The 12 Healthiest And Unhealthiest Foods At Ruth's Chris Steakhouse

Ruth's Chris Steak House is an upscale restaurant known for its fine cuisine. While Ruth's Chris offers a range of delicious appetizers, salads, entrées, and desserts, eating healthy in a steakhouse can be challenging. The Chicago Steak Company shares some helpful pointers for those looking to enjoy a meal without overindulging and consuming too many calories or unhealthy ingredients. They suggest opting for leaner cuts, watching meat portion sizes, and remembering that three ounces is the recommended serving size for steak, and steering clear of sauces.

Ruth's Chris Steak House's dinner menu lists calorie counts for each of their dishes. While this is one important factor to consider when deciding which meals are healthy or unhealthy, it isn't the only thing you should be looking at before placing an order. Continue reading to identify which foods on the menu truly are healthy and which ones to keep an eye out for. These indulgences might be more fitting when you're celebrating a very special occasion and are ready to splurge a bit. Either way, learn how to enjoy the culinary greatness that is Ruth's Chris while keeping your nutrition in mind.

A tomahawk ribeye is an impressive cut of meat. Ruth's Chris Steak House shares that their tomahawk ribeye steak is cut so that a minimum of 5 inches of bone is still left attached to the meat. The process of cutting the bone on a tomahawk ribeye is much like that of trimming a rack of lamb. For both of these types of meat, the bone is Frenched. This leaves the bone of a tomahawk ribeye looking like a handle, which can be convenient when eating the steak. Because of this cutting method, tomahawk steaks look much like the ax used by Native Americans — which is how they were given their name.

However, despite its impressive appearance, ordering a tomahawk ribeye from Ruth's Chris wouldn't be the wisest choice if you're looking for a healthy meal. Its 40-ounce weight is significantly larger (10 or more times) than the recommended 3- to 4- ounce serving size for beef. Beyond just being massive, The Bearded Butcher explains that a tomahawk steak has a higher content of fat than some other cuts of beef. The calorie count listed for the tomahawk ribeye is a whopping 3,160 calories, well over the recommended daily count for most individuals.

While the plain, chilled shrimp that come with the shrimp cocktail are a healthy option, you may not want to order the barbecued shrimp if you're looking for a lighter appetizer. Ruth's Chris Steak House's menu describes this shrimp appetizer as being sautéed with garlic, butter, white wine, and BBQ spices. Compared to the cocktail sauce that accompanies shrimp cocktail appetizer, cooking shrimp in these ingredients — particularly the butter — makes them a less healthy option. Butter is high in saturated fat. According to the Heart Foundation, including too much saturated fat in your diet can increase your risk of heart disease.

If you want to order shrimp, but aren't in the mood for a basic shrimp cocktail, consider ordering the spicy shrimp from Ruth's Chris Steak House instead. This appetizer features a spicy cream sauce that tops the shrimp. It is also served with a cucumber salad. For just 350 calories,it isn't a bad option to order as an appetizer and share with your table.

You may want to think twice before you order a fully-loaded baked potato as your side at Ruth's Chris. Not only will this side dish add 800 calories to your meal, but some of the toppings come with some other health concerns. As shared above, butter is high in saturated fats and, if consumed in large quantities, can increase your risk of developing heart disease. Sour cream is another topping that typically comes with loaded baked potatoes. As Healthline explains, sour cream contains a lot of fat and calories — 59 calories and 5.8 grams of fat, 3 of which are saturated fat. If you don't indulge in sour cream regularly, having some on a baked potato shouldn't be the end of the world, but it would still be healthier to eat the potato plain.

According to Livestrong, plain potatoes can be integrated into a healthy diet. A large potato has 372 calories — less than half of the total calorie count for the fully-loaded one-pound baked potato at Ruth's Chris. So, if you're really craving some potato to go with your steak, consider asking for it to be served plain. Or, opt for the flavorful garlic mashed potatoes that will only add 440 calories to your plate.

While a New York Strip steak is the go-to option for many individuals when at a fancy steakhouse, it isn't going to be your healthiest pick. As Ruth Chris Steak House explains, New York Strip steak is a very marbled cut of beef. It has a firmer texture, yet is also very tender.

Chicago Steak Company shares additional information about New York Strip steaks. They note that it is a leaner cut of beef with about 6 grams of fat per serving. It is also lower in calories than some other cuts of beef, offering about 155 calories in a 3-ounce serving. New York Strip steak is also high in protein and a good source of selenium to help reduce cell damage.

So, with all of these benefits, why did the New York Strip steak from Ruth's Chris Steak House make the unhealthy grouping? Well, for starters, it is a 16-ounce piece of meat, which is about four times the recommended serving size of 3 to 4 ounces. Eating too much red meat can increase LDL cholesterol levels (known as bad cholesterol). The entire entrée from Ruth's Chris Steak House has 1,390 calories, many more than you'd want to consume at one time, especially when you consider that you'll be enjoying your steak with some sides, beverages, and maybe even an appetizer. If you decide to order the New York Strip steak, try to cut it into smaller portions to bring home for a few additional meals.

Ruth's Chris offers the option to add a side of hollandaise sauce to your order. Hollandaise sauce is made with egg yolks, butter, salt, and lemon juice. While this may sound like a tasty concoction, according to Cully's Kitchen, you should consider other sauces if you want something to dip your steak or vegetables in. Hollandaise sauce simply isn't the healthiest choice to add to your meal. The rich ingredients make it high in calories, cholesterol, and fat, including saturated fat.

When you consider that hollandaise sauce is made with butter and egg yolks, it should be pretty clear why it has so much saturated fat and cholesterol. The American Heart Association advises individuals against incorporating too much saturated fat in their diet because it has been connected with an increased risk of heart disease. Instead, skip the sauce and enjoy the restaurant's perfected seasoning process by letting the steak's flavor shine. 

Hash browns can be a tasty treat. However, as with many other scrumptious foods, they aren't the healthiest option. Ruth's Chirs Steak House's hash browns are, unfortunately, no exception. As with other hash brown recipes, this side dish is made using shredded potatoes. The restaurant has its own unique take on the traditional recipe and adds bacon, cheese, and sour cream to the dish.

The Cold Wire notes that hash browns have a lot of carbs, which means that they aren't the best choice for individuals with high cholesterol. Most hash brown recipes are fried in oil. While this helps the shredded potatoes get nice and crispy, it also adds a lot of grease and fat to the dish. When you account for the additional fat and calories that the bacon, cheese, and sour cream will add to this side dish, it is probably best to skip it and try something else instead.