Image taken on 2009-02-19 13:40:04 by Kevin H..

Yes, you can eat healthy at a restaurant. You miss out on all the fun of being with your friends and having a great time and enjoy yourself. You can go out and have fun and stick to your healthy, low fat diet, but it will take some planning and some discipline.

Plan Ahead

See if the restaurant has a website. If it does, go there and look at the menu. What are the types of dishes? Do they have low calorie, smaller proportioned dishes? Is there a section labeled “we only use oils that have no trans-fats or low fat”? Are the actual calories for each dish displayed? You can use this as a guideline to what you are going to order.

If it is a spur of the moment thing, you do not need to worry. You can always look over the menu when you get there and ask the staff lots of questions that were outlined above.

What To Do When You Get There

You arrive at the restaurant. The first thing you do is to look over the menu. If the waiter asks if you want some bread or crackers, just tell him or her no thank you. If they put the breadbasket on the table without your asking, push it to the other side. The further away they are, the less tempting they will be.

Keep this in mind, you are trying to limit the number of calories you consume. Bread and crackers (and who knows what ingredients are in them) are loaded with calories. Not only that, but also most places serves real butter. Again, that is to be avoided.

When you are seated, ask for water and keep sipping it throughout the meal.  This will help to make you feel full sooner and so you will not over eat. The idea here is portion control.

Many Italian restaurants have dishes that are made with a tomato-based sauce, like marinara. Mexican restaurants will feature salsa. So, have a few tortilla chips dipped in this low fat sauce. Again, the idea here is to limit the number of calories you are eating.

Watch out for those items that are deep-fried in oil. One place we know of has an appetizer that has asparagus dipped in a batter that is deep-fried. Do not order dishes like that.  Finally, when they ask if you want to see the dessert menu, just say no.

Yes, you can eat healthy at restaurants, and keep to your low-fat diet. You do not need to stay home all the time and not have fun. One other thing, if you do indulge in some foods that are high in calories and fat, that is not the end of the world. Don’t fret about it. Just adjust your meals afterwards and then keep on the right path. There is no need to give up altogether. You can enjoy life and keep to your diet plan, just go to http://finallyadietthatworks.com/eatingout.html.

Yet, you will not feel deprived because you still get to have your favorite foods. You can find these recipes offered right on the web through many of the recipe databases. Simply locate one, type in the restaurant name and the recipe name, and soon you will be in your kitchen cooking up these dishes.

If you are looking for American recipes, you will find plenty of the best restaurants offering their versions. If you love a great burger and a plateful of fries, why settle for anything less? Is there anything better than good old American apple pie? Maybe, if you make it al a mode! If you would like to find any of these American recipes the good news is that there are many databases on the web to offer them. Choose from meats, seafood, pasta dishes, and vegetables. Even desserts are available. You can locate restaurant recipes that are in this tradition as well.

The same thing goes for Mexican recipes. One of the best things to do when it comes to this type of food is to find an excellent spice blend that screams Mexican! There are many out there that you can easily pick up, bring home and use in your dishes to recreate a restaurant recipe or to help you to come up with that recipe that you remember your grandmother making when you were growing up. You can find recipes to help you make these blends as well.

Today, it is very costly to go to a restaurant for a meal. The more in your family, the more outrageous the prices are. Yet, for many, there is almost a craving for that special plate or that perfect dessert. If you are one of the many that has this problem, fear not. There are plenty of online recipe communities where you can go to get the best restaurant recipes out there to tempt your taste buds at home.

For more info please visit my website at Restaurant Recipes

Secret Restaurant Recipe

For the past three and a half years, I’ve been waiting for a restaurant to come along that would prove, once and for all, that Guanajuato, Mexico, does not lack fine cuisine. Guidebooks say Guanajuato does not have any good restaurants. Now, I can put a stop to this nonsense once and for all-I hope.

