Sunday was a glorious day, beginning with a trip to the lakeshore, and ending with the best meal I have ever eaten (and worth EVERY penny!)
To start at the beginning, I have to say that this all began last week, when we mentioned Ruth's Chris Steakhouse to our chef friend Matt, and he had never heard of it! We thought this was unconscionable, and I pulled up their website (placing it here so you can follow along. Right-click on the link to open the website in a new window, so you can refer to it later). It took less than a minute of perusing their menu and locations for Matt to declare, "I'm going to Detroit on Sunday!" I thought there must be a closer location, and found the Granger, IN, location, just east of South Bend (you know, the home of that big Catholic university? The one with the French name & the Irish mascot?).
Anyhoo, upon mapping it out, we saw that the route took us along the lake, so we had the bright idea that we would stop in South Haven along the way, then bring a change of clothes for the restaurant. Dress is business casual. They say so right on the website. We made reservations for 5 on Sunday (the Coolman 3, plus Matt and his dad), then waited eagerly for the day to arrive.
Sunday granted us nearly perfect weather, with a high of 72 and a good breeze. It was very weird weather for mid-August, but our April & May were unseasonably cold and snowy, so we figured we were due. We drove to Matt's house around 2:30pm, only to find that his dad was feeling poorly and wouldn't be joining us. So, we all piled ourselves and our stuff into Matt's Pilot and began our trip.
Driving southwest toward Lake Michigan, we saw a glorious bank of clouds along the horizon that looked remarkably like a distant mountain range. We considered it a good omen for the trip. About a mile from the South Haven exit, the traffic back up suddenly. I assumed it was construction traffic, but I should've known better, this being a near-perfect day after a week of hot, dry weather.
Pulling up into South Haven, we saw a banner proudly proclaiming that today was the Blueberry Festival. We found a parking space right there along the main drag, and got out to walk the half mile or so to the beach. The main street is very charming, with little shops and restaurants all along the way. We navigated our way through the teeming hordes of people (who were actually very polite and kept to the right side of the sidewalk. There were just a lot of them). We reached the end of the shops, and saw a sign for the South Haven Riverfront. Uh oh, we thought. There's no beach? Only a river?? But then we caught a glimpse of the Lake from around the bend. Whew! There it was!
The Riverfront was actually a wharf, chock full of yachts and sailboats and motorboats and party boats (you get the idea). Up ahead, we could see a sailboat coming in to dock, and the mast was swinging from side to side like a metronome. The sidewalk split at the end of the wharf, with a choice of dry land or the edge of the pier. We chose the pier, of course. There was a bright blue handrail, and the water was coming in huge waves, some of which were high enough to crest the top of the pier. Matt & James (who were dressed in their dinner clothes) had to dance out of the way of a large swell that spilled over just in front of us. I just let the water run over my shoes.
When the walkway ran out of handrail, we turned left toward the beach. People were everywhere, and Christopher couldn't wait to pull off his T-shirt and run into the water! A note on Lake Michigan: this is a freshwater lake, so there is no salty sea smell, but it still feels like the ocean. The water comes in waves like a surf, and it's so huge that you can't see the other side. It's remarkably like the seacoast, but with pine and maple trees all around. The large tourist cities even have beachfronts, which of course are manmade, but they look just like the real thing. They just don't smell right.
We spent about 20 or 30 minutes on the beach, Matt & James standing there awkwardly in their dinner attire, as Christopher and I played in the surf. Well, Christopher ran out deep into the water to get pummelled by the waves, and I stood ankle-deep at the shore to call him back when he got out too far. Still, he had a blast, and I took a bunch of pictures.
We walked back to the van, stopping briefly at a bench to knock what sand we could out of our shoes. We passed a pair of boys carrying a huge basket of blueberries, which they said they got at the Blueberry Store, up ahead. (We had walked back on the other side of the street, so we could look at the shops we missed.) We didn't buy any blueberries, because we weren't going to be home anytime soon, but they looked delicious.
Once we got in the car, I started to hand Christopher his dry clothes to change into. I had decided to put a black pinstriped suit on over my swimsuit, which is a tankini and looks like a pretty halter top, with a bold print of turquoise flowers on a brown background. With a pair of black pumps, I was ready to hit the town.
*************WARNING****************
Vegetarians should not read past this point.
