# Ruth's Chris - Aruba MVCI properties



## equitax (Apr 24, 2011)

I'll be in Aruba next week at Surf Club and wondering if Ruth's Chris steakhouse is worth the price, I mean really, would I be paying for the sizzle, or the steak?  I don't mind a hefty price tag if its quality.


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## BonBiniGirl (Apr 24, 2011)

We have not been to Ruth Chris, but definitely recommend El Gaucho for a good steak in Aruba.  http://www.elgaucho-aruba.com/.


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## IngridN (Apr 24, 2011)

Yep, well worth it. The meal was disappointing the first year, however, last year it was fantasic (porterhouse for 2). It's definitely on our must do list.

Ingrid


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## SpikeMauler (Apr 25, 2011)

We've eaten at NY Ruths Chris a few times and always enjoyed it. We ate at the Aruba Marriott Ruths Chris last October and didn't think it was that good. Definitely not worth it(jmho).


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## ilene13 (Apr 26, 2011)

equitax said:


> I'll be in Aruba next week at Surf Club and wondering if Ruth's Chris steakhouse is worth the price, I mean really, would I be paying for the sizzle, or the steak?  I don't mind a hefty price tag if its quality.



We always eat at El Gaucho and it is wonderful.  We ending up eating at Ruth's Chris on Christmas Day as we were rained out of Taste of Belgium.  We were pleasantly surprised.  Food was excellent.


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## tombo (Apr 26, 2011)

You can eat at a Ruth's Chris in most any major city in the US. They have very good but IMO overpriced steaks. Before you go to Aruba go to a Ruth's Chris and eat. Get it out of your system. 

There are so many great places to eat in Aruba that are not anywhere else in the world. Why go to Aruba and eat at an American restaurant chain? I have to admit that I have eaten at Texas de Brazil in Aruba (which is a chain), but I did it because I had a buy one free get one free coupon. Without a buy one get one free coupon they would not be on my radar as they have locations in Memphis, Orlando, etc, etc, etc, where I can eat when in those areas. There is a Ruth's Chris in Huntsville Alabama where my famly lives, and in Birmingham, Jackson Mississippi (less than an hour from my house), etc, etc, etc. It doesn't take a plane ride to eat at a Ruth's Chris for most Americans. It does require a plane ride to eat at Passions, Papillon, Yemanja, Flying Fishbones, Chalet Suisse, etc, etc,etc in Aruba.  When in Aruba, St Maarten, etc I always either eat in the room or at a place that I can not eat at other than on that Island.

Here is a list of Aruba's Top 10 restaurants rated by reviewers for this year, and the top 5 for the past 5 years. Not saying these are the best, others will have different opinions, but NOTHING on this list is an American chain that you can eat at in the US.:
http://www.restaurantsaruba.com/topten.html

If you eat at a different great restaurant every meal in Aruba , you can not eat at all of them in a week. There are a lot of places in Aruba where I want to eat that I have not had the chance to dine at so far. An American steakhouse chain that I can eat at anytime of the year near my home is definetelly not one of the places I will dine during my limited time in Paradise. JMHO.


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## timeos2 (Apr 26, 2011)

We really looked forward to a Ruth's Chris as we'd heard good things and have none in our home area.  We tried two - one in Las Vegas and one in Orlando and found both to be "ok", but seriously over priced for the quality.  It is just a steak house and there are places that cost as little as half as much but the food - isn't that what you're there for? - is better!  At the prices they charge we can easily find a top end steak house that we like much more.  Just not worth the cost IMO.


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## ajlm33 (Apr 26, 2011)

equitax said:


> I'll be in Aruba next week at Surf Club and wondering if Ruth's Chris steakhouse is worth the price, I mean really, would I be paying for the sizzle, or the steak?  I don't mind a hefty price tag if its quality.



We were underwhelmed when we ate there in Aruba last year. The food was good but not THAT good. We got the two for $99 three course dinner special (the deal at the time) and could have spent much more for what was, in my opinion, an average steak.

That being said, I still think that one has to "experience" Ruth's Chris at least once in one's lifetime, just to say that you did.


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## lvhmbh (Apr 26, 2011)

We went there because it was the choice of one of our friends who lives in Aruba.  Didn't like the atmosphere and the food was just ok!  Much better at Chalet Suisse or El Gaucho (love to go across the street after to Garufa if they have music).


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## IngridN (Apr 26, 2011)

lvhmbh said:


> We went there because it was the choice of one of our friends who lives in Aruba.  Didn't like the atmosphere and the food was just ok!  Much better at Chalet Suisse or El Gaucho (love to go across the street after to Garufa if they have music).



I have to disagree about Chalet Suisse. Even before we crossed it off our list (the last two times the food was awful), the steaks don't come close to Ruth's Chris...JMHO of course  . 

