Morton's of Chicago

Friday night we ate at Morton's of Chicago in DC. It was cold and rainy outside, and it was delightfully warm in the restaurant. We checked our coats, bags, booksacks, scarves, gloves...we had a lot of STUFF with us!

We sat at a round table, back in the corner where we could see all of the restaurant (but, thankfully, where my boys wouldn't be able to bother the other patrons).

Quick aside: this trip was provided for Mark, Anthony, Benjamin and me by Kids Wish Network. My parents and Mark's parents joined us on their own dime. Mark called before we left Baton Rouge to speak to the manager at Morton's to ask if our families could join us, as long as they paid for themselves. The manager, Kate, said, "Absolutely not. Your family will join you, and the entire bill will be taken care of." And not only was the entire bill taken care of, our reception at Morton's was beautiful. Anthony was treated like a celebrity. Our waiter told Anthony that his own son's name is Anthony. The waiter also brought to the table dinosaur coloring pages he had found and a pack of crayons for each of the boys.

Our waiters came to show us our menu - and by show, I mean, rolled a cart over with all of our steak, lobster, and vegetable options. It was a beautiful display! We weren't even able to take it all in (I was very grateful that they provided written menus)! The lobster was beautiful (and huge), but we all agreed that you just can't order lobster at a steak restaurant - especially one famous for their steaks.

We all got appetizers; mine were four Oysters Rockefeller served on a bed of sea salt. Mark got jumbo shrimp, but I don't remember what the parents ordered. Anthony and Benjamin's filet mignon came out early, and they ate almost the entire thing between them!

I don't remember what everyone had, but I think most of us had filet mignon (I got the filet mignon special that was bone-in and perfectly cooked to medium rare). I do know that my dad got a Cajun filet (in DC!) and it was really well-seasoned.

Dessert almost needs its own post. Mark, my parents, and his dad each got the chocolate lava cake, Mark's mom got Creme Brulee and I got the New York style cheesecake. I should have gotten the chocolate lava cake. Don't get me wrong; the cheesecake was delicious, but I had severe chocolate envy when I saw that cake.

After dinner, Anthony, Mark and the grandfathers got a tour of the kitchens and got to meet our chef and the rest of the staff. Mark said that the kitchen staff were all very kind to Anthony and were glad to meet "the special little boy" that they had all heard so much about. He got his own chef's hat and proudly wore it at the table.

I wish that I could thank the folks from Morton's again. I only said it 100 times that night; I think they should hear it at least that many times more. Anthony had a blast and enjoyed all of the attention!!