Ruby Tuesday

1402 S. Walton Blvd.

Bentonville

Although it’s obviously a hot spot for lunch in Bentonville, we weren’t impressed with the fare at Ruby Tuesday.

The first thing we noticed is almost everything on the menu is either fried, swimming in cheese or both. That’s fine if you’re trying to gain weight or have a heart attack, but if you’re the least bit health conscious, you need more healthy options.

Of course, this is a national chain we’re talking about — with 315 restaurants and sales of $389 million in the last half of 1999 — so they probably know what Americans like, whether it’s healthy or not. The point we’re trying to make is whether it’s “Tuesday” or “Friday,” the fare is pretty predictable at all of the national chains that infiltrated Northwest Arkansas and made fajitas and hot wings the blue-plate specials of the 1990s.

There were, however, plenty of “suits” in the restaurant — both those being worn by Wal-Mart Stores Inc. employees whom we’re acquainted with and by vendors who call on the retail giant.

We were admiring some of the fancy tailoring about the time our waitress quickly delivered the iced tea we ordered. Not long after that, the spinach con queso ($5.50) arrived and we dug in. The dip was good, but we felt a little slighted on the chips.

For entrees, we opted for the “ultimate Tuesday platter,” ($15) which gave us a good sampling of food, and we split a “super duper chicken sandwich” ($7), which included barbecue sauce, bacon, ham and cheese.

The platter consisted of ribs, fried chicken tenderloins, fried shrimp and steak skewers. Out of the bunch, the steak skewers were the biggest hit. We were a little disappointed to learn that we couldn’t order them next time as an entire entree. They just come as a side item.

The barbecue sauce on the ribs was a little sweet for our taste. And the thick batter on the shrimp pretty much rendered one of the ocean’s tastiest treats as bland as fried croutons.

The chicken sandwich was good but nothing great.

Don’t get us wrong: Ruby Tuesday is a fine place to go for a basic lunch. On previous occasions, we’ve noticed the salad bar might be one of the best in Northwest Arkansas. The lettuce always looks as fresh as dewy clover, and the restaurant has a nice selection of salad dressings.

On previous dinner occasions, we’ve tried the Ruby’s classic ribs platter ($14 for the full rack), the creole catch (broiled white fish in New Orleans seasoning for $9) and the Smoky Mountain chicken platter ($9). Again, they’re good entrees for a national chain, but not great fare overall.

The desert we had at lunch was, however, fantastic. The Blondie is a warm, chewy, nutty chocolate chip brownie drowned in caramel and accompanied by a scoop of vanilla ice cream ($4).

Even the health conscious would throw caution and calories to the wind for this scrumptious delight.

According to the menu, a variety of cheeseburgers are also available for between $5 and $7. And the service at Ruby Tuesday is plenty quick enough for any lunch goer on a tight schedule.

It’s even conveniently located at the intersection of Arkansas 102 and Walton Boulevard, only a couple hundred yards from Wal-Mart’s corporate offices.