Ladies. Love. STEAK.

Per my earlier post, I rounded up ten ladies who love steak for dinner at the acclaimed Chicago institution, Gibsons Bar & Steakhouse on Rush Street. After a couple of cocktails at Lux Bar, we settled into our table in the dining room. Our very animated server welcomed us and aided us in picking out a suitable Cabernet Sauvignon to accompany our steak selections. The ladies who love steak happily toasted our love of steak and set to work on the menu.

We started off with some crab cakes, which I loved. The beauty of the crab cakes at Gibsons is that they're made with high quality jumbo lump meat crab and aren't overwhelmed by mayonnaise or any other sort of creamy grossness. Instead, they taste like crab, which to me indicates that they're perfectly done. However, the cakes are served with a side of something creamy and lemon wedges, should you feel the need to jazz them up in any way.


And then it was time for the steaks. All Gibsons steaks receive a "prime" grade from the USDA, which is pretty impressive considering that currently less than 2% of all beef produced in the U.S. is graded "prime." It's also worth noting that Gibsons beef comes from cattle proven to be of at least 90% Black Angus heritage -- and that all steaks are aged for 35 days before being cooked in 1800-degree infrared broilers to preserve the delicious beefy juices that make steaks great.

Steaks come with a choice of soup or house salad at Gibsons. Everyone at the table opted for the salad, which we discovered is a pretty hefty portion in and of itself, and which was quite tasty. However, I was almost full by the time my steak arrived. Gibsons definitely abides by the Chicago tradition of going big or going home. (A rule by which I tend to live my life... for better or worse.)

The ladies ordered a variety of cuts of steak (all of which appeared raw tableside during the waiter's spirited menu spiel), but the majority of us stuck to a classic -- and my own personal favorite: filet mignon served with Bernaise sauce on the side. The quality of the filet was impeccable and it was cooked to a perfect medium as well. If there's one negative to note, my filet was a tad over-salted for my taste. It was nothing unbearable and I certainly enjoyed my steak; I just could have done with a little less salt. (I also have to say that the picture below doesn't really do the steaks justice, but it's really hard to photograph food well on a phone!)


The sides we ordered were also very tasty. Spinach sauteed with garlic and olive oil, creamed spinach (my personal favorite accompaniment to a steak dinner), sauteed baby button mushrooms, mashed potatoes, garlic mashed potatoes, a loaded baked potato with bacon and lots of melted cheese (a former menu favorite requested by Gibsons regular Ms. Katie O'Keefe)... All of them were delicious. My personal favorites were the sauteed mushrooms and the creamed spinach.


Much to our waiter's glee as he was clearly a major fan, former Senate hopeful Alexi Giannoulias sat down to dine with some of his buddies just a few tables away from us. Alexi was kind enough to stop by our table to say hello and buy dessert for the table. He enjoyed that we were just ten ladies who happen to love steak and we enjoyed the fact that he was buying us dessert. All in all, he couldn't have been nicer. However, his presence is notable in that it's a reminder that Gibsons is still very much a place for Chicagoans to see and be seen while doing what we're known to do best: eating beef in large quantities. (We did not feel the need to invite Alexi to post-dinner cocktails at Lux Bar or to the planned dance party at the Hange Uppe. Just didn't seem right. But Katie did snap this shot of him and our adoring waiter.)

Dessert was a gigantic slice of rich chocolately mousse cake. You can't really see the completely enormous and over-the-top decadence that is dessert at Gibsons in the picture below, but you can see that it's large (and sturdy enough) for a large steak knife to be sticking out of it. Mostly, I included the photo below because it's a cute picture of Brenna. But trust me, the cake was delicious. Unfortunately, at that point, we were all so full that we could barely enjoy it.


All in all, Gibsons is a lot of food. A lot of good food. Come hungry and expect something of a spectacle. I recommend that everyone visit Gibsons at least once in his or her life for a great steak, a lively meal and a true (and truly stereotypical) Chicago experience.