Last month we went to eat at Ruby Tuesday’s and thought that their selection of food and their salad bar seemed pretty nutritious and healthy. Then I stumbled upon this article on MSN…
Fresh Chicken and Broccoli Pasta: The name for this Ruby Tuesday’s dish seems healthy enough. The chicken is pulled from a roasted bird and the broccoli is steamed. The pasta is standard penne. But then the entrée transforms into a cardiac catastrophe totaling 2,060 calories (can you believe it?) and 128 grams of fat (including 60 to 70 of the artery-clotting saturated variety).What gives? It’s the parmesan cream sauce and the topping of Wisconsin cheddar cheese before baking. CSPI labels it “Angioplasta” and equates the dish to two sirloin steak dinners complete with Caesar salad and buttered baked potato.
Just as bad was this…
Colossal Burger: There are a lot of giant hamburgers out there for the gorging these days, but CSPI says Ruby Tuesday’s is the chub-house leader with its Colossal Burger. Two patties and the three-layer bun are just a starting point. You get a total of 1,940 calories and, as CSPI points out, that’s before the fries or optional sauce. The burger is so big it’s served with a steak knife to hold it together and allows for some forklifting as you actually try to eat the thing.Along with the meat and bread, you get enough melted American and Monterrey Jack cheeses to equal eating four to five McDonald’s Quarter Pounders. Total grams of fat: 141 grams, which CSPI estimates is at least half and maybe three-quarters the unhealthy saturated type.
The health rating we gave to Ruby Tuesday’s was based on what we ate and what we saw on the menu. For the most part the menu had a somewhat healthy selection, but as you can see it can be misleading judging from an innocent sounding name like “Fresh Chicken & Broccoli Pasta.” My suggestion if you don’t want any surprises, go for their salad bar. That way you can control what you eat.
The original article can be found at the Center for Science in the Public Interest Newsroom.
Tags: Ruby Tuesday’s, Colossal Burger, Fresh Chicken & Broccoli Pasta, Health