Cheap date! first adventures in a restaurant for social occasions

Well I am a really cheap date these days. No alcohol and practically no food.  So this week I had 2 outings in a restaurant where I faced the challenge of what to have.  First was with my volleyball team and they wanted to go to Boston pizza. After scanning the menu ( in advance on line and at the table) I came to the conclusion the only safe thing for my stage (6 weeks post op) and to meet  Guelph rules was to have the salmon.  However I didn't want any of the salad, rice or vegetables that came with it.  I just wanted the salmon and not baked in the garlic butter. I was perfectly prepared to pass on eating and just have water but I thought I would ask if they could accommodate me. So I asked the waitress what they could do. Chef said he could bake the salmon for me in lemon.   And voila they did. All I said was that I am on a very restrictive diet and they were very helpful.  So the salmon plate is normally $17.99 but they gave me a huge piece of just salmon for $4.25. Needless to say I had to take lots of left overs .

Then last night my hubby and I went out to pub night with a group of friends and people we don't know ( friends of friends).  Now the place that was picked is called Lancaster Smokehouse in Kitchener. Check out their on line menu. Sinful.  They are all about meat, breading and high sugar, high fat side dishes.  So I can't have raw veggies, salads or red meat yet ( which are covered in gravies and sauces anyway). So conclusion was that 99.9% of the menu was out for me. But I thought I would gamble and try the BBQ chicken if I could figure out how to get to just the white meat ( minus the skin and high sugar BBQ sauce). But again didn't want all the side dishes and for my portion just didn't make sense to order a whole meal @ average of $15.99 to $19.99 only to have leftovers of which most I couldn't eat anyway. So after careful study (felt it was some kind of dietitian exam) I talked my hubby in ordering the 3 meat platter with whatever sides he wanted. He is a red meat lover so just made sure one of the meats was chicken.  He was going to get 2 meat platter for $17.99 but for $2.00 more you could get the third meat. So I ate my white meat portion and then my hubby ate the balance of my chicken along with his other meats and sides. So this meal cost me $2.00. Restaurant had no issue with bringing me a plate and my eating off hubby plate.

Keep in mind both times I planned in advance and had some cheese just before going to ensure I had something in the belly in case I opted to have nothing .  Plan was to eat after restaurant.  Was a bit worried if restaurants would accommodate odd requests like this.  And although I know people on my volleyball team quite well and they all know I had WLS surgery there were 16 people at the pub night I had never met. So I wondered if people would start asking questions of me when they saw me not drinking and barely eating.  I am a strong enough person such that I don't care in the end but as a human you still wonder if anyone would say anything. Not a soul.  We were all busy chatting and either nobody noticed or they were polite enough not to say anything.

Conclusion:  you can survive these social situations and still make smart choices for WLS diet.  Also I am a cheap date. And with these savings perhaps I can retire early! Lol

Good for you, that was quite the challenge but you succeeded with flying colors.

Thats amazing. I also live in kitchener and have looked at the menu for the Lancaster Smokehouse and it is frightening...hahah

Glad to know that there are always options, no matter where you go! 

You did great. I am impressed with how Boston Pizza treated you. I am futher along so have more choices but am still a cheap date as well.

 

Next time if you go to the smokehouse just ask them to make you something without the sauces. My friend and her parents are the owners they will understand

Thanks for the tip. I will remember that if we go there again. Or for that matter any restaurant.  I was just trying not to be a pain 

I have had very similar GOOD experiences at Kelsey's Restaurants.  I was "stuck" at a Mucho Burrito the other day and they had no problem customizing a kid's meal for me for $5.

Yes, my husband and I went to Kelsey's last night on the way home from a weekend road trip.  We ended up having the fajita platter for two with chicken.  It was perfect - I had probably about 3 oz chicken and some of the toppings (a bit of sour cream, cheese, tomatoes, hot peppers, and a bit of the sizzling onions and bell peppers), and he had most of the rest - and I got to take home about 3 oz of chicken to eat today for lunch.  Perfect!

Nice to see restaurants being so accommodating.  

My question is, apart from the social aspect of meeting with friends, is it worth it to eat out after WLS? I love going out to eat because I love the atmosphere of dining somewhere other than home. I also enjoy people watching and just the general ambiance of a nice cafe. It's not even really the food so much as the experience. So I hope that after WLS I can somehow continue to enjoy occasional outings to groovy little cafes...

Yes, it is worth it.  I love the left overs and can usually make 2 or 3 more meals out of it. 

Judy