When B first told me, “We’re going to San Francisco and Napa Valley for our 5 year anniversary,” I reflected upon how, coincidentally, this would be my 5th time in the Bay Area, and how I was going to bento shop and eat like a demon. I’m much more food oriented than B, so I was pretty surprised when he said, “Oh, and the first night we’re there, we have reservations at House of Prime Rib.”
I confess, I started laughing and told him to stop joking. The name evoked images of IHOP – the International House of Pancakes – and I just couldn’t take it seriously. After some research (read: asking a few people in San Francisco about the place, and starting a “Talk Topic” on Serious Eats asking for recommendations), I discovered that okay, it’s not a place to laugh at, it’s actually quite well-liked. Fine. I reared in my preconception based on something silly like a name and put my game face on. We were going to dinner with his close friend & coworker, MM and his girlfriend, Spoon, who I believe both knew I’m pretty serious about my food.
MM & Spoon are pretty serious about their wine, and brought a bottle with them. Unfortunately, I can’t remember the name or anything about it, since I refrained from drinking for the most part (expecting the boys to get a bit… wild, I wanted to stay clear-headed so I could do the explaining when the police came… hahaha), but I do know we were charged a $20 corkage fee. I admit I don’t often bring my own wine anywhere, but that seemed a bit high, when I do recall a few corkage fees in NYC being like… $5. I also didn’t like the fact that though the waiter brought a decanter and kindly decanted our red wine for us, he poured the wine into our glasses immediately after decanting. Dude. Let it breathe. What’s the point of a decanter if you’re not going to breathe the wine?
In any case, the way the menu is set up at HoPR is basically you order what size prime rib you want. They have some other stuff on the menu – I believe a fish dish – but it’s pretty much a set menu in that with your order, you get salad, a choice of creamed spinach or creamed corn, Yorkshire pudding, choice of mashed or baked potato.
After you’ve ordered, the waiter comes over and prepares a giant bowl of salad in front of you. It’s pretty much a showy event – the metal bowl nestled in a larger bowl of ice, which the waiter spins as he pours in the vinaigrette and tosses it all together.
The salad itself was only alright. The dressing didn’t taste like much, and the beets put off my boyfriend. I ate it all though because I knew this was not going to be a vegetable heavy trip, so I needed to get it where I could. I didn’t feel like the veggies were the freshest – not exactly limp or wilted – but just not that fresh. Meh.
After we were done with our salads, this guy comes around with his cart and slices the steak in front of us, to the specifications we’d previously indicated.
This is my “city cut”, slightly smaller for smaller appetites, with mashed potatoes and creamed spinach. I probably could have eaten the regular cut, but my body was telling me it was way past midnight (back in NYC, it was) and I couldn’t work up the energy to eat a larger steak.
I’d ordered my cut to be medium rare, and it came as such. I found the meat adequately tasty; this is my favorite cut of steak (though I do generally pan sear it and finish in the oven or grill it, I haven’t yet made an entire roast since I haven’t had any occasion to do so) and it’d be pretty hard to really screw it up. To do it well though; to roast a rack of prime rib to perfection, where the meat flavor shines through prominently, and the meat just melts in your mouth beautifully… that is an art that was not apparent here. I emphasize, it was not bad, it just wasn’t orgasmically delicious. It probably didn’t help that I was falling asleep in my plate, though (I always strive to be honest here. I’m not going to lie and tell you that everyone will feel the same way; I am here simply to express my opinion and how I felt about any given food; whether you choose to agree with me or ignore me is not something I feel is much of my business. Though if you do wind up agreeing with me on any given place, I do like hearing about it, positive or negative!).
The creamed spinach was fairly standard as well, again chopped spinach and not whole spinach mixed in as I like. The mashed potatoes were good, not lumpy at all, but very standard, quality that is to be expected from a restaurant of this kind and price point.
