The Formal, Fine and Atmospheric Dining Thread

TomServo

TomServo

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After that kind of assault on your character soy, at the least he can give you a quick blowie
 
McCheese

McCheese

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Why would anyone spend 50 - 80 dollars on a steak when you can go to Wal Mart and buy the steak in the black package? No one can tell the difference! It's a STEAKOVER!
 
Joeboo

Joeboo

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To be fair, I can count on 1 hand the number of steak restaurants that I've had a steak that I felt was better than what I can grill at home. They are few and far between, and I don't think any of them were less than maybe $50 just for the steak alone(whole meal being much more). A great steak is a thing of beauty, but 99.9% of restaurants aren't as good as what most people could make at home if they just took the time and care to do it themselves.
 
Falstaff

Falstaff

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Lot's of options in Chicago but these are the best of the best in my opinion:

https://content.alinearestaurant.com/html/index.html

http://www.grace-restaurant.com/

Less "formal" but more relaxed atmosphere and the food is just as good, if not better:

http://elideas.com/(this is my favorite)

https://www.elizabeth-restaurant.com/

http://schwarestaurant.com/(probably the hardest reservation to get... and the hardest to keep) Great article with more info:http://www.gq.com/food-travel/alan-r...harlie-trotter
 
Joeboo

Joeboo

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Saw EL on the Bizarre Foods show, looked pretty interesting. Beyond the unique food, the whole idea of a small intimate room where the chef prepares courses of his choosing each night, and only serves 1 round of seatings per night is a neat idea. The guests are allowed to wander around in the kitchen, help make/serve stuff, etc. Would be a really fun experience.

How can you not like a place that has this as the first picture on their website when you visit:
foss_nitro1.jpg
 
Falstaff

Falstaff

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Yeah EL is a really great place. I think Bourdain went there on a Chicago episode of No Reservations during the final season?

The Schwa article is kind of outdated now that I've read it again, and doesn't mention the biggest problem, which is that Michael Carlson is notorious for cancelling reservations the day of. I've heard plenty of horror stories of people being called at 3 in the afternoon and being told the restaurant was closed for the night with no explanation given.

Here are bunch of Chicago food nerds talking about it for 25 pages:http://www.lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic...248df9ae42044b
 
Soygen

Soygen

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joeboo_sl said:
To be fair, I can count on 1 hand the number of steak restaurants that I've had a steak that I felt was better than what I can grill at home. They are few and far between, and I don't think any of them were less than maybe $50 just for the steak alone(whole meal being much more). A great steak is a thing of beauty, but 99.9% of restaurants aren't as good as what most people could make at home if they just took the time and care to do it themselves.
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I agree. Peter Luger, in my post above, is one that is better than any I've had at home and the other is at a restaurant called Blackstone in Long Island, NY. I'm talking about the porterhouse at both place. Both excellent, but if you know what you're doing at home, it's often much better than restaurants.

99% of the time I'm eating anywhere nice like these places, it's being paid for by business interests. I would almost never pay 50+ bucks on a steak, but if it's free? Shiiiiiiiit. That makes it taste even better!
 
Alex

Alex

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I agree on the steak. Very few steaks I've had in a restaurant that are better than what I can make at home.Jeff Rubyrestaurants always have excellent steak - especiallyThe Precinct. I've been to a Morton's and didn't think it was anything exceptional.
 
kudos

kudos

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Sure, I'll play:


Berns Steakhouse - Tampa, FLhttp://www.bernssteakhouse.com/

Jackets and ties are encouraged, but not officially required. It is quite common to see formal wear in our restaurants since we are fortunate to be visited often for special occasion meals.
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This is a big deal in Florida, trust me. NOWHERE requires this outside of maybe a few places in Miami. I've been to steakhouses that cost just as must and taste just as good as this place that have no dress code. FLORIDA.

STEAKS

Rest of menu

Granted this is just Tampa, and there are plenty of other places just as good or same atmosphere. However this place is set apart by two things.

