Morton's in Rosemont: All But The Main Course (Chicago Restaurant Review 35 )

Morton's is probably the most famous Chicago steakhouse, having formed a fantastically successful nationwide chain, so you would think the steak would be great. Unfortunately, the steak was probably the weakest part of our dinner when we went to the Rosemont location recently.

We started with wine by the glass. Lisa ordered a Stonehill Pinot Noir, and Steve had Two Hands Shiraz. Both were quite good. For an appetizer, we shared shrimp cocktail. The shrimp were big, which is the way we usually like them, but these did not have great taste. The sauce was good, however. The salads were the highlight of the meal. Lisa had a beefsteak tomoto, onion and blue cheese salad. The tomatoes tasted fresh and almost sweet, the onions were tangy, and the blue cheese (crumbles and dressing) set both off perfectly. The salad actually rivaled Wildfire's tomato and onion salad, which is our favorite. Steve loved his wedge salad, particularly the blue cheese dressing, which was the best he'd ever tasted.

The entrees were somewhat disappointing. We split the porterhouse for two, with Lisa eating most of the filet portion and Steve focusing on the bone and the sirloin. Steve thought it was well charcoaled, but the only part that had any flavor was the bone itself. Lisa also thought the filet lacked flavor although it was cooked perfectly medium rare and one or two bites at the center tasted all right. (Not exactly a ringing endorsement for a steakhouse.)

Dessert, at least for Lisa, was a vast improvement. She had the hot chocolate cake, which must be ordered 20 minutes in advance. It has a hot, dark chocolate center, and a perfect bitter dark flavor. Steve was sulking over the poor quality of the steak and passed on dessert, but had a few bites of Lisa's, which he thought was quite good.

The bathrooms, which were actually part of the office building in which Morton's is located, were what one would expect from an industrial office. They were clean but uninspired. Plus, the water in both the women's and men's bathroom sinks was cool at best.

Our total bill was $250 with wine by the glass. That strikes us as a bit high considering the tepid quality of the entree. (Steve at least has been to Morton's many times and feels that the quality of the steak has been declining over the years.)

Our rating for Morton's, 9525 Bryn Mawr Ave., Rosemont, Illinois:

7 of 10 (the salad and dessert were really really good) Steak Knives; 2 of 3 Bathroom Brushes.