Ruth's Chris?

[DietCokeLover]

Anyone every eaten at a Ruth's Chris Steakhouse? Was it as good as everyone says it is? Is it worth the cost?

Trying to think of somewhere for us to go for our anniversary on Sunday that we wouldn't normally go to. I've heard about Ruth's Chris, but wasn't sure if all the hype was true or not.

[Octobermommy]

We ate there a few years ago for our anniversary. It was good but I don't think I would call it great or anything. We haven't been back in 3 years. We split a steak, split 2 sides, 1 salad and 1 glass of wine, 1 dessert and our bill was over $100. It just wasn't $100 great to me but YMMV.

[BabyMine]

I heard the dessert bar is the real reason to go. Also their wine selection is very extensive.

[wencit]

Personally, I think it's overrated. The steaks are of very good quality, no doubt, but I was not all that impressed, especially given how much we were paying for the meal. I think your expectations also kind of depend on where you live, too. We are a 40-minute drive from San Francisco, where there are all sorts of absolutely amazing restaurants, and for that kind of money, I would rather go to one of those. If you live in the middle of nowhere, I could see how limited choices would influence your views on a particular restaurant.

[maydaymommy]

Are there any other steakhouse options near you? It's good, not the best of them. Some people don't like it because they put butter on the steak.

[mom2binsd]

It's good, but depending on what city you're in there are probably other "steak houses" that also rate high....Ruths Chris can be a little pretentious though.

[MamaMolly]

We went once. DH got a $50 gift card from AMEX, so we went thinking we'd have a nice meal and not spend too much. :ROTFLMAO: Boy, were we naive! We didn't make it through the wine and appetizer before we'd already burned through the GC.

My issue was that the price of the dinner was a la carte. You order the steak and that is what was on your plate. Any side was extra, a salad was extra, every little thing was extra. And I thought it wasn't presented well which is just a pet peeve of mine.

All in all the cost took some of the pleasure out of it for me.

[lchang25000]

If you're located in CA or AR, Mastro's Steakhouse is the best!! Ruth Chris is ok but a bit overrated.

[DietCokeLover]

The cost is what is kind of freaking me out. I'm a tightwad by nature, so the idea of splurging on food is kind of hard for me. I'm thinking that based on what some of y'all are saying, that I might find a different option. I just hate the idea of spending that much money on something to put in my stomach.

Thanks for y'alls input!

[indigo99]

We go to The Melting Pot when we splurge for special occassions. Fondue makes for a long dinner which can be romantic if you're in the mood. We learned to skip the cheese though or else we got too full to enjoy the dessert.

[DietCokeLover]

We go to The Melting Pot when we splurge for special occassions. Fondue makes for a long dinner which can be romantic if you're in the mood. We learned to skip the cheese though or else we got too full to enjoy the dessert.

OOh, that would be good, but we don't have one anywhere near us.

[Fairy]

Most fine steakhouses are ala carte and very expensive. I love them. Big fan of the Mortons and Chicago Chop Houses and Smith & Wolinski's of the world. Soem of them are worth every penny. Some not so much. If you value that sort of thing. If you don't, then eh. Stoney River is a good alternative. Also expensive, but far more reasonable.

Have you ever tried a Brazillian steakhouse? So awesome. Also reallye xpensive, but less than a fine steakhouse. They carry around meat on sticks and feed you till you say no more. Plus salad bars to end all salad bars. Big fan.

Have a good time!

[lchang25000]

Have you ever tried a Brazillian steakhouse? So awesome. Also reallye xpensive, but less than a fine steakhouse. They carry around meat on sticks and feed you till you say no more. Plus salad bars to end all salad bars. Big fan.

Have a good time!
Great idea! Fogo de Chao is delish!!

[TwinFoxes]

I agree with pp that it may depend what your other options are. I ate there once when we were visiting a medium sized town where we didn't know of any other restaurants, and we were happy. I ate there once in LA and was disappointed although the food was the same, but there a lot of non-chain steakhouses we could have eaten in for the same amount of $$ and the food would have been better. In fact, if you have a Morton's it is waaay better than Ruths Chris. And they bring the raw steak to your table to show you what you're getting. It's kind of a show, and cool in an old school kind of way.

You can get the steaks without butter at RCs btw. I don't remember a dessert bar at all.

[mom2akm]

For steaks, I like Morton's better than Ruth's Chris. But these days, I'd rather buy the steaks from Costco and BBQ them in the backyard. It makes me feel good that I'm being thrifty. I remind myself that 'special' is an attitude and it has nothing to do with how much I spend. (Oh, how I wish I can remind myself that when I shop at HA)

[LD92599]

Summer Special @ Ruth's Chris.....the summer special at RC is a pretty good deal, as though as you like the offerings. DH, DS & I went to RC for Fathers Day and spent just < $100 for the 3 of us, and that included Calamari appy for DS!

Mortons has the 2 for $99 special too which is a TON of food and i never hestitate to ask for substitutions too w/ the deal.

Laura

[jgenie]

Great idea! Fogo de Chao is delish!!

I second that - skip the salad!!!

[Fairy]

Yes, huge fan of the Fogo.

[TwinFoxes]

Summer Special @ Ruth's Chris.....the summer special at RC is a pretty good deal, as though as you like the offerings. DH, DS & I went to RC for Fathers Day and spent just < $100 for the 3 of us, and that included Calamari appy for DS!

Mortons has the 2 for $99 special too which is a TON of food and i never hestitate to ask for substitutions too w/ the deal.

