Bday/Vday Dinner: Ruth's Chris Steak House

So for my birthday/Valentine's Day (early cause the hubs has school on VDay) we went to Ruth's Chris Steak House. It's a weird name, but made sense once I looked it up.

Of course, it was a surprise, so I hadn't any idea where we were headed. Which is just how I like it.

Ohhhh goodness was it good. When we first got there, hubs said it looked like a Denny's, which was kind of true - it is deceiving from the outside. But once you get inside, it's all upscale steak house (upscale meaning $$$$).

We started out with wine, him picking the Chianti as usual, which prompted a Hannibal impersonation from me (not in front of the server, don't worry) and a Riejo for me. Next, the Veal Osso Buco (don't yell at me! I only ate it because I've never had it before! I'm sorry baby cows!):


Next we had the Caesar salad, which was great, since I don't usually have that. It's nice to have an old standby once in a while. I should note, all of the sides are served family-style with one serving two people. So it worked out nicely.

For entrees, we picked petite fillet, hubs deciding on the lobster tail with his:


We also got the broccoli and mashed garlic potatoes, which were fantastic. Hubs said they were the best potatoes he'd ever had. I said that's because the Buttertons made them.

The steaks are served on 500º plates, which keep the steaks nice and sizzling. I ordered mine medium-rare, because I was hovering in between donenesses (I know it's not a word), and the server said that if it was too rare, we could just slice it and lay it on the plate, and it would continue to cook. This was too much for us, it was like putting kids at a sand table. Science day at a fancy restaurant! But it really did work.
Oh, the Buttertons got a hold of the steaks too - all steaks are served in butter unless you ask for them without it. So I dipped my broccoli in the butter. Not going to let that go to waste.

On to the most memorable part - dessert (natch). I ordered the Caramelized Banana Cream Pie (swoon), and had it delivered with a little candle. No singing, no made-up Birthday jingle, just a fantastic dessert. Perfect.


Ooooh it was fantastic. Two thumbs up. But it's a once-a-year thing, as it broke the bank.

Oh and also way too tempting, as this was next door: