BOSTON -- Millions of Americans eat out every year, despite the fact that a growing number of them are overweight, and restaurants have been notoriously bad for diets.
The wildly popular, but strict, Atkins low carbohydrate/high protein diet scared many away from eateries.
But eating out doesn't have to spell doom for dieters. Hub hot spots are serving up choices to satisfy Atkins dieters -- subtle changes cooked up in part by chefs like Jay Murray, an Atkins dieter at Grille 23 in Boston.
"Now, all of the sudden, I like to eat steak and no carbs, so on the weekly changing part of the menu we've actually come up with a couple of items that have less than 4 grams of carbohydrates," Murray said.
Even at exclusive L'espalier in Boston, a place people go to indulge on special occasions, Atkins is a well-known name. Chef and owner Frank McClelland trained his wait staff on the diet's intricacies.
"It's not unusual to have a request once or twice a night. The increase has been fairly dramatic over the last four or five years," said McClelland.
Requesting portobello mushrooms with rib-eye steak, instead of mashed potatoes and a roll, cuts 53 carbs, three days' worth on the diet, and may mean happy customers will come back.
It's one reason chef Chris Frothingham, another Atkins follower at Bonfire in Boston, routinely caters to people's needs.
"This is where we see it mostly in the restaurant. More and more people are asking for salads without the croutons," Frothingham said.
Most restaurants say steak is now the star, but without its longtime sidekick.
"We have grilled asparagus, and that's has overtaken the potatoes by far," Frothingham said.
"Back in the 'PA' -- the pre-Atkins world -- we would make probably 11 containers, so we're buying about 60 percent of the potatoes that we were buying back then," Murray said.
And rolls may be losing their seductive power. Would you believe customers are beginning to send bread baskets back untouched?
"We're getting to the point where the waiter goes to the tables and asks, 'Would you like bread this evening?' It's usually a given in a restaurant. The menus go down, the bread goes down," said celebrity chef Todd English.
English said good restaurants respond to trends and don't mind if you're a little picky.
"Don't be afraid to ask. If you don't want something on the plate, we are very responsive to that," English said.
So go out, have the yellow fin tuna with tomato chorizo and shrimp vinaigrette, the rib eye over wild mushrooms, even the guacamole.
But what about dessert?
"You know, we have a perfect solution for dessert -- our fabulous cheese tray," McClelland said.
Add a little Atkins-friendly Splenda to your coffee, with heavy cream -- and enjoy.
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