Door's open at the meat-centric Barn in Evanston
It would not be an exaggeration to say that growing up in the restaurant business, Amy Morton’s name is synonymous with steak. Daughter of Arnie Morton, of the eponymous Morton's Steakhouse chain of more than 70 restaurants throughout the US and abroad, his daughter and owner of Found Kitchen & Social House in Evanston has now added a carnivorous option to her gastronomic offerings in The Barn, also in Evanston.
“Go figure that I had something I wanted to do around meat,” said Morton unapologetically.
Together with partner and director of operations of both locales, Stefen Bosworth, and executive chef, Nicole Peterson, the successful trifecta chose for their latest opus a location that is, shall we say, obscure.
“We wanted it to be tricky to find but not frustrating,” confessed Morton.
The dramatic space in the rear of the address at 1016 Church street is an actual barn, built in 1883 to house horses for the Borden Condensed Milk Company’s horse and buggy milk delivery service.
Eager Barn-feed seekers would do well to heed the directional moniker “rear” on the address, as it is not an affectation.
“Our legal address is ‘Rear 1016 Church’…and we really fought for that,” said Morton whose dream, she claims, has always been to build a restaurant in an alley, “Because I thought it was so unbelievably cool.”
Inside, the scant 1800-square-foot space is nevertheless deceptively-large with 21-foot ceilings and a converted (hay) loft, all of which seat “just under 75.”
And whereas Found is grain and vegetable-focused, The Barn seeks to represent the entire barn yard – from the staple beef and poultry, to venison, bison and even fish.
“Besides the fact that we didn’t want to be a one-trick-pony and just cannibalize ourselves there,” Morton explains the departure, “The space was different and, of course, the food.”
There are only three steaks on the menu, ranging from $46.95-$48.95. “It is not a steakhouse, per se,” said Morton. “We call ourselves meat-centric hideaway.”
This space and the menu selections are a nod, according to Bosworth, to an era of traditional style of dining.
“The kind of dining that we grew up with when we went out to a nice dinner and had to put on our little clip-on bow tie,” said Bosworth.
Starters include the smooth cooled tomato and onion tart with a cornmeal top-to-bottom crust ($7.95/slice) or Chef Peterson’s take on a traditional Caesar in the little gem (a type of lettuce) salad, assembled table-side and topped with the optional bacon bits or boqueron, an inoffensive little white anchovy palatable even to the most persnickety ($11.95).
The steaks are all prime heritage Angus. The 16-ozRibeye is a portion built for two, presented perfectly rare with red wine demi-glace and marrow butter Béarnaise ($48.95). Served with nutty butterball potatoes ($2.95).
Other selections include a juicy whole or half-chicken rubbed with Za’atar, an aromatic Middle Eastern spice blend of thyme, sesame and sumac ($33.95), or the mild-but-substantial Bison bolognese with hand-dipped ricotta, red wine and warm spices ($22.95).
Try the understated hazelnut chocolate mousse for dessert, served with candied hazelnuts and a dollop of unsweetened whipped cream ($8).
“We have an elevated dining experience, certainly above what anybody else is doing around here in terms of the food, service and ambiance,” said Morton. "And we hope it feels like a great value."