You have been warned.
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We finally arrived at Ruth's Chris, which appeared to be brand spanking new, surrounded by an equally brand spanking new mall. It still had that New Mall smell. We arrived at 6:20, a bit early for our 7:00 reservation, but since Christopher was too young to enter the Lounge, we were seated almost immediately. The hostess even handed me a black napkin, so I wouldn't get white lint on my pants! That was my first indication that this would be no ordinary dining experience.
We ordered our drinks, and Matt got a delightful martini (Mrs. Landree, which sadly is not on the website menu), and it was so delicious that he offered me a taste. I agreed, and got one for myself! It was a vodka martini with some other liqueur, pineapple juice, lime, and a touch of grenadine, and I couldn't taste the alcohol at all. It was marvelous!
I skipped an appetizer, to have more room for my steak, but James ordered the lobster bisque, Matt the veal osso buco ravioli, and Christopher got the lettuce wedge with ranch dressing. I got to try it all as well. The bisque was incredibly rich, and you tasted the butter long before you tasted the lobster. It had that baked-butter taste of holiday shortbread cookies, and I could only eat 2 spoonfuls. I got to eat one of the raviolis, and it was delectable! There's a photo on the website if you want to see. Christopher's lettuce wedge was an entire quarter head of iceburg lettuce, drizzled with ranch dressing. He loved it, and he also loved the lobster bisque! He was excited to find the chunks of lobster at the bottom, too.
For entrees, I ordered the filet mignon (featured prominantly on their home page, as I was soon to find out why), James got a sirloin, I believe, and Matt got the cowboy ribeye. Sides are served family style, in long bowls, and we shared mashed potatoes, broccoli au gratin, a baked potato, Lyonnaise potatoes, and sweet potato casserole, with pecan crust (yum!).
The steaks came out on sizzling hot, 500-degree plates (part of Ruth's special method for searing in the flavor). I had ordered my filet medium, and I sliced off a few pieces to put on Christopher's plate (he shared our dinners, since there is no children's menu, and he would never be able to eat an adult-sized entree), and then I tasted it.
Wow. Wow. Wow.
This was 10 times better than the best steak I had ever had. The meat was so tender that it practically melted in my mouth, and I am not exaggerating. It was the most delectable, meltaway meat, and I just sat there eating with a big, happy smile on my face. If I ever eat here again (and it won't be soon, but I'm sure we will be back), I will never order anything but the filet. Wow.
I only ate about a fourth of it, because I wanted to save room for dessert. Though to be honest, it hurt my heart a little to have to reheat it and destroy some of that exquisite tenderness. But, as I heard another waitress tell her customers, at Ruth's Chris they do not take steaks away from the table. If you don't finish it, you bring it home. And, honestly--have you looked at the desserts? You haven't? Well, go take a look, then get back to me.
James ordered the bread pudding with whiskey sauce, Matt ordered the warm apple crumb tart, and I got the fresh seasonal berries with sweet cream sauce. Tragically, they were out of apple crumb tart, so Matt ordered the carmelized banana cream pie (which looked SO much better than in the picture!) instead.
My berries showed up in a stemmed glass, which was unexpected. I had pictured a plate of berries with a dollop of creme fraiche (which is very similar to sour cream, only less sour), but instead the berries were bobbing in about a cup of sweet sauce, which can be most closely described at melted French vanilla ice cream. Cream, sugar, egg yolk, and a little salt, as the experts (Matt & James) concluded. I felt a little badly for James, for while his bread pudding was very tasty, it was no match for my berries and their cream sauce! Christopher liked mine the best, too. Matt's banana cream pie was so beautifully presented that he wanted to get a picture before eating it, but the camera was back in his car. The banana cream was surrounded by a flaky crust, and topped with angled slices of banana, arranged in concentric circles on the top before being carmelized by one of those little kitchen torches. Mmm, crispy and sugary and banana-y. But mine was still better. ;)
We were stuffed, but it was the best meal that we had ever eaten (at least, for all of us but James, who regularly gets treated to fancy meals by vendors who want him to buy their latest product). I'm amazed that Matt was able to drive home without falling asleep!
So to all of you I say, save up some money (about $100 per person, if you want to do it right and try as many dishes as we did), and treat yourself to a dinner at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse. You won't regret it!