This Chicago Steakhouse Is Unconventional and Unpredictable

That's just straight out of the top drawer, isn't it?

First class.

Oh yeah.

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[Chris] We here at Maple and Ash,

we try to take a normal expectation of what a steakhouse

in Chicago should be and turn it on its head and

be like a little more unconventional.

We want it to be as irreverent as possible.

I think that we do a good job of being a place

that if you want to have a steakhouse experience,

come in, have a steak, have a bunch of familiar sides,

have like a little bit of a hustle and bustle,

then you can come here and do that.

At the same time, if you wanna have like a

5 or 6 course dinner with a bunch of different appetizers,

entrees, and maybe not even have steak,

you can also do that here.

Danny is a super special chef.

I mean, he was the youngest recipient of two Michelin stars

in the United States when they first came out.

He brings that sensibility to a steakhouse,

which is what I think puts it at the level that it's at.

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[Jamie] Any particular dishes you enjoy

preparing the most?

The roasted shellfish tower that we prepare in a

coal-roasted oven and it comes out bubbling and sizzling.

And, everything from lobster, to king crab and langoustines,

and all those beautiful things from the ocean.

[Jamie] Danny, why don't you tell us

a little bit about your dessert menu?

Well, probably one of my favorite things

on the dessert menu is the sundae service.

We serve this beautiful tower of

accoutrements for the ice cream.

Everything from whipped cream, house-made peanut butter,

all different garnishes that kind of just get you

being real playful again.

And you just make it yourself?

You just make it yourself tableside.

[Jamie] Fantastic. Yeah.

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[Gordon] So this is all a part of our amuse booze

we like to give and this is us basically complimenting

you guys with a nice aperitif that's meant to cleanse

the palette before we give you all the great food

we're gonna give you.

Every person that comes here gets amuse booze,

Right. And,

they always change it up which is kind of fun.

Cheers!

Cheers!

[Jamie] What have we got here?

[Gordon] So we have our roasted seafood tower.

Feel free to utilize that lemon, squeeze that on top,

and it'll definitely activate some flavors for you.

Take the piece of crab, get right into the bottom.

Yes.

Move it all around, get that lovely chili oil.

Is it delicious?

[Jamie] That is amazing.

[Gordon] I'm gonna add some

house-made conchigliette pasta.

[Jamie] Very ingenious.

Mix the two dishes together so you keep using the sauce

from the course before.

Try this.

That is fantastic.

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[Gordon] Dinner has arrived.

So I have a 36 ounce Spinalis,

it's gonna be the cap of the ribeye.

We also have for you a 60 day slagel,

also topped with a little bit of rosemary and garlic.

[Jamie] Gordon, I think you need to sit down

and help us out.

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That's just straight out the top drawer, isn't it?

[Mary] You know, I come back to Maple and Ash

again and again and it's primarily because

I know I'm gonna have a different experience

every time I come.

Food's always gonna be amazing,

but you never know what the night's gonna bring.

The people here make it very easy to want to come back to.

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