Frascati, conveniently located in Guanajuato’s El Jardin de Union, is a wonderful place for birthday celebration or for any special occasion. That’s why we were there-the wife’s birthday. The décor is modern Mexican with just a touch of tradition. There is an indoor waterfall over the stairs, which adds to the restaurant’s uniqueness. This restaurant will appeal to those accustomed to paying a little more for their meals to eat in a location with ambience. The dining room is on the second floor of Hotel San Diego and is accessible from the hotel’s lobby by stairs in the front or by the elevator at the back of the lobby. The premium tables overlook Guanajuato’s main and most popular plaza, El Jardin de Union, through large open doors that lead to the balcony.

Frascati is a prestigious restaurant chain in Mexico and serves an Italian menu of deliciously delightful choices. The manager of the Guanajuato facility, a graduate of Penn State University, seemed to be the only bilingual employee. The rest of the staff has been trained in basic English. They can describe the items on the menu and take your order, but that is about the extent of their English abilities. This is a new twist in Guanajuato. The manager told me that speaking English is not a requirement for employment.

Since all the window seats were taken, we sat across from the middle window. We still had a good view and were able to feel the lovely breeze that naturally cooled the dining area. Our orders of Lasagna and Cannelloni, taken by immaculately dressed and poised young Mexican waiters, came quickly. The bread served was not the usual bolillos-traditionally served in Guanajuato-but was fresh and satisfying.

The meal was the entrée and nothing else. This surprised us. At one of our favorite restaurants in Guanajuato, Casa Valadez, the meals come with succulent side dishes of rice and vegetables. This meal consisted of a sufficiently filling Italian dish and bread and nothing more. A salad would have cost us nearly as much as the entree.

Prices were high considering what you get for your money. In Casa Valadez, you get comparably tasting food and service equal to Frascati’s but more for your money. Valadez lacks the décor but what the heck when what you want is a good meal for a good price. The prices at Frascati’s make this establishment one for upper income bracket tourists or locals. However, it is great for a special occasion meal for the rest of us. Our lunch, with soft drinks, coffee and dessert, set us back about thirty dollars.

The most unique menu item at Frascati’s, worth a trip to this central Mexican town to sample, is their megalithic brownie and ice-cream dessert. It was a meal all by itself. I’m not making this up! Trust me when I tell you that it is worth whatever you have to do to get here and try it.

Alvin Starkman, M.A., LL.B.

It took a reduction in Oaxaca’s tourism and an increase in staff to bring La Biznaga back into my good books.  While we never actually stopped patronizing the trendy, relaxed eatery in downtown Oaxaca, the painstakingly slow service coupled with a sometimes snooty attitude of the wait staff was enough to cause us to caution both our house guests and fellow residents.  But word does get around, and that, combined with the reality check caused by the social and political unrest in the latter half of 2006 resulting in empty downtown streets (all now long gone) must have caused management to take a step back, re-evaluate, and act.  And it’s worked.

The complacent attitude has disappeared.  Once again waiters have smiles on their faces and interact with clientele with helpful suggestions, even when serving new faces.  The staff complement has significantly increased, and now even includes a school-aged busboy-esque youngster.

Drinks and complimentary seasoned carrot sticks arrive promptly, orders are taken when you’re ready to proceed, with appetizers and main courses arriving without table discussion about how much longer to wait before just picking up and leaving.

And so a testimony to the always consistent quality and presentation of fare, and welcoming ambience, La Biznaga has managed to maintain a following of residents and tourists alike in the face of its earlier seemingly deliberate shortcomings. 

The atmosphere is open courtyard, with a fashionable retractable roof protecting from  mid-day sun and seasonal rains; tables and chairs are wood, á la simplicity of arts-and-crafts vogue, comfort enhanced by wicker seats and backs; a selection of palms willows off to one side, with tall leafy tree mid-court; the bar by design provides a focal point given that its selections are contained on an overhead blackboard; and a rotating selection of gallery art graces the walls.  Music is most often jazz, but eclectically ranges off to other similar genres, thereby maintaining an air of coolness in the beatnik sense of the term. 

