Chicago Eats - Ditka's Restaurant

Da Coach! Ditka's stands as one of my favorite places in Chicago to get steaks. The main differentiator here is that they've always cooked my order perfectly to specification, which seems to be the biggest issue for steakhouses anywhere. I also really like the ambience/atmosphere. Definitely an upscale place, but photos of Da Coach line the walls and the football theme is present but not overdone. I've dined in the lounge (bar on the 1st level), the main dining room, as well as upstairs, and each is a good experience and slightly different in their own ways. 


We started with the Maryland crab-cake for an appetizer. This has about 5oz of crabmeat, and virtually all of it is actually crab; there's no extraneous filler here besides a very light amount of bread crumbs to keep things together and some various veggies to throw in some extra flavor. I was really pleased with this, and it's one of my favorite crab cakes.

As for red meat, I've had the bone-in filet, rack of lamb (sadly no longer on the menu), and most recently the 22oz "kick-ass paddle steak", which is a bone-in ribeye and what our server referred to as the best steak on the menu. At $39, it's also a pretty good value IMO. As I stated above, everything I've had has been cooked exactly how I ordered. Medium rare is true to form, and the cuts are of high quality. My paddle steak had the right amount of marbling and didn't suffer from the extra fat and gristle that ribeyes can often suffer from. As a friend stated, the crust on the steaks here is beautiful; it's a nice, thin crust without over-charring that adds a lot to the flavor and texture of the steak.

One thing that I did notice this time around is the quality of the sides - they seem to have gotten both smaller and less appealing, both visually and taste. Although one could argue that they're just sides, they're an integral part of a steak experience. We got the asparagus and jalapeno hashbrowns this time around, and I felt like both were mediocre. The hashbrowns also seem to have shrunk to about half their original size. Thankfully, the steak was so big and delicious that I was still satisfied with my meal overall. That, and the bread rolls are delivered hot and they were soft, so that makes up a bit for the sides. 

Now dessert - that was incredibly disappointing. The 6 layer chocolate cake was dry and tasted like it came from a box; the frosting was reminiscent of the canned variety you could get from any chain grocery store. The key lime pie was far too rich and sweet. The only thing that I enjoyed was the banana creme pie, although I've had much better. Do yourself a favor and skip the dessert menu and head somewhere else. 

key lime pie

6-layer chocolate cake

banana creme pie

When looking at Ditka's, one focuses on the main course - the meat. And Ditka's delivers on that end magnificently. Perfect crust and temperature for great cuts of beef. The prices are very reasonable, although not outstanding for all cuts of beef. Overall, I've always enjoyed my experience at Ditka's, and it still stands as one of my favorites in the city.