Hit the wall at a restaurant

Well I have always taken pride in the fact that I could find something suitable to eat at any restaurant so I would always go along with the restaurant choices of friends and never "dictated" where we went because of my issues.

But tonight I met my match. We went to a mom and pop place out in the boonies that caters to people who are fishing and otherwise out for a dose of the rugged outdoors. So the menu had no appetizers, no soup, no kids or senior items and no sandwiches. The smallest meal was a half roast chicken and all meals came with potatoes, salad, bread, beans, mushroom/fruit kababs and ice cream. Most dinners were two slabs of ribs. The menu even said there was a $9 charge per person for splitting meals!!! Absolutely ridiculous and no suitable choices.

We were being  treated to this dinner by a dear friend so I had pretty much resolved to order chicken  and take most of it home. But I decided to play the partial gastrectomy card and took the waitress aside and told her I had had most of my stomach removed and couldn't eat a fraction of any of the meals offered and could I order a steak without any of the sides. She agreed and said she would make a price adjustment. I felt good for speaking up and asking for what I wanted  and appreciated their cooperation and that waitress got a good tip from me. So I got a 12 ounce rib eye which seemed like half a cow  and brought two thirds of it home and was bordering on the foamies even with what I ate.

So all ended well and I have a nice steak for the next couple of days and we had a great evening with friends. But it really burns me when a restaurant dosn't  have options for people who wish to eat lightly. This restaurant was full of overweight people and they served margaritas in glasses the size of fish aquariums. I could have ordered a full meal but why would I want to bring home a baked potato and bread and beans when I would never eat that anyway.

Oh well, so much for my rant. Had I not been with a group that had traveled 50 miles to go to this particular place I think I would have walked out. At least it was a scenic drive and the company was great.    Diane

Hi Sis
Well done. Karen and I are learning which places in town here are accomidating to splitting and which meals are the best for splitting. Sometimes have to ask for portion sizes so I can check them on the protein counter. So far no trainwrecks losing slowly but surely and will see the surgeon on 06/28. Take care. Bro

Good for you for speaking up.  I have been known to take my WW food scale with me and weigh my portion before I eat it.  I try to do this discreetly, but you know how it is.  It is an art eating out at restaurants with the portions suitable for a family of four!

Diane
your discription of the restaurant sounded so good, it almost made me wish for a whole stomach again.....almost, but not quite.
I enjoy being thin far too much. It does sound like a fun evening though. Glad you were able to work it out. I have found that reheating steak is a good option for me also. I also have ordered the steak with the baked potato a couple of times just because I wanted a bite or two of loaded baked potato. It was such a comfort food for me. Not so much anymore. Doesn't sit well on my stomach, but nice to taste it once or twice a year. I always try to share meals with someone whenever possible, but never went out to eat anywhere like that where there were no appetizers or anything you could order that was small.
Went to Olive Garden last week to take my children and grandchildren out to eat, where you can order pretty much any size portion that you want. Had half of a lunch portion minus the pasta, and even got one of the tiny lemon dessert cups and had a couple of nibbles of it (delicious!!) before passing it to my skinny granddaughter. I never thought I could enjoy eating out so much and eat so little. What a dream come true.

Great to see your brother posting here also.

No need for appetizers when they are feeding you like that!  My dream restaurant in the old days. 

Glad to hear they would accomodate you by making a price adjustment.  I generally choose steak or shrimp.  I eat so much chicken at home that I don't want to order it when I go out.  I've found that most of the appetizers are fried foods and not the best choice anyway.  I'm not a big soup eater, so that's usually not an option either (except during chili season). 

I will usually just order the meal, potato included then take it home for my husband to eat later.  I don't cook potatoes anymore because they are a weakness for me.  Poor man deserves to have one once in a while. 

As usual you found the perfect solution to this problem.  Steak sounds like a perfect thing to have ordered there.  I try to stick to fish whenever it is on the menu and is not fried.  I find I just don't get enough fish in my diet at home as no one else likes it as much as I do.  I also look for shrimp, scallops and crab legs.  Yesterday we went out to a Turkish restaurant and ordered one salad and one mixed grill and shared it.  It was delicious.  I ate way too much and had two drinks.  I had a Turkish red wine and a rum and diet coke.  Woke up this morning to 103.4.  The sleeved life is wonderful.

 Sounds like you came up with a great plan in the middle of a challenging situation.

I also believe that there is always something at a restaurant I can order so I never think about checking the place out in advance or anything similar.  Recently I also got caught at a restaurant where there was NOTHING, not from portion size but just from main options.  I don't eat lamb, I can't eat steak with lots of gristle (they call it flavourful, I call it chewing gum), I don't like duck and the vegetarian option was pasta, of course, which I also don't eat.  This was one of those places that is so painfully hip they would be referred to as an "eatery" and the menu had 4 things on it while the wine list was 3 pages.  To be fair they bill themselves as a Food and Wine bar so I really have nobody to blame because it wasn't false advertising!  Just more emphasis on the wine than the food.

Anyway, I was panicking just a little because what the heck was I going to do, and at those prices there was No Way I was ordering something I knew I wouldn't eat.  Thankfully the special was scallops which are perfect...but yike-o-rama.  I had not been prepared and I don't think I could have thought on my feet as fast as you did Dianne.  I would have been like, "You know, I'll just stick to the wine, thank you" and then have to be poured out of there.

All's well that ends well though!

I love that you spoke up and took care of yourself...way to go girl!  So it just proves we can eat anywhere....we just might have to be alittle creative and you were.

OX
Patty

I'm totally selfish and bossy when it comes to these things, so I would have asked someone to order steak or chicken and share a bit with me, and I would have ordered NOTHING and dared them to charge me $9 for splitting a meal, since technically they wouldn't have actually done any additional work.

I would have just told the waiter/waitress I wasn't hungry and was just coming to keep my friends company, then I would have snuck food off of a friend's plate. I frequently ask restaurants to replace the starchy sides with double veggies and get no flack.

I guess I'm just a very demanding customer because if I'm giving them my hard earned money, it's going to be my way or the highway. I've been bossing restaurants around for years now and have yet to be told NO.

 
Sub...... I totally hear you and agree with you 100%

Problem is...... I've know (used to go out with a girl that worked at a known Bay Area restaurant) people that have worked in the food service industry. There is an un-written rule that you don't **** with the people that are preparing your food !!!

I've heard some nasty stories !

frisco