While in Chicago I definitely wanted to check out a steakhouse, and believe me there is no shortage of great steakhouses in Chicago. After doing some research Primehouse ended up being my choice. It was named “#1 Steakhouse in Chicago” by Chicago magazine in 2013 and is known for its dry-aged steaks.
Primehouse is located on the first floor of the James Hotel. I ended up going with a friend around 8pm and we had no reservations. It was a weekday so it was not that busy, we were immediately greeted and brought to a table. We were then presented with the menu.
The menu mainly focuses on their dry-aged prime cuts of beef. All of their dry-ages cuts are aged in-house in their dry-aging room which has a blocks of Himalayan sea salt lining the walls. Our server Devlin explained the menu quite well and answered any questions we had. Looking at the appetizers the thing that really caught my attention was the Miyazaki beef sashimi ($21). Devlin explained that Miyazaki Beef is 100% purebred Japanese Wagyu from the Miyachiku co-op. I’ve actually never had beef sashimi before so I was excited to try it.
The sashimi comes out on a block of Himalayan sea salt with truffles on top. It was explained to us that the longer you let the beef sit on the block the more intense salt flavor you’ll get. The beef flavor was amazing! The sashimi is also served with mushrooms. The best taste was to get a piece of the sashimi with truffle on it and then add mushroom and eat it all in one bite! I could have ordered 2 or 3 more of these appetizers they were so good!
To our surprise another plate came out, which was the Panisse ($14). Devlin said that we had to try it.
Panisse is just chickpea flour mixed with an egg yolk, it was served with greens and gouda cheese. It was actually really good, and a nice surprise for sure!
Next was the main course, which I had a hard time deciding on. Devlin definitely said if we were at Primehouse we wanted to get a dry-aged steak. I had the choice of a 28-day Ribeye ($54), 40-day Ribeye ($64), 55-day Ribeye ($70), 75-day Ribeye ($81), 30-day Porterhouse ($130), or a 35-day Kansas City Strip ($68). After thinking about it I went with the 55-day Ribeye.
You can have the option for them to cut it at the table, which I did. I got the steak medium-rare (the only way to get a steak!), it was perfectly cooked as you can see from the picture above. This has to be one of the best steaks I’ve ever had. If you’ve never had a dry-aged steak before you are going to be surprised by the rich flavor of the meat. Every time I think about steak this steak is now what I think about! I can only imagine how great the 75-day Ribeye tastes! Also with dinner I got the basil whipped potatoes ($9), which were also very good.
Looking over the dessert menu we really wanted a lava cake (do it for the gram!), but sadly they did not have anything like that, believe me we asked! Without hesitation Devlin brought us out two red velvet cupcakes, another nice surprise!
At the end of the night with drinks my bill came to $139.38 without tip. With the amazing food, and amazing service by Devlin I would gladly come back to Primehouse. They really made you feel at home there, explained the menu quite well, and answered any questions we had. If you are in Chicago I suggest you check out Primehouse, you won’t be disappointed! Be sure to ask for Devlin, he’s awesome!