Final Cut Hits the Mark in Taste and Atmosphere

There is a game that the servers at the Final Cut Steakhouse play with diners. They ask them to identify the actors and actresses in the photos on the wall. Some are obvious. Some much less so. And there are two that usually trip up the guests. The classic Hollywood theme of the steakhouse adds to the ambiance.

The reasons for visiting do not end at the decor, though. The food is great and the chefs are personable and ready to wow you - serving things that aren't even on the menu.

When I dined at Final Cut, they knew I was writing a story on the restaurant. Three people joined me at the table, which was great because everyone ordered something different and we could then try a lot more menu items in one visit.

As an appetizer, we settled on the FC chilled seafood trio. The menu describes this as lobster tail, jumbo shrimp, crab meat, vodka cocktail sauce and spicy aioli. We also ordered the FC crab cakes, which are made with lime mayonnaise and are served with spicy aioli. I could not eat the crab cakes because they had gluten, but I am told they were very good. I tried a bit of everything on the trio plate and it was all good. I also quite enjoyed the spicy aioli. I then opted for the wedge salad. At Final Cut, the wedge salad has blue cheese chunks, but instead of blue cheese dressing, the restaurant opted to top it with buttermilk ranch. That was a great combination.

When the entrees came, everyone was wowed by the "tomahawk." The 30 oz., dry-aged bone-in ribeye is the favorite of Executive Chef Lawrence Alexander. We all kept referencing how the meal looked like it should exist in the Flintstones. And the taste was amazing. The outside was charred, but not in an overcooked way. Instead, the char added a fabulous layer of flavor. Others at the table ordered the sea bass and the prime rib. I opted for the waygu. The waitress and chef explained this is the American version of Kobe beef. Waygu refers to several breeds of cattle that have intense marbling. This adds to the flavor.

The steak was intense. I called it a gamey flavor, but others disagreed on that description. It was unlike a steak flavor. Not unpleasant, but not familiar. My steak was done perfectly. I like a medium rare steak, more on the rare side. I want it bleeding and pink to red, but I do not want it cold. It was perfect.

In addition to the entrees, between us four, we had the FC four cheese mac and cheese, loaded baked potatoes and jumbo asparagus. Everyone raved about them. And we were treated to all the possible sauces to add to our food - béarnaise, horseradish cream and FC final cut sauce, which is their signature steak sauce. We also were treated to Sous Chef Nick Dispenza's bacon butter.
The butter was incredible and for me was testament to the fact that the Joliet native and Joliet Catholic Academy graduate attended culinary school at Joliet Junior College.

After the entrees, we were treated to the chefs preparing two desserts right at out table. In addition to the bananas foster that is on the menu, which was great, we were treated to a cheesecake topping that is not on the menu. The pineapple concoction had butter and brown sugar was amazing. Both Dispenza and Alexander said customers could order it even though it was not on the menu. Dispenza said the same about the bacon butter. And I highly recommend you try both.