Atkins menus at restaraunts in Chicago?

My partner recently started atkins... its not that its impossible to eat at most restaraunts when dining on atkins, but it is hard knowing how some prepare things without really asking... on the contrary, many of the chain restaraunts (Ruby Tuesday, etc.) seem to have atkins specific menus that list everything you need to know (# of carbs, etc).

Does anyone know of any good non-chain restaraunts that have atkins friendly fare? or even better is atkins specific menus?

[Edit: Insert less offensive "unhip to popular culture" reference here] Sorry, I could not resist. One would think since Atkins Nutritionals (who I assume licensed the menus) when bankrupt in July of 2005, you would not find many "Atkins Approved" dining menus anymore.

Atkins short-term results benefited from hyperbole and has been shown to be long-term harmful. You can read more about Atkins here. Not sure about Wikipedia article, the follow links to NEJM. There is an interesting note under the criticism section, the National Weight Loss Registry indicated that of its population of registrants that have lost 70lbs and kept it off for 5 years or more, less than 1% ever went on an Atkins diet.

Atkins is a great phenomenom to study, and it shows how little the medical community knew (or was trained) about weight loss.

Did you mean South Beach Diet? SBD also capitalizes on the effects of foods according to their placement on the glycemic index and was, during Atkins peak, referred to as "modified-Atkins".

I will say that learning how simple carbohydrates and sugars effect appetite is a useful tool for anyone that has a problem with portion control...but that is about all the use I have for Atkins. I believe it was also found to be one of the most expensive diets to maintain, not including all of the Atkins licensed low-carb products.

pdaane wrote:[Edit: Insert less offensive "unhip to popular culture" reference here] Atkins Nutritionals (who I assume licensed the menus) when bankrupt in July of 2005, you would not find many "Atkins Approved" dining menus anymore.

Atkins short-term results benefited from hyperbole and has been shown to be long-term harmful. You can read more about Atkins here. Not sure about Wikipedia article, the follow links to NEJM. There is an interesting note under the criticism section, the National Weight Loss Registry indicated that of its population of registrants that have lost 70lbs and kept it off for 5 years or more, less than 1% ever went on an Atkins diet.

Did you mean South Beach Diet?

I will say that learning how simple carbohydrates and sugars effect appetite is a useful tool for anyone that has a problem with portion control...but that is about all the use I have for Atkins. I believe it was also found to be one of the most expensive diets to maintain, not including all of the Atkins licensed low-carb products.

hmm.. funny how i didn't really ask for your opinion of the diet, i asked if anyone knows of restaurants that have menus that are atkin's friendly (this being a food forum and all)...

as far as menus labeled atkins... many probably say "low carb" instead of actual atkins, but i do know they exist. If the menus had disappeared, it seems like the chain places would be the first people to ditch it, since they're more concerned with legal aspect of things than a local place would be. however, that said, if the company that "licensed" the menu (which i doubt is the case) went out of business, wouldn't that be free reign for all to not have to worry about licensing it? ...

I have a lot of friends who have successfully been doing atkins for years... its really not that hard to follow, and once you get past the induction phase (first 2 weeks), you have a lot of freedom to eat just about anything if you are conscious about it.

i agree it is expensive diet. i don't think the average american with a family can really afford to be on Atkins... to be happy with it and successful in the long term, you have to be able to afford lambchops, steaks, etc a few times a week (you could eat cheaper, but you'll quickly get bored with eating a hamburger patty every night and probably quit the diet)... but is paying $20-30 extra a week really that bad if you're able to be healthy and not overweight? i know plenty of smokers who pay more than $20 a week on <i>that</I> habit, which isn't healthy in the least.

atkins is also a complicated diet to understand... you really do need to actually read about it, and perhaps get "the book" ... i know of people who have totally stopped eating bread and pasta, and somehow thought they were on atkins. while they were cutting carbs, they weren't on any real diet. unless you do the diet right (phases, cut all carbs/alcohol at first, etc) you're going to screw your body up and make things worse..


we've both done south beach diet too... i didn't really need to lose weight but it was still interesting to be along the ride for... we quit after a few weeks.. from everything i've read now (and based off of past experience, talking to friends, etc...) it seems like south beach is harder to maintain in the long term than atkins..

as far as the long term/short term health effects... 1 of my friends who does it is a surgeon with his own surgery practice... he has said his bloodwork has drastically improved since starting... his partner's mom went on and on about how her doctor was praising how great her blood results show now, too... so for every person who said they "failed" ...you could probably find someone who was just as successful...

that said... is anyone willing to answer any suggetsions for the question? if not then let's not turn this into a debate over the diet.

