Dinner at the OK Corral

To celebrate one of my dear (see? I didn't call you "best") friend's birthday, a group of us went to Ruth Chris' Steakhouse. This place is known for great steaks, side dishes and for dinner, it looked a little romantic. The lights were set at low, our table was in a corner overlooking the freeway. It doesn't sound as nice but it really was a lovely place to eat.

I love having dinner with my friends. We are never at a loss for words, we jump from subject to subject and there is nothing better than sharing a good laugh over good food. Too bad the food wasn't as good as the company.

It started out promising. Appetizers were good. We shared the BBQ shrimp and calamari, oh, and the house bread they bring out is yummy, too! Salads and soup next. The lobster bisque is superb, according to the Bday Girl's hubby, as are the following salads: Caesar (made with Parmesan crisps), tomato, onion and blue cheese, and baby arugula with spinach, bacon, eggs and red onion. The portions were generous. As the Bday Girl stated, "..we should have stopped at the appetizers..."

When the steaks came out in their famous butter sizzle, I could hardly wait to cut into my rib eye, rare. It was tough despite all the fat surrounding the meat. Yes, rib eyes are fattier cuts but this had to have been a porker cow. There was gristle in the middle, too. The ends were a tad overdone, which I suppose I could have overlooked if the steak itself hadn't been a tough tire ringed in fat. The Bday Girl didn't fare much better. Her medium rare was medium well on the ends and medium in the middle. The server told us this happens when cooking the steaks sometimes but I didn't think we should have to buy that bull. For $50 dollar steaks, it should be cooked as we like since the price is premium. I guess the rest of the table had acceptable steaks but no one was raving. In fact, my other girlfriend said that the quality of the steak had gone down. Maybe we simply had a bad cow but for a dinner price tag of $400, that is not acceptable. The fresh veggie side dishes were good. The mashed potatoes barely tasted of garlic and the scalloped potatoes weren't thrilling either.

The manager took my steak off the bill after he told me that, "... he wished I'd told him sooner so he could replace my steak." Well, I didn't know my ENTIRE $50 steak was going to be crap. I kept hoping as I sawed away that it would improve, really I did.

Two things to point out, though. The busboy, Scott, was most excellent and helpful. He cleared a path for Scooter Girl as we left the restaurant. Nothing worse than having to dodge diners in the middle of their meal. The wines the server selected were nicely paired with the food.

P.S. I forgot to mention the cake! From KonaKakes - a mouthwatering confection of cake and frosting. We ordered the butter cake with hazelnut and macadamia, drizzled in homemade fresh caramel. It was the perfect ending to the evening. I had an evening full of shared laughter and fun with my good friends.