Ruth's Chris Steak House

[Wuptdo]

The name speaks for itself. I won't even attempt to write a review, except to say "outstanding." However, I will glady send a check to Mr. Oliver for $20, and other people can kick in too, for one of his reviews.

Just an FYI - For the Holiday Season Ruth's Chris Steak House is open for Lunch (till 24 Dec). Hours are 11:30 am to 2:30 pm. Located on the corner of Weston Parkway and Harrison Avenue. Surprise your spouse or your office with a special lunch!

Holiday Lunch Specials:

Grilled Catch of the Day - $16.95
Barbecued Shrimp - $13.95
Prime Rib - $17.95
Blackened Prime Rib Sandwich - $13.95
Caesar Salad (Ahi Tuna, Grilled Chicken or Tenderlion) ($14 to $15)

Appetizers Range from $10.95 to $16.95
Dessert range are around $5.75

Full Bar, excellent wine menu and good assortment of Beer. Please note: evening Entree' Selection is also available at lunch. Enjoy!

Wuptdo B-)

To: Mr. Oliver - I owe you $20 for Ruth Chris review, plus $1.61 for you review of Sam's "Bistro." Please e-mail your address so I can clear this debt before year end. Many Thanks Wup T. Do!

[Laurie]

Well I'm no Oliver, but Brent and I went to Ruth's Chris at its new location for our anniversary. The food and service are still top notch, can't be beat. But I do not like the lay out of the space. The old Ruth's Chris was classy, not trendy. It felt like a special occasion being there. My neighbors said the same thing after going to the new place, also. But the food and service are great.

[Karen]

Laurie,

I'm glad you said that. I was thinking the same thing regarding the atmosphere of the old location vs. the new one. I like the old one much better as well. We usually have the company Holiday Party at Ruth's Chris every year but this year we decided to have it at Ray's, which is at the old RC location. Mainly due to the warm ambiance there. The food was very good actually.

Karen

[Oliver]

Restaurant Review

Kris’s Ruthless Restaurant
By Oliver “Omnivore” Lard-Gourmand, Cary Politics Food Critic

Holiday greetings, dear and faithful readers! ’Tis the season when we hear those many traditional holiday phrases, such as “Noel”, “Deck The Halls” and “I’m no Oliver!” Well, friends, I couldn’t agree more! Although I am one Oliver, there have been a few times when I’ve had to claim to be no Oliver to get myself out of, shall we say “situations” I found myself in. I remember one time when the Repo guy came to try to take back my beanbag furniture and pop artwork just because I had missed a couple of payments, owing to that unfortunate incident with the neighbor’s picture window and the associated unexpected expense, not to mention Muffkins’s veterinary bills, for which we finally worked out an installment payment plan. But I digress. For all of you contented, self-actualized readers with pretty adequate self-esteem and appropriate attributes made of at least brass, if not better, who are comfortable enough with their inner psyche to proudly proclaim, “I’m no Oliver”: my response to you is simply this: “I’m Chevy Chase, and you’re not!” Speaking of Chevy Chase, that reminds me of Maryland. They have these blue crabs there that are just fantastic, and my fellow Rotarian, Lionel, has this recipe where he steams them in Fresca (regular, not diet). But I digress again.

In any case, for this month’s review, I received an insider’s tip from Wuptdo in the form of a post on carypolitics.org. The most important fact shared was that Mr. Tdo was inclined to fund my meal at Kris’s Ruthless Chop House to the tune of twenty bucks. Things were looking up!

The first problem occurred when I arrived at the restaurant, only to find that it had been chained up and appeared to be permanently closed. This by itself was not alarming; I have experienced other restaurants suddenly closing and even appearing to go out of business upon my arrival, especially if they had been forewarned of my visit (indeed, this has occurred more than once at the Structure of Wood & Stone Grill on my subsequent visits there), but in this case, the proprietor had left a forwarding address. Yes, dear readers, the first important information that this 5-star reviewer will impart to you is that Kris’s Chop House has moved from southern Cary, near the mall, to northern Cary, near the sewer plant. Kris’s Ruthless Restaurant is now located in a quaint new place called The Carburetor.

When I arrived at the new location, there were two teenage thugs standing outside. I cautiously inquired of one of them as to where I should park, and in response, the little snot tried to carjack me! He insisted that I hand over the keys. I shouted for assistance, and then the other little ruffian came over and explained that it was all OK, because the first little gangster was “Val A.”, and it was his job to do parking, and that he would take excellent care of my car and that I would surely get my car back after my meal. I composed myself and informed these little heathens that I was a 5-star reviewer and I was quite familiar with “Val A.” parking, but I just hadn’t realized what was going on and besides, I am always very nervous about turning my fine ’85 Skylark over to others who might not baby her the way I do. Val assured me that he would take care of my vehicle, and I could tell by the look on his face that he considered it a rare privilege to slide in behind the wheel of this fine machine. Things were looking up!

