tortoise supper club

if you ask my 5 year old child what "cheese doritos" are, he will answer that they're "exquisite rubbish"...
well, hot dogs at portillos are exactly that; damm good "exquisite rubbish"!!!
no light dishes, of dietetic food. everything here is calorie full food. the one that makes you feel guilty, the one that makes you feel extremely happy and full (the full sensation that makes you want to stop moving), the kind of food that makes you lick your fingers!!!

to make the story short; if you are in chicago and do not visit portillo's, you lost your time.

the place

tortoise supper club is located at 350 n state street, chicago, il.  it features traditional american offerings served in an upscale space featuring a grand piano, classy jazz music, full bar, plush seating & fireplace.

the menu

we were at the tortoise club for lunch. great menu to many entrees to mention, but it's chicago restaurant week, and who cares a three-course lunch is merely $22 and a great martini's is only $6. is this heaven or what? who needs anything but a martini for an appetizer. we opened our meal with a full bodied and wonderful bowl or pea soup. this wasn't your typical pea soup by any stretch. the salads were very good as well. we had a couple entrees first was white fish, herb crusted, roasted tomato, grilled artichoke, olive, couscous and an entree of ahi tuna all were excellent!! dessert well who could resist tortoise pie, a signature dessert of chocolate, walnuts, whipped cream and bourbon-caramel sauce. amazing! we also had an order of rosé sorbet, always good.

the service/experience/value

our service was very good! lunch in under an hour is excellent. the value, given it was restaurant week, was outstanding. warm inviting place busy but not crazy with a great atmosphere. highly recommend!!!

birthday dinner splurge. we took our 24 year old daughter to torotise club to dinner to celebrate her birthday. the restaurant feels like a club, that is, comfortable and wlecoming, but at the same time, it was almost like a scene out of mad men. our table was redy when we arrived and the service throughout the meal was superb. our daughter had the tuna tartare which was light and interesting, while my husband had the steak tartare which was also delicious with a mustard overtone. the entrees were standard but extremely well done standards. my slow roasted slamon was cooked perfectly, teh fresh alakan halibut was superb and ur daught devoured every bite of the steak and fries.

we went with a large group and had a wonderful night. demitri & the young lady who served us were friendly, helpful yet professional. the food was outstanding. we will definitely make this one of our favorites.

simple, subtle, and sophisticated. went for a business dinner on a weeknight. the place was hopping, the food was delicious, and the service was excellent. everyone was happy with everything that they ordered, although the people with the pork chops seemed particularly excited. the creole shrimp were outstanding as well. will return, would recommend.

not a chain. great staff and the owners are actually around and the detail shows......great cocktails and a simple but very good menu! the bar menu is a classic too.

not great. burger was average, fries sucked and the poutine wasn't much better.