Ruth's Chris Steakhouse. Palm Desert

74-740 Hwy 111, Palm Desert, CA 92260

760-779-1998

Hours of Operation:

Monday to Thursday 5:00pm - 10:00pm

Friday 5:00pm - :30pm

Saturday 4:30pm - :30pm

Sunday 4:00pm - 9:30pm

Complimentary Valet parking and self parking. Private Dining, Gift cards. Reservations recommended.

THE ROOM:

I have to talk a little about the amazing success of this restaurant chain. Well over 40 years ago, after a divorce, Ruth Fertel was working as a Lab Tech at Tulane Medical Center when she saw an ad for Chris's Steak House in New Orleans. She bought it and suvived hurricanes and tough times to produce one of the world's largest fine dining companies with restaurants all over the United States as well as Canada, Aruba, Mexico, Japan, Taiwan and Hong Kong. The food is consistently good, the decor upscale, the service excellent and the experience divine. The Palm Desert location is no exception and is always busy so I recommend a reservation especially during the season.

THE FOOD:

The signature dishes of Ruth's Chris Steak House are the steaks. You can select a filet, a petite filet, a ribeye, a cowboy filet (bone in), a New York, a T-bone or a Porterhouse for two. Lobster, shrimp, chicken, fresh seafood, lamb chops, and a veal chop are also on the menu. Appetizers available range from a lobster bisque and a Louisiana seafood gumbo to crab cakes, mushrooms stuffed with crab and a crabtini. Shrimp coctail, barbequed shrimp, seared ahi and a veal Osso Buco ravioli are other choices.  The salad selection is large with sliced tomatoes and onions, a caprese, classic Caesar, classic lettuce wedge, chopped salad, and a baby arugula. Sides are a la carte. There are eight different preparations of potatoes and eight different vegetables to choose from. Ken and I split the sliced tomatoes and onion salad that was topped with blue cheese crumbles (there was lots of blue cheese) and dressed with a light vinaigrette. Shamedly I ordered the Cowboy Ribeye (dreams of leftovers the next day) with shoestring potatoes and creamed spinach. The steak was more than enough for several meals not to mention all the a la carte choices I made. The steak was excellent and the shoetsring potatoes really are my favorite. They are seasoned perfectly, light and crunchy.  I had to taste the creamed spinach and it was velvety smooth. I am embarassed to say but I have never made creamed spinach but I try it wherever I go. Ken had the fresh catch of the day which was a sea bass. I think that may be the only fish left in the sea now, however, it had a wonderfully delicate mild flavor. Ort bags were a must and we did get to enjoy this meal again.

THE SERVICE:

The restaurant runs an efficient organization. We were a little annoyed with how long it took to get our drinks in the bar but it was a very busy Friday night. Once we we shown to our table the service was excellent.

I have a rule of thumb for any restaurant. If your service is going to be slow because you are short staffed or super busy just make sure your patrons have their beverages as soon as possible......they will be a lot happier after a glass or two of wine and not be as easily irritated by a perceived lack of service. At least in my case it holds true.

RATINGS;

Food: ***                                     Cost: $$$$