Review: Chili's New Low-Carb Menu

I had lunch today at Chili's and was pleasantly surprised to see their
new low-carb menu which is as follows:

Appetizer: Buffalo Wings 5 carbs 3 fiber

Salads:
Fajita Caesar 11C 4F
Dinner Salad 8C 3F
Dinner Caesar 5C 2F

Soups:
Beef Chili (with everything) 25C 2F
Broccoli-Cheese 20C 2F

Bunless Burgers:

They have 3 different ones that all looked good ranging from 9-14C and 6F

Knife and Fork Fajitas served on a bed of veggies w/ guacamole and
salsa:

Beef or Chicken: 17C 10F
Mushroom-Jack 24C 11F


Personally, I think their fiber counts look too high but the menu seemed
quite reasonable. I had a Chicken Caesar salad that was one of the best
I've ever had in a restaurant. I recommend ordering the dressing on the
side since they overdid it on mine a little. It was a large, delicious
salad. The chicken was quite flavorful and tender too.

Elinor

It's interesting how these restaurants are coming up with "special"
meals. Chili's looks like they are accenting regualr offerings as well
as modified ones(fajitas). WHen I ate at TGIF I couldn't help but
notice that there were other items on the menus (Salads, buffalo
wings) that were low carb but not part of the "Atkins Aprroved Low
Carb" menu. Kind of silly, and shows that they people running these
chains can't recognize low-carb food if their life depended on it.
None of the ATKINS APPROVED meals at TGIF looked that interesting. I
had the Chicken Cobb salad & Buffalo wings instead. Still low carb,
even if Atkins Nutritionals Inc didn't approve of it.



Elinor Dashwood wrote:


I had lunch today at Chili's and was pleasantly surprised to see their
new low-carb menu which is as follows:

Appetizer: Buffalo Wings 5 carbs 3 fiber

Salads:
Fajita Caesar 11C 4F
Dinner Salad 8C 3F
Dinner Caesar 5C 2F

Soups:
Beef Chili (with everything) 25C 2F
Broccoli-Cheese 20C 2F

Bunless Burgers:

They have 3 different ones that all looked good ranging from 9-14C and 6F

Knife and Fork Fajitas served on a bed of veggies w/ guacamole and
salsa:

Beef or Chicken: 17C 10F
Mushroom-Jack 24C 11F


Personally, I think their fiber counts look too high but the menu seemed
quite reasonable. I had a Chicken Caesar salad that was one of the best
I've ever had in a restaurant. I recommend ordering the dressing on the
side since they overdid it on mine a little. It was a large, delicious
salad. The chicken was quite flavorful and tender too.

Elinor

DiGiTAL_ViNYL (no email)
350/307/Apr-299/200
Atkins since Jan 12, 2004
OWL-40 carbs/day (CCLL=?)

They had the *special* menu for a little while at the Chili's near us..
Sunday though they did not offer one, and instead there is a note on the
regular menu that says "If you require any modifications for special diets,
please do not hesitate to ask." They have always been very willing to
accommodate.. I have never felt the need for counts on anything as they
cannot possibly be that exact anyway. I can decide on what to eat by knowing
what's in it.

Teeb

"Elinor Dashwood" wrote in message
...

I had lunch today at Chili's and was pleasantly surprised to see their
new low-carb menu which is as follows:

Appetizer: Buffalo Wings 5 carbs 3 fiber

Salads:
Fajita Caesar 11C 4F
Dinner Salad 8C 3F
Dinner Caesar 5C 2F

Soups:
Beef Chili (with everything) 25C 2F
Broccoli-Cheese 20C 2F

Bunless Burgers:

They have 3 different ones that all looked good ranging from 9-14C and 6F

Knife and Fork Fajitas served on a bed of veggies w/ guacamole and
salsa:

Beef or Chicken: 17C 10F
Mushroom-Jack 24C 11F


Personally, I think their fiber counts look too high but the menu seemed
quite reasonable. I had a Chicken Caesar salad that was one of the best
I've ever had in a restaurant. I recommend ordering the dressing on the
side since they overdid it on mine a little. It was a large, delicious
salad. The chicken was quite flavorful and tender too.