Am counting down the days until Saturday...then 2 glorious weeks in Aruba. I'll let everyone know how our RC's meal was!

Ingrid


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## tombo (Apr 26, 2011)

IngridN said:


> Am counting down the days until Saturday...then 2 glorious weeks in Aruba. I'll let everyone know how our RC's meal was!
> 
> Ingrid



Have fun in Aruba. Wish I was going.

As far as Ruth Chris, why not visit the local San Fransisco location to eat a Ruths Chris steak?  If they are running the Aruba franchise correctly the steak will taste just like the one you buy in the San Fransisco location, the 3 Atlanta locations, the 2 in San Diego, the 2 in San Antonio, the 14 in Florida, the 7 in North Carolina, the 14 in California, etc, etc,etc.  35 of the 50 US states have at least one location. If the Aruba location is run correctly it will taste just the same as any of the 100 US Ruths Chris locations that are within driving distance of most of the US population.


In the US there are 100 Ruths Chris restaurants but not a single Madam Janettes, no Flying Fishbones, no Driftwood, no Windows on Aruba, no Passions, no Screaming Eagle, no Simply Fish, no Old Cunucu, no Casa Tua, no Chalet Suisse, no Fishes and more, no old Man and the sea, no hadicurari, etc, etc, etc. Why fly to Aruba to eat at a chain you have in your home town? 

To the OP, IMO eat at the places in Aruba you can't dine at unless you travel to Aruba. For steaks in Aruba try El Gaucho. It has Argentinian beef which rivals Kobe. When on an Island I am almost exclusivelly there for seafood, but if you want a steak try the steaks at the above listed Aruban restaurants as most of them have have very good steaks on their menus in addition to seafood choices.

Aruba has Ruths Chris, Mcdonalds, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Hard Rock Cafe, Dunkin Donuts, and other American chains. If you want to go to Aruba and eat the same food as you can get at home, there are those options. I personally don't want to be on vacation in a foreign country and eat at American chains. JMHO


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## timeos2 (Apr 26, 2011)

tombo said:


> Aruba has Ruths Chris, Mcdonalds, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Hard Rock Cafe, Dunkin Donuts, and other American chains. If you want to go to Aruba and eat the same food as you can get at home, there are those options. I personally don't want to be on vacation in a foreign country and eat at American chains. JMHO



As the "travel adviser's" Edith Prickly on Second City TV once said "We've found if you stay at the Holiday Inn and never leave being in a foreign country is just like never leaving home".  Similar for the usually rather blah food chains. If what you want is the same stuff as home its there but why travel all that way to "enjoy" that?  Might just as well go there at home and save a ton of travel expense. Ruth's Chris falls in the middle of the road food group at best and why travel thousands of miles and pay more (everything is hogher cost in the islands) for what you can et at home? Makes no sense at all to me.


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## equitax (Apr 26, 2011)

*True , but*

I am living in Venezuela right now, where frankly I don't even know what they do with the rest of the cow.  Here you get tenderloin, sirloin, rump, and what they consider to be "prime rib" is nowhere near as tender as what you can get in Canada or USA.  and everything is fatless.  The tenderloin is good, don't get me wrong, but I grew up eating bone-in rib steaks, and so this would be a treat.  On the other hand, I may just buy some at Ling's like I did last time around, as these were quite tasty too.

I am actually looking forward to stopping at Quizno's on the way to SC from the airport!

Still can't believe I traded a studio at Grande Vista for a 2BDR at Surf Club when I paid - drumroll = $379/night for the exact same unit last year on marriott.com....




timeos2 said:


> As the "travel adviser's" Edith Prickly on Second City TV once said "We've found if you stay at the Holiday Inn and never leave being in a foreign country is just like never leaving home".  Similar for the usually rather blah food chains. If what you want is the same stuff as home its there but why travel all that way to "enjoy" that?  Might just as well go there at home and save a ton of travel expense. Ruth's Chris falls in the middle of the road food group at best and why travel thousands of miles and pay more (everything is hogher cost in the islands) for what you can et at home? Makes no sense at all to me.


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## IngridN (Apr 26, 2011)

tombo said:


> Have fun in Aruba. Wish I was going.
> 
> As far as Ruth Chris, why not visit the local San Fransisco location to eat a Ruths Chris steak?  If they are running the Aruba franchise correctly the steak will taste just like the one you buy in the San Fransisco location, the 3 Atlanta locations, the 2 in San Diego, the 2 in San Antonio, the 14 in Florida, the 7 in North Carolina, the 14 in California, etc, etc,etc.  35 of the 50 US states have at least one location. If the Aruba location is run correctly it will taste just the same as any of the 100 US Ruths Chris locations that are within driving distance of most of the US population.
> 
> ...



