House of Prime Rib - San Francisco, CA

House of Prime Rib comes highly recommended on tv shows and all of the local magazines and newspapers.  Mr and I haven't had a big meaty dinner in a while so we decide to take the walk over to see what the hubbub is about.  It's about 830 on a Thursday night so there shouldn't be a long wait, right?

Um, wrong.  It's completely packed, even the bar, and the wait we're told is now at 1.5 hours.  *sigh*  Damn my naivety!  We're here, it's late and there's no where else we can go in this area so we hunker down and wait it out...  Some people have even resorted to eating at the bar.  I refuse since I see they're carving meat tableside and I want the whole experience.  1.5 hours later, we're seated, we quickly order and wait starving for sustenance...

Complimentary Corn Bread

Crunchy on the outside and served warm out of the oven.  That's how cornbread should be served everytime.  Absolutely delicious.

Complimentary Sourdough Bread

Repeat the above comments for the corn bread but just insert sourdough instead.  It's also super crunchy on the outside and super warm but dense on the inside.  San Francisco can do the sourdough like no one else!

Salad (comes with the meal Mr ordered)

Dressed and served tableside - they basically bring out the salad mix and then spin it over ice while they pour the dressing on.  Great theatrics but in the end, it's just a salad.  I don't know what kind of dressing it is, kind of tastes like a cross between Italian and Russian maybe?  Either way, it's interesting.  We both agree that there's too much dressing and would recommend getting it on the side or just ask for less.  Perhaps even skip on ordering it like I did - you're not missing out on much.

Baked Potato (comes with meal)

Cut tableside, filled with a stick of butter, a cup of sour cream, 1/2 cup of green onions, a cup of bacon bits, re-cut and then filled with another cup of bacon bits.  There's more fillings than potato.  Scratch that, there's more bacon than potato here folks.  It's so epic I had to give you two views of this thing.  So artery clogging but oh so good....

Yorkshire Pudding (comes with meal)

Brought out in a pan, cut into two portions tableside and then served to the both of us.  Really soft awith a nice crust on the outside.  Just a dip into the au jus and it's the perfect side...

Our meal being carved tableside...  I love the theatrics of this place!

House of Prime Rib Cut with meal - $39.85 (2 sides and a salad)

Holy hunk of meat Batman!  Mr Piglet says it's the tenderest prime rib he's ever had and when drowned in that au jus....  *drool*  The au jus disappears mid meal so after trying to find our server for 10 minutes, we manage to flag him down and he brings us more.  Au jus is just so good...  Another nice thing is that you can eat it with 3 different types of horseradish depending on what your tolerance may be.  I preferred the spiciest version while Mr preferred mild or nothing - when the main is so good, you don't need the condiments.  This meal is so good, Mr actually finishes his portion but then the server comes by and asks if he wants more.  More??  Apparently, you can get another serving of prime rib if you finish your portion off but you can't take it home, it must be eaten there.  No more prime rib.  That's WAY too much meat for one night and besides, you still have to finish off my dinner...

Prime Rib a la Carte with the English Cut - $33.85 (2 sides and no salad)

This is the tenderest prime rib I've had in a really long time.  Thinly sliced is the way to go, it's like cutting through butter.  I also like that there isn't much gristle - just good ole aged medium rare prime rib here.  I liked my creamed corn more than the creamed spinach as the creamed spinach just tasted like spinach and nothing special whereas the corn was sweet and had a nice bite to it.  The mashed potatoes were creamy and the gravy was good but they were also plain, nothing to write home about and definitely pedestrian compared to Mr's stuffed baked potato.  I eat as much as humanly possible and pass about 1/3 of my plate to Mr to finish off.  He's stuffed to the brim now as well.  Excellent....  Oh, and we packed the creamed spinach, creamed corn, mashed potatoes and the baked potato to go.  LOL.

Bravo House of Prime Rib bravo....  The whole experience of getting your meal carved tableside and then to tuck into the tenderest prime rib in an old-school setting can't be beat.  Remember to bring your wallets and you'll be taken care of.  I understand why this place came highly recommended and if you're any kind of respectable carnivore, House of Prime Rib is not to be missed if you're in San Francisco.  Bon appetite!

Oinks:

• Delicious prime rib and sides
• Massive portions - and more if you want!
• Old school steakhouse-like ambiance
• Love the tableside service - not a lot of places like that around anymore

Doinks:

• Spotty and snooty service from our server but the bartenders and everyone else was very delightful
• On the expensive side
• Extremely long waits without a reservation - make sure you make one before going!