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12/25/2007 Rod O'Connor From: Prime Time, THE CHICAGO STEAKHOUSE GUIDE CHICAGO’S CONTEMPORARY, CHEF-DRIVEN STEAKHOUSES ARE CHANGING THE WAY WE THINK ABOUT MEAT AND POTATOES. Not that long ago, high-end dining in Chicago focused almost exclusively on two words: red meat. Whether it was businessmen sealing deals at Gold Coast fixture Morton’s, visiting celebrities soaking in the old-school ambiance of “Italian steakhouse” Gene & Georgetti, or packs of politicians lunching at Gibsons, Chicago was always proudly and unabashedly a meat-and-potatoes town. Today, even casual followers of national dining trends know that Chicago has evolved into a destination for cutting-edge cooking, thanks to trailblazers like Mexican food guru Rick Bayless and the new “molecular gastronomy” restaurants like Alinea and Moto. But a few years ago something interesting happened: Big-time chefs began opening 21st-century variations on the traditional steakhouse. Now, visitors looking for the quintessential Chicago dining experience can choose from one of several chef-driven restaurants that serve a great rib eye—but are also just as likely to offer Kobe beef sashimi or fingerling potatoes with black truffle essence. CHICAGO’S REPUTATION as a carnivore capital hearkens to its former role as “slaughterhouse to the world.” According to the Chicago History Museum, the city produced 82% of the meat consumed in the United States in 1900. Chef John Hogan of Keefer’s says the city’s connection to red meat also goes back to its first wave of immigrants. “The fact that the stockyards were here was a main reason why Chicagoans became big beef eaters,” he says. “But they called us the Second City for years for a reason: We weren’t up to being first. [We had] a conservative mentality about trying new food items. I mean, the background of Chicago is Irish, Italian, Polish. Those are all people that come from pretty humble dining cultures. We weren’t the people who took a lot of chances, although that’s changed in the last 15 years. Some of the great restaurants in the world are here now.” When Hogan opened Keefer’s in River North six years ago, he says the goal was to showcase prime Midwestern beef, but also to present the more classically inspired dishes he had perfected after more than 20 years at French hotspots like Kiki’s Bistro and Savarin—the latter named a “Best New Restaurant” by Esquire in 1999. Going head-to-head with Chicago’s steakhouse institutions was never part of the plan. “We knew right off the bat that we wanted to be something different than your Morton’s and Chop House and Gene & Georgetti’s,” Hogan says. “We wanted to be a contemporary steakhouse that could feature a little bit of my past and history. We knew we wanted to be different than the typical creamed spinach and mashed potatoes.” IN FACT, for a place that made Playboy’s list of “Top Ten Steakhouses in America,” Keefer’s features an impressive variety of non-meat options, including a tableside-presented Dover sole that’s regarded as one of the best in the city, and East Coast fish like roast hake crusted with crab meat. But, of course, you can also sit down to an unbelievable USDA Prime porterhouse. Hogan even offers creamed spinach, albeit his version incorporates a fennel cream base and a hint of tarragon... According to Hogan (who once cooked alongside Burke in the kitchen of Chef Charlie Palmer), the level of creativity currently being brought to meat-and-potatoes fare is partially due to the increased demands of customers, who now have more awareness about quality ingredients than ever before. “I also think the chefs have reached the point where they want to utilize prime beef or grass-fed beef or hormone-free beef,” he says. “It opens up their arsenal to a new clientele… It’s very cool to open magazines and see chefs that I’ve known for years who have cooked three- and four-star food, and now they’re opening steakhouses.”
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