Restaurant Bread Promotions Do Not Mean Low-Carb Is 'Running On Empty'

This Orange County Register article by staff columnist Jonathan Lansner who looks to restaurant menus to conclude that low-carb is "running on empty."

Declaring that low-carb diets are dead (hmmm, haven't we talked about this subject before here and here?), Lansner points to the recent addition of bread to the menu at a fast food Mexican restaurant called Rubio's as his evidence. The bread addition is part of three new Mexican sandwiches made with beef, chicken or pork.

He also said to look at the popularity of places like Subwayshop, Panerafrom St. Louis, and even Jack In The Box to see that bread is alive and well which must mean low-carb is dead as a door nail!

While I'm sure Lansner is merely attempting to stir up interest in a somewhat boring article about bread offerings at restaurants, it is this kind of bias against the low-carb lifestyle that is so easily thrown around by journalists without any regard for the merit behind the criticism. Nevermind the fact that there are millions of us who are STILL livin' la vida low-carb despite the fact that restaurants are adding back carb-loaded foods to their menus. This doesn't mean low-carbers have gone anywhere.

"Who could have seen this: Fast-food chains bulking up on carbs? It was not very long ago that restaurants scrambled to retrofit menus to meet low-carb needs. Does anybody remember bunless burgers or lettuce leaves masquerading as taco shells?"

Low-carb menus may no longer exist in some restaurants. But people who are livin' la vida low-carb are still ordering with appropriate substitutions at their favorite restaurants. We don't need a low-carb menu to help us order foods that are appropriate for our low-carb lifestyle.

That's the way it will continue to be until we can get restaurants to better understand the needs of the low-carb consumer.