Photography by Kevin A. Roberts
Certain burgers set themselves apart—in this case, literally—from all the others. Standing 8 inches tall, the RBar Burger at Ruth’s Chris Steak House ranks high on the impress-o-meter.
Hoping to drive lounge traffic, the steakhouse chain’s South Bend location created the signature cheeseburger. The RBar Burger was so named in hopes that diners would embrace the restaurant’s bar as a regular gathering place, as in “our bar.” At first, the burger was only offered on Thursdays. But the bar became standing room only, and soon the burger was one of the menu’s lynchpins.
A critical puzzle piece is the patty (an 8-ounce, 80/20 triple blend of USDA Prime tenderloin, strip, and ribeye trim), seasoned with kosher salt and coarse black pepper and placed in an 1,800-degree Montague broiler that sears in the juices. The patty sits on locally made brioche with a bottom dress of Roma tomatoes and shredded iceberg. Havarti cheese and smoked onion aioli are situated on top. Fried red onions serve as the crowning garnish.
“Now, all of our Ruth’s Chris bars are extremely busy,” Prime Hospitality Group COO Jeff Blair says of the company’s eight units. “And I have to think that a lot of it was due to the launch of that burger.” 16493 Wild Horse Creek, 315 Chestnut.
