Ruby Tuesday

OK.  I know what you're thinking. Boooooriiiiiing.....

But.

2012 Ruby Tuesday is oh-so different than the loaded-baked-potato-and-french-onion-soup restaurant from my childhood.

We got a coupon in the mail from them a few weeks ago advertising their revamped menu and thought Alex's birthday was the perfect time to check it out.  (I know.  We party pretty hard in these parts.)

The Ruby Tuesday of old was packed with high calorie, high fat foods.  And they still have their classics.  But, like many traditional restaurants, they are making an effort to incorporate healthier options on their menu and, in my opinion, have one of the best 'healthy food' selections that I've seen.  I would eat here again for the selection of side dishes alone: grilled zucchini, roasted spaghetti squash, creamy mashed cauliflower, grilled green beans, grilled asparagus.... Mmmmmm....

We started with Shrimp Fondu, which ok, is not healthy at all.  But we were celebrating a birthday after all, and sometimes you have to live on the wild side.  Think spinach-artichoke dip but with shrimp.  And there's lots.  We couldn't finish ours so definitely enough for a group to share.

As always, they have the salad, which no lie is one of Alex's main reasons for going there.  Nothing much seems to have changed salad-bar wise.

But the 'Fit and Trim' menu selections are what really got me excited.  They give you the nutrition information, including which sides they used to calculate them.  And the sides themselves have separate nutrition information so you can substitute mashed cauliflower for grilled green beans...

I stuck with the Petite Sirloin with Grilled Green Beans as the side.  More than enough food for me.  Perfectly cooked, well seasoned steak with crunchy green beans.  Yum!

Alex threw culinary caution to the winds (it's his birthday, it's allowed) with his order of Asiago Peppercorn Steak and a side of White Cheddar Mashed Potatoes (read - even if you want a light, healthy meal, there are plenty of options for all appetite-types).

We did not eat dessert there because Birthday Boy wanted Cheesecake Factory.  No complaints here.  And the indulgence was totally justified since my dinner was such a healthy option.

I can rationalize just about anything.