Elinor

Keep in mind that some people will see Atkins Approved and/or LOW CARB and
not order the selection just because of that. Ignorance knows no limits....

DigitalVinyl wrote:
:: It's interesting how these restaurants are coming up with "special"
:: meals. Chili's looks like they are accenting regualr offerings as
:: well
:: as modified ones(fajitas). WHen I ate at TGIF I couldn't help but
:: notice that there were other items on the menus (Salads, buffalo
:: wings) that were low carb but not part of the "Atkins Aprroved Low
:: Carb" menu. Kind of silly, and shows that they people running these
:: chains can't recognize low-carb food if their life depended on it.
:: None of the ATKINS APPROVED meals at TGIF looked that interesting. I
:: had the Chicken Cobb salad & Buffalo wings instead. Still low carb,
:: even if Atkins Nutritionals Inc didn't approve of it.
::
::
::
:: Elinor Dashwood wrote:
::
:::
::: I had lunch today at Chili's and was pleasantly surprised to see
::: their new low-carb menu which is as follows:
:::
::: Appetizer: Buffalo Wings 5 carbs 3 fiber
:::
::: Salads:
::: Fajita Caesar 11C 4F
::: Dinner Salad 8C 3F
::: Dinner Caesar 5C 2F
:::
::: Soups:
::: Beef Chili (with everything) 25C 2F
::: Broccoli-Cheese 20C 2F
:::
::: Bunless Burgers:
:::
::: They have 3 different ones that all looked good ranging from 9-14C
::: and 6F
:::
::: Knife and Fork Fajitas served on a bed of veggies w/ guacamole and
::: salsa:
:::
::: Beef or Chicken: 17C 10F
::: Mushroom-Jack 24C 11F
:::
:::
::: Personally, I think their fiber counts look too high but the menu
::: seemed quite reasonable. I had a Chicken Caesar salad that was one
::: of the best I've ever had in a restaurant. I recommend ordering
::: the dressing on the side since they overdid it on mine a little.
::: It was a large, delicious salad. The chicken was quite flavorful
::: and tender too.
:::
::: Elinor
::
:: DiGiTAL_ViNYL (no email)
:: 350/307/Apr-299/200
:: Atkins since Jan 12, 2004
:: OWL-40 carbs/day (CCLL=?)

lol!
"Roger Zoul" wrote in message
...
Keep in mind that some people will see Atkins Approved and/or LOW CARB and
not order the selection just because of that. Ignorance knows no
limits....

DigitalVinyl wrote:
:: It's interesting how these restaurants are coming up with "special"
:: meals. Chili's looks like they are accenting regualr offerings as
:: well
:: as modified ones(fajitas). WHen I ate at TGIF I couldn't help but
:: notice that there were other items on the menus (Salads, buffalo
:: wings) that were low carb but not part of the "Atkins Aprroved Low
:: Carb" menu. Kind of silly, and shows that they people running these
:: chains can't recognize low-carb food if their life depended on it.
:: None of the ATKINS APPROVED meals at TGIF looked that interesting. I
:: had the Chicken Cobb salad & Buffalo wings instead. Still low carb,
:: even if Atkins Nutritionals Inc didn't approve of it.
::
::
::
:: Elinor Dashwood wrote:
::
:::
::: I had lunch today at Chili's and was pleasantly surprised to see
::: their new low-carb menu which is as follows:
:::
::: Appetizer: Buffalo Wings 5 carbs 3 fiber
:::
::: Salads:
::: Fajita Caesar 11C 4F
::: Dinner Salad 8C 3F
::: Dinner Caesar 5C 2F
:::
::: Soups:
::: Beef Chili (with everything) 25C 2F
::: Broccoli-Cheese 20C 2F
:::
::: Bunless Burgers:
:::
::: They have 3 different ones that all looked good ranging from 9-14C
::: and 6F
:::
::: Knife and Fork Fajitas served on a bed of veggies w/ guacamole and
::: salsa:
:::
::: Beef or Chicken: 17C 10F
::: Mushroom-Jack 24C 11F
:::
:::
::: Personally, I think their fiber counts look too high but the menu
::: seemed quite reasonable. I had a Chicken Caesar salad that was one
::: of the best I've ever had in a restaurant. I recommend ordering
::: the dressing on the side since they overdid it on mine a little.
::: It was a large, delicious salad. The chicken was quite flavorful
::: and tender too.
:::
::: Elinor
::
:: DiGiTAL_ViNYL (no email)
:: 350/307/Apr-299/200
:: Atkins since Jan 12, 2004
:: OWL-40 carbs/day (CCLL=?)

