How To Eat Low-Carb At Your Favorite Casual Dining Restaurants

Last week I was interviewed by my local newspaper here in South Carolina--Spartanburg Herald-Journal--for an upcoming feature story about how I've turned my weight loss success into a business and an interesting topic of conversation came up that coincides with a blog post I've been working on for a while. I told the freelance writer who was interviewing me last Friday that we were just on our way out the door to go to lunch at Denny's and she said, "Well, you can't eat anything healthy there, can you?"

Opportunities to educate never end. :)

I explained how with just a few substitutions of key ingredients that inevitably end up on all the dishes (in the case of Denny's, that would be pancakes or French fries), you can have a very nice low-carb friendly meal that will keep you on the straight and narrow as you pursue a healthier lifestyle. She was surprised because conventional wisdom is that the large portions and high calories served when dining out will prevent you from eating healthy. Not necessarily, as I'll SHOW you today.

After I shared this YouTube video about which restaurants are good for low-carbers, I decided to start taking pictures of the foods I order so you can visualize exactly what I'm getting when I go out. These were taken at various times over the past few months and are a good representation of the kind of things you can order when you visit your favorite casual dining restaurant (I may hit fast food in a future blog post, but I'm not a big fan of it).

In no particular order, here's what I ate at various places:



Christine and I really love to go to Denny's because they allow you to make reasonable substitutions with all of their meals to make them perfect for anyone who is livin' la vida low-carb. As long as you avoid the starchy (hashbrowns and French fries) and the sugary (French Toast and pancakes) menu items and choose better options instead, you'll be good to go.

Here's a sample of what I recently ate on our trip to Denny's:



This is the Meat Lover's Scramble and I substituted mixed veggies consisting of squash, broccoli, peppers, and green beans for the hashbrowns and a side salad with Ranch dressing for the pancakes. You get two slices of bacon, two sausage links, and a ham, sausage, bacon, egg and cheese scramble with it as well. One thing's for sure, you WON'T leave hungry after eating this meal!

TOTAL COST: $7

Here's what Christine had for her meal at Denny's:



A simple two chicken breast meal with mixed vegetables and a side salad (not pictured) is plenty of protein and non-starchy carbohydrates to keep you satisfied for hours. Adding some butter to your mixed veggies will give you some much-needed extra fat to make this meal tastier and healthier.

TOTAL COST: $9



Although I was quite upset with Ruby Tuesday when they decided to remove their outstanding low-carb cheesecake from their menu and when they pretty much turned their back on the low-carb consumer after trashing their low-carb menu in 2006, I've begun to warm back up to them because they do offer some excellent dishes for low-carbers to enjoy.

There's one meal I must get when I go to Ruby Tuesday:



The Mini-Burgers & Salad Bar deal is one of the best things around for someone following a low-carb lifestyle. You get unlimited trips to the fresh salad bar where I get a bed of spinach leaves piled high with cheese, eggs, sunflower seeds, bacon, and dried cranberries with Ranch dressing on top to start off. Then I order the mini-burgers without the buns and eat them with mayonnaise and pickles. Add a bowl of mashed cauliflower (YES!) with a couple of dollops of butter and this meal is to die for when you are livin' la vida low-carb!

TOTAL COST: $9



I know what you're thinking--wait a minute, Jimmy, are you saying I can eat at Olive Garden on my low-carb lifestyle? Yep, as long as you can avoid the temptation of those hot buttery garlic breadsticks (a tall order to ask of low-carb newbies, but not too bad once you've ditch the carbs for a while). Load up on some of their famous salad (sans the croutons) and don't forget to put lots of cheese on top, too! But please avoid the "no sugar added" dessert sham they have to offer at the end of the meal. Not good!

Here's a wonderful dish I ordered at the Olive Garden:



A delicious grilled salmon steak with a touch of lemon and seasoning that is oh-so-yummy and full of healthy omega-3 fats along with a generous portion of non-starchy veggies (mostly broccoli) that I ate with butter to increase the fat content of the meal. You'll never eat this low-carb (about 2-3g carbohydrates) in an Italian restaurant!

TOTAL COST: $13



I got excited about Applebee's when they introduced world-famous chef Tyler Florence into their marketing efforts to spruce up their menu in late 2006 with a fabulous covert low-carb dish called the Crispy Brick Chicken. So imagine my surprise when Christine and I went there recently and they've removed it from their menu. GASP! Why do they always remove the GOOD stuff?! Oh well, it was hard, but we found something to eat there.

