The most important part of Ruth's Diner wasn't the mile-high biscuits or the home-cooked meatloaf—it was Ruth herself. A cabaret singer and all-around character, Ruth started flipping burgers in her downtown diner in 1930. She already had a reputation as "a spirited woman whose language could make a gangster blush," but she gained an even larger following when she moved up to Emigration Canyon. There, she reopened the diner in a trolley car, and moved into an attached apartment with her beloved chihuahuas. 

Today, nearly 27 years after Ruth's passing, crowds still gather at the diner for her timeless recipes. Her macaroni and cheese was featured on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives, and other favorites include the chicken dijon and a meatloaf burger sweetened with her own barbecue sauce. Ruth also loved the Pink Flamingo, a vodka-pomegranate cocktail—and some say that her ghost is fond of stopping by the bar.