There’s something very specific about the pleasures of a good steakhouse. It’s dark and clubby with exceptional service, and you can mostly anticipate the menu. Ruth’s Chris, which got started in New Orleans in 1965, grew successful by challenging the notion that predictability necessitates mediocrity—that is, just because it’s a chain doesn’t mean it can’t be great.

Bread comes to the table fresh and warm. The chopped salad, touted as a classic, sports a little spill of fried onions on top that adds texture but steals thunder from the tasty blue cheese. Fried oysters and gumbo are delicious, and creamed spinach is like a dream, with the pepper and béchamel and spinach leaves all blending together into an irresistible pile of fatty goodness. But this infamous gimmick of bringing a well-seasoned steak on 500-degree plates of sizzling butter means you had better order it cooked at least one level lower than you want it. The kitchens are remarkably adept at this, considering their patented 1800-degree ovens.

Seeing as how Houston’s a town of terrific steakhouses, we can’t see any reason why you should come here over Vic and Anthony’s, III Forks, Perry’s, or even Pappas Bros., but should you find yourself on business in a foreign city, let the glow of delicious sameness be your beacon.