Here was my choice for a meal from Applebee's:



I adore shrimp and always have since I was a kid, so imagine my delight when I got to choose a salad made with spinach leaves--my favorite low-carb veggie--along with some almond slivers, diced tomatoes, a little cheese from Christine's salad, and I substituted Ranch dressing for the warm bacon vinegarette (too much sugar in this dressing!). Not too filling, but the full-size version of this meal is a refreshing low-carb dinner.

TOTAL COST: $12

Not to be outdone with my salad, here's what Christine ordered:



A spicy chicken breast cut up into bite-sized pieces on top of a bed of salad greens, cheese, diced tomatoes, hard-boiled eggs, and Ranch dressing. The chicken was quite savory with a hint of spiciness to perfectly complement the cool salad ingredients. Not too shabby for a low-carber to order and enjoy!

TOTAL COST: $11



Finally, I can't say enough good things about Cracker Barrel. While all the other restaurants have pretty much given up on catering to the low-carb community with a specific menu, they have been one of the only major national chains to keep a low-carb menu prominently displaying options for controlled-carbohydrate lifestyles. WOO HOO, Cracker Barrel! Check 'em out for yourself:



I ordered something off Cracker Barrel's dinner low-carb menu:



Smothered Grilled Chicken Tenderloins with a side salad and a double portion of green beans (with butter on top, of course!) made this a wonderful low-carb meal. I'm a big fan of cheese and bacon, too, and you get plenty of it with this menu item. The green beans are those sweet kind that have a little bit of crunch to them--but what else would you expect from Cracker Barrel?"

TOTAL COST: $9

So there you have it! Suggestions about how you can eat low-carb at your favorite casual dining restaurants. This is by no means a comprehensive listing of what you can order when you eat out, but it gives you an idea about what you can do to make virtually ANY meal a low-carb one. Steaks and salads are ALWAYS acceptable, although be careful about hidden carbs in sauces, toppings, and dressings.

Livin' la vida low-carb need not be difficult or inconvenient to follow. When you make this your permanent lifestyle change, adapting to what fits YOUR life is important. And that will include the occasional visit to restaurants.

Captain D's Now Has Low-Carb Menu Items

Captain D's steps up their menu to serve the low-carb consumer

When the most popular low-carb friendly restaurant chain Ruby Tuesday decided to get rid of their famous low-carb cheesecake in May 2006 followed just a couple of months later by scrubbing their entire low-carb menu for good, I put out a public challenge to the restaurant industry.

"This leaves the door wide open to another restaurant to step it up and cater to the growing obese and diabetic population. If you make the menu attractive enough to people and still keep the items healthy, then it very well could work. Who's it gonna be? Anyone? The millions of us who are livin' la vida low-carb are waiting...patiently...anyone?"

Applebee's has tried but they are too afraid (of what?!) to call it a low-carb menu item while my former favorite fast food place Subway went the other direction earlier this year when they REMOVED the low-carb wraps from their menu. Idiots!

Then you've got places like the Olive Garden serving a "no sugar added" dessert to diabetics that contains GOBS of sugar and nearly 70g carbohydrates! EEEEK!

Well, despite these futile attempts by other well-known restaurant chains, I was pleased to share with you recently about Cracker Barrel and their "Low-Carb Offerings" menu which is perfect for low-carbers. Now I have another restaurant chain to add to the small, but growing list of courageous companies willing to offer people who are livin' la vida low-carb some healthy low-carb alternatives--the Nashville, TN-based Captain D's.

When I was growing up, I just LOVED it when momma brought home Captain D's for dinner. Of course, it was the fried fish and hush puppies that I remember the most with that unmistakable aroma that filled the whole house. Ah, those were the days!

But those things are much too high in carbs for my low-carb lifestyle now which is why I was happy to hear they offer what they call a "Carb Counter Meal" that comes straight from the grill.

Their web site boasts of their new low-carb offerings:

"Counting carbs? Choose baked fish or chicken meals with a variety of low carb side items to customize your meal."

How about that? But are those sides indeed "low-carb?" Let's see!


