Nickled and Dimed: Woes in Chicago Upscale Dining

Chicago's dining reputations is one of the finest in the nation. With restaurants ranging from upscale delights to hidden treasures, the city is known for its innovative, exciting cuisine. However, there are certain locations that do not live up to the reputations that they have achieved. The following is a list of locales that will leave your wallet hurting and your anger boiling after leaving. Of course, these evaluations are based on my personal experiences and tastes but are also locales that I will not visit again. From the weak to the worst, here are my personal choices for overrated dining in the Chi.

3. Fogo de Chao (661 N. LaSalle St.): I can't say anything negative on the food, as I have enjoyed it on all trips, but the hustle and bustle of Fogo's dinner crowd is almost too much to handle. The restaurant offers a fixed-priced menu in which diners can choose only the salad bar or a combination of the salad bar and meat dishes. Service is inconsistent depending on the time of day. Diners alert cleverly dressed, knife-wielding and meat-carrying gauchos that they are ready to dine by flipping their place cards to green; when finished selecting the meats, it's time to flip to red. During lunch, I was overwhelmed by the mass amount of gauchos stopping by with selections. However, when I attended Fogo for my birthday dinner, the crowd was enormous (on a Tuesday night at 8:00, no less). We had to wait an extra half hour to be seated, although we had reservations, and half of the gauchos did not even stop by our table. Luckily, we were finally able to request the foods that had passed us by. I'd recommend Fogo de Chao for lunch or an early dinner, but not for a special occasion or if you're pressed for time.

2. Ben Pao (52 W. Illinois Street): Though not considered as upscale as previous contenders, Ben Pao does offer a Lettuce Entertain You experience that is less than desirable. Although the restaurant is known for the hot pot cooking section (where diners receive a platter of meats to cook themselves), the regular menu selections leave much to be desired. My dish, the seven-flavor chicken, lacked the seven promised flavors and had a slightly antiseptic undertone, almost as if my sauce has been mixed with dishwashing soap. As Ben Pao is often crowded, the servers do their best to attend to you as much as possible, though it is often difficult for them to provide exceptional service. I will say, though, that the chocolate crème brulee is sinfully fabulous, so diners may want to stop by Ben Pao for dessert only.

1. Ruth's Chris Steakhouse (431 N. Dearborn Street): Delicious cuisine, terrible service! Although the online reservation system is easy to use, the restaurant did not pay attention to any of the mentions I made about my night out being a special occasion. My dining partner and I were wedged into a back row of booths with barely enough space on the table for our entrees. Although our waiter was originally personable and gracious, he ignored us as soon as a large party of young ladies entered his section. We ended up having to wait over half an hour just to have a check delivered. Although I would recommend the delicious steak and side dishes that I tried, the service did not match the $180 tab.

Although my personal experiences haven't met my expectations, this doesn't mean I won't keep dining out. As Chicago has hundreds of delicacies left to sample, I plan on spending my time hitting other hotspots on my list. But for now, I'm going to avoid the above three until I hear of some recent positive experiences.