The Precinct

Recently, I was reminded of my last dinner at the Precinct, Jeff Ruby's signature steakhouse in Columbia-Tusculum. As usual, my steak was wonderful. But that was the only wonderful aspect of that meal.

When I was younger, the Precinct was the nicest restaurant in the city. At least that I knew of. This is but one jewel in Jeff Ruby's crown, but it isn't the shiniest.

At the meal in question, I was surprised at how poor the service was. The waiter took friendly to an unprofessional level. The table behind me was full of loud jocks who made sure their dates, and everyone else, knew they were eating at the Precinct. And the tomato, onion and smoked mozzarella salad was very disappointing.

As long as the Precinct keeps getting the great meat that it does now, it's worth going to. But the atmosphere in this restaurant isn't as classy as it used to be, and not all of the food lives up to the standard the meat sets.

Ruby has spread his empire into Louisville and Indiana. I wonder if he's spread himself too thin. This was the restaurant that made his name, but I'm not impressed anymore. I want to have a meal at this other restaurants and see if this is an isolated incident, or if my memory of his restaurants was off.