Last night I went looking for happy hour food. Sara was having dinner with a friend, so I figured I'd go get me some $6 burger and wine special. But, oh the horror! Upon arrival I discovered Ruth's Chris no longer does their "late" happy hour. They're under "corporate management" now (whatever that means) and so they only have the 4pm happy hour.
Other than a certain multi-billion-dollar CEO of a certain company I used to work for in the lobby talking business with someone, the place was dead. In the past, even on a Monday night, the bar was always packed. The bartender seemed quite depressed. He said he'd understand if I wanted to leave. And I did.
So I ambled across the sky bridge to McCormick and Schmick. Their late night happy hour starts at 9:30pm and is still going strong.
I had their S&M, er, M&S Cheeseburger ($2) their Hummus Plate ($2) and a glass of Penfold's Kanooga Hill Shiraz/Cab ($8). Obviously it's not a $6 meal, but it's pretty close. If I had really wanted to stick to the $6 limit I could have got a glass of beer and a cheeseburger and come pretty close. However, I wanted a glass of wine as I watched the Rockies finish their sweep and they don't have the $3 wine special at M&S.
The burger was pretty good. Nice and hot, but juicy-pink in the center. No mayo by default and it comes with Fries, which Ruth's Chris did not. The Hummus plate was good, but I wouldn't pay more than $2 for it: the red chips were a bit stale in places. The hummus itself was well-made with garlic and some time of oil on top, but without that overpowering flavor some hummusses (hummi?) have.
The Kanooga Hill Shiraz/Cab was what you would expect from the lower end Penfold's wines. It's as good a bet as any other by-the-glass wine, typically cheaper than the others and more reliable. This one hit the spot and went well with the burger.
I now pronounce M&S the new King of Happy Hour.
Showing posts with label ruth's chris. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ruth's chris. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
on storing wine
While I was on Maui, I happened to walk past the Ruth's Chris Steakhouse at the Grand Wailea. They were closed (it was early in the AM), so I'm not sure what it is like inside. From the outside, however, it looked like they had gone and stacked a bunch of very expensive wine in the big plate glass window, with the labels facing out so we could all see how spectacular their wine list was. If you've ever driven down highway 29 in Napa, pretty much everything you see was represented. At least three or four bottles deep.
There is a reason Maui is a vacation destination: the sun. Everyday the sun comes up and cooks those bottles of wine. It's very sad. I wouldn't order any wine from that branch unless they showed me where they had been storing it first.
Most wine is fine at room temperature for seven or eight years. Most of us won't be storing wine for 40 years; most American and Australian wines are meant to be drank much sooner.
For serious storage, you can buy a fridge to meet your needs. The fridge keeps things cool, which slows or stops various chemical reactions that can make the wine go bad. Most modern wine making techniques, however, will remove agents that would lead to such reactions (depending on the wine). It's only over very long periods of time that these things tend to become an issue. Or if you have older bottles of wine; though I suspect if you have any '62 Bordeauxs, you already know this.
The key to casual wine storage is keeping the temperature consistent and keeping it out of sunlight. Changes in temperature cause the cork to expand and contract. You don't want that. Sunlight has UV rays that can cause the wine to break down in unpleasant ways. These are your two biggest enemies.
To that end, you want to keep your non-refrigerated bottles in the coolest, darkest place in your house. Someplace you don't go into very often. Closets under stairs, basements, etc. I have a spare bedroom in which I put heavy, velvet curtains over the windows and plugged up the heat vents with a bathroom towel. I keep the door to the room closed and the lights off, except when we go in to pick out a bottle. In the summer, I unplug the vent and let the A\C keep the room cool.
Considering Ruth's Chris is a consistent Wine Spectator award winner, you'd think they would know better.
There is a reason Maui is a vacation destination: the sun. Everyday the sun comes up and cooks those bottles of wine. It's very sad. I wouldn't order any wine from that branch unless they showed me where they had been storing it first.
Most wine is fine at room temperature for seven or eight years. Most of us won't be storing wine for 40 years; most American and Australian wines are meant to be drank much sooner.
For serious storage, you can buy a fridge to meet your needs. The fridge keeps things cool, which slows or stops various chemical reactions that can make the wine go bad. Most modern wine making techniques, however, will remove agents that would lead to such reactions (depending on the wine). It's only over very long periods of time that these things tend to become an issue. Or if you have older bottles of wine; though I suspect if you have any '62 Bordeauxs, you already know this.
The key to casual wine storage is keeping the temperature consistent and keeping it out of sunlight. Changes in temperature cause the cork to expand and contract. You don't want that. Sunlight has UV rays that can cause the wine to break down in unpleasant ways. These are your two biggest enemies.
To that end, you want to keep your non-refrigerated bottles in the coolest, darkest place in your house. Someplace you don't go into very often. Closets under stairs, basements, etc. I have a spare bedroom in which I put heavy, velvet curtains over the windows and plugged up the heat vents with a bathroom towel. I keep the door to the room closed and the lights off, except when we go in to pick out a bottle. In the summer, I unplug the vent and let the A\C keep the room cool.
Considering Ruth's Chris is a consistent Wine Spectator award winner, you'd think they would know better.
Thursday, March 8, 2007
happy hour: ruth's chris
Downtown Bellevue offers quite a triad of happy hours. Daniel's Broiler, Sea Star and Ruth's Chris each have great happy hours with very high food quality to price ratios. This week I hit Ruth's Chris.
The happy hour is from 9pm to closing. To eat I had a cheeseburger ($3) which was the best damn $3 burger you are likely to find in Seattle, not overcooked (medium) and made with good meat, lettuce, tomato and onion (hold the mayo). To drink I had the red wine special, which was The Little Penguin Cabernet Savignon ($3). The Little Penguin is a discount wine from Australia that nestles into the same class as the low end Rosemount and Penfold's wines. It was drinkable, if a little rough around the edges. It goes oddly well with the cheeseburger though.
The happy hour is from 9pm to closing. To eat I had a cheeseburger ($3) which was the best damn $3 burger you are likely to find in Seattle, not overcooked (medium) and made with good meat, lettuce, tomato and onion (hold the mayo). To drink I had the red wine special, which was The Little Penguin Cabernet Savignon ($3). The Little Penguin is a discount wine from Australia that nestles into the same class as the low end Rosemount and Penfold's wines. It was drinkable, if a little rough around the edges. It goes oddly well with the cheeseburger though.
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