Anyone Know About Ruby Tuesday's?

[little-c]

I'm new to gluten-free and am a bit wary to eat at a restaurant for a while. My nephew's birthday dinner is in a few days at Ruby Tuesday's. I'm wondering what your experience has been with it. I've never been to one.

Thanks.

[lovegrov]

I suspect that like Applebee's they're pretty gluten-free unfriendly, but you should just call the national headquarters and ask.

richard

[CarlaB]

I've had good luck at their salad bar. I generally shy away from any kind of buffet due to contamination issues, but because of the way theirs is set up I feel safe. The croutons are all the way at the end. I avoid the "prepared" dishes and just get salad stuff.

I should say that I'm not as sensitive as I used to be.

[blueeyedmanda]

I am going to have to agree on this one. I did not have good luck finding anything at Ruby Tuesday's we could safely eat. You can always try. Locations do vary.

[loraleena]

Not safe. They had no idea what gluten is when I went.

[Juliebove]

Hmmm... I just checked their website and it says nothing about allergens. I could have sworn that it used to and that I saw nothing there that was gluten-free. Our locatation doesn't have a salad bar so that's not an option here. But just in looking at the menu, I don't see much that looks safe.

[sunshinen]

Not only did I get sick, the waiter was unbelievably rude. (Yes, there was a gluten free food list on their Web site.) But that is going to very waiter to waiter, location to location.

[luvs2eat]

Unfortunately, I've had bad luck w/ most of the "chains"... Ruby Tuesdays, Applebees, TGIF... you explain and explain and they either don't get it or aren't willing to accommodate... or worse... swear they ARE accommodating and you find fried chinese noodles at the bottom of your salad... "Oh... THOSE have wheat in them??" I just don't go there anymore.

[NWLAX36Mom]

I also eat their salad bar and take my own dressing. I also eat their baked potatos.

I think their triple prime burger is good also, but you should double check. I was informed it is all fresh beef, no fillers, etc. The fries at my Ruby's are cooked in a shared fryer so they don't work.

Last time I was there I asked to see the manager to discuss gluten content of foods. He didn't even have the courtesy to come to my table. The poor waiter had to run back and forth asking/answering questions. I finally got frustrated, gave up and said I'd just have the salad.

[TinkerbellSwt]

I get the dinner salad with the fried chicken on top, sans chicken. I stress to the waitress that no bread crumbs of any sort can come anywhere near my salad. The avacado ranch dressing is gluten free. I asked one day and the waiter brought out the tub that they get the dressing in (like costco size) it listed all ingredients and they are all safe. I have used that dressing many times.. I always order the same thing and have only gotten sick once.

They are not educated in gluten at all there, I only go there once in a blue moon, due to the fact that they are the only sit down restaurant, besides Friendlys, in one mall by us, BUT the great PF Changs is going in there!!! YIPPEE!!

[little-c]

I contacted Ruby Tuesday's through their website. Here is the response from guest relations:

Thank you for contacting Ruby Tuesday, Inc. This email is in response to

your communication to us regarding potential allergic reactions to the

food we serve. We appreciate and understand your request for

information.

Please be aware that we do serve white and wheat hamburger buns which

both contain wheat flour. Another caution might be the premium knot roll

that we serve with the Triple Prime Burger, which is made with white

flour.

Unfortunately, for all other food items, Ruby Tuesday, Inc. cannot

provide a listing of allergens that might be present in our menu items

for the following reasons:

-Although we require our suppliers to meet high standards for quality

and safe food handling, we cannot know for an absolute certainty if the

food items we purchase from outside sources do or do not contain

allergens

-It is always possible, as we are preparing food in over 800 restaurants

every day, that one item will be substituted for another, and that the

substitute product's contents may be different from the ingredients in

the products we normally use

-As food is being prepared in our restaurants, it often comes in contact

with other food, so even though a specific item may not contain

allergens, it could be affected by another food item that does

For those reasons, we regret to inform you that we are unable to

accommodate your request in an accurate way. False or inaccurate

information could be detrimental to your own health.

Thank you for your patience and understanding in this matter. If you

have any further questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us

at any time.

Kind Regards,

Ruby Tuesday, Inc.

Guest Relations

[little-c]

I contacted Ruby Tuesday's through their website. Here is the response from guest relations. For the record, my question was, "Do you accommodate a gluten-free diet?" You'll see from the response that they refer to 'potential allergic reactions' and go on to talk about 'allergens.' Clearly RT's is not clued in to the plight of the celiac...

______________

Thank you for contacting Ruby Tuesday, Inc. This email is in response to

your communication to us regarding potential allergic reactions to the

food we serve. We appreciate and understand your request for

information.

Please be aware that we do serve white and wheat hamburger buns which

both contain wheat flour. Another caution might be the premium knot roll

that we serve with the Triple Prime Burger, which is made with white

flour.

