The Prime Rib

Baltimore, MD

Price:$$$$$

Decor: Steakhouse, jacket and tie required

Summary: Great steak, great atmosphere. A must for any Baltimore steak lover

(5 crabs out of 5)

Appetizer: Shrimp Cocktail

Soup: Lobster Bisque

Main Course: Prime Rib

Desert: Cheese Cake/Crème Brulee

Karen- A good restaurant has a certain magic transportation effect, I've found. It can fool your taste buds into thinking you are in a nautical crab house nowhere near your home in Iowa, or tell your eyes and ears that you are far across the sea in a seedy joint in Spain. Its full-frontal deception on all the senses, combined of course with being catered to like a king, makes a good restaurant experience often like renting an another life. Now beyond this, there are a few truly great restaurants, which have perfected the art of deception so well that you truly lose yourself in the experience. As it has so often been hailed, the Prime Rib is one of those truly great restaurants. Put this way, when walking in the class of the place is a palpable cloud which is breathed in along with the aroma of beef and wine. As you hand over your coat and walk across a leopard-skin carpet, past a snazzy open piano and huge portraits of grand dames, you begin to think: Was the Great Gatsby a book, or was it a repressed memory from the last time I was here?

Paul- You might have noticed by now that Karen is an English major and she likes to flex her creative muscles on occasion. She definitely captured the effect. For me the place looks perfect for a Baltimore. Sort of a tacky class to it, right our of John Waters mind.

Karen-A word of caution: do not enter this alternate-reality-haze without having sturdily prepared your bank account. This is a world where appetizers cost as much as a main dish and the main dish itself could feed a family of four in a third world country. However, when in Rome.
We went traditional in our ordering choices to get the basics, so we started off we a nice generic (or so we thought) shrimp cocktail.

Paul- It was HUGE!!!!! At least for the type of person that is used to popcorn shrimp. But it was bigger than your thumb. It was also very expensive as mentioned for 4 of them. Also the cocktail sauce, though tasty, is very heavy on the horseradish. So those of you that don't like hot food watch out. But Speaking of HUGE then came the prime ribs. We both ordered them medium with mushrooms and mashed potatoes.

Karen- Well the shrimp weren't just huge for someone used to popcorn shrimp-they were huge for people used to lobster claws. Each bite could fill your mouth completely with big fleshy shrimp. Paul neglected to mention the lobster bisque soup (what can I say, it was our 2nd year anniversary of going out, we went crazy)-thick, poignant, and a sharpness that smacked at once of cheese and wine, and of course, lobster. Wow. No wonder when the prime rib came I reeled. I think that they probably just divided up one cow for the two of us. Absolutely huge, absolutely tender, it was your normal prime rib squared in all ways. The mushrooms were a fantastic accompaniment (one bowl of dark, flavorful tops was enough for the two of us). The potatoes were quite good, full of garlic and butter and smoooooth as if they mashed them for hours. A fine red merlot finished off the meal (and me too, as the second half of the rib is a bit fuzzy) Thankfully, our waiter saw through us enough to give us the $8/glass rather than the $100/glass.

Paul--Oh yeah the bisque, well I didn't forget it I thought I'd let you go first, and you hit it right on the head. The steak was ..WOW!so good, so very good. Cooked right on the mark, medium, and the juices still exploding out of the meat with each bite. I loved that the steak was served in its own juices. Fantastic! The mushroom were a great compliment but I think the potatoes, though tasty lacked a little something, They were just a bit too potato-y for me. To finish off the meal I had a strawberry cheese cake in honor of Karen. It was good but nothing that wowed me. Now along with our anniversary as motivation for going we also wanted to compare it with Ruth Chris' Steakhouse. I personally think that they are both fantastic and its like comparing apples and oranges, one specializes in sensual prime rib and the other in huge filets smothered in butter. But I have just barely give the nod to the Prime Rib just because it has more of a local Baltimore flare to it. This place is just plain perfect for special occasions when you want to spend mucho bucks on great food.

Karen--The thing with strawberry cheesecake is that it nearly always assaults your senses with thick creamy indulgence, even if it's in a backwater diner. Their cheesecake was indeed decadent, and dry for a nice change, but not terribly special. The crème brulee that I ordered was just what they say-burnt cream. It was creamy at the bottom and more sweet and crunchy up top, and overall felt exotic to order, although my lack of experience makes it hard to compare.
The Prime Rib was a truly classy Baltimore experience, although I am ashamed to say, I think (ambiance-aside) I prefer Ruth's Chris. What can I say, I'm a sucker for buttery steaks (heck, buttery anything) and I think their mashed potatoes have a little more umph to them. But both are a lovely and lavish indulgence in both big beef and budget.

reviewed January 1, 2001