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Rib & Chop House ~ regional chain : Colorado Springs, Colorado


First visit: Apr 2022 (Colorado Springs)

It was time to celebrate Mrs. RJG & I's 25th wedding anniversary! We usually don't fuss about such things, but 25 is a milestone that we didn't want to pass up. Hard to imagine we were only on our 11th anniversary when we started this blog. The original plan was to go all out to a place downtown called Famous Steakhouse, but Mrs. RJG hasn't had much luck at places like that - primarily because she likes a well done steak. And they don't like to make well done steaks! She had noticed this east side restaurant some time ago while running errands, and it had been recommended to her, so why not celebrate here instead?

Much more casual - I would categorize Chop & Rib House as a high end Outback or Saltgrass. We ordered a reasonably priced bottle of Cabernet (a decent wine too - it wasn't a table wine substitute). Mrs. ordered the ribeye with a "loaded" baked potato, side of spinach, and a house salad. They cooked her steak to perfection and she ate the whole thing, happy as could be. That's a rare occurrence (pardon the pun) for her when it comes to steakhouses. At first she didn't care for the spinach, but later changed her tune saying it was cooked properly and she enjoyed the flavor. The potato is often the highlight for her, and she enjoyed that as well. I had the "baseball cut" sirloin (ordered medium) with garlic mashed potatoes and a side salad. Mine was cooked medium rare, but I grew up eating steaks that way, so no complaints from me. Not as tender as I'd hoped but certainly not tough, and it possessed a great meaty/salty flavor. The potatoes were excellent, but not as hot temperature as expected, especially considering the steaks came out on hot sizzling plates. And we both agreed the salad could have used fresher lettuce, but otherwise sufficed (and we both enjoyed the balsamic vinaigrette dressing). We liked the super cold plates for that as well. I couldn't finish my potatoes, and we both passed on dessert. 

Decor is nice - a variation on the Western theme, with a full bar and good views of the mountains. Would be a nice place to take guests.

Overall, a fine meal - perhaps not so memorable. Then again, our best meals are usually at the local dives and insider places. Hence - The Regular Joe's Guide. But we'll definitely come back. 

The generically named Rib & Chop House is a small regional chain based in Bozeman, Montana. They currently have 12 locations: Montana (4); Wyoming (5); and one each in Utah, Idaho, and this restaurant in Colorado.

4/6/22 (new entry)

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