When considering an unfamiliar cut, a helpful server asks, “Do you care more about flavor or tenderness?” Flavor. “Do you prefer lean cuts or are you okay with some fat?” I love fat. “How do you normally order your steak?” Medium rare.
Then, like some sort of sorceress using her powers for good, she recommends an off-menu 16-ounce ribeye suiting our current steak-craving needs. When helpful conversations result in ultra-customized ordering, who needs the fuss, pomp and price tags generally served at traditional steakhouses? Not at Ray’s. The beef arrives so stellar and juicy that the tempting add-ons of roasted garlic and bordelaise sauce were quickly pushed aside and promptly ignored.
Cuts here come with unlimited creamed spinach and mashed potatoes, but don’t sleep on the rich side of macaroni and cheese. Starters include a crisp wedge salad flanked by thick-cut bacon and a plate of deviled eggs filled with steak tartare—a steak and egg combination rivaling any other yolky precedent.
Finish with the tangy, generous slice of Key lime pie, or just nibble on the gratis squares of peanut butter fudge arriving with the check.
Ray’s The Steaks
Steakhouse | $$$
2300 Wilson Blvd, Arlington