I have heard some pretty bad things about Ruby Tuesdays, as far as their food having some of the worst nutritional ratings, even compared to fast food chains. One thing you do have to consider when you eat at some of these chain restaurants, (Ruby Tuesday’s, Chili’s, Applebee’s, etc.) is the nutritional value (or disvalue as the case may be) of the food is very comparable to major fast food restaurants but sometimes the portion size at the sit down restaurants will be larger to justify the increased cost.[1] I can see how someone might argue that about Ruby Tuesday’s but I believe it’s about the choices that you make.
If you’re trying to watch your caloric intakes, the beverage you chose can be the first pitfall. Of course the servers will try very hard to up sell you with the beverage. The corporation doesn’t want you to get a free drink, like water. At Ruby Tuesday’s they have a separate menu just for specialty drinks and desserts. If you’re looking for a fun, non-alcoholic beverage – they’ve go them. They have a variety of flavored teas and freshly squeezed lemonades. They’re a bit expensive ($3.49) but do come with free refills. They’ve also got a variety of specialty adult beverages but since I was on my lunch break I had the strawberry lemonade and it was delicious! It was sweet but tart and had bits of real strawberries in it. I do not recommend this if you want to cut down on calories though – stick with water.
A healthy option they have for lunch is the salad bar. A salad bar is a good choice for those of us on a lunch break with limited time. You just order and go, no waiting for your well done burger to cook. It’s not quite as impressive as the salad bar at Jason’s Deli but still a decent salad bar. Ruby Tuesday’s doesn’t have artichoke hearts, the little tiny muffins or free ice-cream that Jason’s Deli has, to name a few differences. Nonetheless, the vegetables were fresh, colorful and tasty and they have an impressive sneeze guard. I struggled to reach the vegetables with my short arms but was happy to know the mouth breathers of the world hadn’t contaminated my food.
Another great thing about the salad bar – free refills! So if you’re looking for a healthy lunch, believe it or not you can find it at Ruby Tuesday’s – just don’t pair the salad bar with the broccoli and cheese soup and you’ll be okay. Also, try to avoid the free cheese biscuits. I know free bread can make or break a restaurant for my co-editor, Joe Friday, however it can really pack on some unnoticed calories for our health conscious diners. Also, Ruby Tuesday’s is trying to expand their menu to include more healthy choices besides the salad bar. A word of caution here - just because it’s a turkey burger it’ll still be bad for you if you top it off with bacon, cheese and mayo – just something to consider. So all in all, I enjoyed my lunch at Ruby Tuesday’s and will probably go back there for lunch.
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