Critic's Review
I was in the mood for a big salad, and I thought of some places including Sweet Tomatoes, when I remembered that I had a $5 off $15 coupon from Ruby Tuesday, and they have a pretty good salad bar. You can get the salad bar for $2.99 with any entree, or you can get the salad bar instead of one of the 2 sides, which is a crazy good deal. So with the coupon I could get a steak or something with the salad bar for a bit over $10.
This place is way down Commercial; right across from Cheddar's; closer than Boca but not much.
The last Ruby Tuesday's I went to was brand new; this one has decor left over from the 20th century. Maybe early 20th century. The bar wasn't an option.
The wood here looks refinished; like they've tried to slap a coat of paint on the place and put up some colorful paintings to try to get another 5 years out of it.
A server came over and I ordered an iced tea and went over the menu. They had some fish and lobster dishes, but Tilapia is the fish of choice, and that isn't something I want to order. I made the mistake of ordering a fancy steak last time; avoid the embellishments like "steak with asiago" or "bourbon salmon" in places like this. They fit in the same category as the Jack Danial's stuff at TGI Fridays.
I decided to go with the grilled salmon, and ordered the zucchini with it. A good thing about the salad bar is that they're no waiting. As soon as you order you can go over and get yourself a load of food.
No blue cheese crumbles or romaine lettuce, but they had nice ripe slices of tomato. I even grabbed some weeds as I didn't want all iceberg. Another place that has salads without bowls; its hard to cut a big salad on one of these plates.
Music here was surprisingly good considering that all of the servers were black teenagers. Talking Heads, Pearl Jam, Taylor Swift. The Isley Brothers.
It took 16 minutes for the salmon to come out. I was nearly done with my huge salad.
The salmon looked nicely grilled, unlike the weak one I got at the Ale House last week. The zucchini was unusual; usually it's cut lengthwise and not so oily looking. I didn't need them so I basically just ate the salmon. It was as good a piece of salmon that I've had; all you need to do is cook salmon in Olive Oil or butter (or both) and it's fantastic. Maybe some Dill Sauce.
My server was leaving at 4 (another late start, it was 3:53 when she dropped off the bill), and she told me she was transferring me to the next shift. I was almost done so I offered to cash out early so she'd get the tip.
With the coupon, it came to $12.29. For all you can eat salad bar and a nice piece of grilled samon with beverage. You make the call on the value.
Conclusion
This location isn't the nicest place, but it's relatively comfortable. They keep the salad bar well organized and stocked even at 3pm. A pretty good deal without a coupon; an outstanding deal with one.