4 charles | Johnny Prime

Bavette’s Bar & Boeuf overall score: 90*

This steak joint meets speakeasy is easily my favorite place to get a steak in Chicago. The joint is run by the same folks behind 4 Charles Prime Rib, so you know it’s going to be good.

Flavor: 10

We had the rib eye. This is exactly the same as the rib eye from 4 Charles (when they offer the grilled version as a special). Get it. I love it so much, but honestly I wish I had gotten the strip steak just to try something different. Oh well. Next time. The reservation here is much easier than 4 Charles.

Choice of Cuts & Quality Available: 8

There’s a good selection of dry-aged and prime cuts here, but it isn’t the same depth and breadth as a traditional steakhouse. No knock here, just giving you the details to let you know that the menu here is more streamlined than most restaurants within the steakhouse category. The good thing is that every steak they cook here is perfect.

Portion Size & Plating: 8

The rib eye was 20oz on the bone. It felt a little small, but It was the kind of thing where you find yourself gnawing on the bone afterwards. Plating is basic, but elegant.

Price: 7

Not terrible, since we didn’t go too crazy, but a hundo for a steak that’s really meant for one is a little high.

Bar: 10

The bar here is incredible. It’s modeled after a speakeasy type decor, so dim lighting, old timey items, and dark woods are what to expect.

Killer cocktails as well.

Specials and Other Meats: 9

There was a porterhouse offered up as a special. Very tempting. A few other meat items were available, but nothing stand-out.

Apps, Sides & Desserts: 10

We started with a steak tartare, which was easily one of the best we’ve had.

We also had a half portion of the crab and avocado salad, which was quite large and very refreshing. Worth getting.

The ice cream they brought out on the house for my birthday was perfection. It was a deliciously creamy pair of vanilla scoops with some chocolate sauce on the side.

Seafood Selection: 8

There’s standard steakhouse seafood fare here. We only tried the crab in salad form, but that was excellent.

Service: 10

Service was the best here of any place we went to in Chicago so far. Top notch! As I mentioned earlier, they even brought out a free dessert for my birthday, despite us insisting that we were full.

Sourdough table bread! Incredible. Careful not to fill up!

Ambiance: 10

Easiest 10 I’ve ever given for ambiance. This place is decked out in the best of ways. I highly recommend coming here if you’re in the Chicago area, even if it’s just for a drink. This place exudes style.

BAVETTE’S BAR & BOEUF
218 W Kinzie St
Chicago, IL 60654

I agonized a bit over whether I should review 4 Charles Prime Rib within my 10 categories for steakhouses. In the end I decided to review it as a regular restaurant, as I felt the steak selections were so LASER-focused on prime rib that the overall score would be artificially low if plugged into the steakhouse review framework.

But who cares, right? You bastards just want to see the pretty pictures and know whether I think you should eat here.

The short answer: YES! Eat here immediately.

I was here with my wife and two other friends to do a full-cavity search on this restaurant menu’s ass. No gloves. No lube. Raw and dirty. Here’s what we ate:

THE BURGER

We split this as an appetizer, and yeah, I know: We didn’t get it “au cheval” style like in Chicago, with the egg and bacon on top. There were several reasons why we didn’t: (1) Overkill. It would be too fucking tall with thick cut bacon and a fried egg sitting on top of this double cheeseburger. And with the addition of lettuce and tomato? Fuhgettaboutit; (2) One of my friends can’t eat egg yolk; and (3) After I spoke with some friends whose burger opinions I value, it was clear that baconless and eggless was the way to go.

So how was it? Great. It’s crafted in a similar style to Genuine Roadside or Hard Times Sunday, where they serve up classic American doubles. However, at those places you’re paying half the price for something that I felt was just as good, if not better. My opinion: skip the burger. It’s great, but not worth the $20 price tag (fries not included).

On a second trip, I was able to get it with “the works” because I wasn’t sharing with someone who had an egg allergy. Much better.

THE FRENCH DIP

This isn’t on the menu but it’s often offered as a special for the day, and they pre-cut it for four people (even though we told them they didn’t have to). Thin sliced beef, provolone cheese, cherry peppers, great sandwich bread, jus and horseradish sauce.

Verdict: amazing. Get this and split it as your appetizer like we did. You won’t be disappointed. In fact, you’ll probably be as amazed as we were. Another great app is the bacon. Braised, super tender, peppered crust, and slightly candied.

THE PORTERHOUSE

DeBragga supplied this porterhouse, which was offered as a special for the day. It was only dry aged for 10 days, but it packed a great earthy flavor while still retaining the character of the beef. It was 32oz and $120, marketed as being “for two.”

How was it? 10/10 – perfection. Well, I mean, the crust could have used a slight bit more char on the outside, but the flavor was so tremendous that it didn’t matter. The quality was insane, and texture was incredibly tender. Served with a Bernaise sauce.

THE “4 CHARLES CUT” PRIME RIB

This is 24oz of bone-in, slow roasted Anderson beef out of Chicago. It cooks for three hours at 250 and then five hours at 125. The result is an incredibly juicy and tender roast.

That’s horseradish cream sauce there in the picture, and the steak also comes with jus. This is easily in my top three for prime rib here in the city, with a very close Keen’s and Burger & Barrel also in that top three. 10/10. The English cut version is great as well. It normally comes with three slices, but, since we were an even number of people, they offered us another slice so we could all try. That’s great service!

SIDES

Blue Cheese Creamed Spinach: I thought this would be really potent and harsh, only good for a bite or two to add richness to the prime rib, but it was mild and tasty. While I really enjoyed it, it was not my favorite creamed spinach. I would say that it’s worth a try if you fancy yourself a creamed spinach connoisseur.

French Fries: Solid. Not amazing, but not bad by any stretch. They get the job done, they’re nicely fried, and they’re crisp. Served with a garlic aioli.

Roasted Broccolini: Despite the typo on their menu (brocolinni), these were really nicely done. I love this fucking veggie, so I like to get it every time I see it on a menu. These fuckers prepared it just how I do: Simply seasoned and dressed with olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic; and then roasted until it’s cooked through, developing a little bit of charred texture on the heads.

DESSERT

Lemon Meringue Pie: Really nice thick meringue on top. Super fluffy and lots of flavor. The pie itself was just right: not too tangy and not too rich. I loved it. I’ve always loved a good lemon meringue pie. And look at those peaks! Also the serving size is tremendous – basically a quarter of the entire pie.

Chocolate Cream Pie: The good folks at 4 Charles Prime Rib brought this baby out for us on the house. I was really blown away by this gesture, not to mention how cool everyone was with the four of us taking photos of the food. I like to think that we weren’t too obnoxious, though. In any case, this was really delicious. The bottom was a sort of Oreo crust, and the whipped cream and chocolate sauce just took that rich, flavorful chocolate pie filling to the next level. Great stuff, and I’m usually not huge on chocolate desserts.