In article ,
DigitalVinyl wrote:

Elinor Dashwood wrote:


I had lunch today at Chili's and was pleasantly surprised to see their
new low-carb menu which is as follows:...

snip

It's interesting how these restaurants are coming up with "special"
meals. Chili's looks like they are accenting regualr offerings as well
as modified ones(fajitas). WHen I ate at TGIF I couldn't help but
notice that there were other items on the menus (Salads, buffalo
wings) that were low carb but not part of the "Atkins Aprroved Low
Carb" menu. Kind of silly, and shows that they people running these
chains can't recognize low-carb food if their life depended on it.
None of the ATKINS APPROVED meals at TGIF looked that interesting. I
had the Chicken Cobb salad & Buffalo wings instead. Still low carb,
even if Atkins Nutritionals Inc didn't approve of it.


Given that there are at least six or seven variants of low-carb diets
including the more recently and increasingly popular South Beach, I
can't imagine any restaurant wanting to align with any one in
particular.... seems a rather silly thing actually, doesn't it? Most
people don't care about the diet wars; they just want to lose weight and
will try what has proven effective (and healthy) for friends.

On Tue, 6 Apr 2004 20:18:17 -0400, "Roger Zoul"
wrote:

Keep in mind that some people will see Atkins Approved and/or LOW CARB and
not order the selection just because of that. Ignorance knows no limits....

More for us! ;-)

Karen Rodgers

**********
Windbourne, folk singers of the future
http://www.windbourne.com/
remove "_rice_" from my email address
**********

"Elinor Dashwood" wrote in message
...
In article ,
DigitalVinyl wrote:

Elinor Dashwood wrote:


I had lunch today at Chili's and was pleasantly surprised to see their
new low-carb menu which is as follows:...

snip

It's interesting how these restaurants are coming up with "special"
meals. Chili's looks like they are accenting regualr offerings as well
as modified ones(fajitas). WHen I ate at TGIF I couldn't help but
notice that there were other items on the menus (Salads, buffalo
wings) that were low carb but not part of the "Atkins Aprroved Low
Carb" menu. Kind of silly, and shows that they people running these
chains can't recognize low-carb food if their life depended on it.
None of the ATKINS APPROVED meals at TGIF looked that interesting. I
had the Chicken Cobb salad & Buffalo wings instead. Still low carb,
even if Atkins Nutritionals Inc didn't approve of it.


Given that there are at least six or seven variants of low-carb diets
including the more recently and increasingly popular South Beach, I
can't imagine any restaurant wanting to align with any one in
particular.... seems a rather silly thing actually, doesn't it? Most
people don't care about the diet wars; they just want to lose weight and
will try what has proven effective (and healthy) for friends.

Keep in mind that brands instil confidence. whether or not it is warranted
or not is a different story. If it was Atkins endorsed you would think it
was within a particular carb range, if swartzbein or the zone it might be
much higher. If south beach you would assume lower fat.