Unfortunately, for all other food items, Ruby Tuesday, Inc. cannot

provide a listing of allergens that might be present in our menu items

for the following reasons:

-Although we require our suppliers to meet high standards for quality

and safe food handling, we cannot know for an absolute certainty if the

food items we purchase from outside sources do or do not contain

allergens

-It is always possible, as we are preparing food in over 800 restaurants

every day, that one item will be substituted for another, and that the

substitute product's contents may be different from the ingredients in

the products we normally use

-As food is being prepared in our restaurants, it often comes in contact

with other food, so even though a specific item may not contain

allergens, it could be affected by another food item that does

For those reasons, we regret to inform you that we are unable to

accommodate your request in an accurate way. False or inaccurate

information could be detrimental to your own health.

Thank you for your patience and understanding in this matter. If you

have any further questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us

at any time.

Kind Regards,

Ruby Tuesday, Inc.

Guest Relations

[little-c]

Oops, sorry for the double post. I was trying to edit my original comment. I'm using a Mac with a pen tablet (instead of a mouse) and running Safari browser. Sometimes that causes irregularities. (or it could be operator error.)

[emcqueen222]

I'm new to gluten-free and am a bit wary to eat at a restaurant for a while. My nephew's birthday dinner is in a few days at Ruby Tuesday's. I'm wondering what your experience has been with it. I've never been to one.

Thanks.

Hi, Little C!

I just went to a Ruby Tuesday's this past weekend for the first time since going gluten-free, and although they don't have a gluten free menu, I had a really great waiter that worked with me. I don't know if you like fish, but at his suggestion I had the "New Orleans Seafood" with a lemon butter sauce instead of the normal cheese sauce, and I skipped the piece of bread that comes with it. It was delicious! (It's shrimp on top of tilapia, both seasoned nicely with N.O. style seasonings, but not really "blackeded". Also, it comes with rice that has some tomato and cheese, and a big pile of broccoli, which was quite yummy when I put the lemon butter sauce on it.)

Also, you could probably do the salad bar pretty safely, if you know what to get. (I'm not sure about their dressings. You might either discreetly bring a little squirt bottle of your own, or just go with vinegar and oil.)

Good luck!

[Lisa]

I have had the Smokehouse Chicken without a problem.

[Islandgirl]

I'm in my sixth week of gluten-free eating & eating at home is now becoming comfortable but the thought of going out is scarey. I've been ordering a salad but understand that pretty much all salad dressing has gluten in it. Just for basics do I think that I need to order a salad from all resturants or plain meat? I asked about gluten-free items @ one place (O'Charley's) and the looks I got from the waiter & the manager was, "What in the heck is that and what's wrong with you???" I gave up & ordered a salad. Any suggestions on salad dressings to bring with me to restaurants?

BTW: I have a Celiac friend & she said Bone-Fish has a Gluten-Free menu - have not been there myself since going Gluten-free.

[Juliebove]

I'm in my sixth week of gluten-free eating & eating at home is now becoming comfortable but the thought of going out is scarey. I've been ordering a salad but understand that pretty much all salad dressing has gluten in it. Just for basics do I think that I need to order a salad from all resturants or plain meat? I asked about gluten-free items @ one place (O'Charley's) and the looks I got from the waiter & the manager was, "What in the heck is that and what's wrong with you???" I gave up & ordered a salad. Any suggestions on salad dressings to bring with me to restaurants?

BTW: I have a Celiac friend & she said Bone-Fish has a Gluten-Free menu - have not been there myself since going Gluten-free.

You do have to be careful with salads because they might put croutons on there then pick them off when they realize their mistake. Or croutons might fall into the bowl as has happened at one restaurant we dine at.

My standard meal these days when dining out is a hamburger patty and plain baked potato. I am not celiac but I do have food allergies. Daughter is not celiac but is allergic to wheat and gluten so I usually just go gluten free as well.

If you have an Old Spaghetti Factory near you, see if they have the gluten free pasta. Some do. It's good. But I've found most chain restaurants not to work very well for me. They often get things that are frozen or premade and they might have gluten or other additives in them.

Your best bet is to find a place that cooks the food from scratch. They might even devise a special meal just for you. We have a place nearby that does this for us. We actually have a few choices of foods there. One waitress has a severe food allergy so she understands.

Mexican restaurants (real ones, not fast food) are another place we frequently dine at. You do need to be careful with what you order there, and if English is not their native language, they might not understand. Daughter often just orders beans, rice and corn tortillas. So far she has not gotten sick from those.

Also consider side dishes when you dine out. They might not be your first choice, but at least you know you won't get sick from a dish of applesauce or other canned fruit. Most restaurants will have some kind of fresh fruit or will make some tomato slices. You just have to be clear with them about the issue of cross contamination. If they don't seem to understand, then you don't want to eat there.

[mommainternet]

I wanted to add, too, that I go to Ruby Tuesday often. I always get the New Orleans Seafood (blackened talapia) as does another poster to this discussion, although I order mine without the sauce. I also get it with the steamed broccoi and rice and just ask that they exclude the garlic toast. I also get mine without dairy, so I order the broccoli plain and the rice without cheese. It is my favorite place to eat out. I always get enough to eat and have eaten there probably close to 40 times now without even the slightest reaction.

Celeste