Morton-less forever
Written: Nov 18 '05
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Pros: waitress was the only positive item
Cons: everything else
The Bottom Line: 25 years of going downhill...game over
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| jsbs104's Full Review: Morton's of Chicago |
My first visit to Morton’s was over 25 years ago at its original location in Chicago. Over the years I have eaten in several of its restaurants across the country. Three years ago, after eating at the Stamford, CT location I told myself I would never go back. Unfortunately on a recent trip to Boston I tried to obtain a reservation at several restaurants in the Copley Square section of town. Everything was booked except Morton’s. This was Clue 1,
The restaurant is located across the street and downstairs from the Lennox Hotel on Boyleston Street about two blocks from Copley Square. It is convenient to the Sheraton, Westin, Marriotts, Fairmont hotels and between the Copley and Hynes Center “T” stops. The restaurant itself has a bar with 10-15 seats and what appeared to be 25+ tables. It also has several private rooms. The décor is typical Morton’s, English Gentleman’s Club, with lots of wood. The menu can be found on both a chalkboard, on paper menus left by the waitress, plus the Morton’s “Rolling Menu.” Appetizers are in the teens and expect $40+ for the steaks. On the night we ate the restaurant was half filled. This was Clue 2.
Upon arrival, the maitre d’ escorted the two of us to our table and told us if there was anything we needed he was there to assist. This was the last time we saw him. This was Clue 3. I looked around and there was a small group of five women, two Zippy couples, a couple that looked like an Internet date and a few businessmen. No one appeared to be having a great time and everyone looked very serious. This was Clue 4.
The waitress arrived and was extremely pleasant and professional. She rolled the cart over, one that has a sample of each of the steaks, plus the 5+ pound lobster. Several years ago a colleague ordered the lobster at another location (served raw) and the price at that time was $85. I was surprised that the waitress failed to mention what “Market Price” was for this monster. I would guess that this hefty crustacean approached $100. She did an excellent job of presenting the choices and in hindsight she was the most positive item in the whole place. I always order the Porterhouse Steak (Medium-rare), now up to $42, and tonight was no different. She suggested several deserts that needed to be pre-ordered; soufflés for 2 (raspberry, chocolate, lemon) and a molten chocolate cake. I chose the chocolate molten cake. I was also disappointed that soufflés needed 2 to order, that is ridiculous. No appetizers were chosen. My colleague ordered Porterhouse (Medium-well) and we ordered mashed potatoes and a combination onion-mushrooms. I did not look at the menu on the board so I do not know the price of these but I would guess in the $15 range since the total bill without tax and drinks was $130.
A huge loaf of bread was delivered along with a wedge of butter. The bread was warm, but you needed to use your steak knife to slice. No separate bread knife was delivered. The bread was tasty and given the rest of the meal this was actually the high point of the cuisine. I guess the restaurant wants you to have a clean knife for the steak as they actually replaced the knife with the steak.
The steaks arrived. My first bite found it prepared medium-well on the tip of the strip side. Further into the steak I would classify it as rare nearer the bone up the filet side. Bad Result 1. For $42 it should be perfect and this was not evenly prepared. I flipped the steak over and the underside did not have grill marks but looked as if it was cooked on a griddle. The strip side was not very tender and was somewhat chewy. I also noticed that the texture was very different on the outside than on the inside. The outside portion of the steak almost fell apart, while the inside was much more dense. My first thought was that the steak might have been soaked in a brine of some sort prior to grilling (probably beef broth to enhance the flavor). The filet side was better. Overall, this was not a very good steak. In fact, this is the first steak I have not finished in my entire life. Bad result 2. The mashed potatoes were more than likely made in a huge batch but these tasted as if they had been micro-waved to bring to temperature, which was extremely hot. The mushroom/onions were very good, but very small, overall about one slice of onion and 3-4 mushroom, very embarrassing. Bad Result 3.
Another maitre d’ arrived and asked how everything was. My response was “It’s OK.” We had a discussion on how average, at best, the meal was and he was surprised, yet did nothing. Bad Result 4.
We waited 15-20 minutes for the desert to arrive. I figured that since we did not order appetizers, we threw the timing off in the kitchen since the molten chocolate cake needed to be pre-ordered with the appetizers and entrees. It arrived and it was, at best, warm. There is absolutely no way this was individually prepared and cooked to order. Bad Result 5.
Overall, this was a lousy meal, with the only bright spot the waitress. Morton’s is going on reputation. As far as this eater is concerned, I told myself years ago I would not to go back and changed my mind. I will now, forever be, Morton-less.
Recommended:
No
Kid Friendliness: No
Vegetarian Friendly: No
Notes, Tips or Menu Recommendations the bread was OK
Best Suited For: Business
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Epinions.com ID:
jsbs104
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Reviews written: 56
Trusted by: 1 member
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