fat that kept me warm in winter months. Time to get ready for summer body!