Letter to the Editor: Look no farther than Nebraska for best restaurant to replace Ruby Tuesday

OK, Muddy River News. You asked for best food place to replace Ruby Tuesday.

This Californian will tell you the correct answer is In-N-Out. Too bad they won’t go outside California but for a few exceptions in Las Vegas (where even at 4 a.m., the drive-thru line snakes around the building and out into the street).

A very close runner-up (some Californians even place it above In-N-Out) is Shake Shack. There are Shake Shacks in Kansas City and St. Louis already, but I fear Quincy is likely too small a market for them.

Then there’s Runza.

I doubt you’ve had the good fortune to ever have had one, but sometimes I’d even choose a Runza over In-N-Out or Steak Shack. They are sublime. They’re a Nebraska staple, with virtually every Nebraska city having one. There are dozens of them. There also are a few outside Nebraska in Colorado, Iowa, and Kansas. If you ever get the chance to try one, do it.

My Nebraska friends all know to bring me frozen Runzas when visiting here. Every Runza store sells them frozen, baked or unbaked. What they are is dough with ground beef, cabbage, onions and spices piled onto it, then it’s rolled up and baked. It’s originally a Russian food. Not sure what they call them, but they are delicious.

Runza also makes amazing onion rings and excellent burgers. I’d personally buy a franchise for Quincy if they’d allow it, but sadly, they won’t.

There are your answers, basically distilled down to Shake Shack for the stated reasons.

I’m curious. Is it known that a restaurant already has been approved for the Ruby’s site but the name being withheld? It’d be interesting to see whether existing Targets often have a restaurant in their parking lot, and if so, whether they’re often a specific brand.

But like my Mom used to say, “Que sera, sera!”

Don Hess
Quincy, Illinois