The Carb Counter Fish meal on the menu at Captain D's

First up, they have a Carb Counter Fish meal that is served with fresh steamed broccoli (low-carb), mixed vegetables (pretty low-carb even with the carrots) and a crisp side salad (with Ranch dressing keeps it low-carb). If you pick out the carrots in the mixed veggies, this meal is only about 5-6g carbs. EXCELLENT CHOICE!


The Carb Counter Chicken meal gives another low-carb option

The other low-carb alternative is the Carb Counter Chicken meal that is also served with fresh steamed broccoli, mixed vegetables and a crisp side salad. Again, if you remove the carrots, then you should keep your carb intake to below 6g carbs. Sweet!

So there you go! Another major American restaurant chain has joined in with Cracker Barrel and decided that people who are on low-carb diets are important enough to provide specific menu items for their dietary preference.

Sure, most places will bend their menu with substitutions, but you gotta respect a company like Captain D's for being unafraid to specifically address a real need--low-carb options for the discriminating low-carb consumer base!

The only problem is Captain D's is not as widespread as Cracker Barrel. In fact, I don't even have one close to my home (the nearest one is 50 miles away!), but I will certainly seek it out specifically when I am traveling. If a company is willing to cater to my needs, then the least I can do is give them my business.

I encourage you to frequent Captain D's as well and let them know how much you appreciate their Carb Counter meals by leaving them feedback about it. I know they will appreciate hearing from those of us who are livin' la vida low-carb, so let's validate their decision to create this special menu for us by sharing our positive feedback about it! THANKS everyone!

Subway Says See Ya To Their Low-Carb Wraps

You may "Eat Fresh" at Subway, but it won't be low-carb anymore

With all the positive press that has been coming out about livin' la vida low-carb lately, the sad reality is this good news has not translated into public acceptance and spread into the business sector, particularly the restaurant and food industry. While the year of the comeback for low-carb in 2007 is already underway from research labs all around the world, too many companies that provided low-carb options for carb-shunning dieters have slammed the door in our face rejecting our needs as health-conscious consumers.

I recently blogged about the low-carb company Eat Well Be Well closing its doors for good in January 2007 after moving away from being associated with the low-carb market. And we know all too well about where restaurant chain Ruby Tuesday stands on the subject of the low-carb diet after they removed their world-famous low-carb cheesecake from their menu in May 2006 and then declared two months later that would be "moving away from diet-related items (such as the Atkins diet), and appealing to a wider customer base." How nice for them, hmm? Just makes me feel so welcome when dining out there--NOT!

Well, it's happening again with two other businesses that previously showed a commitment to making products suitable for people following the low-carb lifestyle. I hate it when this happens because the low-carb opponents immediately start pointing to this as some sort of flim-flam "evidence" that low-carb has been rejected by the public and has thus failed as a dietary approach. It does no such thing and yet that is the prevailing thought process coming from the jaded minds of the naysayers.



The first one is Arnold Carb Counting MultiGrain bread. One of my devoted readers e-mailed me with her concern recently that this fantastic low-carb bread option that she has enjoyed while livin' la vida low-carb is no longer available in the South. She lives in South Florida and said she attempted to get this bread from just about every state in the Southeast section of the United States with no luck.

"It was the BEST low carb bread around and I am very distraught since I have gone through all my emergency loaves in the freezer," she wrote in her e-mail.

So I contacted Arnold directly and inquired about whether the low-carb bread had been discontinued and why. I received a response back via telephone from a very nice spokeswoman who explained the bread is still available, but only in the Northeast section of the country. When I asked her why it was removed from the stores in the South, she responded that the sales had fallen flat in that region of the country and they decided to refocus their efforts where sales were happening.

As someone who used to work within the corporate structure of two major companies in the past, I can certainly understand the business standpoint about these decisions. There's really nothing personal about it because every product is just a widget with sales numbers attached. If a particular widget is not performing at the level it needs to, then you remove it and replace it with another widget that will perform.

One of my jobs was as the music buyer for a chain of Christian retails stores about ten years ago. The Christian music industry contains so many different facets from radio play to visibility in the mainstream (crossover appeal) to price. Juggling al these factors is really all just secondary to the widget analogy. Does it sell or not? There's no in between on this...it either does or it doesn't.

This is sometimes an unfair business model to have when you are attempting to serve a niche market of consumers like Christian music buyers or even low-carbers, but in the end money talks. If it's a superior low-carb food product and people who are on low-carb diets buy it in high enough quantities, then the product stays on the shelf. If not, then companies like Arnold are forced to make a choice. And so they did.



