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  • Smoque Steak

    Post #1 - June 2nd, 2023, 10:15 am
    Post #1 - June 2nd, 2023, 10:15 am Post #1 - June 2nd, 2023, 10:15 am
    We attended a Friends and Family for Smoque Steak. I was a little leery of Emperors new clothes but I liked the end product quite a bit. Perfect full coverage med-rare, chew evocative of dry-age meat. Service smooth and professional, cool interior, full bar, good attention to detail. No serrations on the steak knife, sidecar of sea salt, well thought out sides and appetizers.

    click to enlarge
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    Smoque Steak, count me a Fan!

    Smoque Steak
    3310 N Elston Ave
    Chicago, IL 60618
    WWW.smoquesteak.com
    773-219-1775
    Last edited by G Wiv on June 2nd, 2023, 4:42 pm, edited 2 times in total.
    Hold my beer . . .

    Low & Slow
  • Post #2 - June 2nd, 2023, 4:18 pm
    Post #2 - June 2nd, 2023, 4:18 pm Post #2 - June 2nd, 2023, 4:18 pm
    Do you get any say in the doneness of the meat or is every sous vide machine set at the same temperature?

    Is the lack of char on the second steak by design? Not sure who'd choose no sear over the kind of sear on the first steak, but maybe that's a thing? Or maybe that's two sides of the same steak?
  • Post #3 - June 2nd, 2023, 4:50 pm
    Post #3 - June 2nd, 2023, 4:50 pm Post #3 - June 2nd, 2023, 4:50 pm
    You can designate degree of doneness. Same steak in both pictures. Simply different lighting angle coupled with my mediocre photography skills.
    Hold my beer . . .

    Low & Slow
  • Post #4 - August 11th, 2023, 12:14 pm
    Post #4 - August 11th, 2023, 12:14 pm Post #4 - August 11th, 2023, 12:14 pm
    Last night, I had an absolutely amazing dinner at Smoque Steak with my cousin. Over the years, I've gotten kind of cynical about steakhouses - I love them, but are they really worth it? I don't just mean the financial cost - there's an opportunity cost to spending over a hundred per person on a steak dinner versus going to a different restaurant. How much better is one steakhouse really versus another?

    Well, Smoque has proved to me last night just how exciting steakhouses can be. First off, the ribeye: this was absolutely the most tender ribeye I've ever had, and the smoke flavor was just enough to actually enhance the meatiness rather than cover it up. And the fat - oh my God, the smokey fat - was absolutely delicious.

    We ordered four sides: the broccolini (pretty good, but not exceptional), outstanding (potatoes gratin), and perfection (charred carrots, sauteed mushrooms). And, really, the gratin moved into the perfection category when we added the fried shallots from our steak to the top of the gratin. It's hard to describe why they tasted so good, but the best explanation I can come up with is balance (more on that later): the mushrooms were nicely meaty without being overseasoned; the carrots had just the right amount of char and just the right level of sweetness. The gratin was executed perfectly, with the potatoes still being a bit firm and the sauce complementing the potato flavor instead of covering it up with cheese & salt. I do wish it had a bit more of a crust on top, but simply sprinkling the fried shallots from our steak did the job, adding both the crunch and some extra flavor. The broccolini was very good, but overshadowed by just how great the other three were; it's exactly the kind of side you'd expect from a steakhouse, no more or no less.

    The steak tartare was very good, but not exceptional; this is mostly a matter of personal taste, but I think it needed a little extra punch from horseradish, spicy mustard, or hot sauce. I did like that it was served with house made chips, as the potato flavor worked really well with it. The spring salad was kind of meh - the tomatoes and cucumber were very fresh and tasty, but the overall composition was not especially exciting.

    The desserts were probably my favorite desserts I've had in ages. My cousin and I have particular tastes, and it felt like they were made specifically for us: the cherry basil sorbet was nicely tart, but still perfectly balanced - you tasted the real fruit flavor and not just sugar or acid, and the basil was just enough to complement the fruit instead of fighting with it. The cheesecake was light, tangy, and savory, which worked perfectly with the lemon curd and white wine macerated berries. To over-use the word once again, it was balanced - less sugar in the cheesecake meant you could taste the cream cheese in it, and appreciate the lighter texture, which worked beautifully with the fresh berries, the wine, and the lemon.

    I haven't been this excited about a restaurant, let alone a steakhouse, in ages.
    "I've always thought pastrami was the most sensuous of the salted cured meats."
  • Post #5 - September 7th, 2023, 1:33 pm
    Post #5 - September 7th, 2023, 1:33 pm Post #5 - September 7th, 2023, 1:33 pm
    I finally got a chance to try Smoque Steak and I will say that I enjoyed my meal immensely.

    First off, its a nice atmosphere. A nice, semi industrial look to the space, but not overly loud or tables crowded on top of each other. The staff is attentive and informative.

