Ditka's

Ditka's

100 E. Chestnut St.
Chicago, IL 60611
(312) 587-8989

Ditka's was our "special-treat" dining experience for Christmas. Last year, the Pirate and I went to Topolobampo, which, while excelling in cuisine, was a little too...quiet and grown up for the two of us. I'm pretty sure that Ditka's was the penultimate dining experience for the Pirate. Overall, I thought the food was excellent, but the general atmosphere was a little too sports-baresque at some junctures.

We arrived about a half hour before our reservations at 7pm on a Friday and Ditka's was packed. There was nowhere to sit in the downstairs bar, so we ventured upstairs after procuring a glass of wine for me and a beer for my one-eyed companion. I was slightly disappointed at the lack of coat check, since a princess should never have to carry around her own ermine coat in the winter. The wine list left little to be desired, however, and since I hadn't eaten since high tea earlier that day, I could feel the spirits going to my head as we waited for our table. Luckily, one of the hosts spotted us and offered a table near by in the upstairs bar instead of in the dining room. There were flat screen televisions and a loud groups of revelers all around us, but it certainly felt cozy.

Our lady in waiting appeared forthwith and was quite pleasant as she took our orders for appetizers. I got a small Ditka's salad, which was delicious - crisp granny smith apples, walnuts, and baby greens, with a tasty vinaigrette dressing. One doesn't typically go to a steakhouse for the vegetable matter, but Ditka's far surpassed my expectations here. For a main course, the Pirate and I split a baked potato the size of a lap dog, and I got a 10oz filet mignon. Although my corset stays barely allowed me to finish the steak, I relished every bite of it. I'm not typically a big red meat person, but this steak ranks among the best I've ever had. It was comparable to a Morton's aged filet, for about half the price. The flavor of this particular piece of meat was worth every doubloon. The Pirate and I chose an apple crumble for dessert after eschewing the idea of a huge slab of chocolate cake. The apple crumble was a near perfect balance of tart, sweet and cinnamon with a crunchy oat topping and a big scoop of vanilla ice cream. It was so large, we barely finished it. And so, the Pirate and I left Ditka's, full to the brim with excellent food warming us through the cold Christmas season evening.

The food was great, but the bar areas may be a little too noisy if you're looking for a more intimate setting. The staff was attentive and knowledgeable. It felt odd to pay $30 for a steak in the midst of plasma screens showing ESPN and a group of office workers drinking Miller Lites by the dozen, but the raucous atmosphere was very welcoming.

After a hard days work buccaneering, there's nothing better than sitting down to a steak dinner with your favorite beer wench girl. In this regard Da Coach did not disappoint.

Now, like his persona, Ditka's got straight down to business as soon as you walked through the door, and that business was providing hearty meals to the City of Big Shoulders. Unlike other steakhouses in the city, Ditka's had a warmer, more broken-in feel with less of the pretentiousness refinements of, say Gibson's. We arrived early and were greeted by a cordial hostess and a packed bar. With no place to sit in the downstairs while having our pre-dinner drinks we ventured to the upper bar and dining room. There watching SportsCenter on one of the many plasma TVs, it was only a couple of minutes before the upstairs host offered us a table in the bar area.

Now, I don't know how other princesses are, but mine gets a bit more royal if she hasn't eaten in a while, so we decided to take the table. More raucous than the general dining room, the bar area offered us great people viewing opportunities and views of the various sporting events on TV. Our waitress came promptly and after a few minutes we had our orders in.

Being the salty dog that I am, I started things off with the Cowboy Oyster Shooter, a fresh oyster in a shot glass with Tabasco vinaigrette. This was excellent. Fresh, spicy and smooth I could have had a dozen. Be wary though if you don't like spice, the Tabasco will stick with your lips for a while. The Tanqueray 10 martini I had could barely cut through it.

On to the main course, the 24 oz. premium Angus T-bone. This was the best steak I have had in years. The medium rare cut was well seasoned and cooked to perfection. Perhaps the cut was not as good as those to be had at other Chicago steakhouses, i.e. Chicago Chophouse or Gibson's, it was still buttery and full of flavor. Wanting more after finishing my cut I nearly took the rest of the Princess', but alas, she had finished her filet as well. I had to make do with the baked potato that she and I had split. Nearly football sized, the potato was loaded with cheese, butter and sour cream. While I've had better (umm...hello, where's the bacon?) the spud was still delicious and did it's job well, barely leaving room for dessert.

The finale was an apple crumble topped off with vanilla ice cream. While I was curious about the chocolate cake, this was the dessert that the Princess and I could agree upon. That, and I think it was the only dessert that wouldn't require me to buy a new pirate shirt after I was done. The crumble was well balanced between the tartness of the apples, the sweetness of the brown sugar and ice cream, and the crunch of the crumble topping.

X marks the spot on this Chicago treasure. It's one of the more popular restaurants in Chicago, drawing tourists and locals alike. During football season on Thursdays, Da Coach himself records his weekly radio show. While we didn't get to meet him this time around, I will definitely be returning and then, hopefully, he'll sign my eyepatch.

The food was excellent and the waitstaff was attentive. While the room may have been a bit loud, it didn't detract from the experience. All in all our meal at Ditka's was well worth its weight in buried treasure.