So we're getting a Ruth's Chris Steakhouse..

[Flutterby]

Link to story (http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/calgarybusiness/story.html?id=21fdeafe-62ac-48a5-ba2e-cdcbe8653476)

Interesting.

I think I'll check it out, I keep hearing about it on here. What are prices like? It opens in a couple weeks.. maybe a couple months I'll try it.

[askeptic]

Overpriced. My wife an I went with a friend, $385 plus tip. Granted we all got the surf and turf with sides and deserts but sheesh.

[Flutterby]

Wow that's.. a little out of my price range.

[Spoons]

I've been to the Edmonton location. It was very nice, but a little pricey--can't remember exactly what it was for two of us, but definitely more than we would have paid for the same things at, say, Hy's. But everything was quite nice and there was a good selection of wines. We'll go back.

I do have to wonder about the logic in importing American beef into Alberta. That's a little like "coals to Newcastle" really. But they must be doing something right, since the Edmonton location was packed when I was there.

[Waterman]

I have been to Ruth's Chris and Morton's and other "high end" steakhouses and what you get, aside from the higher prices, is a "prime grade" beef that is simply not available to the vast majority of shoppers at their local supermarket or even speciality meat market. I think that you go to places like this with the expectation that you are going to pay more and that you will get a quality of meat otherwise unobtainable. I would also agree that the selection of wine at such establishments is going to be top notch selections that will also enhance the meal above what you can do at home.

I can go to my local Costco (about the only choice availabe in the Tri-Cities) and purchase choice grade tenderloin beef at $9.50 a pound (which BTW Cook's Illustrated rated as the best price for beef tenderloin) and trim it with a loss of approximately 30% so that the final price is around $13.57/#. What I end up with is a "choice grade" cut of meat that is still nowhere near what a prime cut of tenderloin would be that I could get at Ruth's Chris or Morton's.

Hey, you always could shoot for Kobe or other higher grade beef and pay upwards of $75 per pound.

[anamnesis]

Overpriced. My wife an I went with a friend, $385 plus tip. Granted we all got the surf and turf with sides and deserts but sheesh.This is absurd. It's not cheap, but it's not overpriced either, and it's certainly not that expensive if you dine within reason, but then, I don't go to a steakhouse for seafood so I've no idea what the market rate is for seafood there these days. I can go to Ruth's for a filet, a side, and a bottle of wine for $60 a head, maybe $70 if I decide to splurge with a dessert, so I don't know what you ordered but it was either two meals apiece, or the most expensive stuff you could find on the menu, whatever that is. They don't even put fixed prices on the seafood, so the catch of the day must've been around $100 each for you to even begin to rack up that kind of tab. Personally, I think any entree beyond $50 is overpriced no matter how fantastic it is, and I have to wonder what were you expecting for $385 (before gratuity) for it to not be "overpriced" ... ?

The presentation and technique for a Ruth's steak is unique amongst steakhouses. You can go anywhere to have a steak, but Ruth's has a special and memorable way of doing things, with a decor that's classy, yet not upscale. I prefer everything about it over most any other steakhouse, and I've never once spent more than $70 on myself (tip included). Most people I've been with spend far less than that.

[denquixote]

There is no question that it is pricey, everything is a la carte. However on my one visit I did have the very best steak I have ever tasted in my life. You don't want to miss it.

[NinetyWt]

Local steakhouses here have equally excellent steaks at 60% of Ruth's Chris' prices. Perhaps that's why they went out of buisness a couple of years ago. Perhaps it's a regional thing? I might wait for a review in the paper before I went.

[Flutterby]

Mostly I'm curious. Been awhile since I've been to a steakhouse, and the last two times I ordered steaks out here I got them way overdone from what I ordered (I got medium well or well when I ordered medium rare, but that's more an indication of how hard up we are for workers in any industry I think).

And yeah, Spoons I was wondering about that myself. Ship beef to Alberta. :dubious:

We'll see how well it does.

[askeptic]

This is absurd.

YMVs. What is absurd is living in the city where Morton's started and going to RC. :)

[Harriet the Spry]

I was not impressed with the one here. The filet was good, but not the best of my life. The baked potato side had that "green" off-taste that potatoes get sometimes. And the service was your typical high school kid, definitely nothing special.

