Courtney Smith
Audio By Carbonatix
In the world of restaurants, some places (and menus) are built for function. Little Ruby’s is one of those places.
The recently opened all-day cafe was established in New York City by an Australian intent on bringing Sydney’s laid-back, coastal culture to a city where the most significant beach is on Coney Island. It’s since expanded into a handful of neighborhood spots around NYC, creating a culture that doesn’t really exist — OK, maybe in vibes. There is very little that is beachy on the menu. The only nods are mentions of tropical fruits in drinks, an out-of-season watermelon cocktail and a burger named after Australia’s Bronte Beach.
Courtney Smith
Safe Bets
Little Ruby’s Google reviews rave about the cheeseburger ($16.50 without fries) and the spicy vodka pasta ($21), best paired with crispy chicken ($9). Perhaps the reason why is by recommendation. When asked, our server recommended both. She damned the burger with faint praise, saying customers have frequently said it is better than they expected. She also explained that a common order for couples is for the guy to get the burger and the woman to get the pasta. I decided to play both roles on this date with myself.
The burger is good and clearly influenced by Shake Shack (not in a derogatory way). It comes on a potato roll bun with two smashed patties and two slices of American cheese, nicely melted. The thinly sliced tomato, pressed into the bun under the weight of two patties, becomes entirely undetectable. Its acidity is not part of the flavor profile. The pickles pack plenty of punch to make up for it. A few dark shards of shredded lettuce peek out. The special sauce is probably what the chef calls aioli, but it’s mayonnaise, layered on thick — a fine but unnecessary fat under the meat and cheese. It’s an entirely unobjectionable burger, but it lacks any point of view.
Courtney Smith
As for the spicy vodka pasta with crispy chicken, it evokes chicken parm, but only if there were no sauce and no extra cheese to soften that Panko-crusted chunk of protein up. It is bland. Not to give you the cerulean blue speech from The Devil Wears Prada, but this dish is on the menu because another New York institution, Carbone, brought spicy vodka sauce back from the depths of food hell when it needed a vegetarian dish for its menu in 2013. Carbone’s version was flashy and made a splash on Instagram. This version also popularized the use of Calabrian chiles in the dish, which Little Ruby’s copies. You’re ordering it because this version is less expensive. You’ve seen it on Instagram since at least 2020, so now its name recognition is right up there with spaghetti and meatballs.
Punch Bowls and Good Lighting
Who this cafe is for is also reflected in its drinks menu, which is tightly curated to three by-the-glass options for red and white, while any of its six “bright and refreshing” cocktails can all be turned into a shareable punch bowl for seven people for $85. Yes, even the espresso martini, which violates how martinis should be crafted.
There are two additional sections of cocktails, served on draft and as slushies, solidifying that this spot knows it will make much more profit on hard liquor than on wine. Why? Because it’s an all-day cafe built into the footprint of a bank along Dallas’ new millionaire row for restaurants, Cedar Springs. Little Ruby’s is designed to be uninteresting, unchallenging and unimaginative. There is a place for that; arguably, that is exactly why Denny’s and Chili’s are still in existence. And arguably, places that adhere to the ethos of simplicity are for people who do not want their food to be exciting or to evoke any emotion. They just want a burger and some pasta in a place with pretty furniture and good lighting. They’ll find exactly that at Little Ruby’s.
Little Ruby’s, 2305 Cedar Springs Road, Monday – Friday 10 a.m. – 10:30 p.m.; Saturday – Sunday 9 a.m. – 10:30 p.m.
