# Ruth's Chris Steak House **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 20, 2007, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruths-chris-steak-house/416212 "2007-08-20T03:17:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2007, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruths-chris-steak-house/416212/21 "2007-08-20T18:32:18Z")
Not to be tacky, but can someone give me an idea of the prices we’re talking here? I love steak, but my husband doesn’t, so my opportunities for good dead cow are few and far between. I’d rather splurge on the good stuff once or twice a year than gnaw the nasty every week. OTOH, there’s rent to pay and diapers to buy…I’d hate to walk in and faint when I read the menu (there’s no prices on the on-line menu, which scares me a little.) So what are we talking for an average dinner tab for two, assuming appetizer, desert and wine? ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2007, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruths-chris-steak-house/416212/22 "2007-08-20T18:35:44Z")
[QUOTE=WhyNot] Not to be tacky, but can someone give me an idea of the prices we’re talking here? I love steak, but my husband doesn’t, so my opportunities for good dead cow are few and far between. I’d rather splurge on the good stuff once or twice a year than gnaw the nasty every week. OTOH, there’s rent to pay and diapers to buy…I’d hate to walk in and faint when I read the menu (there’s no prices on the on-line menu, which scares me a little.) So what are we talking for an average dinner tab for two, assuming appetizer, desert and wine? [/QUOTE] I haven’t been there in ten years, but a steak was in the area of a hundred bucks, and the vegetables were extra. Try Outback: 80% as good for about a fifth the price. With wine, dessert and appetizer for two, be ready to pony up three hundred bucks. ---
**Author:** ![usar\_jag](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f0a364/32.png) [@usar\_jag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/usar_jag)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2007, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruths-chris-steak-house/416212/23 "2007-08-20T18:46:35Z")
[QUOTE=WhyNot] Not to be tacky…So what are we talking for an average dinner tab for two, assuming appetizer, desert and wine? [/QUOTE] How tacky! 😉 I don’t know if prices are consistant throughout the States, but I would expect a tab of around $150-$175, including tax and tip. ---
**Author:** ![Duke\_of\_Rat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Duke\_of\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke_of_Rat)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2007, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruths-chris-steak-house/416212/24 "2007-08-20T18:49:33Z")
[QUOTE=Krokodil] I haven’t been there in ten years, but a steak was in the area of a hundred bucks, and the vegetables were extra. Try Outback: 80% as good for about a fifth the price. With wine, dessert and appetizer for two, be ready to pony up three hundred bucks. [/QUOTE] This [mini review](http://thehill.com/steak/ruths-chris-steak-house-1997-04-09.html) is 10 years old and was considerably less than $100 for a steak. > [@](#): > > The chairman’s New York strip ($24.95) and my filet, like the one you see on the Ruth’s Chris ads, ($23.95) were sensational, 16 to 18 ounce slabs of tender beef cooked precisely to order and bursting with hearty flavor. The thick lamb chops ($29.95), flown in fresh from New Zealand, were equally impressive, according to Ms. McKinney, but I later learned that they’re only on the menu during the Easter season. > > Mrs. Livingston offered me a sample of her salmon ($21.95), and it was every bit as good as, and much healthier than, our carnivorously biased entrees, or anything I’ve eaten at restaurants that specialize in seafood. Next time I eat at Ruth’s Chris, I might just order fish. > > We shared an order of creamed spinach, saut饤 mushrooms and steak fries, all excellent, but declined dessert and finished with strong, black coffee that reminded me of the kind you get with beignets in the coffee shops around Jackson Square in New Orleans. The service was impeccable, even before our waiter became aware that we weren’t just the usual bunch of lobbyists or tourists. > > Even though my portion of the bill was higher because of my cocktail (alright, I had a glass of red wine, too), we split the bill among the four of us. It came to $166 without tip, and just under $200 with a tip that reflected the excellent service. Ah, a [Menu with prices](http://www.sizzlingsteak.com/p/RCR%20Menu%202007.pdf) Warning, .pdf The most expensive entree is $79 Porterhouse for 2 ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2007, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruths-chris-steak-house/416212/25 "2007-08-20T18:51:46Z")
