Prime rib arrives as a proper steakhouse dinner here: a substantial cut of beef, cooked to order and ready for the familiar supporting cast of au jus and creamy horseradish. The 12-ounce and 18-ounce portions give diners a choice between a hearty supper and a genuinely serious plate.
This Altoona restaurant is built for the long, unhurried meal. There are booths for a family dinner, tables for an anniversary or birthday, and a bar area for a more casual stop. Wall artwork adds color and personality around the room without making the setting too formal.
The general mood is comfortable and relaxed, with friendly, attentive service that suits both a couple out for dinner and a table that has gathered for a celebration. It is a place where ordering dessert is a very sensible idea and taking home leftovers is common.
Prime rib and plenty of steak choices
Prime rib is a natural starting point, but it is far from the only large-scale beef option. The menu also includes porterhouse, ribeye, filet and tomahawk steaks, plus a pork chop for diners who want the steakhouse format without ordering beef.
For a more traditional plate, prime rib can be paired with asparagus and a wedge salad. The combination has the right old-school rhythm: cool, crisp salad first, then a rich entrée with vegetables and a sauce or two on the table.
A creamy jalapeño sauce gives prime rib a less expected companion. It brings some warmth and richness without abandoning the restaurant's classic steakhouse approach.
The steak deburgo is another worthwhile branch of the menu. Its tender, carefully cooked steak offers a different direction from the straightforward ribeye-and-potatoes order.
A ribeye dinner with the trimmings
The bone-in ribeye comes in an 18-ounce portion, an order that makes a meal of itself before the sides even arrive. Mashed potatoes, brown gravy, a side salad and house dressing make an especially full dinner around that steak.
That generous scale runs through the restaurant. Entrées tend toward substantial portions, so a leftover container is not an unusual ending to the evening. It is helpful when choosing between appetizers, sides and dessert: there is plenty of food to share around.
Potatoes, cheesy corn and sweet potato casserole
The side menu is not an afterthought. Garlic mashed potatoes and au gratin potatoes provide two solid routes for anyone who considers a steak dinner incomplete without a potato dish nearby.
Cheesy corn is a richer, more playful choice, while sweet potato casserole adds a little sweetness to the plate. The casserole is offered as a premium side and works particularly well alongside prime rib.
For diners who like surf with their turf, fried jumbo shrimp can accompany the prime rib. It turns the meal into a fuller steak-and-seafood spread without requiring a separate entrée.
Seafood starts and a few lighter turns
Appetizers include scallops, crab cakes and sweet chili calamari, giving the table some options beyond the usual steakhouse fried starters. The crab cakes stand out for keeping the crab prominent rather than burying it under a heavy layer of breading.
The sweet chili calamari comes with red bell pepper strips and a flavorful sauce, a brighter contrast to the heavier beef-and-potato center of the menu. It is a good dish for a table that wants something to pass around before the main plates arrive.
A lobster roll also appears among the choices, and salads come with house garlic Parmesan dressing. A loaf of bread with whipped butter may accompany a meal, which is one more reason not to arrive overly committed to finishing every last bite of the entrée.
Save room for cake or an ice cream drink
Dessert has a generous streak of its own. The Heath bar cake is served in a portion large enough to share, and even then it may leave something for later. This is a dense, substantial slab of cake, not a polite little final course.
Ice cream drinks bring a distinctly retro steakhouse pleasure to the bar and dessert menu. The Grasshopper and Polar Bear offer a cool alternative to cake, especially after a rich dinner of prime rib, ribeye or potatoes.
Classic cocktails are also available, including a well-made dirty martini. A surprise cup of ice cream has occasionally appeared alongside dessert, a small extra that fits the restaurant's hospitable, celebratory character.
A room for regular dinners and occasions
The restaurant works easily for different sizes of gatherings. Couples can settle into a booth, while birthday parties and larger family groups have enough menu range to accommodate different appetites, from filet and lobster roll to pork chop and crab cakes.
The bar area offers another way to dine, while the main indoor seating carries the relaxed dinner-house feel. Conversation may be easy and quiet at one time and a little livelier at another, particularly when the dining room is busy.
A few useful details before dinner
A free parking lot with plentiful parking keeps arrival simple. Inside, the choice is between booth or table seating and the bar area, depending on the sort of evening you have in mind.
Dinner periods can fill up quickly. On at least one early-week evening, tables were full soon after 5 p.m., so the room can shift from calm to lively in a short stretch.
Then again, a lively room is not a bad setting for a plate of prime rib, a scoop of creamy horseradish, and a Heath bar cake waiting at the end.