As predicted, I consumed steak like a coyote that died and went to heaven.
Like Ron Swanson on Fat Tuesday.
Like a man who brought a cardiologist with him, just in case.
Actually, that last one is true, sort of. As mentioned on Thursday, I'm currently on a road trip with my good friend Dr. Shawn Skeen, who is attending the American Cardiologists Conference, or something like that, here in Chicago. Whatever it's called, it means there are about 30,000 cardiologists in the city at the moment. I guess that also means it's a little bit safer to consume red meat like the last cow on Earth just walked into the slaughterhouse.
We dined at Gibson's where we had a 9:30 reservation on Friday night. That meant we were able to watch Baylor dismiss Xavier at a bar called The Whiskey across the street from the steakhouse.
Understand, Gibson's was rated one of America's top 10 steakhouses last year. I dined there the first time in 2009, so I knew the kind of treat ahead of me.
The photo accompanying this blog features the W.R.'s Chicago Cut bone-in ribeye. Dr. Skeen and I each chose this steak and each enjoyed every bite taken, though neither one of us finished the 22-ounce monster. If it looks big in the picture, that's no photographer's trick. If anything, the photo doesn't do this ribeye justice.
If a picture is worth a thousand words, and if you enjoy steak, then you don't need much description here. The steak tasted as good as it looks.
The baked sweet potato in the photo was mine. I ate about four delicious bites of it.
That's all I could handle after warming up with lobster bisque and bread. Why did I eat the bread? Classic mistake. The lobster bisque though, was worth it. Lobster bisque is decadent. It makes a hot-fudge sundae seem like health food.
Oh, speaking of dessert, we went to the bar to watch the conclusion of the Indiana-Kentucky game. We were too stuffed for dessert, but at Gibson's a person can't be deterred by a full belly. It's imperative to press on as you might never find yourself in a restaurant this good again. We split something called the Texas homemade pecan pie with ice cream. It reminded me more of a chocolate pecan pie as the filling was more dense, but we didn't send it back.
I suppose the question to answer at this point would be "Is Gibson's legitimately one of the 10 best in America?" All I can say is it's in the form of the kind of steakhouse that would be chosen as one of the country's 10 best. Gibson's creates a sophisticated dining experience with professional and friendly waiters and portions that could sate Shaq O'Neal without scrimping on flavor.
I haven't revealed until now, that, as we had a late dinner, we snacked on Chicago-style pizza at Lou Malnati's about 4 p.m. Friday afternoon. It's good to know it will be easy to flag down a cardiologist today.
Still, I think I'll limit myself to green tea and celery today.
One more bite: In the interest of integrity, I'm going to admit that I'm in last place in the WacoFork Bracket Challenge. Cory, who used the bracket strategy known in some circles as "rolling with chalk" is in first place. I don't want to think about what that might mean. I'll just grow more confused. At any rate, some of you have a free coffee in your near future, while I'm eating humble pie.
