Ruth Chris Steak House

This chain is coming to Knoxville. We do not have a high end steak place. I have dined there many times over the years but it was always on the company dime. I am not sure I can do it much any more since I am on my own nickle.

I recall that their sides were huge as well as their price.

It has been a few years since I have been there and I do not recall the quality of their product or service.

Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

I love Ruth's Chris. I like the strip, the cowboy ribeye, the lamb chops, and the veal chop with peppers. I like the creamed spinach and the sauteed spinach with the steaks, the asparagus with the lamb chops, and lyonnaise potatoes with the veal chop. I don't do salads or appetizers.

ok-- i have to ask since there is one opening soon right near me...just how expensive is this place??? my husband talks about how good the food is but i haven't heard anything about the prices other than they are a little on the high side...
please let me know -- so i can start saving my pennies before this one actually is open for business....
thanks ...
jersey girl

Its very expensive Jerseygirl,but no worse than any other premium steakhouse.It varies regionally but I would say in NJ figure 35-40 per steak.Side orders 5-12,but its often said they can feed multiple people.
I rarely go there because one time I had some issues with a steak I got.It was a NY strip,cooked to order and tasted good,but it had a big knot in the middle of it.I asked that it be replaced but the manager said there was nothing wrong with it.("looks medium to me,sir"). Then when the waiter found out I was paying with a gift certificate,he disappeared for a half hour,probably thought I wasnt going to tip.This was pretty much a wasted 125$ meal (for two) for me but I have heard enough praise for the chain overall that I would go again-but to a different store.And for the record,the offending store I wont go back to is in Pikesville Maryland.It was Christmas (or Hanukah) season and they were pretty busy,but even so it was just plain bad staff performance.

Filets are not Prime. Read the menu carefully.

Those chains also tend to be all a la carte, which is nice in a way because you can put exactly what you want to eat together, but also tends to run up the bill when your potato is $10 and your salad is $10, etc. It's not hard to drop a couple hundred dollars for two, even without drinks. But now there's also a tier of steak and chop houses, usually in very big cities, with pricing even above Ruth's Chris and Morton's. I always envision my dad walking in, looking at the menu, and walking out. :)

With steak or chops and one side, plus drinks it usually costs me around $70 plus tip to get out of a Ruth's Chris.

I am glad that they chose to come to Knoxville but I seldom visit them due to the price. I have ate there several times but was always on the company nickle.. The sides are huge and the steak was great but it is expensive for me.

Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

thanks for the info-- seems i'll need to save more than my pennies!!! maybe a VERY VERY special occassion (SP?) would be worth the trip-- can't imagine dropping that much on a dinner-- without drinks even.. that's insane....
thanks..
jersey

quote:

Originally posted by signman

Filets are not Prime. Read the menu carefully.

that's right! And you were the one that first enlightened me about that, signman.

quote:

Originally posted by Michael Hoffman

With steak or chops and one side, plus drinks it usually costs me around $70 plus tip to get out of a Ruth's Chris.

and the service was a little snobby when I went to the AC one...
they gave me such a sneer when I tried to order just some "regular ice water".

Ellen
The Snobby attitude of the Servers is what turned me OFF to ever going back to Morton's of Chicago (the Louisville store of the chain). The Steaks were very good, but the attitude of the waitstaff was one of real Arrogance. He obviously figured us for being 'beneath his dignity' for some reason, while he pampered a neighboring table with extra's and more attention than a surgeon on the job. Our tab was about $175 for the dinner for two and a couple of bar drinks (no wine). I tipped, but I gritted my teeth when I did it. That person did NOT deserve a gratuity and I should have stiffed him. The negative experience I had that night soured me on the Chain totally. No repeated tries for Morton's from me.

See, now my gf and I wandered into one totally not knowing what we were doing when we first started dating, and the server went out of their way to make us feel at home, even though we were clearly out of our league. (They have crumb scrapers, for chrissake.) That was a Morton's in Cincinnati. That was a lovely meal.

