The Prime Rib is one of the most iconic restaurants in Baltimore. Unlike, most other steakhouses in the area, the Prime Rib is an original Baltimore establishment. Established in 1965, the Prime Rib has remained unchanged and still offers one of the best steaks and overall dining experience in the city.

The décor of the restaurant is a tad outdated, but I think that’s kind of the point. The black tile walls with leopard carpet and white table clothes are supposed to remind diners of another era. Gents should expect to wear a suit while ladies should wear a dress – this place is fancy. The servers are all top-notch, embracing old-world serving practices and techniques. Our server Nathan was very friendly and took the time to go over the entire menu and showcase the specials. He was also very attentive, checking up on us throughout the meal to see if our food and experience were up to par.

We started with the Prime Rib signature Greenberg Potato Skins, which were literally just fried potato skins accompanied by a horseradish sauce and sour cream with chive. We were lucky enough to try the potato skins on the house, as well as receive two complementary glasses of wine, thanks to a Foursquare special (a mobile app designed to turn restaurant dining into social networking). Simple as they were, the potatoes were very good and quite addicting. As Nathan said, “you can’t eat just one”. A tad more salt would have been nice, but no big deal. For our mains we choose the Bone-In Ribeye and the 6oz. Filet with lump crab on top. The crab on the filet was as fresh as can be and wasn’t diluted with any filler or additives. The filet mignon was incredibly tender, offering a velvety texture, perfectly suited with the warm rich crab on top. The Ribeye was a massive 16oz. portion, which engulfed the entire plate. It was charred to perfection and had that perfect pink center. The quality of the meat was superb; however, I would have like a bit more seasoning on my steak. I ended up dousing my steak with salt and cracked black pepper, something that shouldn’t be necessary at such a steakhouse establishment. For the first time in my life, I preferred a filet mignon over a ribeye, in fact, a precedent for any true steak lover. As our side, we decided to go with the grilled asparagus with hollandaise sauce. The asparagus were nicely grilled but also lacked a bit of seasoning. The hollandaise was absolutely amazing though, I used it as my dipping sauce for the asparagus and my steak – quite pedestrian I know.

I feel that the lack of seasoning on some of the dishes is due to the restaurant catering to their loyal clientele, whom happen to be people over 60 years old. I think I enjoyed the overall dining experience more than I enjoyed the actual food. The prices will most likely discourage me from returning often. At roughly $50 a steak, the Prime Rib is definitely not cheap and is more expensive than other steak houses, such as Flemings and Mortons. Regardless, I am glad I had an opportunity to finally eat at one of Baltimore’s most iconic and best rated restaurants.