[hajario]

They're opening one here in Santa Barbara too. What's weird is the location. Instead of being downtown or in Montecito, it's way uptown in a lame little shopping mall between a Vons and a Macy's. No tourists ever come to that area. There used to be a Red Robin in that location.

I've never been to a Ruth's Chris but I have been to the Morton's in Portland and the one in San Francisco. They are supposed to be similar in concept. My Dad, who would know of such things, claims that Morton's is better.

It's a huge amount of food and the quality is excellent. The smallest fillet weighs over half a pound. I believe that they have a two pound steak. The sides are also gigantic. It's also very pricey. If Morton's really is pretty much the same, I won't be going there unless it's on company business (like Morton's was the three times I went there.)

[adhemar]

The one time i ate at Ruth's Chris, the steak was really good but I felt the prices were much higher than I could afford to spend on my own. From what I understand the mainstay of their business is business men on expense accounts, so not a "family dining" experience at all. I didn't find the decor or the service to be at all special but the steak was tasty.

In Memphis we have another excellent steak place called Folk's Folly. Mr. Folk when he couldn't find anywhere serving a truly excellent steak (before Ruth's Chris came to town) decided to open his own. Mr. Folk was big in construction and liked to eat. It has been in business for 30 years so he did something right. All that was to say they have a butcher shop attached to the restaurant selling as far as I know the same prime beef as the restaurant. http://www.folksfolly.com/primecutshoppe.htm


Link to story (http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/calgarybusiness/story.html?id=21fdeafe-62ac-48a5-ba2e-cdcbe8653476)

Interesting.

I think I'll check it out, I keep hearing about it on here. What are prices like? It opens in a couple weeks.. maybe a couple months I'll try it.

[Zsofia]

We just got ours here. It's okay - I mean, it was good, but there's a whole lot of local places that are as good or better. The steak was okay. The sides, on the other hand, were out of this world. Go for the sides. I suggest the au gratin potatoes and broiled tomatoes.

Also, I expected much snappier service, IMHO.

[K364]

I don't like ordering "sides". I want a plate of food in front of me that I can dive into.

The a la carte style is expensive - each side is 8-10 bucks and you get way too much for one person - do I want a plate full of giant broccoli? The staff at these places explain this by suggesting that the sides are "big enough to share". I don't like sharing! I want my own fork and my own plate.

I heard that RC "infuses" it's beef with butter and this explains the unique richness of the food. You can order the Alberta beef, non-buttered if you want... but you might as well do that somewhere else where the prices are 30-50% less.

[TupeloHoney]

I always have a great meal at Ruth's Chris. It's definitely not a place we frequent often but their steaks have always been done perfectly. It's a bit pricey but it's worth it once in a while. I would prefer the sides to be included but we always get two and share. I would check it out at least once.

[Ike Witt]

You can get the same quality meal, for cheaper, at locally owned Caesar's. I love Caesar's and try to go at least once when I am back in Calgary.

[Flutterby]

You can get the same quality meal, for cheaper, at locally owned Caesar's. I love Caesar's and try to go at least once when I am back in Calgary.

Where's Caesar's? I've never heard of it.

Then again I haven't heard of a lot of restaurants here. I don't get out much. :p

[the Lady]

It used to be on 4th Ave, round about 5th Street downtown.
Though I have a vague recollection of hearing they were moving.

[DMark]

Am I the only one who thinks the name of the business, "Ruth's Chris Steakhouse" is almost a tongue-twister and hurts my throat to say?

I found learning German easier than saying the name of that business.

[GingerOfTheNorth]

Where's Caesar's? I've never heard of it.

Then again I haven't heard of a lot of restaurants here. I don't get out much. :p
It's right next to a Mac's store, I think it's on 3rd or 4th Avenue. On the South side of the road,

[NinetyWt]

Am I the only one who thinks the name of the business, "Ruth's Chris Steakhouse" is almost a tongue-twister and hurts my throat to say?

I found learning German easier than saying the name of that business.IIRC the original concept was called "Chris Steakhouse" but the people who started "Ruth's Chris" were not allowed to use the "Chris Steakhouse" name.

