66 LONGISLANDPRESS.COM • JANUARY 2022
RUTH’S CHRIS STEAK HOUSE
SIZZLIN’ IN SUFFOLK
BY TIMOTHY BOLGER
AND CHRIS COOKE
Forging its fi rst footprint in Suff olk
County, the renowned Ruth’s Chris
Steak House opened its newest location
at Smith Haven Mall in Lake Grove on
Dec. 6, celebrating the occasion by
presenting a $10,000 check to benefi t
Long Island’s leading hunger relief
organization, Island Harvest.
Synonymous in many local steak lovers’
minds with its Manhattan, Brooklyn,
New Jersey and Garden City locations,
the Lake Grove opening is the latest in
a recent expansion to the ever-growing
chain of more than 100 steakhouses
across North America. Another is
scheduled to open in Melville in late
January 2022.
Ruth’s Chris prides itself on serving
top-quality meats — specializing in
the highest-quality, custom-aged Midwestern
beef. It remains true to the
recipe of its namesake owner Ruth
Fertel, who purchased predecessor
Chris Steakhouse in New Orleans in
1965: the freshest, prime U.S.D.A. cuts
broiled at 1,800 degrees, exactly how
customers want them, and served sizzling
in butter on a heated plate so they
stay hot throughout the meal. Patrons
can hear that sizzle before their dishes
even reach the table.
Part of that generous charitable donation
to Island Harvest was derived from
a very special V.I.P. fundraising feast
the weekend prior to the grand opening.
Joining me for this extraordinary meal
previewing the debut was none other
than longtime Press food critic Chris
Cooke.
Every great steak deserves an equally
high-caliber beverage, and so we kicked
off with two of the restaurant’s signatures:
the raspberry cosmo for myself,
and the gambler’s old-fashioned for
Cooke. Craft ed with Eff en Raspberry
Vodka, cointreau, and fresh cranberry
and lime, the cosmo was a fruity and fl avorful
breeze that left me refreshed and
thirsty for more. Consisting of Knob
Creek, Demerara, The Bitter Truth
Aromatic Bitters, and of course, two
maraschino cherries, the old-fashioned
was Ruth’s favorite, and well worth
that crown. We clinked to the special
blessing that was our invitation here.
Soon, our incredible waiter Aaron
brought our appetizers: the sizzling crab
cakes and the tuna stack. As the former’s
name suggests, these crustaceans
were sizzlin’ and a perfect warmup for
the entrees awaiting us. Dome-shaped,
ever so crispy on the outside yet moist
and tender and chock-full of crab on
the inside, this jumbo duo slathered
in lemon butter was smooth and fi lling.
The tuna stack was a multitiered tower
of bright, colorful (fresh) ahi tuna with
a healthy dousing of soy ginger sesame
sauce and avocado topped with English
cucumber salad, and accompanied by
crunchy, joyous sesame-seed wonton
chips. Yes, this dish was as dreamy as
all those ingredients imply!
We celebrated with more handcrafted
cocktails. Cooke ordered Ruth’s
Manhattan — a medley of Woodford
Reserve, Southern Comfort, and
black cherry. I went with the absolutely
breathtaking blueberry mojito.
It came with a tiny spear of five
blueberries submerged in a gorgeous
pool of Bacardi Superior, with so
much fresh mint and lime you could
smell that relaxing aroma with merely
a passing whiff. Needless to say,
this became a repeat accompaniment
throughout our meal — “For the story,”
of course, as Cooke consistently
reminded me as we added more and
more to our seemingly never-ending
smorgasbord.
A special note here for the incredible,
incredible lobster bisque. Have you ever
been at a restaurant and craved this
special soup only to be served some thin,
watery broth devoid of any lobster meat at
all? Well, this is the exact opposite. Thick,
creamy, and served New Orleans-style,
this dish was loaded with bountiful
chunks of the sought-aft er crustacean,
and oh-so fl avorful with a hint of a smoky
aft ertaste. I could and would have enjoyed
another had it not been for our eager
anticipation of the main event.
I went with the cowboy ribeye — a 22-ounce,
bone-in cut of U.S.D.A. Prime. Cooke ordered
himself the ginormous 40-ounce,
U.S.D.A. prime porterhouse for two.
“A masterpiece!” declared Aaron as he
plopped down another two sizzling
platters of three-cheese lobster mac
and cheese and garlic mashed potatoes
alongside the steaks.
One bite in, and the decision was unanimous
and resounding: “Heaven.”
The steaks cut like butter and were
absolutely delicious. In fact, that word
doesn’t even do these cuts justice.
“Heaven,” reiterated Aaron.
Heaven, indeed.
At Cooke’s urging, we ordered dessert:
the insane cheesecake and the
super-rich, yet fl ourless, ganache chocolate
sin cake, served with gorgeous
gooey stripes of fresh raspberry sauce.
“What’s better than heaven?” we asked.
“Chocolate paradise,” Aaron replied.
Ruth’s Chris Steak House is located at
472 Smith Haven Mall in Lake Grove.
For more information, visit RuthsChris.
com or call 631-973-4230. For more
information about Island Harvest,
or to make a donation, please visit
IslandHarvest.org.
MAIN DISH
The filet mignon at Ruth’s Chris Steak House (Photo courtesy of Ruth's Chris Steak House)
Lake Grove opening is
the latest in a recent
expansion to the
ever-growing chain.
/LONGISLANDPRESS.COM
/IslandHarvest.org