Laura

We did the Morton's deal once, it is awesome! I totally forgot about that!

Fogo is fun and pretty tasty. Don't fill up too much on the salad bar. Save room for MEAT! Honestly, post kids I like going somewhere lively, and Fogo is very lively!

[Tondi G]

went to RC and it wasn't that good... got a petit filet and shrimp. my filet was supposed to be med rare and it ended up well done cause they serve it on a sizzling hot plate (that cooked it through before I had a chance to eat it) and the shrimp were just not good. The steak itself wasn't all that great either... just not a good flavor. Their creamed spinach was good and I had a bite of some gumbo soup they had that night and it was pretty good.

Our family LOVES Fogo De Chao not cheap but you can eat a variety of meats (not one I didn't like) to your hearts content!!! Their salad bar is very nice too!

went to Morton's once and I remember it being delicious!!!

my boys love Benihana.

[poppy]

Depends on the location. Some are good, some are not.
Overall, I'd rather go to a different steak house for the price.

My favorite is Sparks in NYC.

[mommy111]

I'd MUCH rather go to Morton's...not less pricey, but better quality by far. RC tends to be variable quality depending on location.

[rlu]

Went to one in La Jolla (I think) and thought it incredibly overpriced and disappointing. This was probably 10+ years ago though.

[Melbel]

In our market, I actually prefer RC to Morton's, Capital Grille or other high end options. There are 2 RCs in town, and we definitely like one more than the other for atmosphere and a consistently perfectly cooked, high quality steak. Most high end steak restaurants that we have been to charge for sides/salads a la carte. It is for a special occasion or business outing only and we budget for it accordingly. Similar to a PP, I am also a fan of steaks at Costco. We have not tried the Brazilian steak restaurants in town but may do so. The "meat on a stick" just did not sound very appetizing to me, and I do not fare well at the all you can eat type places because I do not eat very much at one time (more of a grazer).

If you do not feel comfortable spending $$$$ on a meal, then I personally would not go to RC because you will not enjoy it as you tally up the tab in your head. Instead, I would find a great restaurant more within your comfort zone price wise. Happy anniversary!

[kozachka]

Most fine steakhouses are ala carte and very expensive. I love them. Big fan of the Mortons and Chicago Chop Houses and Smith & Wolinski's of the world. Soem of them are worth every penny. Some not so much.
Have a good time!

:yeahthat: My all time favorite is Gene & Georgetti in Chicago. It has a lot of character, classic steakhouse style. Their dirty salad is TDF. And meat is simply out of this world. DH is good with the grill but we simply can't buy the same quality meat and it's not like we can age it. I love eating well and don't mind paying for it but if you do than don't go to a steakhouse for your anniversary. Go to a nice Italian restaurant and order some pasta. Or better yet, go to a theater, see a good show and get drinks. That's what we did for my birthday recently. I loved it more than any restaurant.

[SnuggleBuggles]

If I had an option of a non chain restaurant I would go there instead. I would scour resources to find the best restaurants in my city. There are so many great restaurants around that I don't think I would settle for RC. Rc is good but I think for the $ you can do better in a lot of places.

Beth

[infomama]

We had a Ruth Chris here in town but it closed. I ate there a total of four times and in general it was very good but very expensive. I think Dh makes a better steak ;)

[DietCokeLover]

We don't have any of those restaurants that y'all have mentioned, but we do have 2 different Brazillian steakhouses. We've been to one before, and it was good, but I just didn't eat enough to make it worthwhile.

I think I"ll do some research and find somewhere that gets good recs. I always like to try places we haven't been before on these occasions.

[shawnandangel]

I agree with pp on the idea of a nice Italian restaraunt. What about Maggiano's? You can get by with you and DH for around $70. (With alcohol)

We've gone to really expensive resteraunts in the past where the meal has cost upwards to $150 and in the end, I like places like Logan's, Maggiano's, and Demos' better. Demos' has great steak at a very reasonable price.

[Fairy]

If you do not feel comfortable spending $$$$ on a meal, then I personally would not go to RC because you will not enjoy it as you tally up the tab in your head. Instead, I would find a great restaurant more within your comfort zone price wise. Happy anniversary!

Completely agree!

[vonfirmath]

We've eaten at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse a couple of times. It's good, sure. But not worth the $$ paid.

We have found plenty of steakhouses that were just as good, but much better priced. Texas Roadhouse has locations all over the US. And, in the Seattle area, we loved the steakhouse in the parking lot of the Wal-mart (exit 2 on 405. I forget the name. In Renton, technically)

[Melanie]

I didn't care for it, and that was back when I ate meat. This was a few years ago, but everything but your meat was family style and I don't care for that. I want my entree with a small side and small salad; not have to have the entire table get mashed potatoes and share. I don't remember it being particularly fantastic and frankly the name alone hurts my ears!

We never went back.

[smilequeen]

I love a good steak, but Ruth's Chris is not the best for that. For chains I think Morton's is better or even Flemings. Most of the time there is a local place with much better steaks though. I never mind spending money on a good meal, but I don't like spending money on a steak I don't really like b/c a steak is a big dietary (caloric) splurge for me and I like to do it right ;)

[TraciG]

I go EVERY year to Ruth Chris for my Anniversary the end of August. There is a Morton's not far, wonder if we should try that instead, but I am weird, I don't like breaking tradition !

[KpbS]

So you probably have already gone but I've got a rec. for you. Sending you a PM.