Ruby Tuesday's

If I were to live off of one restaurant’s food for the rest of my life, then I would’ve chosen Ruby Tuesday.

For the first fifteen years of my life, I’ve always heard statements regarding the fact that Ruby Tuesday has the best salads and burgers, and I do agree with those opinions. Not only are its salads and burgers a total bomb, but its entire menu is affordable as well.

I’ve only experienced eating from its lunch menu, but that’s enough to say this restaurant is worth going to at least once in your lifetime.

Although there are some aspects of Ruby Tuesday that bother me, it’s not enough to say this restaurant is a total failure.

Let me start off with its service. Overall, the service is fast and efficient. When I took a seat at a table with my mom and younger brother, a sweet and polite waiter immediately approached and greeted us with her warm welcomes. She then handed us the menus perfectly folded and organized with the dessert menu tucked inside the main menu. Over the course of our meals, the waiter stopped by us every five to ten minutes, making sure if we needed anything to satisfy our Ruby Tuesday experience. With Ruby Tuesday’s service, I felt as if I was meant and welcomed to be there in the first place.

However, there are some flaws in its service. When I first walked into the diner with my mom and younger brother, there was no sight of anyone at the check-in desk. On the other side of the restaurant, a waiter told us that someone would be there to help with us shortly. When she said “shortly,” she meant seven minutes. We were the only customers waiting as well, and we still had to wait for that long. Unfortunately, the service quality initially gave me a bad impression of Ruby Tuesday, but then, that sweet waiter saved this restaurant from receiving a one-star rating.

Now on to Ruby Tuesday’s maintenance. I would agree that the tables and floors are clean at all times, but the drinking cups and salad bar, I don’t think so.

First of all, the drinking cups are made of cheap plastic. Also, the cups had scratches on them, indicating that some chemicals may be released, possibly causing a risk of cancer in the restaurant’s customers. The plastic cups need to be immediately replaced because they looked like they were literally used a million times with their white splotches and aggressive scratches.

Second of all, the salad bar was a mess. The employees failed to refill the salad bar when necessary. Surprisingly, the mess created at the salad bar looked like the aftermath of a Black Friday sale on croutons and tomatoes. Experiencing that view was the most disappointing out of the restaurant’s flaws in its maintenance.

Nevertheless, those issues didn’t stop me from having hope that Ruby Tuesday is the best. By the way, everything is not perfect, right?

On a positive note, the most determining factor of a customer’s satisfaction towards a restaurant is an A-plus at Ruby Tuesday: affordability of the food.

Ruby Tuesday’s menu is abnormally affordable. For the lunch menu, an entrée and a side can only range from $6.99 to $8.99 for adults. For kids, the same lunch combination can only range from $3.99 to $4.99. Also, anyone can add an endless garden bar for just $3.99. Not only is its food of reasonable price, it is to die for as well.

For lunch, I ordered a cheeseburger with a side of cheese and broccoli soup. Words cannot express how delicious this meal was for just $7.99. The melted cheese in my cheeseburger melted on the well done beef patty, onions, tomatoes, and pickles, creating a heavenly concoction of goodness in my mouth while my teeth were furiously grinding on the juicy beef patty.

The cheese and broccoli soup tasted exactly what it sounded like: cheese and broccoli soup! Huge chunks of broccoli were covered with a cheesy, salty, and thick mixture, along with shredded slices of Parmesan cheese added on top. The soup was so warm and comforting in my mouth that I almost fell asleep while enjoying this masterpiece. I would not pay a single penny for anyone to take the smallest bite possible out of my soup: it was so good!

Because Ruby Tuesday is mainly popular for its salad, I’ve decided to steal some of my mom’s salad throughout our meals. My mom ordered a side of Caesar salad along with a chicken burger as her entrée. I took a small bite out of the salad, and gosh, it tasted way better than I had expected!

The fresh, smooth spinach crunched in my mouth along with shredded Parmesan cheese and crunchy croutons. The croutons didn’t look like the average ones. Instead, they were darker than usual, making them look as if they were dark chocolate bites. They also tasted smokier than the average croutons as well. The fresh taste of the Caesar salad gave me nostalgia, taking me back to when I used to visit an organic farm with my mom every week as a toddler.

Even though I wasn’t able to eat from the dinner menu, I still took a peek at the meal prices. Turns out, the food was still of a reasonable price. Top sirloin (8 oz) is only $14.99, which I think is pretty reasonable. At least Ruby Tuesday’s lunch and dinner menus are cheaper than those at Olive Garden, which I think is a little too overpriced for its meal options, considering the fact that most of its meals consist of a full plate of solely carbohydrates for $20.

Ruby Tuesday doesn’t look like any other diner. It looks as if the restaurant was built back in the 1980s with its dull furniture and old school booth tables. I wouldn’t say that the ambiance was intimidating; I actually appreciated the fact that the theme was used to celebrate the long years of classic American dining. Moreover, the restaurant’s setting created a relaxing and comfortable environment for me and my family to enjoy our food.

After many years of trying out different chain restaurants around Virginia, I think I’ve discovered Manifest Destiny through Ruby Tuesday.

At first, I thought Ruby Tuesday was going to taste and look like any other restaurant, but it turns out that it has its own unique taste in being successful. As an overall perspective, this restaurant has a friendly staff, welcoming environment, clean seating areas, and the most affordable food that any chain restaurant could provide.

I do highly recommend visiting Ruby Tuesday one day if you haven’t and experiencing its food, service, and overall environment yourself. I’m pretty confident that you will have the same thoughts as me once you’re done.

So yes, Ruby Tuesday does radiate the same message as its slogan does: “simple, fresh American dining.”

Ruby Tuesday

25036 Riding Plaza

South Riding, VA, 20152