Critic's Review
Birthday month means a free burger at Ruby Tuesday. I hadn't been to this location since 2011; the outside of the building has received a facelift since then. As I walked in the door I realized that the inside hadn't received an update; it was still the old 80s wood. No-one at the hostess stand.
Peeking into the bar revealed something you might see in a nursing home. Comfy chairs. Lots of wood.
Finally a server swung by and asked if I wanted to sit near the salad bar; I didn't know if I could get the salad bar add-on with the coupon (the birthday coupon is limited to $11), but I figured it couldn't hurt.
There was some sort of accident on 95 so I had to take the long way around, but there were still a few people in the place from lunch. The place was as old and dreary as it was in 2011; you'd think they could at least get new tablecloths or something. Olive green vinyl. Very fancy.
I waited 5 minutes for a waitress to come over to take my order. A cheeseburger is $10.99 and the salad bar as a side option is $1.99 upcharge. I asked if I could get that and pay the difference, and she said "Yes", and that the coupon was essentially an $11 credit. Cool Beans.
I hit the salad bar and loaded up a plate.
Diced cucumbers, chopped up red onion, grape tomatoes, some sort of burned broccoli stuff. A lot of really bad items. I'd have to settle for largely salad with blue cheese and blue cheese dressing.
Do you like blue cheese? Just as I sat down my tea arrived.
I looked around and there was no sugar on any of the tables. Really? they're hiding the sugar in chain restaurants now.
The good thing about the salad bar option is you don't have to sit at an empty table waiting for something to arrive.
Music was surprisingly not bad; Spin Doctor, Dire Straits, Train and J Geil's Centerfold entertained the patrons.
I was just finishing up the salad when the burger was delivered; it took 17 minutes for them to make a burger in an empty restaurant.
At first glance I wasn't all that excited.
Clearly a pre-made (probably frozen) patty. "Triple Prime Cheeseburger" is what they call this. They say it's "hand crafted, which is clearly a lie. Does this look hand-crafted to you? Not sure why I asked for the mayo as I never put mayo on a burger.
They melted the cheese into non-existence. I wondered how the cheese got melted into the mayo. It's like they threw it on and torched it, which might be exactly how they did it.
No ketchup on the table and none was offered, so I had to wait for that.
A pretty bad looking tomato, 2 rings of onion, so me McDonald's pickles and the dreaded shredded lettuce.
I cut the burger to see the doneness; it was fine maybe a bit overdone. They've stopped claiming these are 1/2 pound but are still saying that they're USDA prime.
I had trouble cutting it, which happens when you server a burger on a steel basket covered with paper.
The burger was junk. Dry, tasteless, so little cheese it served no purpose. If this was USDA Prime beef it was the biggest waste of good meat in history.
I asked for my check; she brought the check, but then had tp go back to take off the coupon. She then came back with the check and took my CC. Removal of dishes from the table isn't in the training manual at Ruby's.
$5.03 with the coupon; this wasn't worth the 16.72 it would have cost at full price. Might as well go to McDonald's.
For $1.99 the salad bar is a veritable add on to an entree, but it doesn't have enough good stuff to pass as an entree. It's a pretty lame salad bar.
Conclusion
The first time I ever went to Ruby Tuesday was in the Smithhaven mall in the mid 90s. I sat at the bar which was so wet I couldn't believe it. I ordered the "stir fry", which turned out the be a plate of boiled vegetables. When a manager came by, I point out that the dish wasn't actually stir fried. I sent it back and got something else; I can't remember what.
20 years later it's still a disaster. And this location might be the worst one in the area.
Review 5/13/11
I haven't been to a Ruby Tuesday in 10 years, and frankly I had no intention of doing so until yesterday when I started researching Burgers for my article. I was going to head down to Steak 954 to sample their burger; but then I noticed that it wasn't "prime". Morton's isn't open at lunch and I rarely want a burger for dinner. So the only place I could find with a prime burger for lunch was Ruby Tuesday.
There's one in Mizner Plaza and I figured I go there one day, but then I saw a coupon for 25% off. So I figured I'd give it a try. I noticed that there was a location in Pompano near the Race Track.
Now Ruby's have always been pretty dingy and this location is no different.
What I do like about Ruby's is the salad bar. Normally I wouldn't get the salad bar with a burger, but this was not to be missed. The salad bar here was clean and everything was well organized and looked fresh. They have the really good, thick, chunky blue cheese here.
The salad was great. You put good blue cheese dressing on a bunch of cool, fresh lettuce and cukes and you've got yourself something enjoyable. I had ordered the "triple" prime cheeseburger medium rare; the menu says it comes with 2 sides. The waitress seemed to agree and I ordered Fries and Green Beans. I didn't really want the fries, but I thought I'd try them. When they brought the food, they only brought the beans. The server who brought the food didn't seem to know that it came with 2 sides, but he brought me the fries anyway.
To start with the sides, the beans were terrible. They grill raw beans and you get charred raw beans. I'm guessing that they just don't know how to make them yet; I think it's a new menu item. You definitely don't want the beans. The fries were also lousy; no seasoning, barely warm. A total waste of calories.
Looking at the burger, I just don't see that this is a half pound burger. The 1/2 pound burger I got yesterday was quite a bit bigger. I'd say this was 1/3 pound. I know, they tell you it's 1/2 pound "before cooking". But how do you know? Regardless, this burger was cooked just right, and it was really greasy and good. The cheese wasn't fully melted and it was a pretty thin slice, but overall I really liked the burger, even after eating the whole salad and a few fries.
My server was pretty good, but she had a big table by herself and service was slow. It wasn't her fault, but the restaurant loses a half star. When you have to wait for a server to take 12 orders at the next table there's something wrong.
The verdict here is get a prime burger and try some sides other than the green beens and fries. Or just come in for the Salad bar and load up a plate with veggies and blue cheese dressing.