Bessie-A-Thon

Tonight was a Jim night, being that we went to Ruth's Chris Steakhouse, a national steakhouse chain. It's one of those ridiculously overpriced places where you're paying as much for the service as for the actual food itself. But we had a $100 gift certificate to use, so it ended up being an (almost) free meal. Due to Jim's working tonight, the bill was sans alcohol, so before tip, we managed to keep it just under $100.

To start, Jim ordered the crab-stuffed mushrooms instead of the crab cakes. He said he wanted to mix it up, but it's been just under a year since we last went, so I'm not even sure that constitutes a change. Even though they were tasty, it was clear that he preferred crab cakes.

What we both liked was the bread, but then again, when do we not? Their bread was warm and toasted, but very soft and fluffy on the inside. It was plain french bread, so it lacked slightly in flavor (since I greatly prefer sourdough any day of the week), but the texture was absolutely exquisite. Plus it came with whipped butter, which for whatever reason, is about five million times better than plain. Jim was all about the butter.

For the main course, Ruth's Chris actually has a vegetarian entree on the menu. Usually steakhouses have a vegetable plate that they'll put together for me, but it's not listed. Plus this is actually a really good entree at an extremely reasonable price. I remember at Delmonico's in Vegas, my veggie plate was $34.95! I was completely outraged. So $19.95 is a bargain in comparison. Portobello mushrooms are grilled and topped on a bed of garlic mashed potatoes, with grilled button mushrooms, asparagus, tomatoes, and steamed broccoli on the sides. The dish is actually really delicious and surprisingly filling. I ordered it without the lemon butter unlike last time, and I liked it much better that way. I was able to eat more and not feel as full. Their garlic mashed potatoes are to die for. I'm a huge fan of mashed potatoes any day of the week, but theirs are extra creamy and smooth with just the right amount of garlic. And I love mushrooms. I could eat grilled portobellos plain. I'll eat any broiled/baked mushroom, but portobellos are definitely up there on the list.

Jim got what he always gets: filet mignon. This place brings their steaks out on 500 degree sizzling plate. Tonight was the first time the waiter didn't cut into the steak to make sure it was perfectly done, but luckily for Jim, it was. I thought it was bigger than usual, but Jim didn't agree. He ate the whole thing without cutting out any fat. For as much as Jim loves Bessie, he is very picky about cutting off the gristle. That's why he always gets the filet mignon, because it has so little extra fat. Last time we ate there, he had to cut off a pretty decent sized chunk of fat, but not tonight. It was completely gone. So that was a good sign.

We also ordered two side dishes, which are meant to be shared. I wanted the sweet potato casserole and Jim wanted the creamed spinach. I've never eaten creamed spinach before and it didn't sound good, but I was game to try it. Maybe it was my negative predisposition, but I ate one bite and put the rest on Jim's plate. It was gooey, flavorless, and mushy. Yuck. But apparently it's just me not liking creamed spinach, cuz Jim happily ate what I gave him and then some. The sweet potatoes were an entirely different story, though. Sweet and silky with a crunchy, caramelized topping of pecans, butter, and brown sugar, they were hands down the best sweet potatoes I have ever eaten. I've never actually ordered them at a restaurant before, but I have tried several different recipes over the years and never truly enjoyed the results. The dish was absolutely exquisite. Even Jim loved it, which says a lot--he doesn't like nuts very much.

The only bummer was that our waitress really wasn't that good in comparison to the stellar service we've come to expect from the place. We're hardly regulars--this is our third time at a Ruth's Chris and we've only been to this one in Walnut Creek, but every time we've gone, the service has been impeccable. And with the exception of our waitress, it was. The bus boy cleared the table promptly and cleaned it off in record time. The water guy cheerfully kept up with our camel-like drinking habits and chatted with us. The manager came over twice to make sure things were okay. And then our waitress kind of disappeared. We certainly weren't neglected with everyone else paying attention, but it would have been nice for her to have been a little more on top of things. It wasn't bad service on her part by far. It just wasn't exceptional, which is where they've set the bar.

Anyway, we had further reservations for dessert at Bing Crosby's right down the street (double up on the Open Table points!), which I was super excited about because I have been dying to try the creme brulee quartet. I had already forgotten how ridiculously slow Bing's service is, and had we not been in somewhat of a hurry, I wouldn't have minded, but it took freaking forever for the guy to come take our order. I've been curious about drinking coffee with dessert, so Jim humored me and ordered a cup.

I really wish I had brought my camera, because the serving platter was adorable and perfectly arranged. Each cup had a different flavor: vanilla, caramel, blood orange, and pistachio. They were grouped in two diagonal lines, with a 1 x 4 inch piece of peanut brittle between between the two rows and a second piece on the right end of the platter. I ranked them as 1) pistachio, 2) caramel, 3) vanilla, and 4) blood orange. Jim picked 1) vanilla, 2) caramel, 3) pistachio, and 4) blood orange. The orange flavor actually tasted a little fake to me and didn't really marry well with the custard texture. And the caramelized topping had some sort of flakes on top that weren't very good. That's not to say that the dish was bad. It just wasn't great. The vanilla one was a little sweeter than I preferred and the egginess came through the strongest, which is why it was #3 for me. Jim loves all things vanilla, so I wasn't surprised that it was his #1. I love pistachio and it was so different, and so I picked that as my favorite. Jim (despite what he always claims) is not crazy about nuts, so I expected it to not be his favorite. As for the caramel, that was an extremely close second for me. It wasn't as sweet as the vanilla and had a very mellow, subtle caramel flavor that lent itself well to the overall richness of the dessert. And the peanut brittle was amazing. Not sweet and not too rich, it was very simple and the roasted peanut flavor shone through. I'm not sure it went with the creme brulee, but it was definitely good.

The whole dessert at Bing's may have to become a tradition. There are still several other choices that I want to try. But coffee with dessert? Never again. I think it's official: I don't like coffee.

On the upside, I think we know where to take Jim's mom for her birthday.