10 Things You Need To Know Before Dining At Ruth's Chris Steak House

When you're craving a steak, you can always make it at home — but depending on your steak-cooking skills, that's not always as fun as going out to a nice steakhouse. Most of the time, we prefer going to a local steakhouse, as you're likely to get better quality and a more original menu. But there are times when a chain steakhouse will do the trick. One of our absolute favorite steakhouse chains just happens to be Ruth's Chris Steak House. The steaks are simple but delicious, and the side dishes tend to be tastier than average.

But even if you've been to Ruth's Chris multiple times in the past, there's probably still a lot you don't know about the chain. After all, it has a rather surprising history — and continues to employ some unexpected practices even today. From the mind-boggling name of the restaurant to its signature buttery steak toppers, it's a restaurant with a lot of lore. So, next time you decide to dine at your local Ruth's Chris Steak House, here's what you need to know.

Ruth's Chris Steak House has one of the strangest names in the chain restaurant business. But the name didn't come about randomly — it has quite a fascinating backstory. Ruth's Chris' original owner, Ruth Fertel, decided to take out a loan to buy a small business called Chris Steak House in New Orleans. After almost a decade, the steakhouse was destroyed in a fire, and Fertel had to move the business to a new location. Legally, though, she couldn't keep the same name the business had before. That's when she decided to make a small change to the name of the restaurant: putting her first name in front of it.

That's how the unconventional name, Ruth's Chris Steak House, was born. It turns out, though, that Fertel didn't like the name at all. However, its name is part of what makes the steak chain stand out from all of the other ones out there.

Some foods need a ton of seasoning and ingredients to shine. However, when you're working with a particularly good cut of beef, it can pay to keep things simple — and that's just what happens at Ruth's Chris Steak House. You won't find a steak at this popular chain covered with a whole slew of spices. Rather, each steak is seasoned simply with salt and pepper. Those two ingredients are all that's necessary to build a beautiful steak. To add an extra bit of flair, it also adds some butter and a garnish of parsley on top of the burger, but besides that, you're looking at a pretty plain cut of meat.

Ruth's Chris can pull off this preparation style because the restaurant focuses on quality ingredients, especially when it comes to steak. Let this be a lesson for your steak dinners at home: You don't have to go all out with a bunch of ingredients to capture a delicious flavor as long as you're starting with quality.

When a lot of people think about steak, they automatically assume that it has to be prepared on the grill. However, that's not the case, and at Ruth's Chris, the cooks don't use a grill at all. Rather, the company has decided to broil its steaks instead. But no — it's not like broiling at home. The restaurant's infrared boilers can reach a shocking 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit, while most home broilers only reach temps of around 550 degrees Fahrenheit. Plus, if you try making a burger this way at home, you're likely to end up with a smoky situation, which isn't what you're going for on steak night.

If you love the crust that Ruth's Chris Steak House creates with its broiler, you're not alone — these steaks might taste better than the ones you make at home, specifically because of this technology. However, if you don't have that kind of restaurant-quality equipment in your kitchen, you're better off sticking to your traditional grilling method.

A steak dinner already feels like something special to a lot of people, but when you add seafood to the mix, you know you're going all out. You may assume that any surf 'n' turn option on Ruth's Chris' menu is going to be expensive, but you may be surprised to learn that one of the most affordable steaks you can get at the chain steakhouse features both steak and shrimp. 

The meal is a duo of tournedos and shrimp, which includes two four-ounce medallions as well as large, Cajun-seasoned shrimp. Because of that extra bit of seasoning, it packs a lot of flavor, and the tenderness of the medallions makes it an even more decadent experience. And at only $59, it's the second-cheapest steak option on the entire menu.

Just because you're watching your budget doesn't mean you can't go all out sometimes and order exactly what you want. For lovers of both steak and seafood, Ruth's Chris has you covered.

Some life events just need to be celebrated, and anniversaries are one of them. It's a time for you and your loved one to show your affection for one another — and a perfect reason to justify going out for the evening. But where should you go to celebrate? When we asked Facebook users in a poll, many of them agreed that Ruth's Chris is a great option.

