Sullivan's Steakhouse

The Restaurant

Sullivan's Steakhouse opened in Naperville in 2003 as part of the chain's careful Chicago-suburban expansion, and remains the most ambitious live-music-and-steak room in DuPage County. The two-floor space at the south end of Main Street, across from the Burlington Northern station that runs into Chicago Union, has been styled as a 1940s supper club: dark wood, dim brass lamps, white tablecloths, a long bar at the entrance, and a small stage where a jazz trio plays Thursday through Saturday from 7pm.

The steaks are USDA Prime, wet-aged twenty-eight days, and broiled at 1,600 degrees in a Montague broiler that produces the dark-charred crust the Chicago steakhouse style is built on. The cuts go from a six-ounce filet to a thirty-two-ounce porterhouse, and the bone-in ribeye and the New York strip are the cuts the regulars order. Sides are a la carte and oversized — the lobster mashed potatoes and the truffled mac-and-cheese are the dishes that go around the table — and the wedge salad with bacon and bleu cheese is the way every business dinner here starts.

The bar is the room's secret weapon. Sullivan's pours an extensive martini list, a Macallan and Glenmorangie Scotch shelf that runs to thirty references, and a wine list built around big Napa cabs and California chardonnays that match the steaks. The bartenders know their regulars by name and drink, which is the small-town courtesy a chain steakhouse occasionally still gets right. The room is busy on weekends and humming with mid-week corporate tables — book accordingly.