First thing:Dessert room

rrr_img_39453.jpg


Dessert Menu

Second thing: Wine Cellar

yQjh5Iu.jpg



Adjacent to the kitchen and in the warehouse next door, Bern's houses nearly 600,000 bottles of wine from recent vintages all the way back to the 18th century. Thatincludes a bottle of 1947 Chateau Latour which can be yours for just $30,000.No other restaurant in the world can boast such a large wine collection- and the second largest is a hundred or two thousand bottles behind.Bern's wine collection and the cuisine it accompanies has earned Bern's Steak House the Grand Award by Wine Spectator Magazine for 30 straight years. During that stretch, in 1996, Wine Spectator named Bern's the best steak house in the United States.
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You can do a tour of the wine cellar after you eat dinner. It's pretty amazing and they take you through the kitchen also.
 
Tarrant

Tarrant

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I wonder how much insurance they carry for that wine collection since they allow it to be open to the public. Esh.
 
McCheese

McCheese

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A bit off topic, but I've always wanted to try a bit of one of these insanely expensive (i.e thousands of dollars) bottles of wine. I'm curious if it really tastes so much different/better than what you can get at the liquor store. In my experience liquor has diminishing returns, in that the taste improves as you increase in price, but not at a nearly equivalent rate. The taste difference between rail liquor and top shelf at a bar is quite noticeable, but the difference between (from a personal experience example) a bottle of 12 year scotch from a random bar and a $450 bottle of 25 year scotch was hardly noticeable.
 
S

Salshun_sl

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McCheese_sl said:
A bit off topic, but I've always wanted to try a bit of one of these insanely expensive (i.e thousands of dollars) bottles of wine. I'm curious if it really tastes so much different/better than what you can get at the liquor store. In my experience liquor has diminishing returns, in that the taste improves as you increase in price, but not at a nearly equivalent rate. The taste difference between rail liquor and top shelf at a bar is quite noticeable, but the difference between (from a personal experience example) a bottle of 12 year scotch from a random bar and a $450 bottle of 25 year scotch was hardly noticeable.
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They've done taste tests where Two Buck Chuck was DECIMATING $100 bottles, and all these wine snobs picked the cheaper as the better. I really don't think their is a $3000 bottle of wine out that there will ruin it forever for you.
 
S

splorge

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McCheese_sl said:
A bit off topic, but I've always wanted to try a bit of one of these insanely expensive (i.e thousands of dollars) bottles of wine. I'm curious if it really tastes so much different/better than what you can get at the liquor store. In my experience liquor has diminishing returns, in that the taste improves as you increase in price, but not at a nearly equivalent rate. The taste difference between rail liquor and top shelf at a bar is quite noticeable, but the difference between (from a personal experience example) a bottle of 12 year scotch from a random bar and a $450 bottle of 25 year scotch was hardly noticeable.
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Grand Cru wines are tasty, sure, but imo not worth the price. There really isn't any need to spend more than 100 euros on a bottle of wine unless you want to impress someone.
 
Soygen

Soygen

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I've never had a wine that was in the thousand+ range, but I've had ones that were several hundred dollars a bottle. Some are great, others aren't as good as the 10 dollar bottle of cab I bought at Target. I'll stick to the cheap, but tasty stuff.
 
ZyyzYzzy

ZyyzYzzy

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Soygen_sl said:
I've never had a wine that was in the thousand+ range, but I've had ones that were several hundred dollars a bottle. Some are great, others aren't as good as the 10 dollar bottle of cab I bought at Target. I'll stick to the cheap, but tasty stuff.
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Besides homemade wine the only other I drink now is Charles Shaw. Sometimes I feel like a hobo, but it is so good. Can't beat 12 bottles for $35.
 
Itlan

Itlan

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You know what I hate? When they have a prime rib and it's already cooked past fucking black and blue.

Go fuck yourselves, shitty meat eaters. ENJOY YOUR SHOELEATHER!
 
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