After a ribbon-cutting this morning, Philadelphia-based chef and frequent "Iron Chef" Jose Garces opens his second Chicago restaurant, both inside hotels, tonight. Rural Society, a large Argentine steakhouse in the brand new Loews Hotel in Streeterville, prominently features a Spanish parrilla grill, two dining rooms, walls of firewood surrounding an open kitchen, a front bar, and entrances from both the street and hotel. It's Garces' second Rural Society location; the first opened in Washington, D.C. in summer 2014.
The menu: As a hotel restaurant, Rural Society is open seven days a week and offers breakfast, lunch, dinner, bar and happy hour service. At dinner, the menu is broken up by charcuterie, Argentine specialties, sausages, pastas, and items from the grill (also available in a chef's tasting menu for $75/95, pairings extra). There's sections for both American and Argentine breakfasts in the morning, while the lunch menu adds sandwiches and a two-course express option to many of the same items as the dinner menu. The bar and happy hour menus are unavailable at press time. Chef de cuisine Cory Morris slides over from Garces' South Loop restaurant Mercat a la Planxa to run the kitchen here.
Rural Society, 455 N. Park Dr., website.
