This Iconic Chain Restaurant Has Built Its Dynasty On Prime Rib

While some casual steakhouses like Texas Roadhouse serve up a mean prime rib, we wouldn't necessarily say that particular cut of beef is something these types of restaurants specialize in. In fact, some only offer it on weekends, due to the long cooking process and fewer diners out during weekdays. Then, swinging the pendulum in the other direction, there are steakhouses that offer it on their menus every single day. One such venue is Lawry's The Prime Rib, which was founded in Beverly Hills all the way back in 1938, and which featured just prime rib as its sole entree offering.

In the 1930s, as much as today, this cut of beef just wasn't a widely available menu item, but Lawry's put the meat on the map and made everyone take notice. They did everything about the prime rib correctly, from using the best beef available to how it was carved right at the table, and even the price wasn't completely outrageous ($1.25 for the slab of beef, plus sides, which equals about $28 — a reasonable sum that you could expect to see at a casual steakhouse today).

So dedicated was Lawry's to its meaty entree that the restaurant didn't add any additional main dishes to the menu until the early 1990s (no ordering a burger even if you wanted to). That means, for 55 years, the prime rib reigned supreme at Lawry's, even as the owners opened additional locations in Chicago, Dallas, and Las Vegas (the former two have since closed).

Aside from elevating prime rib to the heights of fine dining, Lawry's original restaurant in Beverly Hills laid the foundation for what an excellent and memorable dining experience overall should be (and still is). It started with the table-carving. The beef was rolled out in a huge domed metal cart, whose lid slid back when opened, to reveal the enormous haunches of meat, as well as tureens full of the storied, elevated sides (just one sign that you were at a properly good steakhouse). What guests may not have realized is that the prime rib was actually being warmed by hot charcoal below, and the restaurant owners could have purchased a new car with the money they used to build the carts.

Additionally, Lawry's emphasized presentation at every possible turn. Even its salads were a show on their own, with the leafy greens taking a tableside spin in their bowl as the server poured in the dressing from a silver sauce boat held up high.

Diners at Lawry's also experienced prime rib that tasted like nothing else; this was due to the special seasoning blend for which the brand is now perhaps most famous: Lawry's Seasoned Salt. It was the product of co-founder Lawrence Frank's dedication and experimentation over the course of months, until he found a mix of nearly 20 herbs and spices that he thought fit the bill.