May I ask a different slant on location: how about near ORD or Rosemont Hyatt?

If you want a steakhouse near ORD or Rosemont, then you're best bet is probably the Gibson's Rosemont location that I mentioned in this thread.

If touristy minds being on the river with a great view of the city, so be it.

hence was the setting was night. The dry-aged porterhouse was juicy and oh so tender (BUT NOT MUSHY!). Great beef flavor shone though!

All steaks at S&W are dry aged.

The calamari appitizer left something to be desired, was not special.

Others in our group LOVED the spilt pea soup.

A big ^ to Smith and Wollensky's !!!

Dined at Chicago Chop House last night and it reaffirmed my doubt about their steaks. I ordered the 16 oz bone-in filet mignon with a side of American Fries (thick cut fries spiced up with onions, garlic and all kinds of spices). The filet was cooked perfectly and had a good taste on the cooked edges, but it wasn't what I expected. This is relative to the bone-in filet at Joe's Stone Crab that I believe is the best steak served in the entire city.

Our table shared an order of prosciutto wrapped asparagus, which was wonderful. Served chilled, large stems of asparagus are wrapped in prosciutto and covered with balsamic vinegar. ^

I have dined at the Chop House in the past and definately appreciate the service (top notch) and the atmosphere. As for steaks, I would head elsewhere.

Can you expand on this?

As compared to the several bone-ins that I have recently enjoyed at Joe's, the CCH's cuts (as also experienced by my cousin, who was out with us) were extremely bloody behind the bone. There are inherent difficulties in cooking a bone-in, as there isn't direct meat to heat contact as the bone wraps the filet. I've never encountered this problem at other establishments. Finally, the taste of the filet lacked a bit of a punch. Typically, filets are bursting with flavor; this filet albeit VERY tender and cooked properly, lacked the taste that I'm used to.

There isn't much else to comment about, it is a good place with very loyal clientale, however I haven't experienced a "great" steak at the Chop House in my last two visits (one month span of time).

I agree! I've never had a bad meal at Capitol Grille. The food and the service are outstanding in Chicago.

Yes there are other "non-chain" steak place gems in Chicago. Gibson's is one of many. We have many excellent meals at Wildfire, however it's too loud and not comfortable at all.

I have found Smith and Wollensky to be very inconsistent and overpriced. The service there was horrible.

how much is the bone in filet at Joe's? Petit filet or good size?

I've heard many poor reviews of CCH, so I'm not surprised to hear this.

I was a little surprised to hear you note that filets are typically bursting with flavor, though. In general, they're considered to be among the the least flavorful cuts because they're so lean; so much so that filets are, by definition, not even graded at the highest level by USDA. That said, I gather than some (many?) restaurants also season their filets and/or use butter, etc., to cook them.

Tried Gibson's at Rosemont. Very good steak. Also easy to get via shuttle from ORD.
Thank you for suggestions.

Which cut did you have?

Will ask my table mates and will get info.

I know it hasn't been mentioned since this first post in this thread but given the choice (and as a frequent visitor and big fat guy that likes steak I've tried most of them) I'd pick Gene and Georgettis EVERY time. Not only is the steak phenominal, I personally like the fact that it's old, gruff men serving you. Very old time, classic Peter Luger, orginals Palms, etc. To me it felt very classic. Obviously your opinion may differ about the setting but no arguing the steaks.

Some of us had New York Sirloin about $39-excellent. One tried their Hamburger about $8.50-superb.
I tried with an other person (for two persons to share) WR's Chicago Cut for total of $38-great! It was also large enough to share.

Mrs. USAFAN and I went there a couple of years ago. The steak was not tasty, unfriendly service and high prices.
I always believed, that it should be easy for a first class steakhouse to serve a good steak, Gene & Georgetti's proofed me wrong.