Smith and Wollensky

Our second stop on our grand tour of Chicago’s finest steakhouses was the famous green and white façade of Smith and Wollensky Steakhouse. This is a New York steakhouse, made famous for its appearance in the hit Hollywood movie “The Devil Wears Prada” where Andie runs into the restaurant to grab a steak for Miranda Priestly while trying to obtain a copy of the unpublished Harry Potter book. Located at an extremely scenic spot along the Hudson River, it gave off the finesse of a traditional, rustic steakhouse.

We walked in early at 6:00pm without a reservation, and we were greeted by a smiling hostess who immediately took our coats. We were shown to our table, and then no sooner had our bums hit our seats we were joined by our server. Although very friendly, he did not exude the same confidence and knowledge as our Gibson’s server did. However, we cannot be too harsh as Gibson’s did set the bar pretty high. Having said that, there was a pretty memorable conversation between myself and him, which went something like this:

Me: I’ll have the bone-in Rib Eye please. How many ounces is it?

Server: 26 ounces sir.

Me: 26 ounces!!!! How much does the bone count for?

Server: About 5 ounces. So that would be 21 ounces of meat. So that’ll be two bone-in steaks then?

Me: (flabbergasted) No, no, one would be fine! We’ll split it.

Server: Very good sir.

Maybe our server’s lack of empathy did indeed create a more memorable dining experience that it otherwise would. Skipping the starters, we went straight to the main event. The steak that emerged was truly gigantic. Carved at our table side, the meat seemed to be a perfect medium rare. However, the steak itself lacked a certain quality. Sure it was a good steak, but there was a touch of dryness that I just couldn’t get over. Fortunately, with a good glass of wine, the beef did not disappoint. However, great steaks should really be able to sing by itself.

For dessert, we decided to be a little adventurous and opt for the three varieties Crème Brule. It was certainly a dessert that was very well done, with the right amount of creaminess and sweetness in each one. It was a great dessert to share between two or more people and it certainly rounds off a meal quite well. However, despite the dessert, the overall meal had failed to impress and live up to the lofty standards expected of it. It is a steakhouse which has stood the test of many years, but with far more steakhouses continually popping up and innovating, its longevity may be called into question.

Overall Rating: 3 stars