Raised on a farm, Smith & Wollensky steakhouse along State Street in Chicago overlooking the Chicago River, has a natural appeal for me.
The warm interior invites guests to step into a hunting lodge-reminiscent dining atmosphere, complete with rich wood paneling and bronzed animal design details, along with some accent tributes to Chicago greats like Jack Brickhouse and Harry Caray.
The Smith & Wollensky Restaurant Group is rolling out new seasonal items at this legendary steakhouse as the leaves turn for the just launched fall menu.
"We offer seasonal menu features two times a year, which, as an executive chef, is exciting to me," said Matt King, national director of culinary development for Smith & Wollensky Restaurant Group.
"The changing of the seasons means a whole new crop of ingredients I get to experiment with. I’ve incorporated winter fruits, such as blood orange and pomegranate into this menu. And nothing says fall like butternut squash—we are introducing a new side dish of roasted slices of butternut squash atop spinach cheese fondue with crispy fried shallots as a garnish."
A sampling of the fall menu features include the rack of lamb, a whole roasted rack of lamb served on a bed of roasted carrots, green beans and fingerling potatoes and Wasabi crusted tuna atop bok choy, baby carrots and pomegranate black garlic sauce.
My personal favorite is a thicker-than-thick fork-tender pork chop, served with the fanciest and most delicious baked beans imaginable. The double-cut Berkshire pork chop rests on a bed of chorizo baked beans and garnished with crispy sweet potatoes.
There are only nine Smith & Wollensky steakhouses in the world, and we're lucky to have the Windy City location at 318 North State St. Wisconsin-raised Executive Chef Brian Christman, who spent a couple of years in Beverly Hills before his Midwest return, has been the culinary talent creating buzz since joining Smith & Wollensky in recent months.
He offers a twist on the traditional surf and turf by serving braised beef as the garnish to large succulent sea scallops. The scallops and cider braised prime beef features a dry-aged muscle cap braised then sautéed with butternut squash, oyster mushrooms and caramelized leeks. Seasonal grilled scallops are then served on a bed of the braised beef with spinach blue cheese fondue.
The new fall menu features complement the classic Smith & Wollensky menu staples, like the rich and creamy baked macaroni and cheese, which remains available for both lunch and dinner.
To make reservations, call (312) 670-9900 or contact smithandwollensky.com
Smith & Wollensky Restaurant Group is headquartered in Boston, Mass. and also owns and operates locations in Miami Beach, Chicago, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, Houston, Washington, D.C., Columbus, Ohio, and two restaurants in Boston.
The restaurants were founded by Alan Stillman in 1977. He later created the T.G.I. Friday's chain. The Chicago location was featured in the 2006 movie "The Break-Up" starring Jennifer Aniston and Vince Vaughn.
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