Ahhh, Santa Barbara in the morning… There’s almost nowhere else I’d rather be than out back on the Ruby’s Café patio, facing east in morning sunlight, the fog almost completely burned off, a freshness in the air. It’s quiet too, because it borders park-like De la Guerra Plaza, with very little car traffic. Ruby’s is our favorite breakfast place in Santa Barbara, though they’re open all day long and often late into the night. Other dining options are indoors, with a full bar and tables covered with white linen and fresh flowers on polished hardwood floors and out front on State Street. Ruby’s menu isn’t strictly Mexican, but that’s where their heart is, and what my stomach yearns for most. I’ve tried just about all of their Mexican breakfast selections, all steaming hot and served with a bowl of wonderful red salsa. This time, I ordered machaca and scrambled eggs. The tender shredded beef had not a particle of fat in it, with chunks of onions and bell pepper in the scramble, covered with ranchero sauce and coming with cottage fries, refried beans, and fresh corn tortillas. Another frequent choice of mine is chorizo and eggs. Bob likes omelets, and he chose Italian sausage omelet with onions, bell peppers, mushrooms, and jack cheese – also a winner. Ruby’s makes a mean corned beef hash, great with eggs and potatoes. Breakfast classics such as ham-and-eggs, pancakes, French toast, oatmeal, and granola with fresh fruit are all on Ruby’s menu.
There are too many good restaurants in Santa Barbara. Otherwise, I might be tempted to frequent Ruby’s for all meals. With consistently top-notch service, their menus for both lunch and dinner are varied and very reasonably priced. Besides Mexican meals, Ruby’s describes their foods as "international" and pride themselves on the freshness of their ingredients; I’d say the accents are Italian/Californian. Four kinds of hamburgers and lots of sandwiches, including the Mexican torta, and several wraps all come with fries and soup or salad for around $8. Seven salads and two soups include a scrumptious tortilla soup, which we shared one time for breakfast. It got Bob hooked on tortilla soup. The lunch menu includes more substantial Mexican lunches, such as enchilada and chile relleno platters, fajitas, burritos, tacos, and tostadas. These are all also offered in the dinner menu, most the same price as for lunch. Dinner’s menu eliminates a few of the sandwiches, but then adds lots of more typical dinner-type meals, such as five steaks, including filet mignon, all for under $20. A nice selection of chicken, seafood (mostly broiled or grilled), and pasta dinners round out the menu. Dinners are served with scalloped potatoes or rice pilaf and are around $13. Flan and cheesecake are the dessert offerings.
Ruby’s is a salsa discotheque Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays from 10pm to 1:30am, with bands providing live music: salsa, Latin, and sometimes swing. The one-and-only Ruby’s is owned by Guadalupe Martinez, a family restaurant since 1984.