Now going to Ruth’s Chris could have been enough to put me into the ICU, if I had ordered my normal steakhouse fare of lobster bisque and prime rib.  Fortunately for my health insurer, I opted for some healthier items.  Ok, I opted for some relatively healthier options. 

First up is the house chop salad, which is on the regular menu.  Yes, it is a salad, so that should count for some healthy points; but this is no dainty mixed green concoction.  It is spinach, iceberg, hearts of palm, bacon, red onions, mushrooms, blue cheese, and green olives that is topped with fried onions and lemon basil dressing.   I really like the way the saltiness of the green olives and pungency of the blue cheese awaken the taste buds.

Next I sample a few entrees from the special menu. I try the short ribs and the salmon.

The short ribs come off a little different from what is expected. A lot of short ribs resemble beef stew or pot roast, a few hunks of tender meat in a brown sauce, usually paired with mashed potatoes.  These short ribs remind me, flavor wise, of a shish kabob.  The meat is tender but not soupy.  Instead of a starchy pairing, it comes with grilled peppers and onions.

The salmon is my surprise favorite.  It is a generous portion of fish that is very moist and has a nice mild flavor.  It can stand alone, but is best when joined with the house remoulade sauce that adds just the right amount of mustardy tang.

As for sides, I go with steak fries.  Potatoes count as vegetable, right?   The fries are skin-on, crunchy wedges that are tossed with rosemary, sundried tomatoes and roasted garlic.  They are simply excellent.  The fries are served with ketchup, which I don’t use; however, I probably should have considering it would have added to my vegetable count. As a Republican, ketchup counts as a vegetable for me.

Dessert is carrot cake.  It’s okay to have dessert if it is carrot cake, so long as it made from real carrots and not simply a spice cake.   This dense cake is full of carrot flavor.  It is apparent that a lot of carrot pulp goes into the cake mixture.

My relatively healthier items make for a very nice meal, and there is also something to be said for me staying out of both the ICU and the jewelry store.