Prime Rib

Disappointing. Took my bride to the Prime Rib to celebrate our anniversary. I would NOT recommend it for others. The waiter made it quite clear right from the beginning that he had no interest in being there -- or maybe he had no interest in us being there. The food was very good, except for the bland house salad. But the tight quarters and the waiter ruined the atmosphere. The valet deserved more of a tip than did the waitstaff.…

Not worth full price. My husband & I ate at the Baltimore location of The Prime Rib. We went during Restaurant Week to celebrate my birthday on 8/11/09 Pros: the food was fantastic. I didn't personally care much for the dressing on the caesar salad but my husband loved it (he thinks they make the dressing from scratch). For me it had too much of a vinegar taste followed by a spicy taste (neither flavor is one I care for personally). The bread they give you was great(I'm not a poppy seed or sesame seed person; the bread had both on top & I actually ate a decent bit of the bread!). It was still nice & warm to help melt the butter. For the entree, my husband had the Filet Mignon (it was 4 or 5oz) & I had the Imperial Crab. Both were very wonderful. They came with a dish of Creamed Spinich & a dish of Mashed Potatoes to share between us. I'm not a huge spinich fan but I did eat some, not too bad. I loved the potatoes tho, great flavor, didn't need salt or pepper like usual! The Filet was nicely cooked outside with lots of juice & some pink still inside. It was extremely flavorful & had my husband wanting to buy another dish of it! The Imperial Crab was full of lump crab meat & out of the whole dish, only 3 tiny shell pieces (to me, that's good!)! Then came dessert: my husband got the Creme Brulee & I got the Chocolate Mousee Pie. The Brulee had a nice crispy top (not hard, just crispy enough) that my husband said reminded him of toasted marshmallows. Under that was a nice light creamy custard. He loved every spoonfull. My pie was amazingly light! I've never had such a wonderful chocolate mousee before, I certainly would have gotten more given the chance! The waiter had a nice balance of checking on us & leaving us alone. He was prompt with refilling our waters, usually before we ran out.

Cons: The location is not the best in our opinions. We were hoping to take a stroll to the harbor afterwards but there was no way we felt comfortable walking around outside of the restaurant (we used the garage entrance to get to & from the restaurant). When we were seated, we were put at a very tiny table up against a wall & already felt crowded by the other tables nearby. The walkway between our table to the one to my right was so small that each time someone walked by, we both had to lean against the wall to avoid being bumped (it got to the point I just stayed against the wall). The noise level rivals that of Applebees or T.G.I. Fridays on a firday or Saturday nice with a packed bar during football season! We could hardly hear each other talk at several points through the evening. The price of beverages outside of water was insane. My tiny Sprite (not more than a 12oz glass filled to the top with ice) cost $4. My husbands 1 beer cost $7. We were very glad we only purchased one of each & didn't have any refills! We were trying to attribute the noise level & the tight spacing to it being restaurant week, thinking they added in tables to acommadate the response & that some patrons may not have been use to going to a fancy restaurant & therefore respecting the lower noise level. However, we found out later that a friend of my husbands use to go there often with her husband & said it's always cramped feeling & very loud, they eventually stopped going.

The previous year we went to Red Lobster for my birthday. We both felt it would have been better to go there instead of The Prime Rib. It was far quieter & roomier. The food, in our opinions, is still very good at RL.

We have eaten at The Capital Grille & The Rusty Scupper during past restaurant weeks & both were places we would willingly return to & pay full price. The entire experience was wonderful at both of those.…