Truluck's Makes Its Gold Coast Debut
While 2017 has been lighter than past years in terms of steakhouse openings, a big new entry managed to make its debut just in time for the holiday season — and just in time for the restaurant’s 25th anniversary. Fresh out of Texas comes Truluck’s Seafood, Steak and Crab House, which just made its splashy debut in the Gold Coast space formerly home to McCormick & Schmick’s. Here’s everything you need to know about Chicago’s glamorous new steakhouse:
The Gold Coast location marks the Texas-based chains first Midwest restaurant, and in smart fashion, they’re going big and ritzy for those first impressions. This includes an 11,000-square-foot two-story space, nightly live entertainment and of course, some of the best prime steaks and fresh seafood in the neighborhood.
When it comes to food here, the quality is second to none. Adhering to a long-held tenet that meat and seafood should be sustainable, wholesome and as fresh as possible, Truluck’s sources all its Florida stone crab during the stone crab season, delivering the goods fresh from the crab traps to the kitchens within 24 hours from Truluck’s own stone crab fisheries.
The menu is courtesy of executive chef Daniel Sanchez, cooking up delicacies like miso-glazed sea bass with crab fried rice and chilled cucumber slaw; white Dover sole with blistered heirloom cherry tomatoes and shaved garlic; and of course, fresh Florida stone crab. And that’s just the seafood. On the meatier side of the menu, Truluck’s peddles antibiotic- and hormone-free prime steaks, like the prime ultimate steakhouse rib-eye topped with melted Gorgonzola and steak sauce. Or the filet Oscar royale bedecked with caviar, king crab, asparagus and bearnaise. There’s also a great surf & turf combo featuring a 7-ounce filet and 5-ounce South African lobster tail.
To compliment the food, Truluck’s boasts an impressive wine cellar, lined with 100 wines to drink by the sample, glass or bottle. The restaurant is also able to pour wine from any bottle via the Coravin system, which preserves the quality and age of the wine by keeping the cork intact.
The decor is just as pristine as the seafood. Polished black granite floors, backlit onyx bar tops, a glass-enclosed wine cellar, mahogany millwork and red leather booths exude timeless luxury befitting a classic steakhouse ambience. Nightly live entertainment takes place in The Stone Crab Lounge, featuring musicians and singers offering their takes on classic and modern day tunes. Additionally, the restaurant offers Social Hour every weekday from 4:30 p.m. until 6:30 p.m., wherein cocktails and special small plates like tuna tartare, mussels and braised short rib go for discounted prices.
Altogether, the restaurant has capacity for 325 guests, along with multiple private dining rooms.