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Old 07-07-2013, 10:23 PM
 
Location: Las Vegas
26 posts, read 30,516 times
Reputation: 17

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Our group ate at Gibson's tonight. This was my second visit in the last month. On both occassions, the meal was less than expected.

On the earlier visit, I ordered the Halibut but requested a simple, low cal preparation. What I received was a grossly overcooked piece of fish, totally devoid of taste and accetable texture. They happily replaced it with a more properly cooked piece and I chalked it up to every restaurant having a bad day from time to time. We also shared a king crab salad and this was bland and uninspiring at best.

At that previous meal, I noticed a diner at the adjacent table receiving his order of rotisserie chicken which looked great. I opted to order this tonight and once again, this was overcooked.

I realize that Gibson's is a steakhouse and on both of these occassions, other diners ordered steak. Tonight, the outside was well charred even though it was cooked internally to the ordered temperature of medium rare. Ironically, I had a picture of a filet mignon I ordered there last year for brunch on my iPhone and referenced that for comparison. I know it's difficult to discern from a picture but it seemed to confirm my memory; that this steak wasn't charred on the outside.

I'm not into restaurant bashing as I prefer to simply vote with my pocketbook but I hate the thought of giving up on Gibson's as the primary reason for opting for it as opposed to the other small chain, high end competitors such as Morton's, Ruths Chris, and Capitol Grille is that they offer outside seating which is my preference this time of year when the weather is favorable and the people watching is interesting.

I wonder if anyone else has any recent experience with Gibson's and can either confirm or deny my suspicions?
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Old 07-07-2013, 10:35 PM
 
Location: Chicago - Logan Square
3,396 posts, read 7,192,878 times
Reputation: 3731
I don't think Gibson's has dropped in quality as much as the rest of the world has risen in quality. A few of the old school steak houses suffer from that. Keefer's or Burke's Primehouse are my favorite options when I'm taking people out for steaks (on an expense account of course, otherwise I can make excellent steaks at home).
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Old 07-08-2013, 06:53 AM
 
4,899 posts, read 6,203,902 times
Reputation: 7472
danfed, sorry to hear that. We loved Gibson's but haven't been there for a while (love the lobster sandwich).
When we are near that area we go to Gibson's, Dublin's and Hugo's Frog Bar. Similar thing happened when
we went to Hugo's last month. I ordered the Halibut and my SO ordered the pork chop. The halibut slice was smaller
than a piece of cheesecake and had no flavor what so ever. The pork chop was dull too. I wonder if
Hugo's and Gibson's changed ownership or are now owned by some corporation?
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Old 07-08-2013, 08:36 AM
 
1,750 posts, read 3,382,293 times
Reputation: 788
Quote:
Originally Posted by danfed View Post
Our group ate at Gibson's tonight. This was my second visit in the last month. On both occassions, the meal was less than expected.

On the earlier visit, I ordered the Halibut but requested a simple, low cal preparation. What I received was a grossly overcooked piece of fish, totally devoid of taste and accetable texture. They happily replaced it with a more properly cooked piece and I chalked it up to every restaurant having a bad day from time to time. We also shared a king crab salad and this was bland and uninspiring at best.

At that previous meal, I noticed a diner at the adjacent table receiving his order of rotisserie chicken which looked great. I opted to order this tonight and once again, this was overcooked.

I realize that Gibson's is a steakhouse and on both of these occassions, other diners ordered steak. Tonight, the outside was well charred even though it was cooked internally to the ordered temperature of medium rare. Ironically, I had a picture of a filet mignon I ordered there last year for brunch on my iPhone and referenced that for comparison. I know it's difficult to discern from a picture but it seemed to confirm my memory; that this steak wasn't charred on the outside.

I'm not into restaurant bashing as I prefer to simply vote with my pocketbook but I hate the thought of giving up on Gibson's as the primary reason for opting for it as opposed to the other small chain, high end competitors such as Morton's, Ruths Chris, and Capitol Grille is that they offer outside seating which is my preference this time of year when the weather is favorable and the people watching is interesting.

I wonder if anyone else has any recent experience with Gibson's and can either confirm or deny my suspicions?
I've had more "misses" than "hits" at Gibson's over the last few years, I rarely go there any more. What Gibson's does have that many other steak houses lack is the prime location.

