Ellington

Description

Food: Proprietor Jerry Barakat buys top-of-the-line prime beef from a Chicago supplier and dry-ages it for three or four weeks. Priciest is the Australian Wagyu Ribeye ($50), from densely marbled cattle of Japanese lineage and almost sinfully rich in flavor. Two unusual bone-in cuts of U.S. beef, a filet and a Kansas City strip, are also superbly succulent. Among the creative appetizers and salads, the fourlayered Lobster Salad Cobb Style is a gorgeous and delectable presentation. Another paragon of styling and taste is the Ahi Tuna Nicoise. The matchstick-cut Truffle Fries and the Pecan/Maple Sweet Potato Mash serve well as side dishes. So do the Sauteed Haricot Verts, petite green beans dressed up with prosciutto. Portions are almost uniformly doggie-bag generous.
Mood: The two dining rooms' Venetian blinds in a muted shade of brown, the fulldress white linen table settings and the semiformal attire of the servers all speak to upper-crust intentions. Seating capacity is 112. Service, while still a slightly wobbly work in progress, is gracious and well-intentioned. There is sometimes a sense that the crowds the new restaurant is drawing might be overtaxing the staff.