Ruby's is a mostly west-coast chain of diners featuring burgers, shakes, and sandwiches. We walked in at 9:55pm (10pm was closing time) hoping we could still get served dessert, and they very graciously accommodated us. Our waitress (dressed in pinstripes) was a hoot and added to a fun experience.

All the desserts people had were good. I had a chocolate shake with Take Five mixed in (it was their shake of the month), which was delicious but way too rich (and much) for me to finish all at once. The two guys at our table got sundaes, for which they could choose from all the traditional sundae toppings such as hot fudge, strawberry, and pineapple. My sister-in-law got her 'usual'- fresh baked apple pie. It was all wonderful.

We also got an order of Jalapeno cheese sticks (with three dipping sauces) to share. My husband loved them, I hated them. Maybe he really likes Jalapenos; the consistency and taste of the cheese was not what I expected.

Ruby's made a great final stop to a night in which our plans A&B for what to do had gone away.

A throwback to the past, Ruby’s is a funky diner located inside the Carlsbad outlet mall. Decor is red leather booths and lots of chrome--a miniature train drives around the restaurant on a track under the ceiling and airplanes hang over your head. The serving staff wear pink and red striped uniforms with cute little ice cream hats. The food was classic diner stuff-burgers, fries, milkshakes, floats. Try the shrimp cocktail tostado-delicious-add a milkshake and you won’t need another thing.

heyruby@rubys.com