If you ever wager a steak dinner and youre a sore loser, pay off your bet by going to Albanys Steak House. From the plastic wrapped knife, fork and spoon to the pay-at-the-counter when you leave, this isnt what I think of when I think steakhouse. Its a steak joint. Dont get me wrong, I like a joint as well as the next person. Some of the best food and fun can be had at a joint. But usually the name or exterior or neighborhood will give you a clue as to what you can expect. The exterior doesnt give you a clue of what awaits inside. Its not a great building, but its not particularly run down either. Its located next to the WKU South Campus in a decent neighborhood. Walking in the front door into the dining area gives the first clue. They have jammed as much seating as possible into a small area. Rows of booths line the walls and rows of tables fill the floor space. Diddle Arena should be so loud. They had every light in the house on to make it as bright as possible. The message was come in, sit down, order quickly and leave. Once we sat down we noticed the interior is in need of a lot of minor repairs. None so large that you feel unsafe or really uncomfortable enough to make you want to walk out, however. For example: there were gouges and chips in the paint in various places; it appears a window frame had been replaced and was yet to be painted, and the windows were dirty on the inside. You get the idea. Then our eating utensils arrived in a sealed plastic bag. Even joints dont do that, do they? Another clue (as if it were needed).We gave each other the look and proceeded to see what the menu had to offer. The final clue that this wasnt really a steakhouse, but that they just left the old sign up, was that under specialties were listed only chicken and fish items, and they outnumbered the steaks on the menu. We skipped the appetizers they didnt sound appetizing. Breaded cheese sticks and Corn or Broccoli Nuggets were our choices. But we tried the prime rib and barbecue pork sandwich. The prime rib dinner came with a salad and honey butter croissant. Now this is where the meal really went downhill fast. The salad dressing was in a plastic cup with a lid sitting on the side of the salad bowl along with the croissant. They were all the same temperature cold. Cold salad, good; cold croissant, bad. The prime rib was acceptable, which means it was edible. The seasoning was too salty, and the au jus couldnt have come from the rib because there were no juices when I cut into the meat. The barbecue pork sandwich was chopped meat with some very ordinary barbeque sauce, topped with monterey jack cheese. Creamy cole slaw was served on the side along with french fries, which only arrived after the server was reminded that they had been ordered with the meal. The service definitely qualifies Albanys Steak House as a joint. There were two people who functioned as waiters and servers, and probably bussed tables, too. One was friendly, the other one wasnt. When they brought food to tables, they didnt have a clue who ordered what, they just called out what they had in their hand, and waited for someone to claim the meal. Heres a sure bet: we wont be back to Albanys Steak House until they have exceeded steak joint status. The reviewer is employed at the Daily News. He/she pays for his/her meals and his/her gym fees to maintain his/her figure. New restaurants are given an eight-week grace period before being reviewed. To comment, contact managing editor Mike Alexieff at 783-3235. Albanys Steak House2323 Nashville RoadHours: Mon.-Thur. 11 a.m. to 8 p.m; Fri. & Sat. 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Sun. 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.Specialties: Chicken, fishCuisine: AmericanPrice range for dinner: $5.99 to $11.50Libation situation: NoneSmoking: Yes