The chain was founded by the late Ruth Fertel, a single mother of two, in 1965, after she bought the existing Chris Steak House in New Orleans. In buying the restaurant, Fertel had to agree that the restaurant keep the "Chris" name for a specified period of time. After the original location sustained a kitchen fire, she relocated the restaurant about one-half mile (0.9 km) to the west on Broad Street and renamed the rebuilt establishment "Ruth's Chris." Under the purchase agreement, the name "Chris Steak House" could not be used at any other location, and she did not want to lose customers already familiar with the Chris name. But yeah, it's a real tongue twister.

[RickJay]

I wasn't blown away by Ruth's steak, and for that matter was never blown away by the quality of a Morton's steak. They were very good, but not fantastic. Their steaks are unquestionably better than what you'd get at TGIFriday's or most hotel restaurants, but you can find plenty of good steak houses with better steaks and prices. If you're in a reasonably large city, I assure you you can find a better steak than Ruth's Chris.

[UntouchedTakeaway]

It's great if you're being treated :D

I always order lamb chops & the creamed spinach - I love it.

VCNJ~

[D_Odds]

I have to agree with the majority: Ruth's Chris has good steaks, but you can find better in major cities (like my own). I've dined in many high-end steak houses, and now tend to go to Ruth's Chris only because my brother and father like it. Morton's and Palm are better; Smith & Wollensky is on par. Even then, I have Peter Luger's, Wolfgang's, and Del Frisco at my fingertips, plus a list of other's I've yet to try.

Ruth's Chris does not "infuse" a steak with butter; they serve it on a extremely hot, buttered plate. The sides are good. I can understand that three surf & turf's with sides can run over $100 / person, as the lobster costs are very high in these types of restaurants. A lot of high-end steakhouses do the family-style sides. If that isn't your cup of tea, then you will be dissatisfied with an expensive and usually very good meal.

[wolfman]

I have been to Ruth's Chris and Morton's and other "high end" steakhouses and what you get, aside from the higher prices, is a "prime grade" beef that is simply not available to the vast majority of shoppers at their local supermarket or even speciality meat market.

It is really sad if most people can't get access to prime at a specialty meat market, and I would think most cities have to have some.
I Love this place.
http://www.cooksfreshmarket.com/groceries_butcher.html
Although Prime Ribeye is over 20$ per pound so it's still a rare treat.

[Rysdad]

I used to work on the same block as Ruth's Chris in downtown Minneapolis. I've eaten there twice.

Meh. Way overpriced and absolutely nothing special. Glad I wasn't paying for it.

[BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed]

Went once in SF. The meat was good, and cooked exactly as requested, but the cheapest cut of meat was ~$45. Most were $60-80. Most of the sides were good, but I remember at least one I wasn't so fond of.

Eh, overpriced for what you get. (A-minus-minus, would not buy again.)

[Spoons]

Flutterby, here's an idea:

Calgary Dopers hit the Farmer's Market off Crowchild Trail SW, and get some top-grade Alberta beef steaks. We go back to somebody's place, and grill them up so they're done just as we like them.

Then (some days or weeks later) we all hit the Calgary Ruth's Chris and have their USDA prime steaks. Again, they wil be grilled to order.

Then we compare the Alberta steaks to Ruth's Chris' steaks.

I'm not sure what we'll find but if nothing else, it's a good excuse for a couple of Calgary Dopefests and great meals at the same time! ;)

[longhair75]

My wife and I ate at a Ruth's Cris in San Juan,. Puerto Rico, It was pretty good, but there are three or four places locally that have as good or better steak dinners at less than a third of the price.

[robardin]

I can go to Ruth's for a filet, a side, and a bottle of wine for $60 a head, maybe $70 if I decide to splurge with a dessert, so I don't know what you ordered ...
I agree that one doesn't go to a good steakhouse like Ruth's or Morton's or Palm and get a "budget meal", the whole point is to pay primo prices for primo food that you can't get yourself or at another, cheaper establishment. If your particular wallet/palate combo doesn't feel it's worth shelling out 3x the cost of a steak at Sizzler for the same cut but dry aged, prime grade, and broiled at 1800 degree temperature steak, then by all means, only go when someone else is paying for it :)

That said, I find your $70/head cost amazingly low. The steaks alone are $35-40 and that includes no sides or appetizers, much less wine and dessert, and don't forget the tip. I would expect a tab to run to $100 to $125 a head for a "fine dining" experience along something like the following per capita breakdown:

Appetizer - $10 (could be a salad, or splitting something fancy like tuna tartare)
Steak (the main event) - $35
Half of two side dishes (e.g., spinach and potatoes) - $15
Dessert - $15
Half of a bottle of wine - $25

That's $100 right there. Add in tax and tip and you're up to $125 per person.

