The newest restaurant by acclaimed chef Shawn McClain, Custom House, 500 S Dearborn St, balks at referring to itself as a “steak house,” and for good reason. Although the menu is heavy on succulent meats (like some of the best braised short ribs you will ever taste) and decadent starches (like pasta and creamy polenta), it is worlds above the run-of-the-mill steakhouse fare that plagues our sophisticated dining scene: ridiculously large cuts of beef that could feed a family of four and sloppy sides such as the ubiquitous creamed spinach.
With a Frank Lloyd Wright-like flagstone motif and red upholstery, Custom House exudes more “sophistication” than testosterone – unlike most Chicago steak joints, often filled with macho cigar chompers and their mustaches. Plus the food at Custom House is about 100 times better than at any steak house.
Custom House is a chef-driven, not grill-driven, restaurant, and a welcomed addition to not only Shawn McClain’s collection of eateries, including Spring and Green Zebra, but also to the heretofore culinarily challenged South Loop.
There are other great restaurants in the South Loop, too. Stay tuned, gastronomes…