House of Prime Rib

A long, long time ago, I went to House of Prime Rib at exBF’s coworker’s insistence. Well, I don’t know if insistence is the right word; we flew in for a visit and he made reservations for the four of us, raving about it and telling me how much I was going to LOVE the place.

I didn’t.

I did not see the huge appeal. The salad was overdressed, the Yorkshire pudding was this weird soggy mess, the sides were OK, and the steak was… OK.

But as I noted at the end of my last review, somewhat clairvoyantly, I would return if other people wanted to try it, though I wouldn’t seek it out.

And that’s how I found myself part of a 10pm reservation on Friday night, with the lovely Jeters and Naomi aka The GastroGnome and their respective partners (SFG joined us at a bar much later).

Funny enough, apparently Naomi stumbled on my post while searching reviews of the place… In any case, our amusing waiter with a very strange accent dressed our salad, same as last time – bowl of ice, metal bowl spinning on top, drizzled – well, POURED – the dressing on the salad. This resulted in another overdressed salad – if I ever do return, I’m going to insist that they use less dressing (which I’ve seen in some reviews as the suggestion). BUT. The dressing is tasty, and I ate all of my salad.

But you know, I love salad.

Since I’d ordered the City Cut last time and was informed thusly by MANY people that my error lay in that choice, I decided to go classic this time. This huge honkin’ piece of beef landed in front of me; the creamed spinach hiding in the back was OK. And the steak? The steak was good. I’m not going to lie: I ate every last bite, and by the time I was done, there was no jus on the bottom either. It was cooked properly; tender, fatty, and delicious.

And there may or may not have been someone at my table who picked the bone up off her plate and started nomming it. (Actually, that’s not true: she picked up someone else’s bone, because her piece didn’t have a bone.)

There may also have been a lot of bourbon flowing in our Manhattans…

Oh, and like I reminded myself with my previous review: I ordered the fully loaded stuffed baked potato. Unfortunately, it was more than a bit overcooked and dry on the inside; it exploded when our server puffed it for me. It was way too big and I ate just a few bites before I was like, no. Sadface… no potato for me.

Final verdict? While I thoroughly enjoyed my experience this time, I’m chalking that up to better company than previously (sorry MM and Spoon, but it’s not like you guys are awfully huge fans of mine anymore). I did like my steak much more this time than last, but not enough to erase all the other failings – overdressed salad, completely forgettable sides…

I don’t feel comfortable recommending this place as a must-visit. However, it remains “if other people want to go, I don’t have a problem going” – this might become a reality, as I know SFG lamented his not having gone yet – and I’ll know that at the least, I’ll enjoy my steak and some strong cocktails. But I still won’t seek out eating here.