Saturday, June 07, 2008

 

Clark vs. Ruth

For those that felt my recent trip to Clark's Fish Camp was a little too Survivorman. I don't watch Man vs Wild because he fakes it. Survivorman doesn't fake anything. He even does his own stunts and camera work.
If you prefer you dinner menu didn't look like a zoo brochure, then lets go the other end. Let's go high class. Let's go back to December.
What could make Jason dress up and wear a tie? Well obviously you didn't notice Courtney across the table from me, and how the heck could you not notice her?!?
Almost 2 years ago, Courtney and I were discussing fine dining. I happen to enjoy getting dressed up and going out for a good dinner with all the knives and forks and spoons and glasses etc. I find it to be like a puzzle or a game with intricate rules. Courtney said she'd never really done the formal dining thing. So my present to her last Christmas was to take her out for a fancy dinner.
She told me the only place she knew of in Jacksonville like that was Ruth's Chris Steakhouse. My jaw hit the floor. I'd heard for years about Ruth's Chris but never had a chance to go. Let's face it, Macon defines "fine dining" as cloth napkins instead of paper. The closest Ruth's to Macon was in Atlanta. I made our reservations the next afternoon (in October).
Courtney's Christmas present to me was, among other things, the clothes I wore to Ruth's. She and I both agreed that my selection of clothes wouldn't do.
We stopped off in the lounge prior to dinner as they prepared our table. Our waiter was William. William was fun and very good at his job. Right off he asked if we'd ever been to Ruth's before, to which we replied "No." William lit up, and he took a deep breath. This is the moment they live for. They give to give the full song and dance as they sing the praises of Ruth's. (They don't really sing.) If you ever go, be sure to let them tell you ALL about the place. Here are a few highlights:
"USDA Prime" is the top 2% of beef in the US. This is not a high enough standard for Ruth's. They only use the top 1%.
They cook their steaks in a freakishly hot (1800 degree) oven and serve them on a 500 degree plate. William told us NOT to touch the pate because they would burn us instantly. He said if our plate is not placed exactly where we like to ask him and he'd move it. He then produced his cute little finger tip hot pot holders. "That's why they give me these!"
As a side note, my fork slid under the edge of my plate at one point and as I reached for it, I bumped my finger against the plate. William was not kidding! It hurt bad. I think I even heard it sizzle. Courtney saw me flinch and immediately told on me. "William! Jason's touching his plate!!" (Tattle Tale!)
It was the greatest steak I ever had in my life. Looking across the table at Courtney her eyes were glazed over a bit as I think she'd been transported to another planet. We got a side of garlic mashed potatoes and sauteed mushrooms. The poor things were ignored for almost 10 minutes as Courtney and I couldn't pull ourselves from our steak. It was only when my mouth was full and nothing else would fit in and I HAD to put down my knife and fork, that I managed to take this picture:

Please stop licking your computer screen!
A word of advice: When you order side dishes, they are sized to serve two or three people. "Homestyle" as they say. Obviously they can't place the mushrooms on your 500 degree plate beside your steak or they'd be crispy mushroom nuggets before they get to your table.
There was enough food left over that we took a doggy bag home. Somehow Courtney managed to leave a little steak, and there were plenty of mushrooms and mashed potatoes. Those wound up being breakfast the next morning.
To give you an idea of how good the food was, the microwave reheated steak was the second best steak I have ever had. The potatoes and mushrooms were amazing too, and I'll be the first to tell you that sauteed mushrooms do not usually reheat well. They usually turn into rubber.
In the name of full disclosure though I think it's only fair to post this picture
The person who'd clued me in to Ruth's many years ago also told me it would likely be the most expensive dinner I ever bought. I think Courtney picked up the tab for the drinks (I don't really recall) but including our drinks, dinner easily blew through the $100 mark, not including the tip, and William earned a nice tip! The few people I have told about the cost of dinner freak out. Of course they didn't taste the steak. They didn't get to spend an hour or so across the table from Courtney. I consider that meal a bargain. I had actually set aside $150 for dinner. And I'd do it again in a heartbeat.
When I returned to Wilmington after Christmas break, one of my coworkers told me that Wilmington was getting a Ruth's. She'd heard about it a long time back but didn't make the name connection til I had said something. In one of those strange coincidences, the Wilmington Ruth's Chris is opening across the street from where I teach downtown. I've been able to walk to my classroom window and look down 5 floors to see its progress.
I seriously doubt I'll regularly "pop across the street" for lunch, but I have seriously thought of going when they finally open later this summer. Somehow I don't think it will be quite as satisfying without Courtney along. I mean the steak was amazing, but not THAT amazing.
Krystal Lovers like it steamy.

# posted by JasonJ1052 @ 2:40 PM
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