We generally don't eat at the US chains when traveling abroad...we try to eat local, however, being allergic to some seafood, it is impossible for me due to the cross-contamination, so all seafood places are out. let's see, the local restaurant at the Lighthouse was one of our favorites until the quality of the food suffered. At their prices, I'll go for a drink to soak in the ambiance. Ditto for Chalet Suisse as well as the French Steakhouse. Madame Jeanette's is one of our favorites and allways warrants a meal or 2. Same with Smokey Joe's.

And...we don't get into the City much. Our first meal at a RC was in NYC's Times Square a couple of years ago and we loved the food. 

We'll try some new local restaurants this trip. Please don't give me a hard time about eating at an American chain restaurant in Aruba...I was simply responding to a request as to their quality of food. Their portion size on the porterhouse allowed us 2 additional meals on the balcony with a nice salad and a bottle of good South American wine...so for us, it was actually a relatively cheap meal  

Ingrid


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## IngridN (Apr 26, 2011)

equitax said:


> .......Still can't believe I traded a studio at Grande Vista for a 2BDR at Surf Club when I paid - drumroll = $379/night for the exact same unit last year on marriott.com....



I did even better...traded a Shadow Ridge gold studio for one of the 3 bedrooms  . Can't wait to see what they look like.

Ingrid


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## equitax (Apr 26, 2011)

*3BDR Units*

They are nice.  All ocean view or side I beleive.  I almost bought two of them last year for (platinum plus weeks so this would have been a steal for ....


$ 37000.00 X 2 = $74000.00 but I think they were giving me like 20 pct off.

Found TUG in time (I lurked back then....)




IngridN said:


> I did even better...traded a Shadow Ridge gold studio for one of the 3 bedrooms  . Can't wait to see what they look like.
> 
> Ingrid


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## tombo (Apr 26, 2011)

IngridN said:


> We generally don't eat at the US chains when traveling abroad...we try to eat local, however, being allergic to some seafood, it is impossible for me due to the cross-contamination, so all seafood places are out. let's see, the local restaurant at the Lighthouse was one of our favorites until the quality of the food suffered. At their prices, I'll go for a drink to soak in the ambiance. Ditto for Chalet Suisse as well as the French Steakhouse. Madame Jeanette's is one of our favorites and allways warrants a meal or 2. Same with Smokey Joe's.
> 
> And...we don't get into the City much. Our first meal at a RC was in NYC's Times Square a couple of years ago and we loved the food.
> 
> ...


I am so srry to hear that you have sea food allergies.  That does limit the Aruba restaurants. Seafood is my favorite, even better than steak. I would eat at El Gaucho, Smokey joe's, and Texas de Brazil if I had seafood allergies. I am sure there are other places that are not mainly seafood, but in Aruba I concentrate on seafood and am not much help on places that serve no seafood.


Texas de Brazil has the best salad bar I have been to in Aruba, in fact one of the best anywhere. Lots of salads, dressings, cheeses, soups, etc. With your allergies it might be a great spot to eat since they don't serve any seafood. They serve meat. Beef, Pork, Chicken, lamb, and all you can eat.They keep bringing you skewers of meat to choose from until you surrender. It is a short walk from the Marriotts.  

This special card gets you 50% off per meal for up to 12 meals. It benefits the Childrens cancer fund and costs $59.99. Each meal is about $50, so your first 2 meals almost pay for the card. If you ate ther 2 time you would save about $100 for a $60 card. This offer ends soon, I think 3 days from now. You can also register on the texas de brazil web site as a guest and they will send you coupons for joining and coupons for your birthday and anniversary. 

https://www.texasdebrazil.com/diningcard.php


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## IngridN (Apr 26, 2011)

tombo said:


> I am so srry to hear that you have sea food allergies.  That does limit the Aruba restaurants. Seafood is my favorite, even better than steak. I would eat at El Gaucho, Smokey joe's, and Texas de Brazil if I had seafood allergies. I am sure there are other places that are not mainly seafood, but in Aruba I concentrate on seafood and am not much help on places that serve no seafood.
> 
> 
> Texas de Brazil has the best salad bar I have been to in Aruba, in fact one of the best anywhere. Lots of salads, dressings, cheeses, soups, etc. With your allergies it might be a great spot to eat since they don't serve any seafood. They serve meat. Beef, Pork, Chicken, lamb, and all you can eat.They keep bringing you skewers of meat to choose from until you surrender. It is a short walk from the Marriotts.
> ...



Thanks Tombo, I'll look into it. We've been to TdB and had to be rolled out...and I agree, their salad is the best I've ever had. With the coupon, we'll probably go back.

I also love seafood and fix it at home where I have total control. My allergies are so severe that I'm out of commission for about 2 days, therefore, I don't chance it on vacations! The problem is cross-contamination in the kitchens.

Ingrid


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