After yesterday's compulsory event, using up our gift certificate at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse didn't seem to feel so much like an assignment. The lounge was extremely busy with consumers of cocktails and cigars, even on a Tuesday evening. In a small room there was a presentation going on for the benefit of physicians and all who could see the PowerPoint screens were laughing, because the theme was the role of diet in reduction of cholesterol. The server was apparently at odds with her busboy and really kept pushing the wine relentlessly. Even after each trying a couple of by-the-glass cabernets (all excellent) apiece and enjoying the menu without restriction, there was plenty left on the gift certificate to make everybody happy. I was persuaded not to order rare and then, when the steak came to the table, it was evident that I should have ordered rare! These were the best french fries I've had in decades, and I suspect that beef tallow as the frying medium must have contributed greatly to their superlative taste and their outer gilding.