Restaurants modeled after Wisconsin supper clubs have been popping up outside of the state for years now, and some do a better job than others at mimicking the creature-comfort experience of the real thing. And while we can't say for sure whether Chicago's new St. Clair Supper Club, the latest endeavor from the city's Alinea Group, captures the spirit of an authentic supper club, based on the menu we've seen online we're going to go out on a limb and say no. No, it does not.
Milwaukee's eagle-eyed food writer Lacey Muszynski noticed that the menu of the new restaurant, which opens tonight in Chicago's meat packing district, features some prices your grandmother would not approve of. Most glaringly among them: a $44 fish fry "special" and $14 brandy Old Fashioneds.
St. Clair Supper Club also promises to offer a $32 Monday night meatloaf special (because if there's one thing supper clubs are famous for it's meatloaf) and a $36 Tuesday sandwich special, which... is a lot of money for a sandwich.
Even accounting for the tolls, it would probably be much cheaper for Chicagoans to just make the drive north and enjoy the real thing.