Joe's Seafood, Prime Steak and Stone Crab

For our second Restaurant week meal we went to Joe's Seafood, Prime Steak and Stone Crab in River North.  It is located at 60 East Grand Avenue in Chicago.

Lounge/Bar Area

The Restaurant Week menu was $33/person for dinner for a three course meal.

Crab Bisque

For an appetizer we both had crab bisque.  It was a thick bisque with large chunks of crab meat. We are more used to having lobster bisque so this was a pleasant change. The other option for an appetizer was Manhattan Style Clam Chowder, which we do not enjoy as much so we were very happy with the bisque.

Stone Crab Claws

Mashed Potatoes

For an Entree we had the choice of 2 different meals - either 6 medium Stone Crab claws with Hashed Brown Potatoes and Cole Slaw or an 8 oz Filet Mignon with mashed potatoes and a grilled tomato.  We had one of each so we could try everything.  We've never had stone crab claws before but we love them now.  They were pre-cracked so we had to be a little careful of the thick shell pieces, but they were easier to eat than crab legs. The cole slaw pairs nicely with the crab - it is presented a little differently with relish and tomatoes; the relish brought out a sweetness that most coleslaw doesn't have. The filet mignon was perfectly cooked.  The waiter told us that they had some of the best steak in the city and we didn't believe him until we tried it.  It was buttery and very tender - we were able to cut it with a butter knife. In Nick's opinion, it is his second favorite steak behind Ruth's Chris.  The mashed potatoes were served a little bit differently with a breadcrumb topping and were very tasty.  But the side dish we enjoyed the most was surprisingly the grilled tomato.  It was topped with a green leaf (spinach or kale?) vegetable and baked with a layer of cheese.  It was uber tasty and we were surprised at the quality of the tomato for that time of year.

Filet Mignon with Grilled Tomato

Hash Brown Potatoes

Cole Slaw

Banana Cream Pie

For dessert we had the choice of either Key Lime Pie or Banana Cream Pie with Caramel sauce so we had one of each. Both were good desserts-we probably enjoyed the banana cream pie a little more. But this isn't a place that we would go just for desserts.  Instead we would fill up on more crab, steak or side dishes.

Key Lime Pie

Overall we were really overwhelmed with the quantity of food for a prix fixe menu.  Probably the cost of this meal from the regular menu would have been twice as much.  They did not lesson the quantities even though it was restaurant week. We had more than enough food and even had to pack some items up to go.



Final thoughts on Joe's Seafood, Prime Steak and Stone Crab:
Food - we were really happy with all of the food. This is a place we would recommend to other people as it was recommended to us. There is also a location in Las Vegas and the original location is in Miami. Anyone who enjoys steak or seafood would like it here.
Service - friendly staff, willing to share their opinions.  It looked like all of the wait staff were willing to help all of the tables.

Dining Room

Atmosphere - Because of its location near Michigan Avenue there was a lot of out of town traffic.  Also we witnessed a lot of business dinners.  We went here on a Monday night and most likely due to Restaurant Week the reservations were booked until 10pm (we were there at 6:30).  I'm sure many of the walk ins felt they would be okay to get a table on a Monday night but that was not the case - it really felt like a weekend evening.  Before our table was available we waited in a large bar/lounge area where you can also order off the same menu, but in a less formal setting.  The main dining area is huge and evokes a sixties era feel with dark wood, pictures and music from that time period. All of the wait staff were in tuxedos.  Because of the height of the ceilings it can get a little loud.