Compare these two restaurant experiences. Visit to Applebees: First, not very diabetic-friendly. I used to eat the Caesar salad but that spiked my blood sugar until i found out they were putting a glaze on the chicken. So I asked for the salad without the glaze and without the croutons and with the dressing on the side. The waitress said “Being difficult today, are we?” I was outraged. I explained that I was diabetic and that it was difficult to find things on their menu that I could eat. I really don’t need to be insulted for trying to be good with my health.
Compare with experience at Red Robin. Lots to choose from, including a burger without the bun - wrapped in paper so you can eat it with your hands. I ordered a different burger without the bun and waiter said “Sure, we’ll wrap it for for you. And what can I give you to substitute for the fries? Salad? Vegetables? Broccoli?” It was SUCH a different experience compared with Applebee’s.
I can sympathize with your experience at restaurants. Not only am I diabetic but my daughter has Celiac (no wheat,rye barely,certain oats) so I have to really be careful when we eat out having to watch out for both of us. First off, Applebees tends to be very high in carbs/cals on almost EVERYTHING they offer even on salads. I don’t even go to Applebees anymore myself because of that. Just my choice however. They do offer a weight watchers menu which may be better because everything is lower in carbs/cals on there at least then other options on their menu.
Do you have a copy of the Calorie King? If not, I would get one…every diabetic should have one really especially if they eat out often. It takes the guessing out of things you’re just not sure about. I can count carbs well but was shocked to find how many things at restaurants have so many things with hidden carbs in it. If I didn’t have the book I would have taken too little insulin to cover the meal and spiked high for sure. Going through the meals in that book under restaurants are shocking really! It seems more restaurants now offer menus for those with allergies,etc or have diabetic friendly items. I also find going during slightly off hours when places aren’t as crowded(late lunch-early dinners) makes it easier to get your waiter/waitress to work with you…not that it should matter but if a server is under stress and very busy they may not be as willing to be helpful which may have been what happened with your rude waitress at Applebees. That may not always be an option but I have found it works better for us and is always nicer when places aren’t packed anyway!
What has always astounded me… in places where there is nutritional info available… compare the serving sizes listed to what you’re actually given… it’s almost scary sometimes!
ok i am a waitress at a p.f. changs restaurant and we serve almost only chinese food, and previousy i worked at a cheesecake factory. As a general whole i think we diabetics should know better than to go to restaurants like that. If you have seen a calorie king or a nutrition menu at these places, especially any type of chinese food, the amount of sugars and carbs is OUTSTANDING in almost everything… and most dishes have pre made mass produced sauces.
So even as a diabetic when another comes in and asks me “well what can i have?” all i can really say is the steamed veggies with some steamed chicken added i feel bad and people have even told me off for it, but i am being honest. there is almost nothing i can eat where i work, even the salads have melon in them with sugary ginger dressing. even with very serious modifications, which honestly we have a whole gluten free menu and i have no problem with “difficult” orders, at the restaurants i’ve worked at it is still near impossible for a diabetic friendly meal.
Eating out is hard everywhere with diabetes, we all have to be extra careful, but honestly there are just some places i think should just be avoided… or don’t be offended when all i can offer you without spiking a high is the veggies…
however, i must say there are people out there who are just rude and i swear they make orders difficult to see how much i am willing to kiss their butts. I personally have never done anything to a guests food or drink, but why would you risk being flat out rude/a jerk to someone who is handling your food!!! serious Darwinian issue there…
Maria, thanks so much for the heads up! I was diagnosed 3 months ago and have had a hard time finding diabetes friendly restaurants. I’ve got a Red Robin very close to my house and will give them a try this weekend.
I have always had a great experience at Applebees! There was one to-go exception, and that got taken care of by management! But, they do have a lot of high/hidden calorie items, that is for sure! You have to choose wisely, and consider going there a treat!
i had not ment to imply that the thread said anyone was being rude. But i like to get the awareness of rudeness out there when there is a chance. I actually usually make really good money even with the current economic issues. I was more trying to get the message out that you can not expect every(or even most) restaurants to have a menu specific to everyone’s needs. also that i understand modifying things to better suite your taste and needs, but most places can only do so much… (and don’t blame your server for the restaurants short comings!)
Personally i had a table come in that was very very picky (diabetes, gluten allergy, dairy allergy…i mean the works!) and prior to sitting at my table the mother had thrown a tea pot at another server, who was just walking by her!!! Needless to say, i was really scared of serving them from what i had heard… but i stayed pleasant, listened to her complaints, related to the food issues, took utmost care to make sure the chefs knew all the food issues… and by the time they left i had a $65 dollar tip on a $100-something check
I truely believe in killing with kindness, and some people just need to see you are willing to do what it takes and listen to them… but there are others that feel in you being there to serve them they can say whatever it is they want to you and you just have to smile and take it… i have gotten a few of those too
But I live in DC so i have a lot of military personnel come in and they have always been very nice and polite … and pretty good tippers
I have had great luck with Outback and Chilli’s. I only order the salmon from both places with steamed veggies since other than steak, the rest of the menu is not diabetic friendly for the most part. If I am feeling particularly evil and want to add to the carb load and spoil myself, I ask for a side of mashed potatoes in a small bowl, not on my plate. This way I don’t get 2 cups worth of potatoes, I get a nice smaller portion. It makes it much easier to figure out the carbs. For the most part it has not been an issue with any of the waitstaff, I just explain I am diabetic and I have to be careful on carbs. Once when there was a problem with a waiter, I just let the manager know in a nice and polite way.