Enormous chalkboards, one at either end of the restaurant, contain the menu selections, print somewhat cryptic … interesting to say the least.  Be sure to bring your glasses, or strain your eyes over the tables of others, or simply get up and walk closer to the cartes du jour and you’ll be fine.  On the other hand, our experience over the past three years has been that one cannot go too far wrong choosing blindly.  Appetizers, soups and salads range from about 35 – 100 pesos, and entrées (meat, fish or fowl) come in at 65 to 200.

La Biznaga is known for its cocktails, and in particular its margaritas and mojitos, served as in the case with all other beverages, in classic Mexican blue accented thick hand-blown glassware (vidrio soplado).  The mezcals are also noteworthy for the selections offered. Pretty well all of the bar servings are healthy, and prices across the board are competitive, mezcals beginning at, get this, 15 pesos.

But we’re here for dinner.  La Silvestre is a mushroom soup, more in the nature of a light broth devoid of dairy, containing a selection of wild hongos including setas, along with bacon, onion and chile poblano … a must for toadstool enthusiasts.  Rarely does a visit go by when I won’t indulge.

Las Calendas is a starter worthy of selection.  While described as tamales, there is no corn, but rather squash blossom and melted string cheese (quesillo) enveloped with tender hierba santa leaf, an herb with a distinct taste used in preparation of many Oaxacan dishes yet not often enough as a single flavor source.  You’re apt to recall, “so that’s  the exquisite essence I’ve been enjoying all this trip.”  The triptych is presented with sides of refried beans and diced spiced tomato, and topped with a drizzle of cream.  Another worthy triumvirate is the Cerro Viejo, crunchy fried tortilla horns stuffed with seasoned sautéed hibiscus (jamaica) flower, presented with a center of guacamole crowned with chipotle peppers.  It would be a mistake to not share each of these two tasters.

The grilled salmon is served over a bed of cilantro pesto, with lightly dressed side salad comprised of select lettuce, tomato and pineapple wedges which, together with pine nuts in the entrée provide complimentary crunches.  The tuna, similar to the salmon in terms of a good sized serving prepared to the exact degree of doneness as demanded, arrives on a sea of avocado salsa and is topped with pico de gallo, a flavorful traditional combination of tomato, radish, cucumber, onion, chile and cilantro, with an added tang of lime. Finally, my  own entrée on this outing consists of four filets of chicken breast each wrapped around a piece of cooked plantain with just enough walnut crumbles to be detected and welcomed, presented on a platter of puréed guava set off with swirls of cream. 

The distinctive flavors one has just experienced almost call out for further indulgence, and thus dessert is difficult to neglect:  on this evening healthy scoops of pistachio sorbet (nieve) are served in a margarita schooner, and chocolate truffle-cake (trufa) floats on a strawberry coulis.

It’s indeed a rarity for a restaurant to exhibit this level of consistency in quality of cuisine.  Now if La Biznaga can only maintain a degree of humility translating into value-added service, there’s no stopping its continued success, nor reason for patrons to ever again hesitate stopping by. 

La Biznaga, Garcia Vigil 512, Centro Histórico, Oaxaca (tel: 516-1800)

If you are wondering how to pronounce it, or what Kleio means, we’ll give you a helping hand. Pronounced kleos, it traces its origin to Greek mythology: Kleio was one of the nine Muses and the goddess of history and heroic poetry. It was Kleio who introduced the alphabet to Greece.

Now Kleio has other meanings too. It stands for wholesome, hearty food, sheer indulgence, a place to laze an afternoon away… and if you tell us, its Greek to you, we will believe you!

Yes, we are talking about Kleio, the hottest new eatery in town! Enter to the fine aroma of coffee, sweep your gaze across the restaurant and you will see chocolate coloured cushions, tables in a shade of mocha, and Cappuccino coloured, comfortable chairs to lounge in. Large oil paintings dominate the walls, adding colour and cheer.