I asked the Arnold representative what fans of their low-carb bread can do if they want to see it come back to their area. She informed me that consumers can share their feedback with them and they would take it under consideration regarding redistribution in the South. You can call their toll-free customer service hotline number at 1-800-984-0989 or use their Contact Us page to express your desire to see Arnold's bread return.

The second company to remove a popular low-carb option from their list of products is the company best known among all of the fast food restaurants to cater to people attempting to eat healthy. It's Subway restaurants, of course, and their biggest claim to fame is helping Jared Fogle lose lots of weight on a low-fat sandwich diet. That's nice for Jared, but I'll be sticking with my low-carb lifestyle thank you very much! :)

Nevertheless, back when the Atkins diet was the hip thing everybody was doing in 2003-2004, Subway jumped on the low-carb bandwagon by offering their famous "Atkins wraps" with that big red "A" logo on their menu. Low-carbers had a choice practically endorsed by Dr. Atkins himself when they ate at Subway which likely encouraged many of us to eat there more often than we would have. Even when they removed the Atkins logo about a year or so ago, I was still happy to see the low-carb wraps stayed as a menu option for active low-carbers.

But, times have changed and now they want to get rid of the low-carb wraps for good. Another one of my faithful readers wrote me an e-mail sharing this discovery about Subway replacing "our" wraps with--CAN YOU BELIEVE IT!--flour ones. EEEEK!

Here's what she wrote to me in her e-mail:

"I went to my local Subway restaurant yesterday to have one of their low-carb wraps--a legacy of the Atkins heyday that I for one was happy to see lasting at Subway. But I was informed that in mid-March my local franchise is discontinuing their Atkins wraps and replacing them with plain flour tortillas!! I was outraged and explained in detail why this is a very bad idea. Have you heard anything about this? First Ruby Tuesday and now Subway...I'm getting really aggravated at just how finnicky the restaurant industry has gotten."

Yeah, me too! Nevertheless, I like to get to the bottom of things myself, so I called the corporate headquarters for Subway restaurants and spoke with the Public Relations Coordinator named Wes Winograd. He was very cordial to answer all my questions about this apparent change in policy away from using low-carb wraps at Subway and replacing them with wraps made with white flour.

Winograd immediately confirmed that the low-carb wraps had already been discontinued earlier this month and replaced with a new flour tortilla wrap in all of the Subway franchises throughout North America. He said there may be a few stores still carrying the low-carb wraps, but they would not be reordered once they sell through them in the next couple of weeks. I asked him why they ditched the low-carb wraps and again the issue went back to the bottom line.

"We did market research analysis on the new flour tortillas test marketing them in eight to ten cities across the United States and Canada based on taste, texture, appearance, and cost as compared with the low-carb wraps," Winograd explained. "We asked people to tell us whether they would buy these new wraps if they were available."

Based on the overwhelmingly positive feedback they received during the test market, the flour-based wraps were well-received. But I asked why the low-carb wraps were being replaced to begin with and why can't they still carry a limited quantity of them for us low-carbers who refuse to eat a flour-based tortilla.

"They are quite expensive," Winograd added about the low-carb wraps. "Plus, in a recent survey the majority of franchisees voted on removing the low-carb wraps from the menu. We listen to what our franchise owners want."

So, again, screw the niche customer because it all comes down to economics. The business owners want to know how to maximize their profit margin enough to satisfy its core customer base and make the most money, but where does this leave the low-carb consumer as a choice when they visit Subway restaurants? Winograd offered a few suggestions.

"We still offer to make any sandwich into a salad," he exclaimed. "And customers can also order double meat."

Oh boy, we're back to breadless sandwiches again. UGH! Actually, he told me that's why they started carrying the low-carb wraps in the first place because the franchisees noticed many of their customers throwing away the bread with their meal. Gee, I wonder what's gonna happen now that the low-carb wraps are not an option. Will we see history repeat itself with tons of breading lining the garbage pails yet again?

You might be wondering--what recourse do low-carb fans have now regarding Subway saying see ya to their low-carb wraps? I asked Winograd if people should contact the corporate customer service department and he suggested my readers who like the low-carb wraps should visit their local Subway franchise restaurant and tell the owner they would like to see them come back.

