So many changes at Manny's Steakhouse, yet so much remains the same.
Not only has it moved into spiffy new quarters in the Foshay Tower, but the downtown institution also has a new daytime persona, serving breakfast and lunch.
The dinner menu seems to have survived the move intact. Lunch wisely leaves the he-man steaks-and-chops format for later in the day, opting for lighter noontime fare that all falls squarely in the American grill genre: a turkey club, egg salad, steak and BLT sandwiches; a pair of lobster roll-inspired sliders; short-rib chili; shrimp cocktail; four Benedicts; a few small-ish steaks, and simply grilled halibut, salmon and tuna.
The restaurant's famous -- or is that infamous? -- bigger-is-better mentality remains in a quartet of entree-size salads (including Cobb, Caesar, Nicoise) that are served in bowls so large they look naked without a KitchenAid mixer. Desserts go small -- well, for Manny's, anyway -- including a hot fudge sundae and pert lemon tart. Most lunch prices land in the teens, with a half-dozen falling in the mid-$20s.
The crisp black-and-white dining room (by New York City's Moschella + Roberts Design) is a welcome improvement from the restaurant's longtime quarters in the Hyatt Regency Hotel. "We didn't want to fall into the trap of being 'your father's restaurant,'" said co-owner Phil Roberts. Plush black leather banquettes, red tile accents, tidy wine storage units, Venetian blind-lined windows and a cleverly clad wall of tan-and-white Italian cowhides all whisper "steakhouse" rather than shout it out.
Manny's regulars will find a welcome refuge in the bar, which is decked out in burgundy booths, red-and-white checkered tablecloths, a cork ceiling and lots of framed celebrity photos, a setting that improves upon its beloved predecessor while simulataneously recalling it. What a relief; that almost never happens.
RICK NELSON