There is always a danger of things being labelled as low carb which aren't
very low carb. I'm not talking about net carbs here. a few people here
have pointed out magazine recipes and new low carb cook books which are made
up of recipes that are high carb my most low carb plans.

It should be good enough to be low carb but in marketing its about bringing
the people in the door.

Sid...

In article EOXcc.45431$Ig.6339@pd7tw2no, "sprudil"
wrote:

"Elinor Dashwood" wrote in message
...
In article ,

brevity snip

Given that there are at least six or seven variants of low-carb diets
including the more recently and increasingly popular South Beach, I
can't imagine any restaurant wanting to align with any one in
particular.... seems a rather silly thing actually, doesn't it? Most
people don't care about the diet wars; they just want to lose weight and
will try what has proven effective (and healthy) for friends.

Keep in mind that brands instil confidence. whether or not it is warranted
or not is a different story. If it was Atkins endorsed you would think it
was within a particular carb range, if swartzbein or the zone it might be
much higher. If south beach you would assume lower fat.

Only to people who know anything about those particular diets. All I
know about the Atkins diet I read here, for instance. Advertising that
a diet meets Atkins or Zone criteria would mean nothing to me. I prefer
the carb/fiber/fat information supplied by the menu (as with Chili's) so
I can make my own judgments.


There is always a danger of things being labelled as low carb which aren't
very low carb. I'm not talking about net carbs here. a few people here
have pointed out magazine recipes and new low carb cook books which are made
up of recipes that are high carb my most low carb plans.

It should be good enough to be low carb but in marketing its about bringing
the people in the door.

Sid...

Elinor Dashwood wrote:

In article EOXcc.45431$Ig.6339@pd7tw2no, "sprudil"
wrote:

"Elinor Dashwood" wrote in message
...
In article ,

brevity snip

Given that there are at least six or seven variants of low-carb diets
including the more recently and increasingly popular South Beach, I
can't imagine any restaurant wanting to align with any one in
particular.... seems a rather silly thing actually, doesn't it? Most
people don't care about the diet wars; they just want to lose weight and
will try what has proven effective (and healthy) for friends.

Keep in mind that brands instil confidence. whether or not it is warranted
or not is a different story. If it was Atkins endorsed you would think it
was within a particular carb range, if swartzbein or the zone it might be
much higher. If south beach you would assume lower fat.

Only to people who know anything about those particular diets. All I
know about the Atkins diet I read here, for instance. Advertising that
a diet meets Atkins or Zone criteria would mean nothing to me. I prefer
the carb/fiber/fat information supplied by the menu (as with Chili's) so
I can make my own judgments.

I agree. I find it frustrating that almost every restaurant chain
neglects to provide any nutritional info on their menus. I've visited
websites, sent emails, phoned in. It just doesn't exist for MOST of
them.

The IRONY is that fast food restaurant (the ones that people are the
most suspicious of nutrition-wise) are the ones who almost universally
supply complete info on their menus. Wendys, mcdonalds, boston market,
Burger King, taco bell, KFC, white castle, Subway all supply very
complete info.

But for restaurants--which often appeal to families they supply
nothing. Chili's offers number on a few items for marketing purpose.
You can call about individual items and get info, but they don't
freely supply it. Across the board restaurants are HORRIBLE at
divulging nutritional value of their menus. Chili's, TGIF, Applebees,
Bennigans, Friendly's, Colorado Mountain, Red Lobster, Olive Garden &
Beefsteak Charlies all had no info except on a handful of Atkins
marketed products. Outback offers recommendations for different diet
but no actual nutritional info--even though they call it "Nutritional
Info". They do cover weight watcher points and diabetic points.

DiGiTAL_ViNYL (no email)
350/304/Apr-299/200
Atkins since Jan 12, 2004
OWL-50 carbs/day (CCLL=?)