Not debating the diet, but with one of my clients, we used to include low-carb claims in advertising for one of its products, but as the popularity of the diet has plummeted, we don't address the carb issue anymore.

So I imagine your search for non-chain low-carb will be more challenging than it would have been a year or two ago (although with the recent growth of Brazilian churrascarias ... no, wait, they're almost all chains ... although one that I like, Asado, is part of a really tiny chain ...)

While this probably qualifies as a chain, I note that Weber Grill has a carb-counting friendly menu. You can substitute fries, potatoes, etc. for green beans with almond slivers and a couple other vegetable choices. Also, the restaurant is meat-centered, leaving the sides as the only real problems. Also, most steak houses like Gibson's serve all side items ala carte. I often take my carb-counting Dad there as he can order a steak with sauteed mushrooms and there is no pesky potato there to tempt him. Believe it or not, I have also had carb-counting luck at real Italian restaurants where you can get various chicken dishes or chops with a salad and substitute vegetables for pasta without the staff blinking an eye. (La Scarola for one. Who wouldn't want escarole instead of pasta?) Greektown is also good if you can resist the pita bread and just focus on the vegetables and grilled meats.

Tweet (5024 N Sheridan Rd, Chicago, 60640 - (773) 728-5576) and Ann Sather (several locations, the one I'm familiar with is at 5207 N Clark St, Chicago, 60640 - (866) 755-8500) both have Atkins-friendly items and options on their breakfast/brunch/lunch menus. Tweet serves dinner, but I've never had it so I don't know if they're equally Atkins-friendly at night.

Peter,
This one's for you:

Menu Switch at TGI Friday's

I've been reading and absorbing info from the LTH community for a while, but this is my first post.

I have Celiac Disease which is an intolerance to wheat, rye, barley and oats. Thus I follow a gluten-free diet. There are several restaurants in the city that offer gluten free menus and perhaps some of these places would accomodate your partner's Atkins needs. I don't know anything about the Atkins diet except that it limits carbs...all carbs? Off the top of my head, Adobo Grill, Bistro 110, Vinci, Wildfire all offer GF menus. Chains...Outback and Carabbas do as well.

I think you need to ask for low-carb menus rather than Atkins Friendly, Atkins Approved or, perhaps even, Atkins specific. I thought the Wikipedia article/entry would explain why.

Atkins has a website at Atkins.com, you can sign up for a newsletter (it may include restaurant choices, who knows). Here is the Press Release issued last month that explains in part the shift of strategy to a food product company. ANI, most likely dumped any support for their licensees' use of the Atkins name.

I do not recall the reasons for bankruptcy, but I believe it had to do with ending litigation and emerging as products company rather than touting the diet. [I won't bore any of you with the details]

From other web searches it looks like TGIF (Same parent as Ruby Tuesdays??) had an exclusive deal (for "Atkins-Approved") and Subway licensed "Atkins Friendly"...after the litigation, I am sure it was dropped like a hot rock. I can't tell you why they might still have an Atkins Approved menu, but I can speculate that their menus may be printed many months in advance.

The point of my original post was to suggest that asking for an Atkins specific menu already seems dated to me, a past fad.

Here is a list of low-carb restaruants. which may fit your bill.

Enjoy,

FWIW, Lowrey's Bacon Curls Microwave Pork Rinds, marketed as a low-carb snack do no doubt to the Atkins Wave, are now available at Woodmen's Market in Kenosha...original and spicy, less than 1 gram total carb per serving.