What do you know about that?
Have you seen our antique Victrola Talking Machine? This beautiful piece from the turn of the century was donated to our restaurant by Al, one of our Ruby Red’s Ambassadors. Al’s family before him owned this vintage phonograph which they used to entertain the workers and guests in the boarding house that they owned in the mining town of Keeler, California.
Keeler was founded in the 1860’s and thrived during the silver rush as a support town for the Cerro Gordo Silver Mines. Keeler bordered Owens Lake, one of Californias biggest freshwater lakes. Steamships would transport silver ingots across the lake to railways savings days in the process which secured Keeler as the transportation hub of the industry. Things went well for the city until the silver mines ran dry and silver prices began to plummet. But the final nail in the coffin was that Owens Lake dried up completely. At that point, Keeler California became just another one of the almost 300 ghost towns in the state.
The city is now home to beautiful structures, abandoned mines, closed factories and old homes. The boarding house that was home to our Ruby Red’s Victrola still stands today with only the memory of better times. Do you happen to know what caused Owens Lake to completely drain, becoming salt flats and causing the town of Keeler to fade away?
Victrola Owner’s Residence
Mojave Stage Coach at Keeler
Boarding House, Keeler, CA
Workers at Keeler
CUSTOMER REVIEW
“This place is INCREDIBLE!!! Step back into the old West when you enter this restaurant! The atmosphere in here is amazing, and the food is even better!!! We have been here for both breakfast and dinner and everything was amazing…this is now our new favorite BBQ place!!! Jeanette is the BEST waitress!!!”
employee spotlight
Let me introduce you to one of our wonderful Shift Leads, Mathew. Matthew is one of the original crew members of Ruby Red’s BBQ. He is an excellent pitmaster, meat carver, plating specialist and helps in every aspect of the restaurant. His hobbies include playing the bass guitar, studying philosophy and playing chess, even though he “still loses more than he wins but it’s addictive”. Matthew loves things that challenge his thinking, how he sees the world and things that help him to grow. He has always lived in La Habra. He loves the people at RR’s and how time flies as our crew smoothly works in sync. As a bonus, he always gets to “walk out smelling like smoke and success”.
His favorite RR’s item is the Barbecuban sandwich with macaroni salad. “The cowboy candy is the most underrated item at RR’s and works perfectly with brisket.” If Matthew won the lottery, he would take care of his family, disappear for a while, travel the world, invest heavily and ride off into the sunset. “I’m working toward earning my Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation so I can build a solid career in Finance, something where I’m constantly learning and eventually have the freedom to work on my own terms.” We just love having Matthew with us at Ruby Red’s.
MENU HIGHLIGHT
Our Ruby Red’s Salt Potatoes are a beloved delicacy that’s very hard to find anywhere else in the West other than at Ruby Red’s BBQ. This unique dish was developed in the late 1800’s thanks to Irish Immigrants in New York.
Due to the great Irish potato famine from 1845-52 there was a mass migration of the Irish people to the US with many settling and finding work in the salt mines of Syracuse, NY (the Salt City). The Irish workers relied on inexpensive, bite sized potatoes as the main stay of their diet as new immigrants. These workers would bring bags of small, unpeeled potatoes & cook them during their lunch break in the highly concentrated salt vat water. During this process, the salty water formed a crust on the potato skin, and the higher boiling temperature allowed the starch in the potato to cook more completely, giving a creamier texture inside. Excess moisture inside the potato was drawn out through the skin to the surrounding salty pot water in a process called osmosis.
At Ruby Red’s, we use the same process in making our Salt Potatoes as was used by those early Irish workers. We then place the potatoes in a butter bath, creating a uniquely delicious treat. We feel that serving this side dish honors the millions of Irish that either died or immigrated to the US due to the great potato famine which reduced the population of Ireland nearly in half by 1901 from 8.5 million to 4.4 million. And now you know a little history behind the favorite RR’s side dish of Steve Williamson, Ruby Red’s Founder.
Order them early as we often sell out. You may just love them as well!
UPCOMING EVENTS
Ruby Red’s Backstage Passes
Starting in July, we will be taking group reservations for Backstage passes and Pitmaster Training to experience the inner workings of Ruby Red’s BBQ. Group sizes, packages and pricing will vary and are customizable to suit the needs of each group.
We will be announcing the details and rates in our upcoming newsletters.
Backstage Pass
Group size 4 to 25 roughly 60 minutes
Behind the scenes Restaurant tour and demonstration, both entertaining and educational for all ages.
Pitmaster Training
Group size 4 to 8 people lasting roughly 60-90 minutes.
Hands on Pitmaster Training with meat prep, seasoning, smoking, carving and plating.