Kat's 9 Lives

To finish of this year's Dine LA Week, I really wanted to try Ruth's Chris. It is one of the steak houses I have been meaning to try. I have been Morton's, Mastro's, Turner New Zealand, Mon Amí Gabi, and more. What better time to give it a try than a $34 3-course menu. For those of you who are steak lovers, you know that the steak itself can be $30-$40 and then sides are another $7-$14.

For the appetizer, we all chose the Seared Ahi Tuna with Ginger & Vegetables. I was delightfully surprised at how generous the portion was. I wished there was a little more sauce. It was flavorful and paired well with a light shredded salad. I do agree with my friends, I think this was the best part of the meal.
If you come to a steak house, you should order steak! I don't know why anyone would choose the other options since it is the most worthwhile and what they are most famous for. We all chose the Petite Filet Mignon. I liked the garlic butter on a hot plate preparation. As always, I order my steak rare. It was a little cold in the center. The odd thing was that my steak was the only one that didn't bleed when everyone else's did and they had medium rare. I think my cut was very generous and not too fatty. It was tender, but we all agreed that it didn't truly feel like a filet mignon. I am not complaining really because come on, it is Dine LA week. This is pretty good quality for what you are paying, we were all wondering if the steak would be different if you just came here normally.
You can choose Garlic Mashed Potatoes or Creamed Spinach as the side. The mashed potatoes weren't too bad but kind of bland. I love the ones at Mastro's, but then again you pay $13-$14 for that. To me, the spinach was nicely done but lacked flavor. The ones at Lawry's are much better, but maybe it is their delicious special salt that gives it a kick.
I ordered Chocolate Sin Cake for my dessert. It is a combination of dark chocolate and espresso. At first I thought the flavor was overwhelming, but as I continued eating I started liking it more and more. The texture of the cake was very smooth, almost like a flourless cake. Each bite was packed full of chocolate decadence.Some of my friends ordered the Bread Pudding made in a tradition New Orleans style. I actually really like the crunchy outer texture, but I think bread pudding should be very soft and moist. It was drizzled with a Whiskey sauce that was nostalgic to what you get at Grand Lux. The bread pudding was almost 3x the size of the cake.
All in all the portions were extremely generous for a dine about menu, especially since their normal price is at least $$$. I was also disappointed that they didn't bring out the dessert with a candle when I specifically told them that it was my friend's birthday. What is up with all these places! Do they just not pay attention or just careless!?! I saw another table had a candle on their dessert, so that really upset me. Luckily I secretly got Dots cupcakes for my friend! Overall, I don't think I will come back here because there are MANY better steak houses around. Why bother returning to one that I have tried and didn't impress me all that much? I would recommend everyone to try it around dine about week, but not for the regular menu. Don't worry I will post better steak houses as I get to it!

Ruth's Chris