A Riverfront Steak Dinner With a Charcoal Grill

Dinner begins with a decision in front of refrigerated cases: filet, ribeye, strip steak, perhaps a teriyaki filet, each cut waiting to be chosen rather than simply named on a menu. That small bit of participation changes the pace of the meal. You can look over the steaks, pick the one that suits your appetite, and then decide what happens next.

The kitchen can take it from there, turning out a conventional steakhouse dinner. Or you can carry your selection to the charcoal grill and cook it yourself. It is a notably hands-on option for a place that also has tablecloths, a full bar, and the roomy dimensions of an old industrial building near the marina and Illinois River.

The result is a dinner that can be as relaxed or as interactive as the table wants it to be. One group may settle in for cocktails, a salad bar plate, and a professionally cooked ribeye; another may gather around the grill, watching the charcoal do its work before returning to the dining room with steak and toast.

The display cases make steak selection more tangible. A well-marbled ribeye has a different appeal from a tender filet or a strip steak with its firmer bite, and choosing in person gives diners a chance to make that call before the cooking starts.

For diners who hand their steak to the kitchen, the meal still has room for a little customization in the spirit of a classic steakhouse. A Pittsburgh-style sear has been associated with ribeye, a good match for a cut with enough marbling to stand up to a dark, deeply seared exterior.

On busy nights, particular cuts can occasionally disappear from the case. It is one reason reservations are useful for evening dining, when the restaurant is apt to be livelier and the steak selection has more competition.

The self-grilling choice is not a novelty bolted onto the side of dinner; it can become the center of the evening. The charcoal grill gives diners a close-up view of steaks cooking, and the process is approachable enough that a grill attendant may help explain the sequence.

Butter drippings and seasonings are provided for the grilling. That leaves room for one particularly enjoyable side project: making garlic-butter Texas toast alongside the steak. It is hard to complain about a dinner plan that includes tending toast over the grill.

Not every table needs to choose the same route. One diner can grill a steak while another orders from the kitchen, which makes the place workable for a mixed group. The grill brings a bit of movement and conversation to the meal without requiring everyone to turn dinner into a cooking lesson.

Before the entrée arrives, the large salad bar supplies a first course with plenty of choices. It is not merely a token bowl of greens placed in front of a steak; the bar has a broad range of fresh ingredients and offers a useful way to ease into a longer dinner.

The chilled plates are an appealingly old-school touch. Building a salad on a cold plate makes even a simple first round feel more deliberate, especially when the dining room is busy and the entrée is still on its way.

Blue cheese dressing has earned particular affection, though the larger appeal is the ability to build the plate as you please. A light salad can leave plenty of room for a ribeye and baked potato; a more generously filled plate can become a satisfying course of its own.

The accompaniments follow the steakhouse playbook in the most welcome way. Baked potatoes, sautéed mushrooms, sautéed onions, Texas toast, and sweet potato fries give the table several directions to go once the steaks arrive.

Mushrooms and onions are especially good choices for someone who wants their plate to feel a little more substantial without distracting from the main event. Texas toast, meanwhile, has a natural role here, particularly if it has spent time near the charcoal grill.

The menu reaches beyond beef, which matters when a group includes people with different appetites. Seafood choices have included swordfish, grilled shrimp, salmon, lobster, calamari, and shrimp cocktail. Chicken appears in forms such as smothered chicken and teriyaki chicken, while kebabs offer another route entirely.

A steak, salad bar, and potato can be enough for many diners, but the dessert list offers a few persuasive reasons to linger. Skillet cookies bring a warm, shareable finish, while cheesecake and key lime pie take the more traditional route.

The skillet cookie is particularly suited to a group meal. After a table has spent time comparing cuts, passing mushrooms, and talking over drinks, one more communal dessert makes good sense.

The restaurant occupies a spacious old brick building with a former industrial, paper-mill-style character. It does not erase that past in favor of a sleek, minimalist look. Brick remains part of the room's personality, joined by framed art and articles that give diners things to notice between courses.

The layout is generous and broken into separate areas, helping the restaurant handle a crowd without making every table feel pressed together. There is enough scale for a company dinner or a party of about 20, but the setting can also accommodate an anniversary meal or a quieter evening conversation.

Near the lake, marina, and Illinois River, the restaurant offers more than one atmosphere. Some tables have water views, while seasonal outdoor seating provides a different way to spend an evening when conditions allow. Not every seat faces the water, but the riverfront location gives the meal a setting beyond the main brick dining room.

The hammered copper-top bar is its own destination within the restaurant, a natural stop for a cocktail or another drink before dinner. The drink selection is broad enough to support a pre-dinner pause, a toast for a celebration, or simply a seat away from the larger dining areas.

First-time diners may get a quick introduction to the flow of the place: salad bar, drink order, steak selection, then the choice between kitchen cooking and the charcoal grill. Once that sequence is clear, the evening is easy to settle into.

Reservations are recommended, particularly for evenings and busy periods. The free parking lot is spacious, with room that can accommodate large vehicles such as RVs and semis when the lot is not busy, an unusually practical convenience for a destination dinner near the river.