Ruth Chris

          For Christmas my brother-in-law got me a gift card for Ruth Chris so I figured that would be a nice place for a Valentines dinner.  We made reservations for the weekend before Valentines Day at 6 PM.  When we arrived we were asked if we wanted to check our coats but it was freezing outside and pretty cold inside so we decided to keep them just in case.  The atmosphere was nice but it was very dimly lit and there were lights burnt out all over the place.
          We were seated and placed our drink order while we looked at the menu.  For our appetizers my wife got the Crabtini and I got the scallop dish.  The Crabtini was a chilled metal martini glass filled with lump crab meat tossed in a vinaigrette and a remoulade sauce.  The sweetness of the crab with the acidity of the vinaigrette topped with the hint of spice from the remoulade was just perfect.  The dish wasn't over sauced and they really let the flavor of the crab come through.  The scallops were simple but delicious.  There were three huge sea scallops seared on each side in a pan with a pesto sauce topped with shaved carrots.  The scallops were a perfect medium rare and melt in your mouth tender.  The sweetness of the scallop with the perfect amount of basil, garlic and pine nuts in the pesto were a huge success.
          Everything that is ordered at Ruth Chris is a la carte so for our vegetable we ordered the Ruth Jumbo Chop Salad, it looked a lot smaller in the picture.  We could have easily shared this but we each got one not knowing how big it was.  This was one of the best side salads I have ever had.  This salad had everything you expect in a salad lettuce, cucumber, onion, etc. but some surprises like radicchio and hearts of palm.  The dressing for this salad was a blue cheese lemon basil dressing, I don't like blue cheese but it all paired together well with the ingredients in the salad.  Everything mixed so well I don't even know how to explain it. All I have to say is this is a can't miss if you go to Ruth Chris.
          Now on to the entrees, we each got the surf and turf which was a 7oz fillet and an 8oz lobster tail.  For our starch with dinner we got the garlic mashed potatoes.  Our meals came out and the steaks were cooked perfect, mine was medium rare and my wife got it cooked medium.  I couldn't have been happier with the steaks, they too were melt in your mouth tender, you almost didn't need a knife.  The lobster tail however was a different story.  The lobster was way overcooked and rubbery.  It was very bland, all the butter and lemon in the world wasn't bringing it back to life at all.  The mashed potatoes were good but nothing you couldn't make at home.
          Would I go back?  Probably not.  Don't get me wrong most of the food was really good but after the tip the total come to $185.  I could make that meal at home for eight people and probably not spend that much money.  The atmosphere had a business like look to it and not the kind of place you take a date.  You could eat at Spoon, Salt and Ave B and have money left over compared to what we spent.  If I didn't have a gift card I probably wouldn't have went here because I knew what the prices were like.  You want a great steak?  Make it at home and save some money.  You want to impress someone by picking up a huge check this is the place for you.

Overall  8 of 10

Food 8.5 of 10

Service 9 of 10

Price 4 of 10

Ruth Chris

6 PPG Pl

Pittsburgh, PA 15222