Prime Time

 A decade ago, we were in the thick of the old boys’ club steakhouse era. A deferential server dressed in a black tie and white jacket would place a napkin on the diner’s lap, while another would fetch a martini, and still another would hoist a tray of raw meat, pointing to each cut and expounding on its attributes with the flourish of Vanna White. Fifteen ounces of meat later, the diner would leave with a thinner wallet and a satisfied, if somewhat distended, belly.

Things obviously aren’t quite so flush anymore. The corporate expense account has run dry.

But one thing hasn’t changed – our inherent need to get our money’s worth. So the upper-crust steakhouses will need to change in order to survive. Dropping $40 on a rib eye, side dishes not included, just for grins? My guess is that’s not happening with regularity.

Ward’s House of Prime is off to a splendid start with its food, notwithstanding its timing in this market. First-time restaurant owner Brian Ward is just a few months into running this fine dining joint in the vestiges of short-lived Yanni’s Steakhouse. Ward and executive chef Bill Baumann became friends when both of them were working at Mo’s steakhouse. Ward was general manager; Baumann ran the kitchen.

Although leaving to open their own place is risky at any time, let alone during a feeble economy, Ward thinks his broad menu – which includes prime rib (not easy to find Downtown), steaks, fish, veal and pasta, $14.95-$48.25 – will find its audience. As for competition – the Pfister Hotel’s Mason Street Grill, just a block away – Ward takes a tactful approach: “Good restaurants inspire diners to come Downtown,” he says. And yet, the industry has taken a huge hit. When it comes back, what kind of industry will it be? One that will have to work harder to attract the spending public.

In many respects, this restaurant is directing energy at luring in a range of diners,
not simply high-rollers. When Yanni’s closed after three years, unable to compete with Mason Street Grill, Carnevor and other competitors, it left behind a bar/lounge and dining rooms that were practically new. The kitchen used to be open to the main dining room. Closing it off created a quieter, more intimate room, with leather upholstered chairs, white linens and comfortable booths.

In the roomy bar/lounge, Ward’s added six high-definition TVs and a separate, more casual menu ($4-$16.95) of appetizers, sliders, chili and flatbread pizzas – made by a fella they call Jimmy the Pizza Guy – served until 1 a.m. (Kitchen service in the dining rooms ends at 11 p.m.)

With the main menu, they’ve avoided the à la carte curse. Entrées come with salad or soup (upgrade to the creamy lobster bisque, which is marvelous) and choice of potato. Extra sides, such as caramelized Brussels sprouts or creamed spinach, are $6.

Beyond the things Ward’s has done to distinguish itself, what it has going for it is good food – particularly the beautifully cooked steaks and fish. That’s Baumann’s influence – 25 years in the business, including stints at Ristorante Bartolotta and Karl Ratzsch’s. The solo server approach is fine – a bit short on polish, but attentive.

The stepping-off point for menu selection is surely prime rib, because it’s right on the sign. Usually, I’d tell you to jump wantonly into an appetizer, but it will slow you down considerably. However, there is a lovely smoked beef carpaccio with black olive tapenade on crostini ($12.25) – pricey, but busting its seams with flavor. The pizzas are light enough to keep your appetite from waning. In the variety I ordered, the crackery board of a crust handsomely supports a thin layer of pesto sauce as well as artichoke hearts, mushrooms and tomatoes ($9.50).

As for the prime rib, the restaurant offers it in three sizes – 8, 16 and 24 ounces ($19.95-$34.95). Eight ounces is more than enough. (Twenty-four is only for the pros.) If you think prime rib is pretty – and I do – you need to take in the visual – the rivulets of fat interrupted by sections of bright-pink flesh. Eating it is a knife-and-fork exercise, but a happy one, dipping the tender meat in au jus and then warm horseradish sauce (which makes a great dipping sauce for the Parmesan-dusted steak fries).

The optional crusty topping of Gorgonzola cheese takes a 6-ounce filet mignon from respectable to ravishing ($28.95). If you’re going for broke, a cheesy, bacony twice-baked potato certainly gets you there.

Two entrées illustrate that Ward’s is much more than a prime rib and steak joint. The veal Marsala is far from the slapdash, overtenderized cutlet that’s often served. Instead, it’s two medium-rare filets immersed in a dressy mix of chopped shallots, mushrooms and the delicate sweetness of Marsala wine ($26.95). Dab the sauce on the thick, lumpy mashed potatoes.

The pan-seared sea bass doesn’t look like it’ll stop traffic, but it will. The combination of oil from the fragile filet and white wine-dill sauce melt into a silky texture that doesn’t seem to require teeth to masticate ($33.95).

Dessert, should you choose it, is straightforward – crème brûlée, strawberry cheesecake. Impulsively, I order the chocolate mousse and a scoop of homemade pistachio gelato ($4 each). Two flavors that ultimately marry very happily, though their textures are different. One smooth, one grainy.

My meals at Ward’s are worthy of accolades, and there’s no doubt you’ll get your money’s worth. But a restaurant’s success is also dependent on timing and chance. As we head into a new decade, the question of what works – what do diners want? – becomes even more imperative.

Ward’s House of Prime: 540 E. Mason St., 414-223-0135. Hours: Mon-Sat 5-11 p.m. Bar dining Mon-Sat 4 p.m.-1 a.m. Prices: appetizers $6-$16.95; soups and salads $4-$9.25; entrées $14.95-$48.25; desserts $3-$10. Service: attentive, welcoming, a tad inexperienced. Dress: no code, but business casual or better is appropriate. Credit cards: M V A DS. Handicap access: yes. Nonsmoking in the dining rooms. Reservations: recommended, but not required.