Minneapolis Restaurants in Mall of America: Ruby Tuesday Review

Ruby Tuesdays is a good restaurant choice for a full meal or a leisurely snack while shopping at the Mall of America. Ruby Tuesday has stained glass lamps and wood paneling which makes it suitable for a business lunch but the dress code is casual and it is kid-friendly. Ruby Tuesdays is different from the other sit down restaurants at the Mall of America because there are a variety of menu options without a central theme, such as Rain Forest Café, Long John Silvers' and Tony Roma may require you to be in "the mood" for a certain type of food, Ruby Tuesdays has many varieties of fare including pasta, ribs, burgers, steak, wraps, and seafood - likely satisfying most people in your dining party, including fussy children. They have also added some Cajun and Asian influence appetizers that are impressive. It is not a food court-quick snack type of meal, be ready to invest some time. There are however, some appetizers for $10 and under that is lighter fare and more what you would expect in a fancier restaurant. Some examples include

Unfortunately, the above described perks means there is almost always a wait for Ruby Tuesdays, so if you are interested in eating there, stop by Ruby Tuesdays first and try putting your name on the waiting list up to an hour before you feel like eating. I also like to request a menu for while I am waiting so I know what I want to eat once I get seated. It also helps if you pick a slightly off peak time to go there. If I know I will be waiting in line outside Ruby Tuesdays for a bit before getting seated, I usually stop by the food court and pick up a beverage to drink for while I am waiting so that I am not ravenously hungry and ordering way more than I actually want by the time I am seated.

"Smart Eating Choices" are a feature of the Ruby Tuesday menu. Many diet and healthy eating options are available. The all you can eat salad bar is a very popular item amongst those who think that do not feel very hungry or are on a diet. There are several fruit and veggie items, salads, soups, pudding, jell, and the like and several higher calorie items as well, so be careful in your choices on the salad bar. You may prefer one of the soups or grilled chicken options if you are on a diet. I like that at Ruby Tuesdays that menu items actually list the dietary information -the calories, the fat, the carbs per item, so you can calculate how much your entrée and sides are. It seems a safer dietary bet to stick to something that you know the calories than to subject yourself to the unknown calories of salad bar dressings.

Ruby Tuesdays has a kids menu for children ten and under. The pickiest kid will find something to eat a choice in Pasta including a basic Pasta Marinara, pasta with butter for the very, very picky, or Mac & Cheese. Burgers (either beef or turkey) and fries are a classic kid favorite, as well as chicken tenders. For the less fussy child, there are meals similar to adult fare but in smaller portion sizes including grilled chicken, fried shrimp, and chop steak. There are plenty of good choices for children who may already be cranky after a long shopping trip.

Burgers are bison beef, fresh, not frozen and they have many specialty choices, including turkey burgers. The buns are higher quality and they use accompaniments like Portobello mushrooms and artisan cheeses. Ruby Tuesday is unusual among franchise restaurants in that they have good quality pasta meals, seafood and beef meals - not just a strong suit in one type of meal. I thought the crabcake appetizer is especially impressive and even the plate is decorated with sauce in a fancy manner more in keeping with a 4 star or above restaurant. The rib combo platters are reasonably priced and give you a little taste of everything and are great for sharing. I also appreciate that the items all taste fresh, as sometimes I get the feeling in some restaurants that items on combo platters are not made specifically for that meal and can be leftover and stale. I always thought my Ruby Tuesdays' combo items were fresh.

The desserts at Ruby Tuesday, in my opinion, are not as strong as their appetizers and entrees. With all the yummy specialty shops in the Mall, I personally would prefer a chocolate or two from the Godiva Boutique within the mall as my dessert, or a coffee from one of the specialty coffee shops. Kids however, may be happier at Ruby Tuesdays as each dessert features ice cream or gourmet cookies.

Take-out is available from this location.