Birthday dinner at Ruth's Chris

Exactly. I'll have ketchup on burgers and fries and that's it. The wife puts it - occasionally - on french toast and that should be punishable by death.

As for Ruth's Chris, the wife and I went with another couple to the one near us to celebrate our 10th anniversaries last October. The meal was good - certainly not as good as my trip to Morton's in Nashville at the NHL Draft - but the service was brutal. Bitched long and loud to the GM who agreed to have us back as his guests. I'll give them another chance....

 

It's surprisingly reasonable if you don't order liquor...

 

I dunno. On the one hand, I can understand wanting something off-the-radar for a special occasion. But on the other, Peter Luger's is one of the most well known steakhouses in the U.S., and a large part of their menu is porterhouse and creamed spinach.

 

1 -- happy birthday, henry!!

2 -- have dined at a ruth's chris probably 30 times. never, ever been disappointed. i prefer their ny strip. garlic mashed potatoes or potatoes lyonaisse and always creamed spinach. the veal chop is amazing, too.

maybe we're awful cooks, but mrs. shockey and i could never match the quality of meat or preparation done by ruth's or morten's. of course, it goes without saying that all but a handful of my ruth's experiences have been in expense-account situations. now, it's twice a year, if i'm lucky. once with the mrs., once on an annual outing with my best two sportswriter buds.

3 -- gulden's mustard and saurkraut are the only toppings for hot dogs for these taste buds. anything else is just wrong, but there's no accounting for anyone's taste. i have a bud who even puts mayo on his franks. go figure.

 

Geez, Shockey, you'd be embarrassed by what I put on hot dogs: ketchup, relish, mustard, sauerkraut, pickles, hot peppers.

 

Ketchup should be required on hot dogs.

 

i support that only if you're suffering through pitiful hot dogs. good hot dogs -- and there are good ones. i.e. hebrew national, nathan's -- are ruined by all that stuff. aren't you just piling all that junk on to mask a hot dog that sucks? heck, i'd just as soon put that all on a toasted bun with no dog at all.

 

Sure do hope you don't put any condiments on any sandwiches, or any burgers. Because you'd just be masking the taste there too.

For me: hot dogs with ketchup or ketchup and mustard.

 

While I support the sentiment, there are exceptions. There is certainly a time and place for a good, plump dog with ketchup and mustard.

The best dogs, however, are with mustard and kraut. Used to be a great street hot dog stand across from the student center at UGA where I'd get one for about $2 before walking up the hill to my class at LeConte Hall.

 

You're probably not buying prime steaks. There's a big jump in taste from choice to prime. The best steak I've had in ages was a thick prime strip that I grilled to medium-rare perfection.

 

imho, a single condiment or two doesn't mask the taste of a quality hot dog. piling on more than two at a time simply tells me the dog doesn't bring enough of its own taste to the meal. if piling on floats your boat, enjoy. just doesn't do it for me.

 

negative. hope they're better than chicago pizza. (i'm a noo yawk snob, what can i say?)