I always look up nutritional info at Calorie King or www.dailyplate.com before I go to a restaurant so I am sure I can find something to eat that won’t tank my control. If my friends want to go somewhere where there isn’t nutritional info, I call ahead just to see what they have on the menu and I take the Calorie King book with me into the restaurant. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. I went out today for lunch and I ended up with a blood sugar of 200 4 hours later. Oh well! At least lunch was good! I just will go for a walk after a low carb dinner…
yeah normally i’ll eat whatever i want if i’m going out to eat, or i just avoid certain places. But everybody gave great advice on eating out! I worked in a restaurant and i don’t think i had very many picky people, unless you count adults or kids that just didn’t like veggies. The Mexican place i worked for oozed with fried food, sure we had salads but who goes out to eat a salad when you can have a chimichanga. (okay i ate the salads with salsa, mmm)
Sometimes I feel bad for my waiters/esses, because besides being diabetic, I also choose to eat vegan so I ask a lot of questions. I have had wonderful servers who give me the answers or even go ask the cooks about ingredients so that I get what I want. Some have even made something special that wasn’t on the menu. I also give good tips for such wonderful service.
last valentines day we went to THE MELTING POT, its a fondue place for dinner, we went with some friends and I had just been pumping for about 3 weeks, I was so nervous about how to handle this meal, so I called them a ahead of time, they had printed out all of the nutritional info for the entire menu, and also gave the waitress a heads up, she offered me many options to the main menu, but since it was valentines day I still wanted the choclate fondue part, so I bolused at the begining of the meal with the cheese fondue part, bread and veggies, then salad, then meats, then the dessert I bolused again for, it was still a guessing game with the carbs and I was careful, except for the choclate part, I ran a little high for about 3 hours then it came back down to normal, But then once I was at Friendlys with my kids and my sugar was dropping fast and I begged the waitress for a soda fast and it took her 10 minutes, I wanted to slap her when she brought me diet coke, i almost went and got it myself, some people dont get it
I’m just saying… that one restaurant seemed met my needs with no problem and the other not only didn’t try but insulted me. Applebee’s is particularly problemmatic. When I looked into it, I found that they hadn’t posted their carb counts for most of their dishes - only a few. I looked online and in several carb-counting books. For a short time, they had a low-carb items (crispy brick chicken, etc.) but they got rid of them. I wonder if they consulted Dieticians(!) like the one who told me that I should eat 300 g carbs a day…
And I DID complain…and got an apology from the manager but she didn’t get it. She apologized that the salad came with croutons and she defended the waitress. Anyway, water over the bridge…but it was worth mentioning. Diabetics are sometimes at the mercy of restaurants - when we travel, etc. It’s great when establishments do try to accommodate us.
i am being judgmental on some people. you can account for any amount of carbs you take in, and great, but there is also a lot of sugar in most of this food that isn’t counted as carbs on the labels.
And if you order honey chicken (which is very popular) and then get offended when i offer you rice with your meal and your reasoning is “i’m a diabetic! i can’t have rice!” then yes i will judge you.
Anyone can eat where ever they want, and i like the food where i have worked. it’s just not very healthy. You know what you are going to get when you go to places like that, good for you! but most do not, and they expect levels of accommodation that just can not be done at these places with most items on the menu.
And yes you should know better! i “know better” but there is nothing wrong with a treat every now and then. At the en of the day, if you want a meal completely custom made to your every wish and desire, then stay home and cook it yourself! There is a point when if you are going to a lower end place to eat where your dish is not more than $10 you really can only expect so much.
the point of a “broad statement” is to not offend anyone, but to make awareness known to the “general” readers… plus isn’t most of this site “opinion” and “experience” … which generally will be a little biased and judgmental to an extent?
i actually never served there. i was a hostess and a cashier (takeout) but that ment i worked behind the bakery with all those cheesecakes! so dangerous … lol
but servers seemed to know. just the way you ask questions i think. SS asked more questions, and in more detail than the average joe
I was at a TGI Friday’s recently and ordered a salad, no dressing. I avoid dressings when I eat out because I don’t know what’s in them. I have them bring olive oil and balsamic vinegar to the table. Anyway, at this Friday’s, they said that “oil and vinegar are not on our approved list of dressings”, so no luck. Approved list of dressings? Who knew.
