As a rule, I’m not really a steakhouse guy. But I try to be open-minded about dining, even if I’m going to the kind of place where quality is sometimes measured in portion size. So before I visited Jeff Ruby’s new Louisville steakhouse, I consulted with some steakhouse fanatic friends and made sure I had my mind right. I was ready for decadent food and lots of it, with equally outsized portions of glitz and glamour. And yet, while I certainly got all I wanted, I didn’t exactly get what I expected.
Since 1981, Mr. Ruby has built an empire of excess in the Cincinnati area, with each restaurant offering a different decor for your vacation from moderation. Louisville’s version is an extravagant jumble of celebrity shots, mirrors, brass and liberal dollops of local flavor. One area is dominated by a theatrical horseshoe bar fronting a raised band platform, with a sushi and raw seafood station to one side. An enormous fishtank separates it from the main dining room, where softer lighting and red and orange hues prevail. This is no sedate, "old school" steak place — there’s energy and excitement, from the martini-drinking patrons to the bustling servers — and on a recent visit the crowd ranged from Mayor Jerry to a group of jerseys-and-jeans-clad youngsters.
Ruby’s Kentucky bison strip sirloin with chow chow and potato crisps.
Ruby’s also departs from tradition on the menu, where some novel dishes join steakhouse staples. Sure, you can get an iceberg wedge with Maytag blue cheese ($5.25), but even hide-bound purists should try the Double Watermelon Salad ($8). On my recent visit, this delightful bl/files/storyimages/of greens, fresh and pickled watermelon, hazelnuts and goat cheese was a sweet, sour, crisp and creamy treasure that even outshone a nicely presented, very fresh salad of Kentucky Bibb and blue cheese ($7.75).
Ruby built his restaurant reputation on more than food — his fans love to talk about the exceptional service as an equal part of the Ruby’s charm. But, sad to say, my Louisville Ruby’s experience was far from perfect. On a visit to Jeff Ruby’s downtown Cincinnati location a few years ago, I witnessed a squad of waiters flawlessly handle a boisterous party of over 30 people, but my Derby City service only really kicked into gear after the Main Street kitchen committed a cardinal sin with a steak so overcooked it had to be sent back.
Before this apocalypse, my servers were nice but seemed almost unfamiliar with general restaurant service, much less a place where $100 per person is quite easy to ring up. I was being pushed toward $250 bottles from the expansive wine list before I’d received a menu. And while I always appreciate Blue Dog bread (and give Mr. Ruby much praise for featuring many local products on his menu), I would have enjoyed some with my salad instead of as sort of a palate cleanser between my appetizer and my steak.
My appetizer course also exposed a few cracks. A plate of Charcoal-Herb Grilled Oysters ($10.50) was a real treat, with a smoky-spicy aroma and a mound of herbed salt underneath adding as much to the oysters as the bacon, garlic and cheese in their shells. But Bluegrass & Lobster Grits ($9.75) was, literally, a mess — during handling, the cake of grits, asparagus and blue cheese had left a smear of sauce on the plate, which had evidently sat under a heat lamp so long that the lobster tail had gone beyond rubber to the texture of some space-age polymer.
And then there were the steaks — the one thing a steakhouse should never, ever get wrong. Jeff Ruby’s, like many steakhouses, emphasizes the quality, cut and aging of its meat. And my Kentucky Bison strip sirloin ($32.75) was tender, juicy and nicely joined by a tangy Kentucky Chow Chow and airily crisp matchstick fries. But after the servers recommended that my friend’s special Porterhouse, or "Shorterhouse" ($44.50), be cooked "medium-rare plus" at Mr. Ruby’s suggestion, the kitchen didn’t deliver. Like many a Vegas showgirl, what looked good on the outside was less so on the inside. It was brown all the way through — and, unlike the lobster appetizer, could not be taken without complaint.
Alerting the wait staff to this crime against cow flesh created a quiet but quite palpable increase in table service. As I enjoyed bites of creamed spinach ($6) and Steakhouse Hash Browns ($7.25), a succession of waiters, captains and managers visited our table offering apologies and assurances while a replacement steak was fired on the grill. Happily, albeit tardily, the second Shorterhouse was done to pink perfection, and the meal concluded with an excellent, unadorned creme brulee ($7) and some espresso.
While it’s never going to be my first choice for dining out, I’ll not begrudge anyone for choosing Jeff Ruby’s for an outrageous blow-out meal. If you’ve just won the superfecta at Churchill, or hit the slots jackpot at Caesar’s, there may be no better place to celebrate. Just make sure your steak lives up to the sizzle.
If You Go
Jeff Ruby’s Steakhouse, 325 West Main, 584-0102. Open Monday-Thursday, 5-10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 5-11 p.m.
