Ruby Tuesday

Stopped in for a drink, and wanted to learn the local area. I travel here on occasion for business. The bartenders and staff were amazing. The beer was cold and they were very insightful on the places to visit on my night here. If you want a place to relax at the bar and meet a great group of people then stop by!!!

This location has the best burgers in town, hands down. The service was pretty good, too, and it was quick. For me, that’s a big plus during lunch rush.

I usually come tempted by the salad bar. And the liquor bar. Food can be hit or miss. Today was a miss. I asked if the baby back ribs were great before I ordered and was assured they were «really great.» Well, not so much. In fairness, the menu says they are «roasted to fall off the bone tenderness.» So, I’m not getting smoked pork goodness. The translation from my Food Corp Speak-​to-​American English Dictionary will be udated. «Roasted to fall off the bone tenderness» means they cook the shit out of them, and then cook them some more. «Memphis Dry Rub» means «no damn seasoning at all.» Really there oughtta be a fine or something for trying to call it that. Memphis may be 500 miles from here, but it’s the same state and you could eat ribs in Memphis every day for a year and not find any this bad. What passes for BBQ sauce at RT’s is pretty plain. I mean I love plain Kraft BBQ sauce, it’s a great base but liven it up with SOMETHING. Finally, the «Full Rack» was only 10 bones long, cut in two small racks of 5 bones each. Look, when I’m dropping almost $ 30 for the entrée, tea, and salad bar, don’t go sneakin’ off ¹⁄₆^th of my rack! Today’s poor waiter was new. He was prompt, but when he asked how it was I told him, «it’s OK but I would never recommend this to anyone again, and it’s short by two ribs.» He didn’t know what to do with me. They did nail the «lightly steamed» double broccoli side, so there’s that. The apps I’ve had here are pretty bland, but I’ve enjoyed a few steaks, chicken, etc. on occasion. It’s nice and dark inside and great for a midday business meeting when it’s slow and quiet. Soups today: Broccoli Cheese, Chicken Noodle and some other boring mess that didn’t interest any of today’s lunch crew. The aforementioned salad bar isn’t anything to write home about, but it’s consistent. Fresh broccoli, some mixed up broccoli salad, a few leaf options, REAL BACON, and dark rye croutons are a few treats. They used to have a Happy Hour with decent drink and snack deals. They now have a pre-​made frozen ‘Rita machine. No more firing up the damnblender (yeah, that’s one word). Cantineros these days are spoiled, no? Service here is really good, it’s literally right across the street from ETSU so there’s a huge pool to of talent to draw from. Location is great, drinks can be good, and the salad bar is decent. So, naturally someone inevitably wants to drop in for lunch or drinks. Today was worse than usual, but I’ll be back, but I won’t order the ribs again.

Johnson City appears to have more than its fair share of chain restaurants. This one does nothing to distinguish itself. I have had lunch once and an 8:00 dinner once. The food seems to be prepared the way corporate wants it. The service was good. They do not have the draft beers listed in the menu, and what they do have on tap is limited. They were out of the zucchini side I ordered. I would expect that they earn good marks from corporate; I saw nothing to suggest any compliance issues. People who enjoy chain restaurants should find this one satisfactory in every way.

Top notch service! The garlic drop biscuits are amazing! We had a wonderful Sunday lunch. I had the crab-​cake dinner and my husband had the cheddar bacon burger. Both entrees were served to perfection. We will definitely go back again soon.