Mertz and I attended this event the other night at the Marina Del Rey Ruth's Chris. I have never been there before. I was not even aware there was one there as I used to go to the one in Beverly Hills. The restaurant was quite big. They had an impressive wine display. The dinner was held in a private room. They had the champagnes on display and an attractive table that featured a nice yellow bag and champagne from Veuve Clicquot to be raffled at the end of the evening.
As we walked in we were handed half a glass of champagne to whet our appetite. Our first course was Butternut Squash Ravioli & Sage Mascarpone Sauce. The pasta was aldente. The crispy prosciutto on top was a nice touch. This was paired with Domaine Chandon Brut Classic. I would have been happy eating just the ravioli for my entree but with a slightly bigger portion. This was followed by the anticipated Black Truffle Soup with a white truffle flan and Parmesan shortbread. As soon as they walked in the room, I could smell the aroma of the wonderful truffle. We loved the soup but unfortunately, it was not hot. It was just lukewarm. The soup was paired with our second champagne, Veuve Clicquot Brut Yellow Label. I enjoyed this champagne but I already knew I would since I am familiar with it.
Our third course was a salad. Medjool Date with Goat Cheese with Baby arugula, heirloom carrots and pretty slices of watermelon radish made this very appealing to our taste buds. Mertz and I enjoyed this salad. Different textures and flavors from the radish, sweet pecans, bitterness of the arugula were just delightful. The champagne picked for this course was Moët & Chandon; Moët Impérial. This was Napoleon Bonaparte's favorite champagne. I found this to be a fruitier champagne. I could see why it was his favorite. Our main entree was a Petite Filet Mignon with Romesco Crust. The steak came sizzling with butter. My steak was medium though it was more well done for Mertz which they quickly corrected. The crispy top was wonderful. I have never had romesco crust before and didn't even know what it was. It is made with red peppers mainly with herbs, garlic nuts, and breadcrumbs. We couldn't really taste the red peppers but it was delicious. As a side dish, they served a slice of onion, endive and radicchio galette and broccoli with roasted red peppers. I could not finish the steak as I was getting full. The champagne we had with the steak was the Ruinart Brut Rosé. It was a perfect pairing.
Dessert was a Lemon Cheesecake with toasted walnuts topped with whipped cream and a scoop of Raspberry Sorbet. This was the only thing I was not excited about. I expected a little tartness from the cheesecake, it was just too sweet for me. The raspberry sorbet was very good. It was a nice finale to this very enjoyable and satisfying meal. We were back to Veuve Clicquot for our last pairing. The Veuve Clicquot Demi-Sec. (semi sweet), which was very smooth. It was like icing on the cake.
Mertz was sure she was going to win the drawing. I secretly wished she wouldn't and hoped that I would win it. Needless to say, someone else won the nice bag with the yellow champagne goblets and Veuve Clicquot Champagne.
I haven't been to a Ruth's Chris in a long time only because our last experience was not good. After this experience, I know I will want to go back and maybe try their Rib-Eye!
I can't make myself believe you were secretly wishing I would lose the raffle and you would win! I had such a hard day I thought I had earned it. (She says with a smile and a wink.)
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