a la Carteret
Ribeyes
Steakhouse
by Sandy Craft
How often have you seen something simple and shaken your head and thought, why didn’t I think of that?
That’s what my Companions-in-Eating and I wondered while we were having dinner at Ribeyes Steakhouse in Beaufort. Horace Liles has come up with a very simple concept for his restaurant and from the looks of the crowd when we went, he is getting very good results.
There are three entrée selections available.
You can order skewered shrimp, a boneless chicken breast or, you
guessed it, a rib eye. Everything is grilled - no deep-fat frying, no au
gratin or sautéed or broiled. Accompaniments are pretty simple, also.
Baked potato or sweet potato, a piece of grilled (of course)
This is not to say that there are no decisions to be made here. You may have a single entrée, or a sampler plate with smaller portions of either two or all three of the entrees. You may order a rib eye from 4 ounces all the way up to 20 ounces. Whoa, that’s a big fella! And that’s it. I repeat: very simple.
My
CiEs and I started out at the salad bar, which was all very fresh and even had
smoked oysters. Mike Levoy, the
manager and grill master, suggested we try the “everything” sampler, which
has a 4 ounce rib eye, a skewer of shrimp and half a chicken breast. Plenty,
but not too much. It was all very
tasty and grilled to order. I
thought the sweet potato with a little cinnamon sprinkled on it was
practically dessert. Well, not
quite.
The rib eyes are from Omaha Steaks, famous for their tender, aged beef. But Mike and his assistant manager, Chip Bass, enhance the flavor by grilling to perfection. I think this may be the ideal job for a man. Have a great time minding the grill, but in air-conditioned comfort.
We were perfectly content with our very tasty, healthy meal, but my editor requires that I try all courses. So, I had to ask about dessert. Imagine how surprised I was to find out that Mike does not grill the dessert. What, no S’mores? What they do serve is a delicious strawberry cheesecake and a really, really yummy key lime pie. When you’ve eaten a healthy dinner, you deserve a little sweet reward. That’s what I think.
An attractive and well-thought-out bar area is in the rear of the restaurant. The nonsmokers get to enjoy the lovely Front Street view, but if you wander toward the back, there is a very inviting bar plus a dining area for smokers.
There is a nice selection of wines and beers, but also an intriguing list of specialty martinis. Have you ever had a Caramel Appletini, a Raspberry Brownie Martini or a Godiva Truffletini? That sounds like something I might really like. Maybe I should check with my editor to see if I need to sample these, too.
On Friday nights you can enjoy live music (in addition to a Godiva Truffletini) at the bar. I get the feeling that if enough people are interested, Mike might expand that to other nights.
If you’re having a private party or meeting, just call and reserve the Angus Room. But if you aren’t hosting any event in the foreseeable future, then I think you should just do the simple thing, go to Ribeyes, where things are simply good.
Quick Bites
Ribeyes Steakhouse
Address: 509 Front St., Beaufort
Phone: (252) 728-6105
Hours: Open daily from 5 p.m.
Price Range: Entrées start at $13.99 (although smaller portions are less).
Payment: All major credit cards, local checks
Reservations: Not necessary
Other: Menu and personnel are kid friendly.
Sandy
Craft owned and operated a catering company in Atlanta
for 17 years.
She is one of the few people who actually still cooks, but she finds
following
a recipe goes against her nature. When traveling she likes to visit local
grocery
stores and farm stands, and she thoroughly enjoys good food.
See the previously reviewed restaurants on the Restaurant Archive page
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