[QUOTE=Krokodil] I haven’t been there in ten years, but a steak was in the area of a hundred bucks, and the vegetables were extra. Try Outback: 80% as good for about a fifth the price. With wine, dessert and appetizer for two, be ready to pony up three hundred bucks. [/QUOTE] Probably closer to $200 for two people. Personally, I find it offensive to even bring up Outback in a serious discussion about steak. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2007, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruths-chris-steak-house/416212/26 "2007-08-20T19:07:18Z")
Ooh! Thanks, guys! With that information I think I’ve just picked out where I want to go for my birthday this year. 😉 And knowing that their seafood/veggie options are just as well received as their steaks will definitely help win my husband over. It’s definitely a once-a-year price range for us, but it’s only a few days of work for me, and it sounds like a real treat. (Their Hollandaise _is_ homemade, right? I might die of happiness before dying of a coronary!) ---
**Author:** ![UntouchedTakeaway](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/d78d45/32.png) [@UntouchedTakeaway](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UntouchedTakeaway)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2007, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruths-chris-steak-house/416212/27 "2007-08-20T19:28:52Z")
I always get lamb chops, because I don’t make those for myself at home. And I love the creamed spinach. VCNJ~ ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2007, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruths-chris-steak-house/416212/28 "2007-08-20T20:09:11Z")
[QUOTE=Krokodil] I haven’t been there in ten years, but a steak was in the area of a hundred bucks, and the vegetables were extra. Try Outback: 80% as good for about a fifth the price. With wine, dessert and appetizer for two, be ready to pony up three hundred bucks. [/QUOTE] Dude [your](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=4672584&postcount=20) [foodar](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=8893827&postcount=10) [needs recalibration.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=8894945&postcount=15) ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2007, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruths-chris-steak-house/416212/29 "2007-08-20T20:09:24Z")
[QUOTE=Duke of Rat] This [mini review](http://thehill.com/steak/ruths-chris-steak-house-1997-04-09.html) is 10 years old and was considerably less than $100 for a steak. Ah, a [Menu with prices](http://www.sizzlingsteak.com/p/RCR%20Menu%202007.pdf) Warning, .pdf The most expensive entree is $79 Porterhouse for 2 [/QUOTE] I just checked the menu for our local restaurant. The prices are higher by about 10% in Seattle. Bellevue was higher still. So, check your local area. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2007, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruths-chris-steak-house/416212/30 "2007-08-20T20:41:08Z")
They just (yesterday) opened up one here in town and the cheapest steak, a petite filet, is $36, I think they said. Nowhere near $100. I’ve eaten in some damned fine restaurants in my life and never paid $100 for an a la carte entree. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2007, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruths-chris-steak-house/416212/31 "2007-08-20T20:54:24Z")
One more thing that needs to be considered when you go to a place like Ruth’s Chris is that you will probably be getting a full days worth of calories in that one meal. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2007, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruths-chris-steak-house/416212/32 "2007-08-20T21:18:29Z")
[QUOTE=Krokodil] I haven’t been there in ten years, but a steak was in the area of a hundred bucks, and the vegetables were extra. Try Outback: 80% as good for about a fifth the price. With wine, dessert and appetizer for two, be ready to pony up three hundred bucks. [/QUOTE] This is one of those joke posts, right? Even the famous Peter Luger’s doesn’t cost that much for a steak, per person (some of the larger porterhouses, meant for more than 2, will run over $100). ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2007, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruths-chris-steak-house/416212/33 "2007-08-21T00:13:00Z")
[QUOTE=D\_Odds] This is one of those joke posts, right? Even the famous Peter Luger’s doesn’t cost that much for a steak, per person (some of the larger porterhouses, meant for more than 2, will run over $100). [/QUOTE] IIRC, Peter Lugers isn’t that expensive. But two can easily hit $150 - $200 at Sparks, Del Frescos or Angelo & Maxis if you start going crazy with wine and appetizers. ---
