david burke's primehouse

you know what's great about restaurant week? the chance to try out really great, pricey restaurants at a reasonable price. that led us to reserve a table for lunch at david burke's primehouse to try out good quality steaks.

located in the james chicago hotel, david burke's primehouse is smacked right in the middle of downtown chi-town, just off the magnificient mile. their culinary style is their intepretation of modern american cuisine. it didn't take us long to locate the james hotel but when we went into the hotel, there weren't signs as to where the restaurant was so we had to ask someone at the hotel bar. my ex-boss who once recommended thePublican to us mentioned that he enjoyed the food at david burke's so we had a pretty high expectations for the food here.

we were seated quite close to the waiting area of the restaurant so we mostly missed out on the ambience of the restaurant. from where i was sitting, i could see that it was dimly lit, with dark wooden floors and looked quite cozy with some booths on the side of the wall. it was a pity we didn't really get to experience the ambience ourselves. ryan commented that they could probably update our table cover cos he noticed a small tear/slit which i didn't even realize myself.

our waitress was rather friendly. she told us the place have been bustling the whole week since it was restaurant week. the restaurant was so busy that they ran out of one of two malbec wines that ryan wanted to try. so ryan ordered the other one to compare it with the malbec he had from province. she brought out a mini wine decanter which i thought was really neat and poured half into the wine glass (they did this in province too). ryan preferred the malbec at province. the restaurant week menu options for both appetizer and entree was quite generous with 5 choices each. they also brought us some asiago cheese bread which was interesting i thought cos it was hollow in the middle - similar to a ball. btw, some dude next to my table looked at me weird as i was taking a picture of this bread thingi - like i was some weirdo or something..lol.

appetizer| i was torn between two appetizers: the kobe beef sashimi or the surf and turf dumpling.  the surf and turf dumplings contains short ribs barbeque and lobster lemon but when i read that kobe beef sashimi was served on himalayan salt along side with mushroom chips and truffle mayo, i was sold. i also read that this sashimi dish was one of the best dishes in the primehouse but i guess i was nervous since i can handle fish sashimi but didn't know how i'd fare with raw beef slices.

kobe beef special type of beef that is renowed for its flavor, tenderness, and fatty well-marbled texture (qoute from wikipedia). in short, it's freaking expensive piece of meat. why? well...these wagyu cows gets a spa treatment everyday! these wagyu herds is provided with beer and daily massages with warm sake... wtf?! these cows live more lavishly than i do. they are living the life, man. living THE life!

anywho, i've seen himalayan salt used several times in iron chef america and is really curious how different it was going to be. i love the pink-ish color on the salt brick which makes it look so pretty. the slices of kobe beef was sliced very thinly and the saltiness of it pairs well with the mayo and the toasted french baguette slices. i enjoyed it. ryan thought his last slice of beef was a tad too salty.

entree| primehouse = steaks! no question about it. and that's exactly what we ordered. i ordered a 7 oz. dry aged N.Y. strip steak medium well...(*hides* argh don't yell at me! i know i know i practically killed the great piece of meat) and ryan ordered a 7 oz. 28 day aged, boneless delmonico steak done medium rare. they were both seasoned really well and the grilled crust outside keeps the juices inside the meat. mmm... finger licking good. kinda wish there were clearer grilled marks though.

disclaimer this is written based on my personal experience and opinion. experiences and taste buds may vary for others