May 05--If you had asked me to place bets on the next move from Brendan Sodikoff -- the restaurateur whose projects include a candlelit diner putting out duck heart gravy (Au Cheval), a coffee shop that could very well be in Brooklyn (Sawada) and the remake of hipster heaven (The California Clipper) -- I wouldn't have said a clubby steakhouse in Old Town, where backward baseball caps run wild. Yet, here we are: SteakBar, a partnership between Sodikoff's Hogsalt Hospitality and the Four Corners Tavern Group (operators of Benchmark and Schoolyard, among others) opened in mid-April on Wells Street with a DJ booth and two floors of glitzy decor.
Hogsalt knows food, and Four Corners knows late-night -- a natural partnership, says Four Corners director Ryan Indovina.
The result is an interesting juxtaposition: a sceney spot that takes the menu seriously. Nothing is too out-there -- four cuts of steak, a patty melt with truffle butter, brisket nachos, a few seafood plates -- but everything is well-made, with fun touches like potato chips adding crunch to a Caesar salad. Other dishes have already proved themselves at existing Hogsalt spots; I spy the General Jane's honey-fried chicken from Au Cheval and the prime beef sandwich from Bavette's, Sodikoff's French restaurant on Kinzie Street.
And I can't think of a place in the neighborhood that has better talent behind the drinks. Jean Tomaro, Hogsalt's savvy head bartender, has teamed with Tim Ryll from Four Corners on a list of 13 cocktails, all inspired by classics. Yet, where else but a place expecting a party would a Manhattan or daiquiri be offered by the pitcher? For $48, the night just got taken up a notch.
Probably best to save that for the weekend, when a DJ is spinning from the marquee-framed booth and diners -- 270 of them, if the place is full -- are mingling from bar to bar, no doubt gravitating toward the floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking Wells Street or, when it's warm enough, onto the sidewalk patio, cocktails in hand.
"It's called SteakBar for a reason," Indovina says, emphasizing the word bar. "We want you to enjoy the energy, grab another drink and hang out."
SteakBar, 1500 N. Wells St., 773-966-0404, www.steakbarchicago.com
mconrad@tribpub.com
Twitter @marissa_conrad
