I’d arranged to catch up with some people that I know in Chicago, and asking them to recommend a place, we ended up at the Chicago Firehouse Restaurant. Located in the south loop and appropriately named, the location used to be the Chicago Firehouse Department and now it’s been converted into a very nice restaurant.

We booked in advance and even though we had a super early booking of 5:30pm, they never tried to upseat us from our table despite the growing queue at the bar and at the entrance. Service was polite, prompt and very helpful throughout the meal.

I started with the Chicago Firehouse Signature Lobster Bisque ($7.95) served in a delicate soup bowl and topped with a puff pastry cap. The pastry provided a nice contrast to the creaminess of the soup, full of flavour and a hearty serve.

I had difficulty choosing between several of the main dishes, especially since the slow roasted pot roast sounded very good. Given that I was in the mid west, and wasn’t liking my chances of having steak before leaving, I decided on the Three Flights of Filet Mignon, a trio of smaller steaks prepared with different toppings. Apparently it’s one of the most popular dishes at the moment and I can understand why with perfectly cooked steaks prepared in several different ways. I particularly liked the steak that was topped with a horseradish crust.

We all agreed to have a dessert and we ended up ordering almost one of every dessert. Molly ordered the special of the evening, a Red Velvet cake, that whilst being about an eighth of cake, could have easily served two or three people. I was particularly happy with the Key Lime Pie cheesecake, a zingy lime filling bottomed out by a slightly orange flavoured graham cracker crust ($8.99). Even though it looked like a more reasonable portion, I couldn’t finish mine because I was so full.

A delicious meal and a great choice of location. The dinner wasn’t cheap (USD90) by the end of it since we had a cocktail to start with, and a number of sides with the steaks (each was additional). The sides were “family-style” as well with two of them barely finished by the three of us having steaks. I enjoyed the service and would definitely add it back to my list for something special.

Name: The Chicago Firehouse Restaurant
Found at: 1401 South Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL, USA
Website: http://www.chicagofirehouse.com/