Michael Jordan's Steak House

Unless you want to eat a 23-layer chocolate cake the size of your head, there’s no real reason to go to Michael Jordan’s Steak House. Connected to the InterContinental Hotel on the Magnificent Mile, this place feels like it’s stuck in MJ’s heyday—complete with a carpeted staircase, dark wood, and plenty of basketball memorabilia on the walls. You’ll see work colleagues in Jumpman caps taking selfies, and lone diners staying at the hotel trying to use up their per diem in the casual bar area. In contrast, the main dining room upstairs is a cross between someplace high schoolers go for a “fancy” pre-prom dinner, and a place tourists in fur coats visit because they don’t know about the best steakhouses in Chicago. And while service is attentive and warm, the food is as snoozy as the scene. The short menu is filled with nondescript dishes like seared tuna, overcooked lobster, and steaks that have a high chance of showing up at a temperature different than what you ordered. If the draw of bronze basketball decor is too strong, the best game plan is to order the garlic bread topped with a rich blue cheese fondue (trust us, it works) and that chocolate cake.

photo credit: Kim Kovacik

photo credit: Kim Kovacik

photo credit: Kim Kovacik