First of all, and most importantly, you know you're going to get high-quality food there, whether you choose a steak or one of the chain restaurant's many other options. Additionally, though, Ruth's Chris Steak House boasts a nice atmosphere that will make your special day feel more upscale. It's not exactly fine dining, but it comes close enough that you feel like you're treating yourself. The next time you're celebrating an anniversary (or a birthday or a holiday), you might just want to consider Ruth's Chris Steak House as your go-to spot.

One thing you'll want to keep in mind before you go to Ruth's Chris Steak House is the fact that the plates are really, really hot when they first come out to the table. They're so hot that you should avoid touching them for several minutes to prevent yourself from getting burned. Why? Because Ruth's Chris is known for serving its steaks on 500-degree Fahrenheit plates, which is an important part of the presentation.

However, Ruth's Chris doesn't want your steak coming out of the kitchen overcooked and less flavorful than you want it to be, which is why the meat is often slightly undercooked. This ensures that the meat comes out perfect as it continues to cook for a few seconds on that 500-degree plate, whether you're the kind of person who prefers rare or medium-well.

There's only so much you can do to make an average — or lower-quality — steak taste good. You can slather on all the butter you want or use a variety of flavorful seasonings, but it's never going to completely cover up the natural taste of subpar meat. That's why Ruth's Chris Steak House focuses on sourcing the best steaks possible. According to Chef Abdiel Aleman, Vice President and Corporate Executive Chef of Ruth's Chris Steak House, "At Ruth's Chris, we start by selecting only the freshest, highest-quality steaks."

Look out for two things when evaluating a cut of steak. According to Aleman, you want "a vibrant cherry-red color and plenty of marbling, which means more flavor once it's cooked." Choosing these types of steaks allows Ruth's Chris to use minimal seasonings, sticking to only the basics to yield a delicious steak. This is certainly good information to have before you visit your local Ruth's Chris Steak House, but it may also help you pick out a better steak when you decide to make your own at home.

During the height of the pandemic back in 2020 and 2021, businesses, particularly restaurants, were struggling, since diners couldn't or wouldn't go out to dine at restaurants. The U.S. government stepped in to help, granting small-business loans for restaurants that were in danger of closing during the lockdowns. However, unfortunately, a lot of larger, corporate businesses snatched up these loans that were meant for mom-and-pop shops, angering consumers. Ruth's Chris Steak House was one of them. The chain was granted a $20 million small-business loan, and when customers found out, they were livid.

The blowback was so severe that the chain decided that keeping the money just wasn't worth it. The chain returned the loan ... and didn't end up going out of business, which further indicates that the corporation could have functioned without it. If your favorite local restaurant closed during the pandemic because it was no longer possible for it to snag a small business loan from the government, you can blame large corporations like Ruth's Chris Steak House for capitalizing on those funds meant for smaller, locally owned businesses.

Women in the United States and around the world have faced countless limitations to starting their own businesses. While some of these limitations have lessened in recent decades, even as recently as 1965, starting a business as a woman was incredibly difficult. That's why it's so impressive that Ruth's Chris Steak House's founder, Ruth Fertel, was able to pull off the business feat she achieved back in the '60s. She was a single mom with two sons who needed to find a way to support her family. The problem? At the time, most women couldn't even get their own bank card without help from their husbands.

Despite this limitation, though, Fertel made it work, successfully buying a steakhouse and running it for many years. These days, there are more opportunities available for some women in the world of business, but these strides forward may not have been possible without the vision of women like Fertel.

Anyone who works with food knows that a good dining experience goes way beyond flavor alone. To make mouths water, it's important to engage all of a diner's senses. Perhaps that's why Ruth's Chris uses sound to get diners excited about their steaks. The chain's steaks are famously topped with butter, which creates a lovely sizzling sound as it comes in contact with the hot meat and the 500-degree Fahrenheit plate. According to Fertel, this sound was intentional. "You hear that sizzle, and you think, 'I wonder if that's my steak,'" she said.

Of course, the butter adds richness and flavor as well, but if it can play double duty by making the steak not only taste but sound delicious, it makes sense that the restaurant would take advantage of this method. So, sure, you can always add a pat of butter to your steak at home, but absent that 500-degree plate, it's probably not going to have quite the same effect you get when you're at Ruth's Chris.