**Author:** ![Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_It_s_That_Guy)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2007, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruths-chris-steak-house/416212/34 "2007-08-21T00:26:22Z")
[QUOTE=msmith537] IIRC, Peter Lugers isn’t that expensive. But two can easily hit $150 - $200 at Sparks, Del Frescos or Angelo & Maxis if you start going crazy with wine and appetizers. [/QUOTE] I’ve never been to Ruth’s Chris, but I have been to Del Frisco’s, and it is by far the best steak I’ve ever had at the fanciest steakhouse I’ve ever been to. My mom, who has been to Ruth’s Chris, said the same goes for her experience at that place. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2007, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruths-chris-steak-house/416212/35 "2007-08-21T01:04:04Z")
[QUOTE=msmith537] IIRC, Peter Lugers isn’t that expensive. But two can easily hit $150 - $200 at Sparks, Del Frescos or Angelo & Maxis if you start going crazy with wine and appetizers. [/QUOTE] You can do that at a lot of places, but the $100 claim was referring to a single steak entree. ---
**Author:** ![Brainiac4](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brainiac4/32/3534_2.png) [@Brainiac4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brainiac4)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2007, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruths-chris-steak-house/416212/36 "2007-08-21T03:53:23Z")
I had the chance to dine at Ruth’s Chris in Florida a couple of weeks ago. I went with the filet, medium rare, which is my usual steakhouse choice. It was fabulous. Prices were in the $30-$40 range, not the triple-digit range. By the way, not only are the appetizers huge, the desserts are as well. I was at Outback a few days later, and paid about $20 for a steak that was about a quarter as good. So my math is a bit different than Krokodil’s – I’d recommend the steak that’s four times as good for twice the price. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2007, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruths-chris-steak-house/416212/37 "2007-08-21T14:22:49Z")
[QUOTE=Zsofia] You can do that at a lot of places, but the $100 claim was referring to a single steak entree. [/QUOTE] Maybe if you order some kind of Kobe beef (which can be even more expensive), but I don’t see that on Ruth’s Chris’ menu. Here’s an article about some expensive meat: [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15502141/](http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15502141/) ---
**Author:** ![dnooman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/839c29/32.png) [@dnooman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dnooman)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2007, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruths-chris-steak-house/416212/38 "2007-08-22T03:04:41Z")
The replies in this thread have been more than helpful. Thank you very much! I find myself in the same predicament I was in before though. The filet, or something else? The T bone has a strip and a filet right? Maybe I’m best suited to that. I always prefer a leaner cut of meat, but I usually neglect the filet because of the cost to serving size ratio. The one on the online menu is 8oz I believe, which is a decent size if every last bite of those 8oz are edible. The ribeye, I’m most uncertain of. I know that it has great marbling, which is key to a flavorful steak, but I’m concerned about it being too fatty for my taste. If it turns out to be too fatty, I would just cut off the offending portions, but it would seem a waste to me. The NY strip seems to be a safe bet, but also seems the least adventurous, and perhaps not the best choice at a good steak house. So, talking about the cut specifically, which would you choose? ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2007, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruths-chris-steak-house/416212/39 "2007-08-22T04:21:36Z")
You might want to try a Hyde Park Grille if there’s one around, too. I’ve often had excellent steaks there. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2007, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruths-chris-steak-house/416212/40 "2007-08-22T04:56:29Z")
I am a NY strip kind of girl, always. It is my favorite cut of steak. I have actually had it at Ruth’s Chris, and it was out of this world. MrWhatsit had the buffalo steak, and was also impressed. I’ve eaten at Ruth’s Chris in Seattle, and also the one in Columbus, and both were excellent. MrWhatsit and I usually go there during the holidays every year as sort of a gift to ourselves. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruths-chris-steak-house/416212.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruths-chris-steak-house/416212.md?page=3)