As for how this can possibly be worth it, and why not grill steaks yourself: I can get dry-aged, prime grade beef at my local butcher, but there's no way my grill can get up to the broiler temperature without setting the steak on fire. The $35/steak cost is not much of a markup for the meat; dry-aged prime grade beef costs me at least $20/lb. for the cuts they serve at a steakhouse (Porterhouse, Ribeye, NY Strip), and the steaks they serve are generally more than 16 oz. in size! They're really making a profit on the other parts of the meal (appetizers, desserts, wine, etc.).

I love a good steak, and can grill a good one, if I do say so myself. But sometimes I just gotta splurge and get the really good stuff at a good steakhouse. I admit it's not a linear scale -- I'm not getting 4x the quantity or even necessarily any fourfold increase in some quantified "enjoyment factor" over simply grilling a normal Angus steak on my Weber grill. But it's a level of enjoyment I can't get otherwise, and every now and then I just feel I want to indulge.

[DrDeth]

YMVs. What is absurd is living in the city where Morton's started and going to RC. :)

I ate at the new Mortons in SJ. I came in by myself and was treated like I had leprosy. How dare I want to eat dinner by myself? :rolleyes: (Note that I came in in the early evening so there was no rush). They made me sit in the bar, where I did not get very fast service.

Yes, the steak was tasty. Very. But it came with nothing. It was also twice-3X Outback in price. I gauged it as 25% better than the Outback ribeye, and that comes with salad and side. Not to mention better service. (I judge Outback by my two local Outbacks, I have heard others are not as good. ymmv)

Now, I have had very expensive meals. I had dinner for two at the Arcadia in SJ. I had the Cowboy Ribeye, which was more than twice as good as Mortons. Dinner was just under $100 for 2, and I added a $20 tip. The service was fantastic.
We had drinks also (well, she had a drink and I had iced tea). This means I find $385 for 3 hard to believe. $200? Sure. Of course with two+ bottles of vintage wine, you'd get to $385.

[straykat23]

It was without a doubt the best steak I've had in a steakhouse since a trip to Japan in the early '60s when 1 USD = 360 Yen and Kobe beef was affordable.

Last year a friend and I went to the (then) new Ruth's Chris here in Sac, expecting to pay a lot for the steak and vowing to scrimp on the side dishes. We paid $131 for two: steak, asparagus, some potato thing that we shared, 2 Manhattans and tea. We added a tip onto that. Service was exemplary - extremely good looking, attentive, well spoken Sac State students that made the experience even better.

I have no idea what the USDA rating is on their beef, but I'm sure it far surpasses anything I've had locally in the past.

A steak meal with fixins' for two at Outback would have been about $40, at Morton's about $80-90, if there aren't too many extras added. (I'm one of those people who can't spend $10 on a glass of wine when I can buy 2-buck-chuck at Trader Joe's).

Is this something we can do often? No way! It was however, spectacular, and if you can afford it and are discriminating and can actually taste the difference between beef cuts, do this at least once.

I'm someone who thinks that Outback and Black Angus are perfectly fine. Ruth's Chris, however, was pretty nearly orgasmic!

[Skammer]

I've been once to the one here, and we ended up spending about $110-$120 without drinks or tip, so about $150 for a couple would be reasonable. That's expensive (for us) but not outrageous -- something we would do for a special occasion.

I remember the steak was fantastic, but also about on par with other high-end steakhouses around here.

[Brynda]

I've been to two--one in Detroit and the other in Nashville. Both were good, but the Detroit one was better. The food was a bit better and the service was a lot better, IMHO. We have spent about $100 before tip--that's a large filet for each of us, 2 side dishes, 1 salad and 1 soda. Well worth it.