Ruby Mountain Station in Elko, Nevada Doesn't Pull Out of Station

Every now and again there's a new business or restaurant that opens and has not only bad service and mediocre food, but continues to have heavy customer attendance months after it opens. Either the food is free or someone has a lot of friends. This is definitely the case with Ruby Mountain Station in Elko, Nevada. Located on Idaho Street across from the Elko Area Chamber of Commerce, the Ruby Mountain Station is the latest in a series of failed restaurants in the same building. Fortunately, the new owners have fixed all the problems with the structure and in the kitchen.

The decor, however is the same. No matter who owns the business, they have to have narrow-backed chairs with arms that wrap around WAY too tight for those of us with ample proportions. So, you end up sitting on the edge of your seat the entire time you're there.

But decor can be forgiven for good service and great food. Unfortunately, a visit a few weeks after they opened didn't reveal either one.

Although my dining companion and I were seating promptly, it was awhile before we received our drinks -- simple fountain sodas. The waitress apologized on her own, indicating there was only one cook and it was just her and another gal. Since the dining room was full of people eating toward the end of the lunch rush, I could forgive this.

But by the time our food finally arrived, it was an hour and 15 minutes from when we first sat down. Our meals were simple. I ordered the pan fried catfish with French fries. He ordered the fish basket, which was halibut and French fries.

When we finally got our food, there was a striking difference. Yes, halibut and catfish are different in terms of cut and texture, but this was downright ridiculous. While mine appeared to be a fresh catfish fillet of good size, his fish was in three small stick-like pieces that looked very much pre-formed. My catfish was breaded and pan fried in butter, giving the breading a nice golden color. It tasted rather good and really didn't need lemon or tartar sauce. His fish was dry and had to be drenched in tartar sauce to give it any real flavor at all.

The French fries were a joke. They were your standard French fries, but weren't cooked very well. They were barely golden in color and were limp. Some were downright soggy. What's worse it although my fish was better than his and his fish was of smaller size altogether, our meals both cost the same as listed on the menu.

Granted, they didn't cost much being on the lunch menu, there needs to be consistency when offering items of like value. The waitress claimed his fish was halibut, but it could've been cod or anything for that matter. The menu listed it as "fish basket" so upon inquiry she divulged it was allegedly halibut. According to him, it sure didn't taste like halibut.

Afterward, we were both disappointed, although he certainly more so than I with the meal. The next time he wants halibut, he's probably going to just go to Arctic Circle and get their halibut sandwich with Yukon gold fries. It'll be cheaper but tastier and other same portion size!