Supper at Ringside Steakhouse

Wednesday night my good friend/fellow foodie Eve-Maridy and I treated ourselves to a decadent meal at Ringside Steakhouse. We try to go out for happy hour every couple months and try something new. I had been to Ringside once with my mom (special mother-daughter dinner out), and was impressed enough to go back and try out the supper menu. Supper is served before 5:45pm or after 9pm for $25 ($29 with dessert; $35 for the prime rib-level meals, which is NOT indicated on the Web site).

I must say that I was significantly more impressed with the service we received this time than the time I went with my mom. You hear about these old steakhouses having amazing servers, and I can't complain about the one we had last time, but our server this time was extraordinary. I am always most impressed by the ability to time everything just perfectly. It's a rare treat, but a much appreciated one.

Eve-Maridy and I ordered almost identically. We started with the famous onion rings, served with the housemade French dressing with bleu cheese crumbles. We both had the iceberg wedge for the salad, and medallions of beef tenderloin covered in brandy cream sauce with mushrooms & green peppercorns. I ordered the baked potato with all the fixins, and Eve-Maridy had the garlic mashed potatoes. If I were to order again, I would get the mashed potatoes. The sour cream, bacon bits, and green onions were great for toppings, but I definitely make better baked potatoes. Mine was a bit dry, even with the toppings. You really need to release the steam from the potato immediately after baking it if you want the inside to stay fluffy. Otherwise it gets chunky and dry. For dessert, which I wasn't planning on having until I saw the menu, I had the chocolate bread pudding with bourbon caramel sauce, Eve-Maridy had the bananas foster, a classic. Half the bread pudding is still sitting in the refrigerator waiting for Shawn to eat it--but I don't know how much longer I can resist it. It will not be there after tonight, whether he eats it or not.

Despite being a discounted meal from the usual menu, we still managed to spend quite a bit. We each had martinis and I had a glass of wine, so that definitely added up quickly. If you are interested, check out the Web site at http://www.ringsidesteakhouse.com/. They take reservations for supper and I would recommend it as the place filled up quickly, even on a Wednesday. I would go back, but not anytime soon. I love steak, but it's a once a year type of thing for me. I'd much rather experiment with new restaurants.