I was excited to see The Prime Rib participating in the Baltimore Restaurant Week. I have been eager to visit but due to the cost of a steakhouse, I was hoping someone would take me out. As a Baltimore Magazine reader, I read that in 2015 they celebrated 50 years of business and the place really has not changed and is a Baltimore Gem. So when I learned about the week, I decided to make my reservation ASAP to take part in the experience.
The Prime Rib located at 1101 North Calvert Street, opened in Baltimore, MD in 1965. They boast that everything about the restaurant, from the tuxedoed wait staff, top quality food, and live piano and bass music nightly is intended to make every occasion feel like a special one. They also have locations in Washington DC and Philadelphia. It is considered one of the top 5 most romantic restaurants in the US. I made a reservation on a Sunday and when I arrived, was able to find a great parking spot across the street from the building. The restaurant also has valet parking available. Like many restaurants in Baltimore, the entrance had stairs but the valet people informed me that a different entrance that, I could not see from the street, could accommodate those with disabilities. As soon as you turn into the walkway of the restaurant, you are taken back in time. The black tile floor and the gold writing were quite fancy. Once we entered the actual restaurant, a man in a tuxedo was holding the door and I immediately noticed the cheetah print carpet. How cool!
I am a Morton Steakhouse girl based on my father’s steakhouse preference and at some point, I will write a review to tell you why. I feel that I have basically grown up there and I’ve even hosted a birthday there a few years ago. So if s steakhouse does not impress me like Morton’s, I am usually turned off. However, I absolutely loved the décor of the restaurant. They had black-glossy painted walls that were outlined with gold but a softer gold. Not the shiny gold that looks fake. There was live piano playing and the piano had a glass top cover so you could see right into the instrument. It was really elegant and something I’ve definitely never seen before! We were seated in the back corner of the restaurant that was difficult to get to of how tightly packed the restaurant was that left little space to get by. However, this is the second time I’ve been placed in the back of a restaurant. Just a thought.
The special $35 menu included a choice of 2 different salads or a tomato soup, a meat option including filet mignon and their famous prime rib with creamed spinach and mashed potatoes, and 3 different dessert options. My friend and I both ordered the Caesar salad to start, I convinced her to get the prime rib, she usually gets filet mignon, and I ordered the filet mignon Oscar style for an extra $10, and I ordered the Crème Brulee and she got the chocolate mousse pie. She ordered the Caribbean punch Cocktail ($13.50, not pictured) and I got a large sparkling water ($7) with lime. My friend said the drink was ok, not impressive, and certainly not worth the price tag but she loved the napkin the cocktail came with. On the other hand, I thoroughly loved the sparkling water service. They put my bottle in the champagne ice bucket to keep it cool and my waiter made sure my glass was full! Wonderful service.
Almost as soon as we sat down, a server came and dropped off a loaf of bread and whipped butter. Many restaurants should take note that when you serve bread and butter, the butter needs to be either whipped or softened and the bread should be warm! It is not my job to try to soften butter at the table so that the butter does not ruin the slice. The bread itself was warm and delicious! Anyway, great job Prime Rib on thinking of the little things. Our waiter was very attentive and made sure we had everything we needed and our table was clean. After each course, he made sure to get the crumbs and plates from the table. Cleanliness was certainly not an issue in this fancy establishment.
Our Caesar salad (usually $10) was a nice portion but pretty basic. The salad consisted of romaine hearts, egg-free dress, cheese, and 3 croutons. But the dressing was just ok. And if I had paid $10 for this salad, I would have been highly disappointed. The fresh black pepper was delicious and I appreciated that but we were both underwhelmed by the salad course.
My 8oz USDA Prime Filet Mignon (usually $56) was served covered in Oscar style with an asparagus cage on top. The presentation was pretty neat but on the corner of the plate, there were shaved horseradish roots and a small salad. This little addition was a bit strange to me because the Oscar sauce was all over the plate and it was getting covered in sauce. I rarely get my steak Oscar style because I love the taste of steak, the cost is too high, and I find it unnecessary for me to enjoy my meal. However, given the discount, I decided to go for it. The Oscar included jumbo lump crab meat in a buttery cream sauce with that was seasoned to perfection that sat on top of the filet that was cooked to a medium. The sauce was not overly creamy or buttery. It was the right blend of butter, salt, cream, and herbs. However, due to the amount of sauce, I was not able to get a taste of the steak on its own. Maybe I would have liked it better on the side but then that defeats the purpose altogether. I’m not an asparagus fan so my friend ate them for me and enjoyed them. However, I truly enjoyed my meat and would definitely go back for that, maybe without the Oscar.
My friend’s Signature Cut of Roast Prime Rib (usually $41) was served in an au jus sauce and also with the shaved horseradish root and salad. It just seemed like a weird thing to have on the plate because of the sauce but whatever. She really enjoyed her prime rib saying that it was tender and flavorful but the sauce was a wonderful added bonus. It was a pretty generous cut of meat so we ended up taking it home.
The creamed spinach and the mash potatoes were delicious as well. The creamed spinach was not overly creamy and salty and we could still enjoy the taste of the spinach itself. This was a very well done creamed spinach dish. The mashed potatoes got mixed reviews. I enjoyed the flavor and appreciated the simplicity of the seasoning because it was able to pick up the flavors of our sauces, however, my friend did not care for. I added mine on my plate with the sauce while she put it on a smaller separate dish so maybe I got more flavors infused. But even trying it alone, I enjoyed them. I’ll leave the final verdict up to you when you visit.
The dessert course was fantastic. My Crème Brulee was perfect though I wish I had a bit more strawberries. Not a compliant but more of a suggestion since I had one and when I added it to the spoon with the dessert, that additional flavor was amazing. The crust on the crème Brulee was not as hard as I was expecting but overall it was excellent flavors. My friend loved her Chocolate Mousse Pie. We worried that it was be dense or overwhelming with chocolate flavor but the mousse was light and airy. She shared a bite and the pie with the crust was outstanding. I would go back for the dessert and the steak alone! Dessert menu prices are not listed for Baltimore but I cannot imagine they would be over $10.
Overall, I had a fantastic meal at the popular Baltimore Steakhouse! I felt like I was taken back to a fancy time with amazing décor! The live piano playing was fantastic and definitely a place to go for a date….or proposal! Overall, we spent $112.25 and after splitting it down the middle, I spent $66.12 after the $10 tip. Keep in mind, this would have been a lot more on the regular menu so I am pretty thankful for Baltimore Restaurant week! I can firmly understand why this place made the Baltimore Magazine’s Best list! The following is my Seven Mac Score for the restaurant:
| The Prime Rib | |||
| Criteria | Scale | Score | |
| Accessibility | 1-10 | 9 | |
| Customer Service | 1-20 | 20 | |
| Cleanliness | 1-10 | 10 | |
| Food Presentation | 1-10 | 10 | |
| Price Value | 1-10 | 10 | |
| Taste of Food | 1-30 | 27 | |
| Overall Experience | 1-10 | 10 | |
| TOTAL: | 96/100 | ||
Please look out for my next post as I review another one of Baltimore’s Best during restaurant week and make my way around the DMV area! Also, you can find me on Instagram @finediningdiva and twitter @moderndaybeauty. Also, if you would like to follow my blog to receive notification when a new blog is posted, please send your email to finediningdiva@gmail.com.
And remember: It’s a BIG world and we are going to eat our way through it!
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