Restaurants that help you take the junk out of your trunk

So I was reading yet another post about poor restaurant service/ unhealthy foods in restaurants, and I thought this needed sharing, just to balance things out a little.

Last week my bf and I went to Boston Pizza, we love the steak sandwich but it comes on garlic toast. So I asked the waitress how much butter is on the bread, and she said she didn't know but probably lots. When I asked for specifics she went to ask the cook. She came back and said it was premade with at least a tablespoon, so if I liked, they could replace the garlic toast with half a ciabatta bun, no butter. The steak, perfectly cooked, came on a thin, toasted slice of ciabatta bun, and the waitress was so gracious about it...she presented them proudly saying "Steak sandwiches on ciabatta, no greasy garlic toast!"

That's my kind of service. Not only was she gracious and helpful by running back and forth to the cook to ask questions, but they went one step further and problem-solved to get me what I wanted, and just seemed to GET IT. It was awesome, especially since so many times our experience has been the opposite.

Boston Pizza, who knew?? They also had some pretty good options on their "healthy choices" menu, and a low-fat salad dressing I loved (raspberry vinaigrette), and nutritional info on their website.

What other places have people gone to that have good options and are flexible with substitutions? What good experiences have people had with servers accomodating needs? Sometimes all you have to do is ask nicely, and you get just what you want :)

Aw cmon...anyone? I don't eat out a lot and would not mind hearing about other people's good experiences, what places have been successful in helping you stick to your plan...they can't all be bad can they?

I once learned (when I was working in a hair salon) that if someone has a good experience, they might tell one person, but if they have a bad experience, they will tell ten.

I'd answer, but I've never made a menu substitution in my life save to ask that I not have mushrooms added to my food. If there are healthy dinners offered, I eat those. If not, I get the healthiest salad with dressing on the side (I'm not a dressing person, anyway, so it's easy for me to go low cal that way if I factor in what actually is in the salad itself and make the right choice) or I eat just a portion of any other meal on the menu and take the rest home to eat over the next couple of days. I do that last so rarely that it doesn't really matter to me what I order in that case.

Applebee's has a Weight Watchers menu selection. I've found all the choices taste pretty good, though the fish can be quite "fishy." However, they will not let you get the dressing on the side when you order a WW salad (at least at the ones I've been to), which I find hilarious. They've told my table before that WW makes them serve it as advertised. That wouldn't bother me if I didn't dislike dressing so much. But as I say, they have many good options.

Chili's has a great section on their menu for healthier options with the calories/fat/carbs etc right on the menu to see.  Pretty tasty too! :)

Original Post by ladybug341:

Chili's has a great section on their menu for healthier options with the calories/fat/carbs etc right on the menu to see.  Pretty tasty too! :)

Chili's does have some pretty good healthier options.

Original Post by ratinhat88:

I don't eat out a lot but last time I went to Olive Garden I was pleased to find out that they will substitute whole wheat pasta upon request.

Oh, yeah: I do ask for whole wheat pasta, tortillas, bread, etc. when I go places. But those are generally listed as an option on the menu so I didn't think about that when recalling my substitutions.

One idea to share...

I often find when traveling with family/friends, we always seem to end up stopping for fast food...which I dread!

However last time, we went to Wendy's...I was surprised to find that not only do they have the nutrition information in the store, but their their "small" chili, (It was plenty for me!) is only around 200 calories, and pretty tasty to boot! This is of course without the cheese and sour cream. High in sodium, but a great fix when everyone else wants a greasy burger. And very filling...when everyone else was complaing about being sick from burgers/fries, I was still comfortably full! Does anyone know of other good meals when you are traveling? As an avid camper/roadtripper, this is very helpful!

Vinny T's is great for that, as well as Naked Fish (I eat out too much :p)

omg I love Wendys.. I get the small chilli, with a bake potatoe.. i dont count carbs.. but i think it has like 420 cals in it(give or take a few).. not bad for dinner

applebee's has a whole weight watchers section and it's really good.

