JEFF RUBY’S

of extra-crusty warm sourdough and salted rye. This adds up to excellent complimentary bread service.

The potent-yetsmooth A.P. Negroni ($13), made with local gin and a huge ice cube, and the citrus-kissed yuzu sour ($13) with an egg-white froth are also terrific. Although California-heavy, the wine list kindly offers a steak-friendly Chateauneuf-du-Pape by the glass from Cellier des Princes ($13)

These drinks play nicely with a dish that reminded me how delicious an overused ingredient can still be: fried pork belly ($18) — three hefty, fallapart, sear-crusted cubes prettily plated with smoky carrots and house apple butter.

Oysters are handsomely presented as well. Fans of sweet West Coast half-shells with hints of cucumber can rejoice that prized kumamotos are sometimes available (but $6 apiece).

Thumbs up, too, for the shareable classic Caesar salad ($13), whose assets include a bold-yet-balanced dressing, little house croutons, a frico wafer and a chilled plate.

Rephrasing

Shakespeare, though, diners have not come to praise Caesar, but to bury a steak. Jeff Ruby’s steaks are priced from $44 to $115 — that’s a la carte — and organized in two groups: aged bone-in cuts and filets mignon.

My bone-in ribeye “Cowboy Steak” had a thick and dark, expertly seasoned crust above perfectly cooked meat bearing the alluring tang of aging. It was delicious. Downside: It’s $69 and serves one hungry person.

My similarly prepared, likewisedelicious barrel-cut filet mignon ($58) was shy of melts-in-themouth-tender except at its ruby core. It was served atop a pool that was more melted butter than beef juice.

For a relatively smaller investment, you can score an excellent, decked-out burger partnered with plenty of good fries ($22). For an impressive seafood meal, the delicate and sweet Dover sole (market priced; about $45) is deboned tableside and presented with a vibrant herb-lemonbutter sauce.

Sides (most are built for two) help flesh out a la carte entrees and include intense and wonderful macaroni and cheese ($13); buttery, garlic-flecked haricots verts (sauteed French green beans, $10); thick but not woody, lemon-livened grilled asparagus ($13); and by far the largest side dish I tried, the potatoes Anna ($12), which resembles a Bundt cake made from crisp, thin-sliced spuds.

If you save room and money for dessert, the cheesecake ($10) is rich in real cheese flavor yet among the least expensive options.

But who’s here for a deal? No, diners show up to Jeff Ruby’s for a “special occasion” meal and evening, and that’s exactly what they’ll get.