"ruby tuesday" news and stories

In our search for the best of the best of fast-casual restaurant menus, we've sampled Applebee's Appetizers and Outback Steakhouse Favorites. We've given you our picks for TGI Friday's Sizzling Skillets, and Red Lobster Shrimp. Now we figured it was time to put some all-American burgers to the test, courtesy of Ruby Tuesday.

Menu Overview
We dug into all six of Ruby Tuesday's handcrafted premium beef burgers (we're saving the Veggie, Turkey, and Crab premium burgers for another taste test). Triple Prime burgers are a blend of ground tenderloin, sirloin, and ribeye, and are offered plain, with Cheddar cheese, and with Cheddar and applewood-smoked bacon. We also test-drove the Boston Blue (with blue cheese, onion rings, and barbecue sauce), the Smokehouse Burger (Cheddar, bacon, onion rings, and barbecue sauce), and the Alpine Swiss (with Swiss cheese and baby portabello mushrooms). All burgers come with lettuce, tomato, and garlic-mayo toppings, are served on a potato bun, and with a side of pleasantly crisp and well-salted "endless fries." Yes, spud lovers, it's fries till you pull the trigger. (We ordered all burgers cooked to medium doneness.)

See our winner, runner-up, and loser after the jump.

Our new monthly installment features a portion of the popular guide, Eat This, Not That! in hopes that it will help you make better choices at casual and fast-food establishments.

Two pieces of bread. That's the bedrock of every hamburger on the planet. Here's the caveat: With the power to create comes the power to inflate. In fact, the average cheeseburger has ballooned from 333 to 600 calories in the last 20 years.

Some burgers even top out at 2,000 calories. For this there's no greater evidence than the greasy bread-boats being served at our most popular burger shops. Sure, there are decent options out there, but more often than not the junk that comes stuffed between the buns is enough to turn Jessica Simpson into Homer Simpson. Like these five burgers listed below. They're gut bombs in the worst way. Luckily, Eat This, Not That! discovered healthier alternatives for each of them.

After the jump, an overview of the best -- and worst -- burgers in America.

When it comes to picking a favorite casual-dining restaurant, customers look to experience, convenience and food quality. But what restaurants make the grade?

According to a survey done by Boulder, Colo.-based Market Force, customers put The Cheesecake Factory on top, Nation's Restaurant News reported.

The Cheesecake Factory earned 6 percent of the favorite-restaurant vote, but when weighted for number of locations per chain, the tally rose to 13 percent, making it the clear winner. Market Force surveyed 5,000 people between 18 and 72 years old, 76 percent of which were women, NRN reported.

Photo: Orlando's World of Photos/flickr.

If eggs Benedict is what you're after this Sunday morning, you may have to look no further than the nearest Ruby Tuesday.

Based in Maryville, Tenn., the restaurant chain is expanding testing of its brunch menu on Aug. 30 to hundreds of locations across the country in the wake of a successful run in some 50 Ruby Tuesday restaurants this summer, Nation's Restaurant News reports.

Locations offering brunch will open two hours early, at 9 a.m., and offer brunch until noon. The regular menu will be available starting at 11 a.m.

Well, the bad news is that Ruby Tuesday is not a sports bar. You can't go there and expect to watch the big game. The good news is that they now carry a wide variety of craft beers.

Craft beers have risen in popularity exponentially over the last decade or so, and I don't think we're close to leveling off. Few, if any, national restaurant chains carry craft beers. Ruby Tuesday is among the first. The chain, which has over 900 locations, will now carry the likes of Sam Adams, Dogfish Head, Flying Dog, Abita, and Widmer Hefeweizen. They'll offer a draft of the day and draft flights, though that won't be available everywhere due to local liquor laws. Also, offerings will vary by location. Ruby Tuesday have even given the bartenders studying at their Center for Culinary Excellence a course with instructors from the Boston Beer Company on "how to store, pour, and otherwise care for these special beers".

So maybe you want to stay home to watch the super bowl. You can always go out after the game for a good burger and a great beer at Ruby Tuesday.

[Via BeerAdvocate]

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