Max & Erma's have "no guilt" meals on the menu with some nutrition information such as calorie count and they are pretty tasty. However, when I eat out, I try to find a sushi place, since miso soup and one special sushi roll are usually enough for a nice meal that leaves me full, yet isn't too rich in calories.

I rarely eat out, and when I do, I've been too shy to special order (other than hold the mayo, cheese, etc).  But this post is inspirational!  Your experience has given me hope, and I think I'll be more courageous in asking those extra questions in the future.

And I agree with the poster who mentioned Wendy's.  Their chili is great and very filling.

I recently ate at Maggiano's Little Italy (Richmond,  VA).  I got chicken & spinach manicotti and asked the waitress if I could substitute marinara sauce for alfredo.  Without hesitating, she said, "done deal!".  It still wasn't terribly healthy, I'm sure, but the meal was SO good that it was totally worth it.  It was wonderful to have such a gracious and accommodating waitress (and cook staff).

I've got one...Papa John's pizza is now offered on whole wheat crust.  In addition, all of their ingredients are fresh and you can tell a huge difference between their pizza and a greasyy pizza hut pizza.  I usually do roma tomatoes, black olives, and chicken breast.  Each slice is about 250+ calories, which isn't great, but better than the alternative if you've got a serious pizza craving.

While the proverbial soup nazis do exist, this is one of the reasons to advocate smaller, independent restaurants and diners. You can even ask for whatever changes you want, and when it's something like diet or food allerigies, the cook is often happy to oblige. Smile enough, and you can get totally customized dishes.

Wendy's mandarin chicken salad is absolutely fantastic! And it's already in CC. They give you the dressing and toppings on the side, so you can control that stuff. I only use half of the dressing, since they give you an absolute ton and it has a fairly strong taste associated with it. I leave off the crispy noodles, but add all the almonds (they're a treat because I'm not allowed to have them or any other nuts in the house; my room mate is extremely allergic).

Original Post by lisacknapp:

One idea to share...

I often find when traveling with family/friends, we always seem to end up stopping for fast food...which I dread!

However last time, we went to Wendy's...I was surprised to find that not only do they have the nutrition information in the store, but their their "small" chili, (It was plenty for me!) is only around 200 calories, and pretty tasty to boot! This is of course without the cheese and sour cream. High in sodium, but a great fix when everyone else wants a greasy burger. And very filling...when everyone else was complaing about being sick from burgers/fries, I was still comfortably full! Does anyone know of other good meals when you are traveling? As an avid camper/roadtripper, this is very helpful!

 

 

 Hi!!

My Boyfriend and I hang out with friends on Friday nights, so it's hard to find a happy middle ground with regard to my calorie intake.  Though I've lost 15 lbs. since July 7, I've been looking up nutritional information online and looked into Taco Bell's menu.  They have some new (and old) options.

They now have a "Fresco" menu -- basically this means normal food items without cheese (I was surprised to get a taco without cheese).  The hard taco is only 150 calories!!  So, two tacos are pretty filling and they're only 300 calories. 

Since there's no separate "Fresco" menu at Taco Bell, I asked the attendant and they said that any menu item can be made "Fresco," but here's the link to the .pdf -- check it out:  http://www.yum.com/nutrition/documents/tb_nut rition.pdf

If you want a regular taco (with cheese!!), it's only 170 calories, so two tacos are only 340 calories.  This is not a bad number, considering that it's only one meal and it's tasty food that's hot and on-the-go!!

With all of the recent suggestions, I'm going to look into them!!  Thanks and Happy eating!

Original Post by freedomfrom:

While the proverbial soup nazis do exist, this is one of the reasons to advocate smaller, independent restaurants and diners. You can even ask for whatever changes you want, and when it's something like diet or food allerigies, the cook is often happy to oblige. Smile enough, and you can get totally customized dishes.

The only problem that I have found is that smaller restaurants generally do not have standardized nutritional information.  Moreover, it seems that they are not generally as "aware" as I am of every little calorie that they include in recipes that are not always made exactly the same. 

Do you have any advice for this foodie? :)