Yeah. All right food, but don't expect Morton's (across the lobby).

Funny you should mention Morton's. On this last trip I tried Morton's, Rays the Steaks, and Ruth's Chris, all in Arlington. Morton's was by far the best. I'm still thinking about it.

Checking out the one in Crystal City next week. Given the Virginia ABC laws, maybe I'd be better off dining at the one in D.C. to make the most of my VIP membership. No free after-dinner drinks in VA.

Ponderosa is more like a family restaurant with a lot of red meat than a steakhouse. :D I'll take the sirloin tips there over anything served at Perkins.

Well, except the Ponderosa on International Drive in MCO; a huge echo chamber of kids. :eek:

My spouse worked at Ponderosa as a teenager. Oh, the stories about this chain.
Don't know why anyone could nominate it as a "steakhouse." :eek:

My vote is still for Outback as the WORST, and so it was surprising to read a recent article that Outbacks are one of the top ten chains in the country. :confused:

Probably not the worst in the world, but most dissapointing for me: Morton's at the Mandarin Oriental in Singapore. Not nearly up to the quality of a typical Morton's. My only expalanation is that the meat is not aged? :confused:

I've gone to some excellent and some very sub par steakhouses in Argentina.

They export most of their best beef and keep the lower quality stuff for the local population. So only the high end restaurants seemed to have really good meat.

Plus sometimes I feel like we were served the "gringo" cuts since they thought we wouldn't know any better. :rolleyes:

Skip the steakhouse in the LAX Marriott. Terrible.

Frozen "high quality" steaks? no thanks

Pub steaks.. cheap and terrible..

Serious.. good deal.. but you can bounce the steaks off the walls..

A steakhouse shouldn't be allowed on the Ponderosa sign IMO. Yes they serve it but so does Denny's.

I agree with the chain restaurants, Outback, Applebees's, etc as being the worst. Anytime something is that mass produced, the quality goes away. I remember when those restaurants used to be really good and quiet a treat to go too...not so much now.

Generally tastes like rubber.. but if you're into that kind of stuff and the convenience of it..

But generally at the chains.. I'm not expecting gourmet.. that's for sure..

Ooh, fun. I want to play... I don't think people can count Outback and Ponderosa in this vote... Yes, they call themselves steakhouses, but it's definitely a different league than true steakhouses. Besides, when they charge $10-$20 for a steak, they are given a little bit of leeway, especially since a plate of spaghetti at IHOP almost costs that much nowadays. When I think "steakhouses" I think of Morton's, Ruth's Chris, etc.

Consistently, I've had bad experiences at Sam and Harry's. I've tried one in CA and one in IL. Both are equally blah. Which is a complete and utter shame considering how nicely appointed the restaurants are. But it seems like they care more about decor and ambiance than the actual food.

Also, the Palm has never been a favorite, which might explain why one of the Chicago locations closed a couple years ago. Steaks were dry and ambiance was eh. Nothing to write home about, despite spending $$$.

The Palm is an interesting chain. The original ones in NY are excellent, as was the one that closed in Troy, MI (due to their awful location). The one in Chicago that closed was inedible. Went there once and couldn't believe how awful it was.