Ladies Who Love Steak

Recently, I found myself really wanting a great steak. The more I thought about it, the more I also wanted some red wine. And also, a dirty martini. At that point, I realized that what I really wanted was a Mad Men style boys club dinner... with some of my favorite girls.

So I emailed some ladies that I know love steak as much as I do to organize our first Ladies Who Love Steak dinner. The only rules were that everyone order steak and that we drink copious amounts of red wine. At Gibson's. (The iconic Chicago-style steak house seemed the perfect venue for our first outing.) And as my roommate Joyce sat at the table grinning from ear to ear while the extremely zealous waiter pounded a very thick cut of beef against a plate literally inches from her face for dramatic effect during his little spiel about our dining options, I knew two things: Gibson's was the perfect setting for this boys night and I had definitely found the right group of girls.

To prevent the post about Ladies Who Love Steak from becoming ridiculously long, I'm breaking it into two parts: cocktails at Lux Bar and the main event. This portion will focus on the cocktails.


We decided to have pre- and post-dinner cocktails at Lux Bar, my favorite Viagra Triangle watering hole (if you're not counting Butch McGuire's, of course). But yes, when it comes to a place to enjoy cocktails earlier than 2 a.m., Lux Bar is where it's at. Their cocktail list is fantastic and every drink I've tried has been delicious.

My favorite seems to be the St. Germain, which is comprised of St. Germain (an elderflower liqueur), Chopin vodka, Sauvignon Blanc and a splash of soda, served over ice with a lemon twist. It isn't something I'd normally order, but it's extremely interesting and quite tasty. I recommend the St. Germain, but I strongly advise against ordering more than two. They are sneakily potent. (Ok, it's not that sneaky if you look at the ingredients, but they don't taste like liquid fire so it's easier than it should be to overindulge. And two is all it takes for that to happen. Laura and I have been kind enough to take care of the the trial and error part for you. Trust us.)

I will also tell you that they make a mean dirty martini. I believe that they should be done with Ketel One and served extra dirty, although I always hate ordering them that way because I sound like an idiot. Oh well. The mission was accomplished. I was very happy with the product.

Stay tuned for the next part of the meal: devoted to all things steak and red wine-related.