    The menu is not extensive by any means, but there is enough on it to satisfy most. We opted for one of the shareable salads and an order of Bone Marrow. As a kid I have fond memories of wanting the piece of round steak with the bone and marrow still present. The roasted split marrow bone, served with toast points did not disappoint.

    For entrees you have a choice of 5 different cuts of steak, Filet, Ribeye, Strip, Skirt or Bistro (chuck). For non-meat eaters there is a choice of Chicken, Salmon a Shrimp pasta or a Cauliflower steak. There are a number of ala-carte sides (potatoes, asparagus, mushrooms, broccolini, spinach, carrots) and also several steak "toppers", like chimichurri, flavored butters, fried shallots, egg yolk, etc.

    As explained, steaks are smoked for 30 mins or so, then sous-vided to particular temperatures, then are either flame-seared or pan-seared depending on the cut.

    My NY Strip was perfectly cooked end-to-end medium rare, It had just enough smoke flavor to let you know it was there without being over-powering. I would say it was one of the best steaks I have had in a while. The wife had a steak frites. A skirt steak that she had cooked to "juicy well done" as they call it. It was definitely juicy and tender, though for her tastes, maybe a little too smoky. We did not partake in any desserts, though they looked tempting.

    My only suggestion would be, that although the restaurant has smoke in the name, there should maybe be a non-smoked steak choice for those like my wife who do not enjoy smoked foods quite as much.
  • Post #6 - September 10th, 2023, 8:06 am
    Post #6 - September 10th, 2023, 8:06 am Post #6 - September 10th, 2023, 8:06 am
    Put a nice dent in the menu. tl;dr: Excellent meal. Fantastic steak frites and apps and sides and dessert; disappointing NY strip. Details and lots of pics follow:

    Image The lobster and grits is a perfectly cooked lobster tail and some really flavorful (and buttery!) grits. Not quite as soupy as it looks, but if you're sharing, ask for extra bowls rather than plates.

    ImageIt's a steakhouse so a Caesar salad is kind of mandatory and this is a good one.

    Image Another steakhouse tradition and these were perfectly cooked. You can't tell from the picture, but these weren't the jumbo shrimp I'd expect from a steakhouse (or from a shrimp cocktail that only comes with 5 shrimp).

    Image An absolutely flawless steak frites with a great chimichurri. Would order again and again.

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    Image This NY Strip was a little disappointing. Obviously perfectly cooked internatlly to temp (missing temp is impossible with sous vide cooking), but it paled in comparison to the beefiness of the steak frites. I would've liked more crust and less of a gray band (compare mine to G Wiv's above). I think they needed to crank up the heat on the last step. It wasn't bad by any stretch but my expectations were high. I smoke and sear steaks and I sous vide and sear steaks. And I do it well enough for me.

    The blue cheese butter add on was outstanding. I covered my portions of the strip with it and had some left for the fries.

    Image The cauliflower steak wins the award for smokiest plate of night. It was not my choice to order but I'm very glad we got it. I don't know that I'd want to eat the whole thing but as a shared dish for 4 people, it was really great.

    Image
    ImageRoasted 5 mushroom blend and the creamed shishito spinach were both fantastic, especially the latter, but would hate to choose between the two.

    ImageThere's an upper limit to how good sauteed broccolini can be and this version hits it. Very good.

    ImageWe got two desserts and they were so good that I wondered if they had a dedicated pastry chef. They don't, but whoever's making these desserts has a real future if they go that route. Not pictured because it's just pudding was an outstanding butterscotch pot de creme.

    There was no flame on the bananas foster but this was an excellent rendition. The addition of the banana chips was something I haven't seen before but it's a really great idea. They up the banana flavor and add textural contrast.

    I had one drink - the Gin and Treuse, which is basically a good gin and tonic with just enough green chatreusse to taste it. Great drink and great idea that I'll be recreating at home.

    Overall, an excellent meal though it's a bit odd to have the traditional steak be the weak link in a meal at a steakhouse. Others clearly disagree so for those who haven't been, definitely don't skip a steak because of on one person's opinion from one night. But do make sure someone at the table gets the steak frites.
  • Post #7 - September 14th, 2023, 8:23 pm
    Post #7 - September 14th, 2023, 8:23 pm Post #7 - September 14th, 2023, 8:23 pm
    We were excited to get to try Smoque Steak this week.

    Right away, points to the team for the soundproofing: the treatment on the ceiling is doing wonders for the large, hard, crowded space and we could actually hear ourselves talk!

    Everything was perfectly nice but we walked away with some technical critiques that mark the line between nice and excellent.

    cocktails: well balanced, didn't veer sweet, prettily presented

    Caesar: overdressed, under seasoned. no discernible lemon, garlic, or anchovy, just bland cream so heavily applied it wilted the lettuce. croutons were done well.

