With the Democratic National Convention kicking off in town on Monday, you can expect local steakhouses to be busy, including Tre Dita, a new eatery that’s a worthwhile option.
For the first part of a two-part story, we visited the restaurant at the St. Regis Hotel, and it’s more about Tuscan tradition than traditional steakhouse dishes.
When Chicago’s Lettuce Entertain You group approached LA chef Evan Funke about a new project, the food pros knew there would be pasta. But transforming the second floor of the Jeanne Gang-designed St. Regis Hotel at Lakeshore East is nothing to be taken lightly. The mission at Tre Dita is about more than just steak and pasta.
“It’s about taking people out of their everyday lives and transporting them to the heart of Tuscany – with wood fires, handmade pasta and storytelling at the table; plus the spectacular space,” said Funke.
“Spectacular” is an understatement, with its rich wood, upholstery and views of Lake Michigan and the Chicago River. Funke insisted on a pasta lab as an appetizer.
“This is my fourth laboratory in the United States. It is part of my daily ritual to make pasta this way, controlling humidity and temperature,” he said.
Nearly a dozen pasta dishes come out, including a broad-leaf chestnut flour lasagna, presented simply, nestled in rich green pesto with Sicilian pine nuts. Beef tartare is showered with fried artichoke leaves and served with toast points for scooping. But you know steaks are the focus when you see a backlit display case of the raw product just outside the dining room.
“Our namesake is tre dita – three fingers – that’s the way a Tuscan measures his steak; otherwise it’s considered carpaccio,” said Funke. “We wanted to design it as a Tuscan restaurant that happens to specialize in bistecca.”
The Bistecca Alla Fiorentina is a 60-day dry-aged, 3-pound porterhouse steak. It’s the calling card of every butcher in Florence, and here it’s grilled over hardwood until medium rare, then sliced and served with simple sides like vegetables or potatoes. A smaller option is the Costata, a 3-pound bone-in prime ribeye steak. But Funke says Tre Dita isn’t a steakhouse.
“When you say ‘steakhouse,’ you think of creamed spinach, sides and à la carte. We didn’t want that. We wanted to promote the sequence of Italian restaurants,” he said.
That means several courses, savored slowly, and perhaps finishing with an elegant tiramisu served in an etched glass bowl; a far cry from other local versions. Bottom line: Chicago now has a wonderful place to immerse yourself in Tuscan food culture.
“It’s really easy to tell good stories about Bistecca here, you know?”
Here you can go:
Three Dita
St. Regis Hotel
401 E. Wacker Dr.
312-725-1724
