More Meat for Mike

I spent last weekend in Alabama counting DVDs. Prior to leaving, I was not looking forward to trip in the least. Then I found out that there was a Ruth's Chris Steak House in the Embassy Suites that I was staying at. This new information made the prospects of spending a weekend in the dirty south a little more bearable because Ruth's Chris was one of the steak houses I still needed to cross off my list.

It turns out that Ruth's Chris was nothing special. Definitely not the highlight of the trip as anticipated. The highlight was actually balancing on a forklift platform 50 feet in the air trying to count DVDs while the little Mexican lady who was driving me around began to share the sordid details of her life story with me after the plant foreman told her that I spoke Spanish. I almost fell off the platform when she started complaining about how she just found out that she was pregnant again and would now have to stop smoking, drinking, and cocaine. Funny how she nonchalantly slipped cocaine in there.

But back to the topic at hand. Ruth's Chris was just average in my opinion. I had the fillet and it was nothing to get excited about. The potatoes au gratin were not good, and the chocolate sin cake was actually gross. I think they should change the name to chocolate sin pudding because the only resemblance to cake was the shape. After thinking about it a little more I am begining to wonder if my experience may have been tainted by the fact that it was in Alabama. I wonder if the Ruth's Chris in LA would be any better? My preliminary assessment is probably not that much better.

So here are my updated rankings on the steak houses I have visited. Essentially it is Mastro's and then there is everybody else. Not even close.

1. Mastro's - Heaven on Earth. I don't think anything will ever compare. I am trying to keep an open mind though. It will be tough to beat the bone-in fillet or the bone-in rib eye combined with the succulent stuffed mushrooms.
2. Boa - Mainly due to the Ocean Avenue location.
3. Morton's - Ranked above Ruth's Chris because of the delicious happy hour burgers.
4. Ruth's Chris - Will get the job done if you are stranded in the dirty dirty and are looking for a decent steak.
5. Nick and Stef's - Their specialty of dry aging the beef was not my cup of tea.
6. Daily Grill - The best thing about the Daily Grill is the walking distance between the Brokeback Mansion and one of their many locations. Plus I have never had to wait for a table.
7. The Palm - I don't really know what to say about the Palm. The drawings on the wall were cute I guess. The steak was gross.
8. The Hitching Post II - Made famous by the film Sideways, not by their BBQ grill style steak.

Still on my list of places to try is the new Cut steak house that recently opened. Preliminary reports indicate that Mastro's is still better but that the ambiance is really great.