Restaurant Food, Carbs and Where to go

87 degrees today and a nice breeze. Aaahhh.

Since we have several gift cards from friends for many restaurants, for which I am very grateful, I am going to give my opinion about each of them, what to order, and the value for the money. I am a fan of French Onion Soup so I have rated the soup at each restaurant.

McDonald's, Burger King: Still the bottom of the barrel. The new chicken sandwiches from McD's with guac and other stuff look good but really aren't. Their salad was essentially a pile of wilting brown lettuce. They said they improved the salad. I will have to see it to believe it. Just watch "Super Size Me" again, and think about the possibility that Burger King uses horse meat.

TGI Friday's: You may be ordering from a table, but you are still being served fast food. The endless apps might be a death sentence for someone like me.

Perkins: Overpriced, processed food. Look at the nutrition facts (or lack thereof).

IHOP, Denny's: Not as overpriced, but still nothing but carb bombs.

Wendy's, Chick-Fil-A: A significant step up from other fast food joints, because they use more natural ingredients, and who doesn't like a Chick-Fil-A sandwich? The price goes up too. We can spend close to $30 at Chick-Fil-A for the four of us.

Panera: They famously claim to have clean food. Having worked there part-time, this claim is true. A lot of their bread, like honey wheat, is full of fiber, and many of their salads are zero- or low-carb. You can modify recipes as well. They definitely follow all the rules when it comes to food safety, and I feel safe feeding my kids there, but you pay for what you get. We can spend $50 for the 4 of us.

Red Robin: The tavern burgers start at $6.99 which is somewhat reasonable. No burger is a good burger for a diabetic, but you can eat it with a fork and knife and avoid the bun. Many of their burgers are way overpriced, their onion soup is the saltiest I have ever had, and you need a megaphone if you want to refill the "bottomless" fries.

Five Guys: Again, no burger is a good burger, but these guys use fresh beef and potatoes, and homemade food does make a difference.

Ruby Tuesday: Their garden bar has a lot of ingredients to make a carb-free or low-carb salad, just watch the type and amount of dressing. I use oil and red wine vinegar. Some of their burgers aren't too expensive, just see above.

"Fast" Mexican: These places seem to have exploded. I prefer Chipotle and Moe's which allow you to get bowls and avoid the carb-loaded tortilla. Chipotle's slow-cooked Barbacoa is great, and Moe's offers several different fresh salsas. I am told to limit the tortilla chips to about 10 or so. Priced about right.

Applebee's: Some of their lunch combos and 2 for $20 menu items are reasonably priced and the calorie count isn't outrageous, but their onion soup and food overall tastes processed and salty.

Olive Garden: Most entrees, especially the non-pasta ones, are overpriced. Still most good servers will let you eat all of the soup, salad and breadsticks you want, so that may be part of the price. I prefer the Zuppa Toscana.

Outback: The bloomin' onion is one of the most awful things anyone, diabetic or otherwise, can eat, but you still have to get it. The combo of the app, steak and dessert for $14.99 isn't bad, but I save the dessert for later or give it to my wife. The Outback makes the best French Onion Soup of any chain restaurant. The local Outback in State College has screwed up our orders lately, and made us wait 25 minutes for a messed up kids' order, so we may not visit them again for a little while.

Chili's: The 2 for $20 menu is reasonable, and the lunch menu can be pretty cheap. The southwest Chicken Soup is very good for 230 calories. Their chips and salsa are really, really, good, and, at dinner you can combine the pork and chicken fajitas for tons of flavor. Use just one tortilla to save carbs and cut out the optional rice and beans. They say to limit the tortilla chips to 10, but it is really hard. Their 1,500-2,000 calorie chicken crispers now claim to use natural white meat, begging Jim Gaffigan to ask the question, "What were they using before? Iguana meat?"

Cracker Barrel: I am OK here because everything on their menu is made from scratch, as long as you avoid blatantly high-carb foods like fried food and lumberjack breakfasts. Look for daily specials, which are priced well.

Pizza: Homemade pizza with organic dough and freshly shredded cheese is preferable, but sometimes you just have to indulge and visit the local pizzeria.

As I mentioned, home-cooked, non-processed food makes a difference. Most small-town places that make their own food are better, like the famous Original Waffle Shop in State College, Their home fries are amazing, but usually don't harm me too much. Local diners can be hit-and-miss.