"We do offer our franchisees something we call a 'local option' for frequently requested items," he noted, explaining how some Subway restaurants in California still offer sourdough bread and the BBQ sandwiches in the South although these items are no longer on the national menu. The same could be done for the low-carb wraps, Winograd explained.

It is remotely possible Subway could bring back the low-carb wraps across all the restaurants in the chain, Winograd said, citing the example of how there was such an outcry from consumers in the early 1990s when turkey was removed from the menu that they brought it back in very short order and it has stayed there ever since. Perhaps we can produce the same results with the low-carb wraps. But you and all your low-carb friends need to let your local Subway store know so they get the message we would like to have an option when we dine there.

Let's let them hear from us on this one and report back here in the comments section what kind of feedback you receive. Companies like Arnold, Subway, Ruby Tuesday, and all the rest need to know the low-carb consumer has money we would like to spend on their products if they will simply cater to us. Whether they like it or not, low-carb as a permanent and healthy lifestyle change for millions of people is here to stay so they might as well hop on for the ride and endear themselves to us now and we'll stay devoted to them for life.

If you hear about any other news or information regarding low-carb products going away that you'd like for me to investigate, then don't hesitate to send me an e-mail at livinlowcarbman@charter.net. I'll do my best to get to the bottom of it for you and get the real scoop! :) Special THANKS to my two readers today for informing me about these.

3-14-07 UPDATE: One of my readers who used to be a fan of the Arnold low-carb bread before they removed it from their area found another alternative.

Hi Jimmy,

I wanted to share with you a low carb bread company called "Healthy Life Bread" that I happen to find last year with the Arnold's LC bread was pulled from our shelves here in Colorado. Lucky for me my niece lives in KY. I have her send the LC bread to me. It is REALLY GOOD!!!!

THANKS for the tip! I'll have to check 'em out!

3-14-07 UPDATE: Another one of my readers also endorses "Healthy Life Bread" and another suggestion, too.

Hey Jimmy,

I was just reading your post about the lc bread company going south. Someone mentioned Healthy Life. It is a good tasting bread and only 6 net carbs per slice. I buy it for John when he wants bread. The loaf I have right now is 100% whole wheat, whole grain with flaxseed and Omega-3. None of the ingredients concern me, other than the brown sugar, which is 5th on the list, so I doubt you are getting very much per slice. It has 0 trans fats, no High Fructose Corn Syrup, 3 grams of fiber and 40 calories. When I'm on maintenance, this will most likely be the bread I'll have on occasion.

Another good lc bread is Vegetable 35. I haven't found it here in Missouri yet, but I can drive into Illinois and find it at a few of the Wal-Mart Super Centers. It's approx. 6 carbs a slice as well.

Hope that info helps a bit.

It's good to know there are other options out there. THANKS again!!

3-15-07 UPDATE: More low-carb bread feedback from one of my readers has come in.

Trader Joe's has the best low-carb bread I've tried: Sprouted Wheat Bread with 4g net carb per slice (7 g total, 3 g fiber, 60 calories). This bread (it also comes in rye and multigrain varieties!) is one of several low-carb products at Trader Joe's, which the store interestingly does not label or market as low-carb. Perhaps the company feels they appeal to a wider customer base by not limiting products to a specific group of dieters.

Frankly, this bread is too good to call diet. I use it for French toast, bread pudding, stuffing, you name it. If you go looking for it, check the nutrition label carefully. Trader Joe's offers two lines of sprouted bread; the other is much higher in carbs.

Your Missouri reader might be interested to know I buy this bread in St. Louis.

Applebee's Covertly Provides Low-Carb Choice

Have you tried the new "Crispy Brick Chicken" meal from Applebee's yet?

In Episode 3 of my "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show" podcast last week, I highlighted this survey that concluded restaurants do not need to ignore the low-carb consumer because they are a growing group of customers who are beginning to frequent those restaurants who actively cater to their dietary needs when dining out. And it's true, too! Some former favorites have been crossed off our list of restaurants we frequent because they refuse to provide flexibility with their menu to make it low-carb.

Unfortunately, not every popular restaurant chain has gotten the message that low-carb living is alive and well despite the claims it no longer exists. You will recall Ruby Tuesday removed their low-carb menu before the summer not long after scrubbing their phenomenal low-carb cheesecake from their menu at the beginning of the year. It's too bad for companies like Ruby Tuesday who once led by example about how to meet the needs of the growing low-carb market. But not anymore and so low-carbers have stopped going there. That's too bad!


