Twelve Years...

Today Superking and I celebrate our 12th wedding anniversary.  Twelve years...in some ways it seems like a long time, like we've been together forever; and in other ways its gone by so fast it seems it was only yesterday we said "I do".  Either way its been a happy twelve years.  Not that we haven't had our ups and downs because we certainly have, as every couple does. But every day we have stood by one another and loved each other more and more than the day before.

Last night, we went out to a fancy dinner to celebrate these wonderful 12 years. This past Christmas, a family member had given us a generous gift card to a restaurant called Ruth's Chris and we decided to save it for a special occasion.  So this was it!  Ruth's Chris is an upscale steakhouse and isn't particularly unique per se, but the cuisine it offers is amazingly good.

We started off with an appetizer of Seared Ahi Tuna.  Mostly raw and perfectly sliced, the tuna was tender and flavorful and served with a ginger mustard sauce with hints of beer and horseradish.  A lovely way to start the meal with our complimentary crusty bread and creamy soft butter.

We also shared a Caesar salad, beautiful crunchy greens with bright red sliced cherry tomatoes, fresh thinly shaved parmesan cheese, and a few salty anchovies on top.  If you like fish, and you like salt, you should totally give the anchovy a try.  It really adds a nice salty touch to your salad (or even a pizza).

Now I am not a huge fan of steak.  So at most steakhouses, I usually go for a seafood option (which I love a good crab cake).  However, I'm discovering more and more that its not so much that I don't like steak. Its that I don't like steak that has been cooked badly.  Growing up, the only steak I ever had was whatever the cheapest cut of meat was and it was cooked to death to the point where it took me an hour to chew and swallow just one bite.  There was also no flavor so it had to be slathered with an entire bottle of cheap steak sauce just to make it palatable enough to choke down...Ok I'm exaggerating a bit. But not much (sorry mom, love you)...

Last night as I was looking at the menu, I was leaning towards the usual crab cakes, which I'm sure would've been awesome, but I wanted to go for something different than I normally would've chosen.  Superking encouraged me, "when in Rome..." or the steakhouse...go for the steak.  This was the first time I have ever ordered a whole steak for myself at a restaurant!!

I went for the Petite Filet with the Blue Cheese Crust topping.  Now you must know that "these aren't your ordinary steaks", as Amanda Freitag from Food Network would say. All of Ruth's Chris steaks are cooked at 1800 degrees, seasoned with a little salt and pepper, and topped with butter which melts and sizzles all the way from the kitchen to your table.  Very simple preparation which makes for the best steaks I have ever eaten. And this from someone who's not a steak fan.  

My steak was so tender  and juicy I probably could've cut it with my butter knife.  So full of savory meaty flavor! The butter added a sweetness to the meat and the generous topping of blue cheese that had been roasted on the steak added the perfect tanginess to it as well.  I love me some blue cheese! This blue was fairly mild which was nice so as not to take away from the flavor of the steak but to enhance it. And parts of the blue cheese were slightly browned and crusty adding a lovely textural element.  Superking also got a filet but instead of the petite, his was a regular size and though he didn't order the blue cheese on his, he promptly became jealous of mine and had to steal some of it to try!!

They serve the side dishes a la carte and family style so we ordered some potatoes to share.  When you look at the side dishes, they have three categories...salads, vegetables, and potatoes.  And you think, "potatoes have their own listing? How many different kinds of potatoes can you serve?"  On their menu, seven.  We chose the Lyonnaise potatoes.  They are sliced and pan-fried in butter with thinly sliced sauteed onions and other seasonings.  They were slightly crispy and salty and tasted sort of like french fries but way better!

We were so stuffed for dessert but since the restaurant knew it was our anniversary, they said a dessert would be on the house! So of course we HAD to pick something! We couldn't disappoint our wonderful waiter! :)  So we opted for the Chocolate Sin Cake.  Might as well go all out since its free, right?  This cake was so dark and dense, almost fudgey, it was easy to see why they called it Sin Cake.  It was packed full of dark chocolate and espresso flavor, topped with a shiny layer of chocolate ganache and surrounded by this beautiful deep red strawberry sauce and a fan-sliced fresh strawberry.  Absolutely gorgeous and decadent, to die for!

Thank goodness they're not too fancy to neglect offering doggie bags!! Food like that is way to good to let go to waste no matter how full you are! We've been here for past anniversaries and as the waiter wished us, "to at least a dozen more", hopefully we'll be back at Ruth's Chris before another twelve years has gone by.

Happy 12th anniversary, my Superking! I love you to the moon and back!