I am wondering – if restaurants have a day of the week in the name, are customers are more apt to visit on that day?

That would be an interesting research project. I would, however, be a confounding variable that no researcher would want to deal with because I’ve eaten at T.G.I. Friday’s on Monday and this week at Ruby Tuesday on a Friday.

My dining companion and I originally were destined for a nearby restaurant for a “carb load” before the Bellwood Hustle the next day, but there was a line stretching out the door at that establishment. Ruby Tuesday seated us right away and in doing so we discovered is has now become a completely non-smoking restaurant.

Our waiter was attentive and informative as we looked over all the new items and asked questions. We decided on something new, Thaiphoon shrimp, since the Asian dumplings have always been a favorite, and we assumed anything from the Orient would be done well.

The verbiage on the menu was cute: “a perfect storm and texture and flavor,” but it just didn’t deliver a deluge of flavor the way the Asian dumplings do. The chicken was a favorable, light and crispy texture, but instead of tasting Asian, the chile dipping sauce tasted a little cheesy. I ended up ordering a side of the peanut dipping sauce served with the dumplings and this saved the day for us.

My dining companion had heard a lot about the new handcrafted burgers that Ruby Tuesday guarantees you’ll enjoy, and specifically the mini-masterpieces they offer. They now have the most extensive burger menu I have ever seen. There are eight different beef burgers, a bison burger (including a brewmaster burger), chicken burgers, three kinds of turkey burgers, crab burgers, a tilapia burger and a veggie burger.

Variety is not outdone by quality, however, because they use fresh, not frozen, USDA choice meats, and the other ingredients are a plethora of distinctive tastes like premium cheeses, mushrooms, flavorful sauces (like a garlic mayo or Sam Adams BBQ sauce), crisp onion straws and more.

The mini-burgers were good. Lots of beef flavor in each bite. I’m not sure how you would choose between the mini-burgers, regular-size burgers or the premium burgers with prime ground beef. I guess it depends on if size matters to you, because I think all would be good choices if you’re in the mood for a one-of-a-kind burger.

I opted for the chicken fresco. This was two chicken breasts in a lemon-butter sauce with a hint of balsamic vinaigrette and two vine ripe tomatoes. The lemon-butter sauce was a bit of a disappointment and tasted more like a white sauce. The chicken was fork tender with a light dusting of seasoning and the hint of balsamic pushed me over the edge of “so, so,” to actually enjoying this dish.

Both my dining companion and I thoroughly enjoyed the salad bar. My heavens! I’ve always thought that Ruby Tuesday had the second best salad bar I’d seen in my lifetime (second only to the Chart House chain salad bar craze in the 1980s), but now it has hit No. 1. If I listed everything here, I would take up the word count the paper allows me – it’s that good. Four kinds of lettuce (including spinach), all the usual ingredients, plus beets, cranberries, olives, sunflower seeds, real bacon, chick peas, hard-boiled eggs, six salad dressings and a Waldorf salad with apples and walnuts rivaled any fine restaurant. Wow!

So as you can see, we didn’t necessarily “carb” load for the race at Ruby Tuesday, but we definitely filled up, ready with energy for the 5K the next day. You have to give us some credit though, Ruby Tuesday also has some of the most decedent and unique desserts in town and we refrained. So take heed, or two trips, and enjoy Ruby Tuesday today – even though it’s Thursday!

— Our anonymous food reviewer gives new restaurants a six-week grace period before reviewing. To comment, contact Managing Editor Mike Alexieff at 783-3235 or via e-mail to malexieff@bgdailynews.com.

RUBY TUESDAY

2925 Scottsville Road

• 393-8242

Hours: 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday-Thursday; 11 a.m. to 12 a.m. Friday- Saturday; 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday

Cuisine: American

Price range: $6.50 to $18.99

Specialties: Burgers, salad bar

Libation situation: Full bar

Smoking: No