    Shrimp cocktail: fine, cocktail sauce had more dimension than usual.

    strip steak: even ordered at the rarest they have, it is still more cooked than a simple sear rare would be. smoke plus sous vide plus sear, that's a lot of method, and temp will be impacted. smoke seemed to obscure the beefier taste. demiglace fine.

    mushrooms: very generous portion size. under seasoned and also probably under seared?

    frites: texture and flavor better than blond appearance would suggest.

    salmon: as with the beef, just more cooked than a simple sear rare would be. it ate like a big piece of hot smoked salmon one might flake into a salad, not like a silky entree. accompanying greens nice.

    banana bread pudding: taste and texture more like a banana bread muffin with caramel sauce than a custardy bread pudding; crispy dehydrated banana chips a nice touch as noted above.

    we are fortunate to eat out often and try most buzzy places and it will be a while before we would go back, but hope they're doing well in the neighborhood. little market items at front very appealing!
  • Post #8 - December 6th, 2023, 9:17 pm
    Post #8 - December 6th, 2023, 9:17 pm Post #8 - December 6th, 2023, 9:17 pm
    Birthday treat - I don't regularly do steakhouse, or even steak at restaurants, but this has been on my list for a while.
    (Previous steaks: Steak Frites at Aboyer, Holu, and another one I forgot the name of in River North that looks like it's gone)

    Definitely one of the best meals of the year: perfectly executed, attentive but unpretentious service.

    Drinks: Malbec (very smooth and dry) and Manhattan (delicious but really packed a punch -- that's a big glass of rye)
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    Crab Cake: they could have skipped the shredded celery in the slaw, but otherwise stellar. Nice crunch to the slaw, creamy inside and crisp outside on the cake, sweet crab.
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    One of tonight's specials was chateaubriand, with truffled cauliflower puree, veal demi glace, fingerling potatoes, carrots+squash+tomatoes (and supposedly pearl onions), and lardons.
    The beef was amazing: I normally don't go for tenderloin, but this was spot-on. Not a lot of smoke on this, but really tasty.
    The cauliflower was practically a cream sauce: very cheesy, smoky, and truffle-y.
    The potatoes were wonderfully crisp, also very smoky.
    The vegetables were also very good -- the deep porky smoke of the lardons fought with the beef, but were perfect with the veg.
    In the background is their shishito creamed spinach, which wasn't as special as I had hoped. Not much shishito flavor (I think it mainly added to the texture), and more cheesy than creamy. I liked it, but not the best creamed spinach I've ever had.
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    Coffee, Tea (not pictured), and Butterscotch Pot a Creme with shortbread. The pudding was almost too rich (I should have left the cream and sugar out of my coffee). Really great dessert.
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    What is patriotism, but the love of good things we ate in our childhood?
    -- Lin Yutang
  • Post #9 - December 7th, 2023, 9:48 am
    Post #9 - December 7th, 2023, 9:48 am Post #9 - December 7th, 2023, 9:48 am
    Looks like a great birthday dinner, Joel! The plate of chateaubriand looks like a ton of food. Camera angle or ?
    -Mary
  • Post #10 - December 7th, 2023, 10:12 am
    Post #10 - December 7th, 2023, 10:12 am Post #10 - December 7th, 2023, 10:12 am
    The GP wrote:Looks like a great birthday dinner, Joel! The plate of chateaubriand looks like a ton of food. Camera angle or ?

    It's a very reasonable plate of meat with a lot of veg. I would still have been pleasantly full skipping the spinach.
    The adjacent dining plates are actually pretty small.
    What is patriotism, but the love of good things we ate in our childhood?
    -- Lin Yutang
  • Post #11 - January 29th, 2024, 2:44 pm
    Post #11 - January 29th, 2024, 2:44 pm Post #11 - January 29th, 2024, 2:44 pm
    Smoque Steak at 3310 N. Elston Ave., which opened last year, recently renovated its interior welcome area and market, turning it into a 30-seat wine bar for social gathering, co-owner Barry Sorkin said.

    https://blockclubchicago.org/2024/01/29 ... -wine-bar/
    Never order barbecue in a place that also serves quiche - Lewis Grizzard
  • Post #12 - March 20th, 2024, 11:07 pm
    Post #12 - March 20th, 2024, 11:07 pm Post #12 - March 20th, 2024, 11:07 pm
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    I tried the Italian Beef sandwich at the Smoque Steak offshoot, Uppercut Sandwich Co, at Revival Food Hall (125 S. Clark St). I thought it was a good sandwich, but it's not going to scratch the Italian beef itch for anyone.

    The toasted French bread is wrong - the parts without juice are too crunchy and the parts under the meat were disintegrating by the second. The meat is not chewy, but it doesn't have the kind of tenderness that slow cooked Italian beef meat usually has. I thought the beef was noticeably smokier than the steaks I had at Smoque Steak and I thought that worked well on the bites where the smokiness wasn't overwhelmed by the giardiniera.

    I'm rarely in the Loop for meals so I doubt I'll have this one again but I won't complain if I have to.

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