Morton's The Steakhouse - Wacker Place - Chicago
Morton’s The Steakhouse serves the best steak in the city of best steaks, slightly old school, always on top of the downtown dining game. In their thirty-year history, Morton’s The Steakhouse has grown to become a network of 74 restaurants, all united behind a commitment to quality, consistency, and genuine hospitality; as their website explains: “Driven by the desire to provide genuine hospitality–for our guests and our employees–we offer a setting where people truly care about one another, and show it in everything they do. The high level of respect and enthusiasm that runs through our entire organization is evident in many ways, including the longevity of our staff and managers, some of whom have been with us for decades.”
Employment at the same place for decades. Now that’s old school in the best way! And since the very first day at Morton’s The Steakhouse, they’ve been using the same suppliers for their aged prime beef, so it’s a good bet that the steak you eat at Morton’s The Steakhouse today will probably taste very close to the same way as that first steak you tasted at this classic restaurant up to thirty years go.
At Morton’s, it’s all prime meat, the highest grade certified by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, determined by the maturity of the cattle and the marbling scores of the meat. The “prime” designation is earned by less than 2% of the beef in the United States, and the beef at Morton’s The Steakhouse, delivered fresh to all locations, is aged for up to 28 days and custom-cut to Morton’s time-honored specifications.
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At many steak houses, the meal begins with seafood, and on that count, Morton’s The Steakhouse delivers big time, with shrimp scampi capellini, shrimp Alexander, cold water lobster tail, whole Maine lobsters and Alaskan crab legs. Miso marinated sea bass is a favorite, the fermented soybean adding an umami upgrade to an already very flavorful fish.
Steak, of course, is the star of the show, with a center cut filet and rib eye, New York strip, and bone-in veal chop. Some steaks come with distinctive seasonings, like the Cajun ribeye steak and five peppercorn rubbed strip steak, but most of the undeniably high-quality red meat is served with minimal seasoning, the better to let the steaky goodness shine through.
Management at the restaurant changed hands a few years ago. Chicago Magazine, which placed Morton’s The Steakhouse on its list of the Best Steak Houses in Chicago, reports “When Landry’s, the Houston- based colossus that owns Rainforest Cafe and Bubba Gump Shrimp Co., purchased the entire Morton’s empire in 2012, alarm bells went off. Hands were wrung. Arnie Morton would roll over in his meat-lined coffin if the subterranean flagship of his beloved steak chain were to fall into disrepair. But it hasn’t. You’ll enjoy the same quiet efficiency and warm loaves of onion bread that greeted diners in Arnie’s heyday, and Morton’s still broils wet-aged Midwestern grain-fed beef at ungodly temperatures. Here you’ll find a gorgeous, almost creamy porterhouse (order it medium to get the perfect balance of char and tenderness). Everything else, be it the garlicky, plump shrimp Alexander or the tremendous Key lime pie dabbed with crème fraîche, proves that Morton’s remains one of the best steak houses in the city.”
Morton’s The Steakhouse has now made their menu available to people who don’t have time to go out to dinner nor the energy at the end of the work day to spend time in the kitchen. For those people, there’s Morton’s Prime To Go, a take-away option that includes all the signature dishes at Morton’s The Steakhouse including appetizers, salads, entrées, sides and dessert. You just call in your order, pick it up and take it home to enjoy. Easy.
Morton’s The Steakhouse offers a huge spirits and cocktail list, many beers and a very fine selection of wines, offered by the bottle or glass. Each Morton’s The Steakhouse locations has received the Wine Spectator “Award of Excellence and houses a selection of more than 500 wines. Most locations for Morton’s The Steakhouse have a certified sommelier on staff as well as a sommelier team with the collective passion and knowledge to help make your meal even better with a glass or a bottle that will pair perfectly with diner and that you will not forget.
There may be no better conclusion to a meal at Morton’s The Steakhouse than the Key lime pie, with fine acidity to cleanse the palate after a lush steak. Still, Morton’s the Steakhouse is probably most known for the Legendary Hot Chocolate Cake (a registered name), which is a molten chocolate cake that will pull through the main theme of luxurious richness, over-the-top indulgence…and old school charm that you’ll find everywhere at Morton’s The Steakhouse.