Applebee's banking on the star power of Chef Tyler Florence

However, I was encouraged recently when I saw a television commercial for Applebee's touting their new "Huge Flavor" menu featuring celebrity Chef Tyler Florence from The Food Network who is helping the popular mid-scale restaurant chain spruce up their menu a bit with some exciting new meals.

There was one featured item from Chef Florence's new menu in the TV ad that REALLY caught my attention--it was a plateful of chicken grilled up under open flames with a side of some leafy greens. My immediate thought was "Hey, that looks pretty low-carb!" It's important to note that there was no mention of "low-carb" in describing this meal or any of the new menu items during the commercial. Hmmmm.

Because my wife Christine absolutely adores Applebee's and Saturday was her birthday, I decided to surprise her by going there to celebrate. Not surprisingly, I just had to order the meal from the television commercial which I found out was called the "Crispy Brick Chicken." It looked so good on the television commercial and also in the picture on the menu. Would it live up to my lofty expectations?

Here's how Chef Florence describes this meal on the menu:

"I split a tender petite chicken and press it flat directly against a red-hot grill. The light marinade of rosemary, lemon and olive oil gets seared directly into the skin-it's so crisp it crackles with flavor! I complement this dish with a fresh salad tossed with grated hard boiled eggs, caramelized onions, shaved Parmesan cheese and my own warm bacon dressing."

Did you see all of those ingredients? Except for the "caramelized onions," EVERYTHING in it is VERY low-carb. As in, there's almost NO carbs in it at all! WOWsers! Could it be we have a covert attempt by Applebee's to add a low-carb menu choice without explicitly labeling it as such? It certainly seems that way!

Interestingly, this meal was originally supposed to come with spinach leaves and not just salad greens. I saw a sign at the front of the restaurant when you walk in the door that explains Applebee's no longer serves spinach on their menu because of the FDA's warning about E. coli in September. I have been concerned about the long-term fallout of that incident and it seems my worries about it are coming true despite the fact that spinach is back on supermarket shelves again. In fact, I just bought my first two bags of it again in about two months this weekend.

Nevertheless, even without the spinach leaves this meal was delicious! I dug right into the chicken itself which was juicy and moist beneath the slightly hardened chicken skin that had flavors grilled right into it. Mmmm, I was in low-carb heaven eating this! Then I tried the salad and immediately noticed it was VERY sweet. It was obvious the "caramelized onions" were cooked in sugar water. That's okay because it probably didn't have more than 5-6g sugar in it overall. But I thought I'd warn those of you who are watching your sugar intake like a hawk.

If you are diabetic or in the early stages of livin' la vida low-carb, then simply ask for these caramelized onions to be placed on the side or left off the salad completely. They are good, but you really don't need them to enjoy amazing low-carb meal. With the onions, I'd say this meal is about 8g carbs. Without them, maybe as low as 2g carbs. EXCELLENT!

My wife made an interesting observation about the meals we were served--they included NO bread! Most restaurants nowadays offer dinner bread, dinner rolls, or breadsticks. But not Applebee's. Neither one of the meals we were served came with ANY kind of bread. Is the message finally getting through that traditional bread made from white flour is not good for you? This was just another positive move in the right direction regarding our decision to go to Applebee's.

Yet, in my research for this post today, I went to the official Applebee's web site to find the nutritional information about this "Crispy Brick Chicken" meal to give you accurate numbers about the carbs especially. Unfortunately, Applebee's must be one of the few restaurant chains that DO NOT provide this to their customers. I was quite surprised that they didn't considering the move by many restaurants to make this readily available.

Here was their official response about providing nutritional info:

"We provide nutritional information on all of our Weight Watchers® items, including fat, fiber and calorie counts and Weight Watchers Points® values. We do not provide nutritional information on other Applebee's® items - with approximately 1,900 locations in the U.S. alone there are many different vendors, which makes it extremely difficult to obtain nutritional information for our items."

If you ask me, that's a total copout on being a responsible company. How can you blame multiple vendors for NOT providing nutritional information about your menu items, hmmm? Every single restaurant in America gets their food from more than one vendor, so what makes Applebee's any different? If you ask me, it's just laziness from their corporate marketing team. If they cared enough to provide this valuable information to their customers, then they would. So how about it Applebee's? Stop making excuses and start providing your customers with the information they need to live a healthy lifestyle.