I would suggest Mastro's if you are looking for a good steak.
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Old 07-08-2013, 08:49 AM
 
Location: River North, Chicago, Illinois
4,620 posts, read 8,142,617 times
Reputation: 6321
Quote:
Originally Posted by Attrill View Post
I don't think Gibson's has dropped in quality as much as the rest of the world has risen in quality. A few of the old school steak houses suffer from that. Keefer's or Burke's Primehouse are my favorite options when I'm taking people out for steaks (on an expense account of course, otherwise I can make excellent steaks at home).
I think this is the case. Also, Gibson's was never really known for their food, they were known for being a place to "see and be seen." Plenty of people worth seeing don't know the first thing about good food.

Even 10-12 years ago, Gibson's steaks weren't as good (in my opinion) as steaks at some of the other old school steakhouses downtown.
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Old 07-08-2013, 09:33 AM
 
Location: Chicago- Hyde Park
4,079 posts, read 10,369,345 times
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Have you tried Gibsons in other locations Oakbrook/or Rosemont and compared them to the Chicago location?
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Old 07-08-2013, 10:08 AM
 
11,973 posts, read 31,712,480 times
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Chicago has too many steakhouses.
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Old 07-08-2013, 10:14 AM
 
14,801 posts, read 17,622,969 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Lookout Kid View Post
Chicago has too many steakhouses.
I agree, who goes to steakhouses?
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Old 07-08-2013, 10:44 AM
 
Location: River North, Chicago, Illinois
4,620 posts, read 8,142,617 times
Reputation: 6321
Quote:
Originally Posted by Vlajos View Post
I agree, who goes to steakhouses?
Business people mainly.

I go very rarely, as I don't eat entire steaks very often and when I want a steak there are restaurants that are less expensive and serve steaks that I enjoy more than just an oversized slab of beef.

The best steak I've ever had was at Puritan and Co in Cambridge, Mass., which isn't a steakhouse by any stretch of the imagination. It was a really nice wagyu ribeye seasoned and cooked perfectly. I also had a very good aged steak at David Burke's.

Lately, when I feel like I want a chunk of beef, I prefer skirt steak. It's cheaper and very flavorful, and readily available at a lot of casual places around Chicago.
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Old 07-08-2013, 10:46 AM
 
28,455 posts, read 85,157,040 times
Reputation: 18726
Steakhouses are a different animal than some of the more trendy resturants. I was friendly with the family that owned The Flame and it was once a great business but it is little bit like the dilema facing Cadillac or Lincoln -- how do get rid of the "old people" mindset while leveraging the "legacy". Ultimately, for The Flame, they could not pull it off and closed down.

Gibson's is great business. Their location on Rush is about as ideal as one could ever hope for, with a history that spans back to the original "Rat Pack". There is value in that for folks that are of the mindset to appreciate history, but the folks who run the place are not stupid and invest in a heckuva lot of training so that locals and out-of-town visitors get a really nice meal. There is maybe a little bit of tendency for some of the wait staff to focus a little bit more on the groups that are likely to result in a big gratituity, and that generally includes lots of drinks, the big side dishes and a MONSTER slab of beef or one of their lobsters that looks like it should be hanging from the ceiling of museum!

No offense but when you asked for somethng that is not exactly a specialty it is bad form to be critical of the preparation. The folks in the kitchen don't know is someone asking for a "very simple preparation" of fish is some octogenerian that likes their food cooked well past what normal folks consider acceptable or is just someone with non-mainstream tastes.

I agree that more recent additions to Chicago's steakhouse scene, like David Burke's, have brought a new dimension to things, but some of the "classics" are still doing a really EXCELLENT job of delivering high quality steaks in a way that many folks consider the best Chicago tradition -- that typically means a WET AGED steak with a serious amount of close to the broiler CHAR. This is signficantly different than the DRY AGED NY style of David Burke that emphasizies a more "tangy" flavor and less of the sear from ultra-high heat. If you go to either kind of place ordering something that is more associated with country picnics it kind of sidesteps the reason for these places existing. If you don't order the monster sized T-bone / porterhouse you might not get the best representation of what they are capable of...
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