I find it difficult to be mean while enjoying a thick and creamy chocolate malt. In fact, consuming one makes me pretty agreeable. This is part of the reason why I gained 50 pounds when I was pregnant–stick a straw in my mouth and I’ll shut up and smile for at least 20 minutes. I can’t help but wonder if the world would be a better place if our leaders would sit down and talk shop in a simple diner.
Ruby’s Diner at the Queen Ka‘ahumanu Center makes really good malts. Over the years, I’ve been known to go there a lot. I’ve had birthday dinners there; snuck in for a coffee and French toast while I was going through custody trials; eaten there with my baby-daddy and daughter; gone there on dates; and stopped by with my husband. I’ve eaten there to celebrate comings and to celebrate goings. I’ve eaten there all alone and with groups of 12.
Most know what Ruby’s looks like. To boil it down to the basics: sparkling white and lots of shiny red vinyl. Okay, and cute striped uniforms. You can’t forget those.
Since I’ve eaten at Ruby’s so many damn times I have recommendations for every meal of the day. And they don’t involve hamburgers, which the Ruby’s chain is mostly known for.
I don’t usually enjoy sweets for breakfast, but I can’t get enough of the Cinnamon Roll French Toast Combo. It’s a jumbo buttery cinnamon roll served with eggs and meat that’s good and sweet and fatty, a well as indulgent and scrumptious. I like mine with bacon and eggs over medium.
For lunch, I’m into the cobb salad which is really, really big. It’s filled with fresh greens, chopped egg, avocado, baked turkey, bleu cheese, tomatoes, mushrooms, bacon and olives. You will not be able to finish the whole thing unless you’re used to grazing for seven hours.
If I’m feeling like something a little spicier, I go for the buffalo chicken quesadilla. I have a serious weakness for buffalo anything, and Ruby’s does it good–tangy, salty and spicy.
My all time favorite dinner at Ruby’s is the Kalua Pig Tacos, which are ridiculously yummy. The pork is soft and flavorful and the fixings of cabbage, cheese, taco sauce, salsa, sour cream and guacamole are always fresh. It’s a deceptively filling plate. The two tacos are enough to fill me up—and I eat like a lumberjack.
For those of you that care about your body and participate in all that low-carb, low fat, high-fiber shenanigans, Ruby’s has some cool alternatives like the Double Protein Cheeseburger–two turkey (or beef) patties and fixings wrapped in a lettuce leaf.
Dessert? Besides the obvious malts and shakes the Double Hot Fudge Brownie Sundae (the name kind of gives it away) is sinfully rich and good. There’s even a cherry on top of real whipped cream. The floats are good, too, but it’s nearly impossible to screw up soft serve and root beer. MTW
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