The Other Critics

Kramer Likes the Salad at Chicago Cut Steakhouse; Tamarkin Approves of New Chef at Rootstock

This steakhouse has a great salad.
This steakhouse has a great salad. Photo: courtesy of Facebook

Chicago Cut Steakhouse “may be a fine place to observe the foibles of the highly manicured drunk,” but Julia Kramer finds lots of flaws for everyone else. Some steaks were cooked perfectly, but others had “an unpleasant toughness and grainy chew unbecoming of its $45 price tag.” Definitely don’t go for the burger, which was an “abomination.” Luckily, the caprese salad with “oozing burrata cheese” was “the best value on the menu.” But that’s the main problem: “Go to a steakhouse for a burrata salad?” [TOC]

David Tamarkin revisited Rootstock, and finds that new chef Duncan Biddulph, “keeps with Rootstock’s history of stocking the menu with noshes.” The chicken croquettes are “decadent little things,” while the ham crust “has every flavor a good ham dish deserves: smokiness, sweetness (from a squash puree and maple syrup) and an overall mellow savoriness.” [TOC]

Daniel Zemans thinks Sable’s burger is “very good,” but ultimately not worth the $15 price tag. “For that kind of money, 25 percent more than the David Burke’s Primehouse burger sells for two blocks away, the Sable burger disappoints.” [Serious Eats]

Abigail’s in Highland Park may be an “American Bistro,” but Phil Vettel finds the “frequent use of Mediterranean and Middle Eastern flavors” to be the real drawing point. He falls for the flatbreads, but his favorite is the duck with the “fragile-as-lace ravioli.” [Trib]

Kramer Likes the Salad at Chicago Cut Steakhouse; Tamarkin Approves of New Chef