The Prime Rib, Washington, D.C.

On the way to our afternoon meetings yesterday, my houseguest Tony took me to lunch at The Prime Rib on K Street. It turns out that The Prime Rib has extended their Restaurant Week prix fixe menu another week, so we were able to benefit from their $20.06 per person largess.

The Prime Rib is a very interesting place for many reasons, not least of which is the fact that they are one of the very few establishments in D.C. which actually requires gentlemen to wear a jacket and tie (others, such as 1789, require a jacket but not necessarily a tie). Now, most all men in D.C. dress for dinner and lunch in the higher end restaurants, probably because the law firms, lobbyists, and association offices haven't gone "business casual" here like they have in so many other parts of the country, but Prime Rib's rule is an interesting throw-back to an older era.

And an older era is exactly where we felt we were when we entered the Prime Rib—we were in a supper club from the early 1960s! The dining room has black lacquered walls with gilded architectural detailing for a French paneling and wainscoting look, and art prints featuring greyhounds and naked women with an Arts-Deco, Erté-esque feel; glass room dividers were etched with leaping greyhounds. A leopard print carpet covered the floor. Tightly spaced, white cloth-covered tables had black leather-upholstered banquettes along the exterior walls, high backed wing chairs along interior walls, and low club chairs in the center. A round console table in the center of the dining room held a very tall Chinese vase topped with a large ball of Spanish moss from which a huge display of long, silk, white cally lillies emanated. An elderly gentleman was playing a black baby grand piano with a clear lucite lid. Off to one side was a room with a large three-sided bar packed with drinkers. The maitre d' wore a tuxedo suit (not a tail coat) with a white bow tie, waiters were in tuxedos with black tie, and assistants were in black trousers and high necked black jackets ornamented with black braid. Not counting the staff, Tony was by far the youngest diner in the room and I think I was probably the second youngest (and I'm ancient).

We arrived ten minutes early for our 1:30 reservation, but were taken straightaway to our table. They gave us the regular luncheon menu and called our attention to the Restaurant Week menu on a table tent on the table. The R.W. menu had soup or salad, bread pudding or crême bruleé, and a choice of eight different entrees. We forgot to peruse the wine list since we were just drinking iced tea ($3). As we made our selections, we were given a basket of mixed breads with a large white loaf, slices of a tasty multi-grain bread, and a bunch of heart-shaped matzo crackers.

Tony started with the roasted tomato soup. It was presented in a cute white soup bowl featuring wolves' heads on each side as handles. The soup had a deep red color, and while Tony said it was good, I don't think he thought it was anything special (he tends to gush when he does). I had the house salad, a large serving of a chopped salad with romaine, cucumber, egg, pepperoncini, and grape tomatoes in a mayonnaise-based dressing scented with dijon mustard and a touch of cayenne, which I liked (the lettuce was crisp, so it had been freshly tossed).

Tony had the luncheon-sized prime rib for his main course. If that was a luncheon size, I'd hate to see what constitutes dinner size—the beef took up the entire oval plate! Rather than serving creamed grated horseradish as an accompaniment, there were thick shreds of horseradish mounded on the edge of the plate which could be used with each bite. For side dishes, he had mashed potatoes and long green beans in a tomato-green pepper espagnol sauce, both served in individual au gratin dishes. Tony said the prime rib had some unexpected bits of gristle, but was "excellent" and had a "very nice flavor."

I chose the grilled calves' liver and onions, which was absolutely delicious. They brought me a large, hot plate with a base of fully cooked onion slices and two long strips of liver which were grilled to just over medium rare. The liver was very tender and flavorful, lacking any unpleasant harshness. There's nothing better than good liver prepared at a good restaurant. For sides, I had the mashed potatoes, which were rich but rather over spiced with white pepper, I thought, and the broccoli rabe, which was oddly dry and topped with a grating of a white, semi-soft cheese.

We both had the bread pudding in bourbon sauce for dessert. It was a small serving with large bread chunks baked to crunchiness on the outside with a soft custardy inside; the bourbon sauce definitely had bourbon in it! I saw a crême bruleé at a nearby table and was happy not to have ordered that; another table had a big delicious-looking wine goblet full of fresh berries which looked wonderful, but that wasn't a Restaurant Week option.

On the whole, I liked the Prime Rib. Service was attentive and efficient and food was served in a timely manner. The only service faux pas I noticed was that our waiter refilled our tea glasses by pouring directly into the glasses on the table without picking them up and moving them to the side; he splashed a little bit of tea onto the tablecloth and on my knife. He regained points, though, for crumbing the table before the dessert course. I thought the food was good, though rather old-fashioned (that isn't necessarily a criticism, since old-fashioned can be good at times). For people wanting an old-style, elegant, steakhouse experience, I can recommend this place highly.