I wrote pretty extensively about my experience at the AC Ruth's Chris; I, too, was really turned off by the attitude. Overall the meal was OK. But I won't go back. I have no problem spending money on dining, but I also expect to get my money's worth, and that means no extra helping of snotty attitude from the server.
[url='http://www.roadfood.com/Forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=14853&SearchTerms=ruth's,chris']Link to previous discussion.[/url]

Things like this are always franchise dependent; the next one you try might be completely opposite. But I get a feeling that many franchises operate the same way. Just a feeling I get.

Tom

Tom,
I get the feeling that it is a social status thing for the 'Help'. Maybe even part of the training program to have the staff "educate" the customer in the aspects of "Fine" dining as opposed to Outback's "buddy system". I prefer the geniune feeling that the help wants you to be satisfied (within reason).

Recently we took Sundancer to HUBER'S FAMILY FARM Restaurant near us here in Indiana. granted it is NOT Fine dining, but a nice clean chicken serving restaurant....But what made the meal extra-special for us was a simple statement by our waitress during her repeated trips to the kitchen for more of this and that... We had commented on the number of trips she made for us, to which She said " You came in hungry, and I aim to feed you". Simple but a great attitude to have to make the customer feel welcome.

I have always been pleased with Ruth Chris. My steaks have been to order, the sides were huge and I always shared and the service was exactly what it was suppose to be with a high end steak place.

Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

I'm amazed at how Ruth Chris & Morton's stay in business. As witnessed by these comments, they are universally known for being overpriced and providing questionable service. So what's the deal? I guess it's snob appeal and people being able to say they ate there

Foodbme- For the same reason that Hummer dealers are still in business and Bottled Water has become the universal H2O for people..etc etc. It is the "You Get What You Pay For" Attitude gone Mad !! You can get some decent food at less expensive places, but there is a strong economic segment of the population that wants, errr, DEMANDS to be treated "better" than regular folks. And they have the bucks to back up their demands.

I've been to Ruth Chris one time in Ft. Lauderdale I believe. It must have been over 20 years ago. I was shocked at the prices then. Someone mentioned $35-40 nowdays for a steak with no sides, seems like it was about $30 way back then.

quote:

Originally posted by Foodbme

I'm amazed at how Ruth Chris & Morton's stay in business. As witnessed by these comments, they are universally known for being overpriced and providing questionable service. So what's the deal? I guess it's snob appeal and people being able to say they ate there

I've never had anything but excellent service at Ruth's Chris and Morton's, and I certainly don't think either place is overpriced. Are they fairly expensive? Of course. But that doesn't translate to overpriced.

quote:

Originally posted by Michael Hoffman

quote:

Originally posted by Foodbme

I'm amazed at how Ruth Chris & Morton's stay in business. As witnessed by these comments, they are universally known for being overpriced and providing questionable service. So what's the deal? I guess it's snob appeal and people being able to say they ate there

I've never had anything but excellent service at Ruth's Chris and Morton's, and I certainly don't think either place is overpriced. Are they fairly expensive? Of course. But that doesn't translate to overpriced.

I've taken Clients there because that's where they want to go, but I've never seen or experienced a price - value relationship there. I've had as good or better food & service elseware for the same or less cost. To each his own.

Getting ready to open one here in Myrtle Beach....
It will be in a "ritzy"--(if you can call it that), area....
The Grande Dunes... I think in 2008.

-------------------------------------------------------
I guess they are opening a few in South Carolina.

http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=190038&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=797946&highlight

This is an article for the one opening in Columbia.

http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/news/local/story/149876.html

I think Ruth Chris will do super in Knoxville as they located within walking distance to the University of Tennesse Stadium and they are right on the water. Beautiful location with an abundance of restaruant traffic.

Knoxville does not have a first class steak place but now they will.

Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

I am not much of a steak eater, but I think Ruth's Chris is very good. And I have always had really good service, too. But, at that price, I wouldn't put up with bad service.

