Home > Healthy Eating > Archives > 2006 > April > 21
Friday, April 21, 2006
Can I have the sauce on the side?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Ahhhhh! The special menu request and the special restaurant customer, who loves to ask for spinach instead of potatoes, sauce on the side, fish broiled without any butter and a bowl of extra lemons to squeeze on everything. And do you have any real salt? I mean sea salt? Oh no…I’m talking about myself! Aloha to any of you who work the waiter over in Meg Ryan style! Remember that line in “When Harry Met Sally”? NO! Not that line!! When she said, “If the pie is hot, I want the ice cream on the side. If the pie is cold, put the ice cream on top.” And if you don’t have apple pie…just give me the ice cream. Or something like that.
As a registered dietitian who cares deeply about enjoying fabulous restaurant meals without dealing with unwanted calories from soupy sauces, fish doused in butter sauce and another pet peeve - disappointingly small servings of vegetables…I want to know …what do you do when you customize your restaurant meals to fit your dietary dreams? How do you talk to the server? Or are you afraid of the being labeled “special order” nightmare guest?
Before we go on, here is some pretty good advice. And it has nothing to do with the kitchen or the menu itself, it has to do with the human spirit. Let’s say a party of four diet conscious diners is out to lunch. The waiter comes over and hears, “We are all having appetizer portions of everything and then we want four forks to share one dessert.” The waiter is aghast! No big tip for them tonight. Love this table!!!! Instead try this, “HI! If you help us eat a little less, we’ll tip you a little more. Smaller hips, bigger tips.” All of a sudden the waiter loves you and will go to bat to help you make your special requests.
