The airport diner… we meet again. After the debacle last time at Garden State Diner, also at Newark Airport, I was a bit wary to try another but we were hungry and had time to kill before our flight to Raleigh. So Ruby’s Diner it was. Slightly smaller, a bit less kitschy. I don’t know if we got an abbreviated menu but there really weren’t all that many options for us to choose from. Maybe it was just the time that we were there but the menu only had a handful of breakfast items, which we were told they would be cutting off soon as they switched over to lunch, so we quickly placed our orders and hoped for the best.
Josh ordered a simple bacon, egg, and cheese breakfast sandwich that was served on a long soft roll. Though the sandwich was slightly larger than the typical bacon/egg/cheese on a roll, it was pretty standard. The cheese wasn’t even melted on the sandwich. It did come with a side of home fries but when Josh asked if he could switch it to french fries, the waitress thought for a second and then gave a flat out “no.” I’ve never been to a diner where they wouldn’t swap home fries for french fries during breakfast, but given the location, I can’t say I was surprised. The home fries weren’t terrible but they were a bit mealy and underseasoned.
Standard bacon, egg, and cheese on a roll and home fries
I ended up getting two eggs with bacon, toast, and home fries. However, I didn’t get a choice of how I wanted my eggs cooked (they turned out to be scrambled) or what kind of toast I wanted (I prefer white; I got wheat). I don’t know if that was the diner policy or what but I found it kind of strange. At that point however, we didn’t have much time left before boarding so I didn’t bother asking to exchange my food. It’s just eggs and toast after all.
Bacon, home fries, scrambled eggs, whole wheat toast
Josh kept with the airport diner tradition and got a vanilla milkshake, which was fine. It wasn’t as good thick and frothy as the one from the Garden State Diner, but it’s pretty hard to mess up a milkshake.
Classic vanilla milkshake
What else can I say? Ruby’s Diner is at an airport, and that pretty much sums it up. It’s nice to have a place to sit down and get table service while you’re waiting for your flight, but it’s very overpriced and the food is just meh. Our waitress was also pretty surly and unhelpful, which only made the meal seem much worse. It looks like Ruby’s Diner is a chain restaurant though, and I can only hope the food/service is better at the other locations.
Ruby’s Diner (multiple locations)
At Newark Airport
Newark, NJ
Please please try all the places to eat at Newark and find the best one so I can be assured that whatever crap I’m eating when I’m there is, at least, the best I could hope for. That might provide some comfort…