The menu is massive: sandwiches, wraps, quiche, milkshakes, coffees and a mouthwatering range of cakes and pastries! If it’s a sandwich you fancy, take your pick from brown, multigrain or white bread. Try the deliciously simple, yet totally awesome coleslaw sandwiches! Grilled chicken sandwiches are a concoction of chunky chicken, dripping mayonnaise, ripe tomatoes and Iceberg lettuce! If you like things spicy, try the paneer tikka sandwich. The chicken Mexican wrap is piquant and spicy enough for Indian palates. The quiche is a bit heavy, overloaded with cheese and butter.

Quench your thirst with their array of milkshakes: chocolate, strawberry, banana, vanilla, frappes, latte and iced cold coffee. The best mix was banana milkshake with peanut brittle. Crunchy, creamy and rather sinful! If you like it hot, you could take your pick from Cappuccino, Venetian or our very own South Indian filter coffee. Tea anyone? Choose from Darjeeling, Lopchu, Typhoo and invigorating masala chai.

Feel like indulging? Take your pick from fresh cream and pineapple, strawberry crush, apple pie or lemon meringue. Not watching your calories? Then how about ordering their Kahlua or mango mousse? Let loose the chocoholic in you: chocolate gateaus, luscuious chocolate cream pastries, chocolate sponge cakes with blood red cherries, dark chocolate, white chocolate, chocolate ganache, they have it all!

Kleio
Dr. Nair Road,
T.Nagar,
Chennai – 600017

Tel: 9884422500

This restaurant also pretends to be a library! Yes, you can read a book, browse through books, work on your laptop or just catch up on the day’s newspaper! But we assure you, doing all of this is so much better over a steaming hot cup of coffe, a grilled sandwich or masala chai! Try resisting if you can…

Are you looking for an Austin Best Restaurant? Then you should be really happy as Austin city has got numerous options for you. One such option is the Carmelo’s Austin. This restaurant is absolutely Austin’s answer to a standard Sicilian kitchen. The place is spiced with continental chic. The place is popular for using all the fresh ingredients in the right quantity and in a perfect style. As soon as you enter the premises of this restaurant, you come across the pungent smells of garlic, ginger and few other ingredients that surely raises your hunger pangs!

At Carmelo’s Austin, you also get to listen to accordion. Yes, the instrument that is very rarely played in the restaurants. You also experience a group of limestone buildings which open to a charming village of Taormine where the Carmelo was born. The place has got some of the best Italian pastas, some of the best wines and of course, the best of desserts. It is surely one Austin Best Restaurant. For your convenience, the reservations are also available online. The special dishes of this restaurant include pasta, veal, beef, seafood and some very soecial poultry dishes. The pastry selection of this place is also very famous. One of the best features of this restaurant is that it also serves you a great vegetarian menu on demand. The wait-staff is very friendly and cooperating. The vegetarian menu is also served with great care and innovation. The Carmelo has also got four private rooms. These rooms may accomodate around ten to three hundred persons at a time. Various holiday parties, birthday parties, business meetings and receptions are arranged at the banquet halls of the restaurant. The large groups of conventioneers and the visitors can be seated at a moment’s notice if a room is available. The Carmelo was established in 1985.

One more Austin Best Restaurant is the Louie’s 106. This Austin Restaurant has been a very popular food joint among the Austinites since the time of it’s opening. It was opened in 1986. The restaurant was also given the first place in the Austin Chronicle People Poll. It is surely one of the best Austin things to do. The Louie’s 106 restaurant features four private rooms that cater to groups from 10 – 60 and spread across 2 levels. These are also equipped with an open kitchen on the main floor. Louie’s 106 offers various delicious flavours of over three hindred wine labels. Due to it’s high quality wine, the restaurant has also won the Award of Excellence from the Wine Spectator ten years in a row. This is really a big achievement for it.