Ah, yes, let's not forget about the Weight Watchers menu either. You definitely couldn't miss that at Applebee's! They had ten menu items in a section all to their own for all those people counting their "points" as they stuff their faces with low-fat, low-calorie, high-carb meals that rather conspicuously provided ZERO information about their carbohydrate content. Gee, I wonder why. That's because THEY DON'T WANT YOU TO KNOW!

In fact, when we were finished with our meal, the waitress asked if we had saved room for dessert. Although I already knew the answer to this question, I asked her if they had a sugar-free or low-carb dessert offering. She immediately chimed in with, "Well, we do have our Weight Watchers dessert!" Of course, she was referring to their "Chocolate Raspberry Layer Cake" dessert approved by Weight Watchers for their dieters to eat when dining at Applebee's.


This dessert only has 4 points, but is extremely high in sugar

I respectfully replied, "I don't think that dessert is sugar-free, but thank you for offering." At closer examination of this "diet" dessert on the menu, I noticed it had 230 calories, only 3g fat, and 3g fiber. Okay, that's all well and good, but what about the carbs? Where was this information located? It was conveniently missing and for good reason.

Look at the description of this supposedly "healthy" dessert:

"This chocolate tour de scrumptious is covered in a light cream cheese glaze, dusted with powdered sugar and drizzled with raspberry sauce."

A white flour-based chocolate cake sweetened with sugar, no doubt, with higher carb LIGHT cream cheese also sweetened with MORE sugar, then topped with ANOTHER layer of powdered sugar, and finally finished with a sugar-based raspberry sauce. Yikeseroo! I don't know how many carbs this Weight Watchers dessert had, but it wouldn't surprise me if it was close to 50g! UGH!

Why would ANYONE trying to lose weight on WHATEVER diet program put a dessert like this in their mouth?! Oh, that's right, sugar is FAT-FREE, so it's given a pass to be placed in foods that purport to be healthy. If sugar had fat in it, though, LOOK OUT! It would be treated like the plague and universally condemned. It should be anyway, but sadly the low-fatties like to have their sugar and eat it too!

Although the dessert menu was lacking for people on the low-carb lifestyle, I was highly encouraged by the addition of the "Crispy Brick Chicken" meal to the menu at Applebee's. It's an option for low-carbers that I feel very good about recommending to you if your family wants to go out to eat there. It just goes to show you that something doesn't have to be labeled "low-carb" for it to actually be low-carb. Become your own nutritional investigator and learn to recognize a low-carb friendly menu item when you see it.

Be sure to thank Applebee's for including this new "Crispy Brick Chicken" meal on their menu and encourage them to offer more menu items that are low in carbohydrates, including a sugar-free/low-carb dessert offering, as well as the complete nutritional information about their meals by clicking here. Make your voice heard because they might just listen if enough of us contact them.

11-14-06 UPDATE: After expressing my concerns directly in an e-mail to Applebee's the other day, they were nice enough to respond to me about the carb count in their new menu item as well as other options for low-carbers:

Dear Jimmy,

Thank you for taking the time to write to us about low carb menu selections. We currently have nutrition information only on our Weight Watchers items which is based on calories, fat and fiber.

Although we're not able to provide complete nutritional information on every product due to variations in menus, producers and suppliers, we try our best to give our valued guests like you plenty of options when dining with us.

Each of our Applebee's servers has a "Dietary Alternative" card which lists several options for guests looking for carb-conscious menu items. These options include the Applebee's House Sirloin, Fajitas con Sizzle, Grilled Italian
Chicken Caesar Salad, Bacon Cheeseburger and our famous Honey BBQ Chicken Sandwich.

We hope this information helps you make an informed decision the next time you visit us at your neighborhood Applebee's restaurant. I will also share your feedback with our Menu Research and Development team.

Sincerely,

Applebee's Guest Relations

No, that didn't answer my question. I wanted to know how many carbs are in the new "Crispy Brick Chicken" meal. Was that too difficult a question to get a simple number for an answer? As for those "carb-conscious menu items," I doubt the "famous Honey BBQ Chicken Sandwich" could be considered low-carb on any planet! Oi, these people kill me with the ignorance--knowingly or otherwise. I still think it's a crying shame that they can't post their nutritional info for their customers like every other restaurant chain does. GET WITH THE PROGRAM, APPLEBEE'S!