I was seated quickly and my caretaker (“Brandi” with an ‘i’) appeared soon after and took my drink order. This was when I learned that Mr. Tdo’s twenty bucks wasn’t going to go very far in this place. It turns out that a martini and an appetizer of ete prawns blanc ici pretty much blew the wad, with a buck left for Brandi and another for Val, in the hopes that he would wipe off the seat before returning my car. Oh, well, looks like I’ll be billing Admin Hyatt again, which means I’ll have to go through that long and involved expense justification process, and I’ll probably be audited again. But that, dear readers, is what a 5-star critic endures to bring you the low-down on the local fooderies.

The drink and appetizer were quite good, and for my main course (called sacre bleu in fancy restaurants like this one), I ordered the fillay minion du jury and paid extra to get the bon soir sauce. At this place, your main course doesn’t even include a side dish; you have to pay extra for that, too. Brandi asked if I would like some potatoes and allowed that they had three kinds: baked potatoes du pottage de tete, potatoes mayonnaise and potatoes Hog Rotten. I could not even imagine why anyone would order the latter, so I ordered the potatoes mayonnaise, which turned out to be fried potatoes, and, since Hyatt was paying, I splurged on some steamed asparagus, which turned out to be a vegetable.

The wine list was extensive and I pondered it for some time before finally ordering, mostly because I could not find any items on the list with single-digit prices. Finally, I asked Brandi what the house wine was, and she said it was a California vintage called “Nine Dollars”, so I just decided to order that good old standby from my favorite vintner (Lipton), “on the rocks, lightly sweetened and with a twist”.

While waiting for my food to arrive, I checked out the décor of the new location. I have to say, I liked what I saw. I have to admit that I found the old Kris’s restaurant rather frumpy and austere, the sort of thing that rich Republican men like. The new Kris’s is vibrant and refreshing in a Democrat-Green Party-Libertarian sort of way. Some of those old uptight cigar-smoking blowhards might like the old place better, but they’re probably not in touch with their feminine side the way I am.

The food was excellent (or Alouette). I already told you about the side dishes. The fillay minion was served without a bun, just like at Bistro in the Park Hotel (apparently that is the new fad, at least at the places that Wup Tdo frequents). After the unpleasant incident at the Bistro, I wasn’t about to get into it with Brandi about bringing a bun, but I did insists that I receive the ketchup and pickles that should accompany any burger, even dense ones such as this, and she seemed puzzled, although she finally did bring these items to me after a heated discussion with her boyfriend during which I clarified that what I was requesting was (and I had to repeat this three times before he correctly heard the right pronunciation) “condiments”.

I would have liked to have tried a dessert, but I knew I was going to have to put this meal on my Diners Club card, and having just bought Muffkins’s Christmas present, I was, frankly, a bit worried about hitting my credit ceiling (fortunately, this year I am giving Mother a homemade present. She always says she likes those best anyway, although whenever I visit, I have to ask her why my gifts aren’t displayed anywhere around here house. But I digress).

The washroom was splendid, with clean surfaces and better than average flushing power. It was one of those fancy places with an attendant who had a large collection of potions and performs the vital service of handing you a towel. This 5-star critic knows how to play this game, but unfortunately, as previously noted, I had pretty much maxed out my credit card, so I had to use my “emergency money” to tip this guy (meaning that he got the Vermont State Quarter that I had been saving…oh, well, I’ll just have to try to explain this to Hyatt. SIGH).

So, to “Kris’s Ruthless Chop House”, the really good restaurant that left me tapped out in spite of the twenty bucks from Mr. Tdo, I give FOUR AND ELEVEN FORTY-SECONDS STARS. I really love this place, but I can’t afford to go there for dinner very often. Confidential to Val A.: I intend to recommend this establishment to the Rotary Club for their monthly luncheon. I just thought I ought to warn you that not all the Rotarians are as fortunate as I am – several of them do NOT have full-size sedans.

The ratings explained:

FIVE STARS: The best, with bottled water (imported)
FOUR STARS: Very good, with domestic bottled water
THREE STARS: Pretty good, with recently changed fryer oil
TWO STARS: Sort of good, but the lettuce is all wilted
ONE STAR: Not too good, that might be a fly in the soup
NO STARS: The cook’s fly is open

Cary Politics food critic Oliver “Omnivore” Lard-Gourmand will soon be making his traditional holiday fruitcake for the Rotary Club Christmas Brunch (this involves a 3-pound pound cake, dried persimmons in brine, Gummie bears, sweet & sour calamari and acorns; write for recipe). He and Muffkins have their stockings hung by the chimney with care. Oliver hopes to have his credit card bills paid off by the end of 2005.

Well it's probably due to a cifferent cook but there is a Ruth's Chris in NY on Long Island that a lot of people like. The layout was great, the service was great, and most people loved the food. It must have been an off day there when me and my husband went. I found the steak bland. I forgot which steak I ordered, but it's usually a very tastey and juicey steak in other steak houses I go to. It needed more spice, but it was juicey, and it was cooked to how I like it; medium rare. I'm willing to try it again here in NC. Overall I'd say the visit there was incredible.

Restaurant experience got an A from me
Food got an A-