MM_042017

mokenamessenger.com dining out
the Mokena Messenger | April 20, 2017 | 27
The Dish
Primal Cut Steakhouse realizes the vision of its co-owners
Mix of classics,
diversification key
for new upscale
Tinley eatery
Thomas Czaja
Contributing Editor
Approximately six years
ago, a chef entered a steakhouse
in Chicago, where he
met another chef working as
a dining room captain.
Little did Paul Spass know
when he sat down and became
a regular customer of
Mark Dewar’s that evening
that the two would become
friends and ultimately business
partners, one day opening
their own restaurant together.
The dream of restaurant
ownership for Spass became
a reality when he and Dewar
held the soft opening for The
Primal Cut Steakhouse in
Tinley Park in late March.
“I saw the ‘for rent’ sign
in the window and decided
to give it a shot and roll the
dice,” said Spass, who has a
background as a pastry chef.
Since then, the steakhouse
has gradually come together
and opened for its full range
of hours, offering locals a
chance to come in and try
the menu designed by Dewar,
the executive chef there
with 32 years of experience.
For Dewar — who along
with Spass is a graduate of
Johnson & Wales University
with a culinary degree — a
call from his one-time customer
this past September
was the initial tipping point
toward agreeing to the venture.
“Believe it or not, I was
raised two blocks away
[from the restaurant],”
Dewar said. “So, it’s kind
of like a coming home-type
thing. ... We sat down and
talked, and the numbers we
crunched seemed correct.
So, we figured, let’s give it
a whirl.”
A point of emphasis for
Spass was bringing an upscale
establishment to Tinley
and the surrounding southwest
suburban communities.
“I think the neighborhood
and area really deserved it,”
Spass said. “There’s just no
place like this unless you go
downtown or to Oak Brook.”
To that end, Spass had a
vision of how he wanted the
interior of the restaurant to
look. He did not hire a designer
to lay everything out;
rather, he figured it out himself
using a blend of ideas
from what he had seen over
the years at different restaurants.
“We tried to create a
downtown feel here in Tinley
Park, with the rose brick,
the stone, the barn wood,” he
said.
When it comes to the
menus, Dewar said he kept
things straightforward, with
nothing flashy, since “meat
is the primary focus” of a
steakhouse.
A lunch highlight is The
Primal Cut Burger ($14),
which features stacked
burger patties weighing in
at three-quarters of a pound,
each topped with American,
Gruyère and blue chees,
finished with a mound of
coleslaw on top, served with
French fries.
“The end result is a leaning
tower of goodness,”
Dewar said.
The executive chef added
another focus with his food
program was to add the highest
quality products available.
He did not want The
Primal Cut’s meats sitting on
a semi-truck from California
to the Midwest. So, he sources
“pretty much everything”
on the menu from within 30
miles of the restaurant.
The results show, with
“the proof in the pudding,”
he said.
“We’re not here to, per se,
reinvent the wheel, because
the wheel is not broken,”
Dewar said.
While the lunch menu was
designed with both accessibility
and efficiency in mind, at
the same time adhering to the
principle of a kitchen where
everything is prepared fresh in
the moment, the dinner menu
maintains classic offerings,
including filet mignon ($29
for petite, $39 for king), New
York strip ($25 for petite, $38
for king) and rib-eye ($28 for
petite, $50 for king).
In addition, The Primal
Cut Steakhouse prides itself
on diversifying these dishes
through its dry-aged offerings,
which concentrates and
saturates the natural flavor
while tenderizing the texture
of each meat.
The signature dry-aged
prime bone-in rib-eye ($54
for 28 ounces) and signature
dry-aged prime bone-in New
York strip ($48 for 16 ounces)
are the end results of that
effort. And they stand out,
according to the proprietors.
“No one in the area really
has a dry-aged program like
this,” Dewar said.
Those preferring not to
go the steak route can find
alternatives like the chicken
Marsala ($22), matched
with smashed red bliss potato,
or the shellfish cioppino
($29) — a dish with
mussels, shrimp, tuna salmon
and cod, combined and
simmered in a fennel-laced
plum tomato broth.
Of course, no menu is
complete without dessert.
Spass has expertise in that
realm, and the pickings at
The Primal Cut in that regard
are numerous.
Currently, crème brulee
($6), New York cheesecake
($7) and Key lime pie ($7)
are some of the listed items,
The petite filet mignon ($29) — accompanied by choice of baked potato or hand-cut
fries, along with a house salad or cup of Primal Cut beef vegetable soup — is one of the
signature dinner entrees at The Primal Cut Steakhouse in Tinley Park. Photos by Thomas
Czaja/22nd Century Media
The Primal Cut
Steakhouse
17344 Oak Park Ave. in
Tinley Park
Hours
• 11 a.m.-9 p.m.
Sunday-Thursday
• 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Friday
and Saturday
For more information ...
Web: www.
primalcutsteakhouse.
com
Phone: (708) 407-8150
with a chocolate mousse cake
— which will be made with a
very fine Swiss chocolate, according
to Spass — planned
for the menu, as well.
“All our desserts are made
in house, fresh,” Spass said.
“The dessert menu will
change depending on the
day.”
So far, feedback has been
positive, with diners happy
the building was revamped
with a formal atmosphere,
The jumbo Alaskan red king crab legs (market price) is
served with drawn butter.
Spass said.
“I think the response has
been very good, and we’re
very excited about it,” he
said.
As the business continues
to grow, one main component
the owners look to add
“hopefully in the short future”
is a rooftop patio to the
corner of the building.
Ultimately, it all goes back
to Spass’ message of providing
a downtown experience
out in the suburbs at an affordable
rate.
“We just really want to target
the market we went after
and provide quality service,
quality food and a beautiful
environment for the patrons,”
Spass said.