BF ordered the English cut, which is thinner slices “because some people think it tastes better thinner” – BF simply does not like huge honkin’ pieces of meat. He’s not that big on meat in general actually, but that’s a story for another time (probably when I complain about a dish I’ve made that he pushed all the meat to one side…). He also ordered mashed potatoes and…
Creamed corn. I tried some of this and was not impressed. It was hard and not very tasty. BF admitted that it had been better the last time he’d been there (earlier this year, while on a business trip).
MM ordered the regular (which I did not photograph), and as one of his sides, he chose the baked potato. Had I know I could get it FULLY LOADED like he did (this option is not listed on the menu), I totally would have! I’m not always into baked potatoes because it’s a lot of work, and if I’m only getting sour cream and butter, sometimes that just isn’t worth that work for me. He had his topped with sour cream, bacon, scallions, and possible cheese underneath all that, I forget now. It looked absolutely delicious though and I was really, really jealous.
The Yorkshire pudding was last, placed atop each of our steak pieces. I thought in England, pudding means cake, but apparently, Yorkshire pudding is this floppy/gloppy sad mushy bread. I took one bite to try it but it really did not appeal whatsoever. Meh.
At the last minute, MM snuck off to inform the waiters that it was B’s birthday (well, over a month and a half ago). So they brought out this cake with candle, sang happy birthday to him, and left us to eat it. I didn’t try any because I think I had my head down on the table and was taking a nap (we proceeded to a jazz club directly after, and I needed an energy boost), but BF seemed to think it was only okay as he offered it around the table and didn’t eat much of it (when he likes something, he makes it known by inhaling it so fast you can’t even reach over to take a little bite).
Yvo says: Was it fun? Sure. Would I go back again? Maybe, if other people wanted to try it, but I don’t think I’d seek it out. I would definitely get a loaded baked potato next time though!!! Our entire meal clocked in at just under $300 for four people (with a $20 corkage fee, and no other drinks). I admit also that I am extremely picky about my steak now – once I discovered the secret to cooking the best steak in the world (start with the best meat! let the meat shine, a bit of salt & pepper is enough! flame kissed, not flame-engulfed! etc. and MORE), it became incredibly difficult for me to get behind going to steakhouses at all. Yes, I’m picky like that.
I guess it’s recommended, good experience, food was sufficiently tasty, but I wouldn’t seek it out
SF 2k8 previously:
Bi-Rite Creamery
King of Thai Noodle House
Melissa Good Taste says
Yum. I love prime rib. I am only 90 miles from San Fransisco… might be worth a trip! I am loving all the Bay area posts! 🙂
Anonymous says
If you think that corkage fee is bad, for the love of your great opinions [you know I love you] DO NOT, I repeat…DO NOT come to Washington DC. The corkage fees here would frighten the heck out of you. [$20 is average/cheap]
That said…the meat looked wonderful, but I would’ve protested having the spinach in all the au jus on my plate. I thought your take on the Yorkshire was cute…but the pic did look a little flat to me for what I have seen/eaten before…would’ve passed.
Sorry you didn’t enjoy it as much as B seemed to want you too, maybe next time it will be better.
Hugs to you,
Skip
wearability.us says
Damn girl you are hard to please, I can tell. Maybe HOPR’s problem is that they are somewhat inconsistent, because a group of friends and I went this weekend and it was FANTASTIC. There are a few local tricks that make things go a little smoother. We asked for half the dressing they normally put (which is a LOT), and it turned out perfectly… the meat was perfectly tender, juicy, and flavorful, especially slathered with their hot horseradish sauce (we got two different kinds and mixed them together). The creamed spinach was standard and satisfying, and the creamed corn was a pleasant surprise – tender kernels with a natural sweetness shining through. The only reason the yorkshire pudding was soggy was because they put it directly in the meat jus, but if put to the side, it was totally fine. And yes, I got the baked potato “with everything that it comes with.” Beyond that, our server was incredibly friendly and helpful.
foodhoe says
Hello, I went recently and sat at the far end by the bookcase. I missed all the exciting tableside service! That's a pretty standard corkage fee around here. Anyways, I had no idea that I missed out on all the action.