LCHF Dining at Ruby Tuesday

Dinner at Ruby Tuesdays: TWENTY FIVE DOLLARS.  Learning that you can stick to your LCHF diet and avoid salmonella at a restaurant: PRICELESS.

I traveled for work yesterday, and had no choice but to grab dinner on the road.  I had some time, so I decided that I would hang out at this shopping plaza that I found.  I did a little window shopping, then ended up heading over to Ruby Tuesday to grab some dinner before a meeting. 

All I can say is – wow – somebody at RT got the message about low carb dining.  It was a revelation to see SO MANY low carb dinner options on the menu.  Variety!  I love it!

Here is what I liked about RT:

The salad bar was good, meticulously clean and air chilled to the point where it was actually a little uncomfortable to serve myself.  In this case, hypothermia is a good thing, as it means that the salad bar was inhospitable to me and to bacteria.  I LIKE that about a salad bar.  The items on the salad bar were fresh, the crumbled bacon was good quality bacon, and the blue cheese dressing was super creamy and dense, just the way that I like it – hey, we eat LCHF, let's revel in it already!

They had several low carb choices:  Main dishes included an assortment of steaks, seafood and chicken, cooked in a variety of ways, with several options waaay under 5 grams of net carbs per serving.  You can do what I usually do, and grab a plate of wings (the entire plate has 12 grams of net carbs, and you probably won't finish it) and a salad.  RT also has the option to add a la cart shrimp skewers to your order (each seasoned skewer clocks in at 0 net carbs), so consider ordering the salad bar and get a skewer or two on the side.   They have so many veggie side dishes, including zucchini, broccoli, asparagus, roasted squash, and tomato salad (skip the balsamic dressing though, it is sugary), that are super low carb.  Caution, though: mind the mashed cauliflower!  I ordered it and enjoyed it, only to later find that one serving carries a surprising 11 grams of net carbohydrates.

Personally, I ordered the rib eye, medium rare, with sides of mashed cauliflower and grilled zucchini.  It was ridiculously tasty, and came out looking very attractive on the plate.  The steak was cooked correctly, and glistened with the sheen of succulent herb butter.  I enjoyed the meal and was surprised by the quality of the food put before me.  I am a food snob.  I will say, unqualifiedly, that this was a good steak – not just a good steak "for a chain restaurant".  And, it was cheap: $25 with tax and tip, including salad bar and a gigantic meal that I couldn't even finish.

Niiice...