Friend of Julie: Key-Friendly Restaurants

I thought this would be a good audience participation topic.

I like eating in restaurants.

More to the point, I like eating in restaurants that are accommodating to my diet. The vast majority of them have been. I can only come up with one notable example where I was met with opposition and that place was up in Maine.

So the heck with them. I won't eat there again (not that I ate there in the first place).

I thought it would be fun to give a shout out to places who get it right - places that accommodate and even extend a welcome when I ask them to do a low-carb conversion on my dinner. If you have a favorite place, let us know in the comments.

Oh, and if you know of anyplace to avoid that's closer than Downeast Maine, a warning would be welcome, too.

1. 99 Restaurants
I find 99 to be one of the easiest places to deal with and they have more Key-adaptable options than most sit-down restaurants, especially when it comes to chains. They offer extra veggies in lieu of rice or potatoes and this comes in handy with entrees like the sirloin tips. If I get them smothered, I don't ask for extra veggies because there are enough on the plate already. When I ask them to leave off the bread and biscuits, they do it and when I order a seltzer with lime I don't get charged. Service in Westside is the best out of all the area locations with East Longmeadow at a close second.

2. On the Border
Yep, the Ameri-mex restaurant in Westside that starts you off with a metric ton of chips with salsa is actually really cool about the diet. I ordered the mixed combo fajita with chicken and steak the other night and when I told them I didn't want the rice and beans and that I couldn't eat the tortillas either, they rung in the order for the combo but then only charged me for the chicken, a $3 savings. I didn't ask for it. They just did it. Seltzer with lime was free there, too.

3. Boston Market
I eat at Boston Market in East Longmeadow about three times a month with my son. They don't go out of their way to accommodate me, but they don't have to. Every entree except the pot pie is Key-friendly and you can choose appropriate sides. I usually get the half chicken with corn and mixed vegetable medley. They also serve unsweetened iced tea with unlimited refills. I usually drink one there, then refill it and bring it home. It lasts all evening and into the following day. Liam takes care of the cornbread so I don't even bother asking them to leave it off (but they will if you do).

I haven't encountered any opposition around here to accommodating my diet yet but I don't eat out THAT much anymore. It's also important to exercise common sense. Popeye's, Sonic and Wendy's aren't going to accommodate you (unless you want to peel the bun off your burger yourself) so that makes them not great choices to begin with. That and the meat in a McDonald's burger is only food in the academic sense and has little to no nutritional value. There's a difference between a fast food grease pit and a sit-down restaurant. The latter should WANT to work with you within reason.