Carriage House

We initially had a miscommunication with our reservations at Carriage House that led to us emailing the restaurant about what had happened. We received a prompt reply from the Director of Operations who brought us back into the restaurant to make sure we have a great experience, and we did.  

The food was fantastic. We started with the charleston crab soup which was amazing. The carolina gold rice balls were also phenomenal, but of course we can't forget the famous shrimp and grits, which were also out of this world. For the main course we had pork & beans and the lowcountry boil. The pork was very tender, and the beans had a unique, delicious flavor to them. The boil was very good, my favorite part was the rabbit sausage.

We'll definitely be coming back for more, and we highly appreciate the high level attention and hospitality we received after our initial experience.They definitely went above and beyond to ensure a good experience for us.

I can't think of a restaurant in Chicago that does low country food as well as Carriage House. Of course the concept is nothing new, and the dishes not very inventive, but if you're in the mood for rich, flavorful food executed to near perfection accompanied by a carefully chosen craft beer or glass of bourbon then Carriage House is a no-brainer!

Getting a reservation here, especially on a weekend night is quite a challenge, so we had dinner here on a Tuesday night. To my amazement they were pouring Three Floyds Rye-Da-Tiger on tap that night, which I have not seen available at anywhere else - props to the cicerone!

We started with the fried green tomatos and the shrimp and grits. The oysters were very good, but the shrimp and grits (recommended by our server) was superb. Large, perfectly cooked shrimps smothered in a rich "hunter gravy," which actually had a much lighter texture than expected, and complimented the creaminess of the grits. All three components melded together beautifully. The fried green tomatos were good, but a little too firm for my liking. The sauce that accompanied the tomatos was fantastic and I wish they had served more with it.

We shared the buttermilk marinated ribeye for our entree, which was the right call. It was a large cut of steak. The steak was delicious and I actually thought it was a bargain for $34 considering that the dish was much more complex than a typical steak house, which would charge you more for the same cut of steak. The blue cheese and heirloom tomatos went well with the steak, although I didn't really care for the cornbread croutons, which I thought were unnecessary. Regardless, this was a fantastic entree.

Overall we loved Carriage House. Although many Midwesterners may not appreciate the "low country" style, you really don't have to in order to enjoy the food. Perfectly executed and flavorful dishs, albeit on the slightly expensive side of the scale. Quickly becoming one of my favorite destinations in Chicago!

My ears are still recovering from the loudness of this place.  There's energetic vibe and then there's just loud where you can't even hear the people who are sitting right in front of you.  Don't get me wrong - I'm not an old lady but part of the dining experience is being able to enjoy the conversations of the people you are with and conversations are difficult to carry in this place.  

With that said, I appreciated dining at a place who's confident with its identity.  By that, I mean so many places are so ambiguous by characterizing itself as a catchall for all the things in its menu.  "New American?"  What does that even mean?  

This place, however, is a nice respite from all the Chicago steakhouses that seem to be in every corner.  We asked the waitress to make some recommendations.  My favorite happens to be a special - ribs that were perfectly seasoned and served with some charred cole slaw - amazing!  Among the best from what we ordered were the shrimp and grits and of course the lowdown boil.  I could've eaten both of these all night long.  

Dessert was underwhelming and I almost wished, as a Southern restaurant, they didn't offer the beignets because they were disappointing - it was too thick and resembled fried pillsbury biscuits more than a throwback to Cafe du Mond kinds.  

All in all, an ok experience - I doubt I'd run back there anytime soon.