My girlfriend tells me the best salmon she has ever had was from Ruth's Chris.

The greatest Ruth's Chris for location is in Weehawken NJ, right across the Hudson River overlooking the NYC skyline. I had a dinner there one New Year's Eve. Everything was memorable, the food, the skyline, the celebration.

quote:

Originally posted by Al-The Mayor-Bowen


Ellen
The Snobby attitude of the Servers is what turned me OFF to ever going back to Morton's of Chicago (the Louisville store of the chain). The Steaks were very good, but the attitude of the waitstaff was one of real Arrogance. He obviously figured us for being 'beneath his dignity' for some reason, while he pampered a neighboring table with extra's and more attention than a surgeon on the job. Our tab was about $175 for the dinner for two and a couple of bar drinks (no wine). I tipped, but I gritted my teeth when I did it. That person did NOT deserve a gratuity and I should have stiffed him. The negative experience I had that night soured me on the Chain totally. No repeated tries for Morton's from me.

yes! I'll have a steak, and hold the attitude, please!!
I hear you about "gritting your teeth" as you gave a tip.
I even have business type cards that say "the tip would be bigger if the service was better". I rarely have used them, cause the times I really wanted to, I never seem to have one on me.
But it sounds like your food server at Morton's deserved one of those cards!!!

(and I'm speaking as someone who works for tips also, and really cares)

Ironically, when I've been to the Palm Steakhouse in AC about 5 times, I have always got treated nicely there. The snobbiness was'nt there. The difference between them and Ruth Chris, AC, was like night and day.

And that would bother me, too, like you said, about seeing the food server fussing so much over the other party nearby. I want some nice attention , too!

I haven't been to one in 10 yrs, in North Miami, but then it was $45.00 per steak, side items like mashed potatoes were an additional $8.95. I remember because up til then , it was the most I had ever spent on a steak. W/O drinks, well soda, it was about $75 per person plus tip. I say it was worth it. First of all, they were prime steaks. Everything was delicious. The service was exemplary. Waiters stood in the background, anticipating your every whim. The price is comparable to the other Prime steakhouses.
per wikipedia
The restaurant's signature is serving USDA prime steaks that are seared at 1800° Fahrenheit[12] (982.2°C[13]) and served on plates heated to 500° Fahrenheit (260°C). One ounce (30 g) of butter is added just before the plates leave the kitchen in order to cause the meat to sizzle.[14] One criticism often levied against the restaurant is that there is an overuse of butter. As one food critic observed: "But one wonders if this is not a bit like the emperor's new clothes. The prime steaks come from conventionally raised beef and are seasoned with iodized salt and preground pepper. They're cooked -- in a flash -- from a cold state, and not allowed to rest. It's a method many chefs would question." [15] In addition to steaks, the restaurant also serves entrees of lamb, fish and shellfish.[16]

Main entree prices, ranging typically from $20 to $40, are for the dish itself and do not include any appetizers, salads or side dishes. The side dishes are served a la carte, priced at an average of $8.00. Portions are generally large enough to serve two or more diners. Of particular repute are the au gratin potatoes, topped with a bechamel sauce and cheddar cheese. Also available are dessert selections, also priced at an average of $8.00, with the restaurant's signature pecan pie being a staple item throughout the chain.[17]

All locations offer smaller, separate rooms for private dining[18] as well as a gift card program.[19] Reservations (available online) are recommended and the dress code is business casual.[20]

What do the numbers 12-20 in brackets in your post represent??

This is on topic, so I will post it. Las Vegas Health District report in the Las Vegas Review Journal 8/8/07

Ruth's Chris Steakhouse lounge
3900 Paradise Road
37 demerits for a C grade

I guess the moral would be: don't have a drink in the lounge.

quote:

Originally posted by Al-The Mayor-Bowen
What do the numbers 12-20 in brackets in your post represent??

They are the footnote numbers on the Wikepedia web page for Ruth's Chris (link below).

Thanks,

Kevin


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruth%27s_Chris