The Louie’s 106 is indeed one of Austin Best Restaurant. Even the appetizers that are served here, represent an engaging mixture of sophistication and great taste. For example, the escargots are sauteed in garlic and white wine and served with herb walnut butter. Together these ingredients give a perfect taste. The tender snail and the yummy garlic plus butter just melt in your mouth. The menu of this place has got tapas which are the legendary appetizers of Spain. The place is also considered an exciting way to dine. Certain flavors are just mixed here such as carpaccio of tuna with fire roasted Nann bread, char grilled beef tenderloin, and Morraccan BBQ Shrimp. These combinations are rarely found at other places. Louie’s 106 also offers sumptuous lunch and dinner menus featuring daily specials from the rotisserie chicken, beef, lamb and fish; paella, pastas, risottos, bouillabaisse, grilled vegetables and salads.

The Roy’s Austin Restaurant is also regarded as the Austin Best Restaurant. It was originally introduced in Honolulu, Hawaii by the internationally acclaimed Chef known as Roy Yamaguchi in 1988. Since that time it has become very popular through out the world for its wonderful and unique cuisine and also the cutting-edge wine list. The aloha kind of service has also got it’s contribution for popularizing the place. Visiting this place may let you experience one of the best Austin day trips. Roy invested keeping in mind the childhood memories of the feelings and flavors of Hawaii. He refers to this style as the ‘Hawaiian Fusion’. The cuisine available here is a tempting combination of superb flavors and spices that are mixed with the freshest of local ingredients. The open exhibition kitchen is a priority within the interior design of this place. This provides a constant flow of energy, which permeates the restaurant also make the customers feel happy and relaxed. The restaurant has also got an elegant private dining room. This area seats around forty persons at a time. The parties are also held here which let the customers experience a very good time. Since the time of it’s opening, the place has freely blended the European techniques. The results of using such techniques is that you experience a truly contemporary style of cuisine. The menu of Roy’s Austin changes everyday but some classics always stay on the menu.

The Castle Hill Cafe is an independent Austin restaurant which came into business in 1986. It is located at West 5th street. It is there for the last 22 years and is regarded as an Austin Best Restaurant by many people. The restaurant was reopened with the name Corazon at the Castle Hill. It now includes a bar and a lounge area and also a full liquor license. This restaurant tried to grew in a rapid manner due to the surrounding demographic situations and by realising the rise of vibrant business in the neighbourhod. The main idea of this restaurant was to make their customers feel comfortable either they come for a lunch, dinner, brunch or for just a simple cup of coffee. In this feel-cozy attitude for the customers, the waitstaff of the restaurant has got a big hand. All the waiters of this place are well-trained and they are very much commited to their clients. The wait-staff is also very friendly. The dining room area of this place is full of energy and delight. It is a combination of romance and beauty. The bar of this Cafe Hill restaurant also provides the Happy Hours for drink specials.

The private dining rooms are also available in the Castle Hill Cafe which let you think that you are sitting in Austin Best Restaurant. These rooms are also available for the pleasant events like the wedding receptions, the birthday parties, anniversaries, special lunches and dinners of the corporates. The restaurant tries its best to bring some unique flavours of Austin eating for the Austinites. It also serves some unique Mexican cuisines. Just when you enter the restaurant, you feel the warmth in the surroundings through the touch of oranges, yellows and dark reds. The lanterns and their exotic lights remind you of the good old peaceful time when life was not that rushy. The whole restaurant has got a very nice balance when it comes to it’s interior. The linen napkins and the appetizer plates are really special. The restaurant has also got the Mexican craftwork which really gels in the restaurant. There are many tasty dishes available, some of which have been a part to the older form of the restaurant. These special gold-from-old variety includes the smoked pork tenderloin flautas, shrimp enchiladas and also the multi-cast cherry- chutney that has been sundried.

Restaurant recipes are offered to you. That means that you can make your favorite dishes from your favorite location in your home. This helps to cut the cost down tremendously which can help you to trim your budget. Yet, you will not feel deprived because you still get to have your favorite foods. You can find these recipes offered right on the web through many of the recipe databases. Simply locate one, type in the restaurant name and the recipe name, and soon you will be in your kitchen cooking up these dishes.

