Can A Turkey Burger Beat Beef?

When you think of salad bars, you usually think of all-you-can-eat buffets, which are known as "trough joints" among some circles, and hotel restaurants.

But back in the 1970s and much of the '80s, no reputable casual dining or family restaurant would dream of opening for business without a full array of sneeze guard-protected produce sitting in a chiller table.

Restaurants would compete with each other for the largest number of items on their salad bars. It didn't really matter if two of those items were deep-fried grasshoppers and peppered lint balls, it was volume that counted.

The entree salad was the death of the salad bar, along with the occasional megabucks lawsuit over food poisoning caused by browsing the same greens your disease-infested fellow diners had just coughed on. Restaurants learned that they could take 30 cents worth of salad greens, slap a grilled chicken breast, some bacon and cheese on top and sell it for $7.99.

So call Ruby Tuesday a throwback. This is one national chain that not only still has a salad bar, it doesn't even have an entree salad on the menu. So, for this comparison, we'll look at another dilemma that frequently confronts diners: Do you go for the big, upscale beef burger or settle for one made with chicken, turkey or even tofu?

Ruby Tuesday started selling "triple prime" burgers a while back, stating that they were made from 100% USDA Prime beef. My first reaction on hearing this was shock at the very idea that anyone would take prime beef and grind it into hamburger. However, not every bit of a prime beef primal can be cut into steaks or roasts.

When it comes to turkey and chicken burgers, casual dining restaurants go to great lengths to add flavor to what is essentially fairly lean protein without much character. They use flavored mayonnaises and mustards, exotic (and fat-laden) toppings and buns that would be the envy of any baker.

One of the big misconceptions about the poultry burgers is that they are tremendously lower in calories than their beefy counterparts. As you'll see, the caloric savings are minimal, although the fat content in the beef burgers is generally much higher.

And while we're talking nutrition, Ruby Tuesday gets major pats on the back for providing nutrition information on the company Web site. Take note, Applebee's and TGI Fridays. The only things missing were the cholesterol and sodium numbers, and you probably don't want to see those anyway on these burgers.

So, our contestants: the Bella Turkey Burger, with sauteed baby Portobello mushrooms and Swiss cheese facing off against the Triple Prime Bacon Cheddar Burger, which is fairly self-explanatory.

Triple Prime Bacon Cheddar Burger: 1,168 calories, 83 grams fat, 48 grams carbs.

In the course of my adult life, I've had the opportunity to eat burgers in surroundings from humble to Michelin-starred. I've eaten them standing beside a Dumpster and seated at a linen-topped table.

Never before, in all those burger-eating adventures, have I sampled a burger as oversold and disappointing as the Triple Prime Bacon Cheeseburger at Ruby Tuesday. The meat was absolutely without character or identifiable flavor, even when a chunk was cut out and eaten solo, without any toppings. The cheddar was waxy and lacked bite, and the bacon tasted like the precooked stuff, very limp and textureless. Even the bun was middling quality, and the garlic mayonnaise promised in the menu made no impact whatsoever. Grade: D.

Bella Turkey Burger: 969 calories, 51 grams fat, 65 grams carbs.

My better half usually accompanies me on these tasting adventures, and usually chooses the lighter fare as her meal. I attempted to exert executive privilege and take possession of this burger and almost lost three fingers. It's that good. The burger itself has a meaty texture little different from beef patties (and actually better than the "prime" burger). The mushrooms are redolent with herbs and spices and perfectly tender, and the Swiss has a mellow bite. The bun wasn't anything overly special, but that wasn't really missed. Grade: A-.

The menu price for the Triple Prime Bacon Cheddar Burger is a whopping $10.99, while the Bella Turkey Burger comes in at a somewhat lighter $8.49. Compare the satisfaction to be had from the two burgers and the turkey is the clear winner.