Everything You Need to Know About Restaurants

There are over 200,000 table side restaurants in the U.S. With our fast paced lifestyles, these restaurants are becoming a larger part of our daily routine. The good news is restaurants have made big strides in recent years to provide us with healthier menu options. The bad news is I am about to take you on a journey behind the scenes of your favorite restaurants.

• Never eat out on Mondays. I know the last thing you want to do on Monday, after starting another grueling work week, is to cook at home. Would it make you feel any better that most restaurants on Monday are using food left over from Saturday (or even earlier)? You see restaurants always use the oldest ingredients first, not the stuff delivered fresh on Monday morning.
• Eating out can be hazardous to your health. Many restaurant workers are often hourly employees who make near minimum wages. Missing a shift can mean financial disaster for many of them, so they all work sick. Check inspection results and health department info for your favorite restaurants. Otherwise, the quick and easy way is to look at the bathroom. If it is clean, the rest of the place is probably clean too.
• Selling food makes the place money, but booze makes it rich. Food costs only average 40% of the menu price, but wine and liquor typically sells for 2-3 times the retail price. Restaurants often list their biggest money makers first and bury the good "value" options in the middle of the menu. To avoid the inflated prices on bottles of wine, ask the receptionist when making your reservation if you can BYOB. Many places allow this for a small corkage fee. If they refuse at first, tell them you have a special bottle you would like to bring that you believe will pair perfectly with one of their menu items (make sure you know their menu first and don't bring a bottle the restaurant already has in their cellar).
• Menu items that sound healthy, may not be so healthy. Restaurant meals average almost 1,500 calories. The reason for all of the calories.....BUTTER. Just because you order fish and veggies doesn't mean both weren't swimming in butter before they were plated. Don't be afraid to speak up and tell your waiter your dining preferences. If something is fried, ask for it to be grilled. Ask for the veggies to be steamed and get some olive oil on the side. You will not offend the chef, since their goal is to make sure you are satisfied and return to the restaurant.

This is just a primer for surviving the eating out game. In future posts, I will give you some more helpful hints on eating healthier at restaurants. In the meantime, have a cocktail before you go out and enjoy the bottle of wine when you come home. For me, I cannot justify paying $80 for a bottle of DeLoach Pinot Noir that I can buy next door for $25. Happy Dining.