If you are looking for American recipes, you will find plenty of the best restaurants offering their versions. If you love a great burger and a plateful of fries, why settle for anything less? Is there anything better than good old American apple pie? Maybe, if you make it al a mode! If you would like to find any of these American recipes the good news is that there are many databases on the web to offer them. Choose from meats, seafood, pasta dishes, and vegetables. Even desserts are available. You can locate restaurant recipes that are in this tradition as well.

The same thing goes for Mexican recipes. One of the best things to do when it comes to this type of food is to find an excellent spice blend that screams Mexican! There are many out there that you can easily pick up, bring home and use in your dishes to recreate a restaurant recipe or to help you to come up with that recipe that you remember your grandmother making when you were growing up. You can find recipes to help you make these blends as well.

Today, it is very costly to go to a restaurant for a meal. The more in your family, the more outrageous the prices are. Yet, for many, there is almost a craving for that special plate or that perfect dessert. If you are one of the many that has this problem, fear not. There are plenty of online recipe communities where you can go to get the best restaurant recipes out there to tempt your taste buds at home.

For more info please visit my website at Restaurant Recipes

many to choose from how do you decide where to go?

Having lived in Skipton all my life (31 years) and with a tummy that never stops rumbling I thought I’d share my top 5 Skipton Restaurants’ with you………

Number Five – Sam Houston’s, Water Street, Skipton

Sam’s back was the message earlier this year and yes he’s back with a bang! Sam Houston’s opened its doors over 20 years ago bringing Tex Mex to the Gateway to the Yorkshire Dales. Sam’s re-opened under new management earlier this year and pride themselves on serving fresh, affordable Mexican food in traditional surroundings.

20 years on it’s fiesta time again in Sunny Skipton!

Number Four – Emporio Italia, Mill Bridge, Skipton

A new addition to the Skipton scene this summer, Emporio Italia is a great place for evening meals as well as a tasty lunch. It aims to build on the solid reputation already established by their sister restaurant in nearby town Ilkley. The place is authentic Italian throughout, from the background music to the red neckerchiefs worn by the chefs and the dried provisions for sale on shelves. The food is delicious, but it tastes twice as good because of the staff’s abundant enthusiasm!

Lunch of Pizza or Pasta is around £6. Dinner offers early bird menu, Pizza / Pasta or more individual options from £7 upwards.

At Emporio Italia you really could be on a gondola in Venice!

Number Three – Nosh, Newmarket Street, Skipton

Following the move from Devonshire Place to its current location within the Boutique 25 restaurant (in my former dentists) it brings back (not so happy) memories of my childhood! One glimpse of the stylish decor and a couple of pre-meal cocktails in 25 below, the in-house cocktail and champagne bar, remove all fears! Serving excellent, well presented fresh food and deliciously sweet desserts (not sure my dentist would approve)

Number Two – Aeolos, Cavendish Street, Skipton

I visited this place for the first time only three weeks ago! Situated away from the High Street (formally No1) this place is sometimes overlooked by hungry diners but it’s certainly a place I wouldn’t forget in a hurry!

The old Victorian building has been decorated sympathetically with pergolas, vines and grapes but still keeps all its beautiful grand house features. As Skipton’s only greek restaurant, complete with dancing and traditional plate smashing, this place really comes alive.

The Meze is certainly not for the faint hearted but highly recommended!

Number One – Canalside, Coach Street, Skipton

Formally the Waterfront Nightclub and previously “The Barge” (before my time!) the Canalside is set in one of Skipton’s landmark buildings. It offers fresh, home cooked fare in a wonderful picturesque location on the banks of the Leeds – Liverpool Canal.

With an excellent Sunday Lunch for friends coupled with great value “early bird” deals,The Canalside is my number one choice when eating out in Skipton!

We want to celebrate Valentines Day in a very Romantic Way, First a good Dinner and then Dessert!