In honor of Joey working at Chili’s, this is where I begin my quest for the perfect side salad. I called Joey yesterday to ask about the menu, and he told me the side salad/house salad is a good size, with lettuce, tomatoes, onions, cucumbers, cheese, all served on a square plate. And that is exactly what I got at my local Chili’s.
I know there is a school of thought that the worst thing about a salad is that you tend to smother it in high calorie/high fat dressing, and that may be true. But since I am not eating flour or sugar, I’m going to allow myself to indulge in dressing on my salad. I am such a fan of salad dressing, and it’s a longheld belief of mine that “Salad is a good excuse for dressing.” However, I found the ranch dressing at Chili’s to be a little on the thin side. But our waitress was kind enough to bring additional dressing to the table, and that helped.
For $3.99, I thought this salad got the job done. However, I was not impressed with the cole slaw. Joey told me it was “not the best cole slaw in the world” and that, I think, is a good description. Not the worst, but certainly not the best. I wouldn’t order it again. Next time, I would probably try, for the same price, an ear of corn. Or the steamed broccoli.
The bowl of chili you see in the background of this picture was part of Russ’ order, and I had a taste. Just for the record, I would say it was more of a “Chili Soup” than a true chili. Kind of odd, for a restaurant named Chili’s, to have a weak chili. For my money, Wendy’s does a much better chili, much thicker.
I found the combination of this salad with the side of cole slaw, and an unsweetened tea, to be plenty to eat for a light, healthy dinner. Chili’s is one place where I feel I can go to eat out and not have to worry that french fries and fatty burgers will be my only choice. Also, as Joey pointed out, Chili’s has also implemented a “Lighter Choices” menu, where the offerings are not more than 750 calories, and not more than 25 grams of fat. The 25 grams of fat still sounds high to me, but if you do the math, that comes out to about 30% fat, which is probably pretty good for a restaurant meal, if you’re concerned about fat.
As for me, though, at least for the moment, I’m not counting fat, but instead I’m trying to avoid sugar and flour, which is working well—at least for me, at least for the moment. Some day I may try the “Lighter Choices” at Chili’s, but for right now, I’ll be sticking with their salads and vegetables.
