[Review] The Black Ram

So another thing that I wanted out of this blog was to write reviews of all the restaurants that I go to. Not sure if it'll be useful for anyone but I do consider myself a enjoyer of gastronomical delights - basically I like to eat. My reviews are going to be pretty informal without a consitent structure. I'll just write about what stuck in my mind.

So let's kick off eating my way through Chicago's restaurants. On Friday I went to a steak and seafood place call The Black Ram. According to Metromix they reckon the mains were $8-$15. They were wrong. It was more like $25-$35. When we (Fenwick & I) walked in I immediately was sus about the price range of the place - white linen tables, dimmed lighting and a good ambience. The menu featured mainly steak and seafood - exactly what we came for. A good selection of quality cuts of steak - New York Strip, fillet mignon, sirloin etc. Seafood choices were a bit more limited but featured king prawns and hallibut.

We decided to skip appetizers (Aus translation - entrees) because most cuts of meat were over 8oz. I ordered the beef wellington which is a personal favourite. I wanted to see if this place could justify it's price. Beef wellington is simply a fillet mignon (tenderloin) with foie gras ontop and baked in pastry - rich stuff. As usual I asked for my steak to be done medium. When it came out it was larger that I expected - around 12oz I reckon. The steak was done just right, there was a generous helping of foie gras and the pastry was nice and buttery. It was complemented with a nice tomato/cream sauce. The steak was well cooked throughout and was 'good quality'. I thoroughly enjoyed the meal although was stuffed at the end.

Time to sum things up:

Service: 4.5/5
- The waitress wasn't overbearing, had good knowledge of the menu and didn't rush us off even after we had paid for the bill.

Food: 4/5
- Good quality meat and well cooked. The tacky salad at the beginning let me down but probably my fault for choosing it. Quantity was more than I should have eaten.

Value: 3.5/5
- This place isn't cheap but I don't mind paying high prices - provided I get what I pay for. So it gets a 3 for the quality being refected by the price. This place was a refreshing change from your typical American franchise restauran so it gets another 0.5.

Overall - I enjoyed my experience there. Nice relaxed atmosphere and good quality good. I don't think that I'll be heading back there in a hurry though. However this is because there are plenty of other places to try and I can't eat rich food like that that often. Recommended.