Food has to be pleasurable—even if you’re keeping an eye on every bite, right? After all, you may be visiting a restaurant three to five times per week, and eating out is still a social experience. The ambience, the music and the company we keep all influence our taste buds, whether we’re noshing meatloaf and mashed potatoes at the diner or downing a multi-course meal at a five-star establishment. That’s why Energy turned up the oven and got some expert advice to provide you with an Eat Smart Restaurant Guide.

The diner

A recent national survey reports that 56 percent of us say we "always" or "usually" find it hard to eat healthy away from home. That’s up from 44 percent of respondents in 1990. No wonder. Think diner food and what comes to mind is down-home cooking like chicken-fried steak, scalloped potatoes and macaroni and cheese—sides that are sometimes listed as vegetables on southern menus. Then there are a slew of homemade fruit pies to top off the meal. Even if the diner you select is a more "chic" version, one of today’s eclectic bistros full of offerings like roasted lamb and risotto cakes, you still have to be up for the challenge of searching out the healthiest options available.

"One of the biggest things people ask for is no butter, no oil and no salt," says executive chef Brett Winter at Jerry’s, a contemporary diner in the heart of SoHo in New York City. When diners ask for lighter or healthier fare, Winter’s wait staff steers folks to entrees such as the steamed mussels, a dish that’s tasty with or without butter; the oysters, served sauce-less with vinegar and champagne; or the striped bass or the roasted chicken. Grilled skirt steak with spices and a red wine vinaigrette is a pretty good choice too.

Jerry’s also offers cream-of-the-crop selections in healthier appetizers. Called small plates, diners can order steamed jumbo shrimp, grilled veggies served with a little bit of caramelized goat cheese or an arugula salad with Granny Smith apples and roasted beets. "I think these are pretty healthy overall—light fare," Winter says.

Food strategies at the diner

Ordering an appetizer instead of a huge entree is a great strategy in or out of the diner. "I call that being creative with the menu," says Hope Warshaw, MM.Sc., R.D., and author of Eat Out, Eat Right (Surrey Books, 2003). "I think of it as giving people the notion that they can do this." You may not always be hungry for an entree, so splitting, sharing and ordering half plates is a superb strategy. You can also try ordering an appetizer and salad instead of an entree. Soups are another overlooked option. There are both healthy and fat-filled varieties. Rule of thumb: If you can see through it or it’s loaded with veggies or beans, it’s a healthy choice. If it’s white and creamy, it’s usually loaded with fat.

Try pre-planning your trip to the diner. Ask yourself questions before you scan the menu, like "Have I eaten enough fruit and veggies today?" "Will I be eating more protein at the next meal?" "How much fat have I tallied so far?" Nutrition banking is a concept Warshaw stresses. It doesn’t mean starving until you arrive at the diner but simply monitoring your food intake both before and after your meal, eating lightly earlier in the day or working in some extra workouts later.

Pinpointing the fat in restaurant meals is your biggest challenge. Get to know the cuisine. You should understand from the get-go that fettuccine alfredo is a high-fat pasta entree or that sweet and sour pork always means large chunks of fried meat. Get a feel for food words. "Steer clear of ’red flag words’ and phrases," Warshaw says. Stuffed with cheese, topped with cheese, smothered in blue cheese dressing, deep-fried, buttery, saucy, creamed and crispy are some red alerts.

Food chains

Mushroom burgers topped with melted Swiss, loaded baked potatoes and stuffed bacon and cheese chicken breast. Sound like a chain restaurant? You may frequent these typical chains for lunches, dinners, to meet family and friends or just when you need something more substantial than a sandwich. Here, you’ll find menus reflecting a melting pot full of ribs, pastas, French fries, steaks, salads, pizza, Mexican and more. Think that view of the dessert tray on your way to the table is a coincidence? We don’t. More likely it’s to tempt you into deciding on dessert before you even order the entree.

Appetizers here generally consist of fried goods—things like fried mozzarella sticks, potato skins, wings with blue cheese dressing and smothered nachos. One of those giant fried onions popular here contains 2,100 calories and 60 grams of saturated fat. And the cheese fries with ranch dressing top 3,000 calories and 81 grams of saturated fat. Even if you’re sharing, that’s still a ton, and you haven’t ordered the main dish yet. Look for chili or a salad instead, or try to find peel-and-eat-shrimp or a steamed or grilled fish appetizer. As for the breadbasket, ask for whole-wheat rolls and limit yourself to one roll with one pat of butter.

"For chain entrees, anything that’s steamed, poached or broiled—fish or shellfish, would be a good idea," says Tia Hagins, R.D., community nutritionist at Somerset Medical Center in Somerville, N.J. What about the lighter side of the menu? Many chains now include a few entrees that fall into the lower-fat and calorie column. "Those are generally going to be good choices, whether because they’re lower in fat or they give you a smaller portion," Hagins says. Look for a light, guiltless or low-fat section on the menu.

Menu review on food chains

Hagins reviewed menus at several New Jersey restaurants last year as part of February’s Heart Health month. The restaurants: Italian, seafood, a diner, and a golf country club faxed their menus to Hagins. At that point, she selected heart-healthy (think low-fat) menu choices. Then she provided each establishment with red heart stickers to place beside the lower fat choices so patrons know the healthiest options.

What made the grade? Lots of shellfish and fish entrees, any pasta dish with marinara or ones loaded with vegetables and even small steaks. "With steak, the more expensive the cut of beef, the better it is for you," Hagins says. One exception is the prime rib, which is an expensive yet usually large portion. Any type of grilled or roasted chicken breast also got a nod from Hagins.

A similar program called Menu2 is underway in Spokane, Wash. There, four area restaurants have teamed up with Patty Seebeck, R.D., at the Heart Institute of Spokane to produce a secondary menu for their establishments. Menu2 is a compilation of nutrition information for each item listed on the menu. The voluntary initiative provides customers with a non-intrusive guide to the nutritional values of their foods—upon request. The pilot program indicates about 65 percent of diners requested to see Menu2, many making healthier selections because of it. The National Restaurant Association has also given Menu2 its endorsement. Look for more programs like these to crop up in the future.

Upscale eateries

The tres chic restaurant or fine dining establishment may be reserved for special occasions, like birthdays and anniversaries. It’s also where business dinners are commonly held. The focus may indeed be to splurge. You might sense a French flair as American-trained chefs travel, explore other cuisines and integrate their findings into their upscale menus. Expensive ingredients are typical, such as truffles, pate de foi gras and crème fraiche. Here, instead of the quick order and check please place, you’ll linger two to three hours eating a variety of courses. Because of this, fancy preparations, extra time spent at the table and a variety of courses to consume, the upscale eatery can pose quite a challenge.

"Some people may be afraid to ask the server what’s in a dish," says James Gottwald, executive chef at jordans, an upscale eatery, steps from the White House in Washington D.C. Ask if you’re not sure. "It’s a server’s job to know the answer—or to find it out," Gottwald says. Make simple requests to hold the cheese, go light on oil or sauces on the side, please. Ask if sautéed items are dredged in flour. They’ll soak up more oil that way, and it might be possible to skip that step.

A wide food selection

For entrees, Gottwald swears by pork loin. It’s 97 percent fat-free, lean and moist when prepared well. The filet mignon is a winner too. Even at 6 ounces, the typical petite size may be larger than you’d like, but you can always box the remainder. Seared grouper is another popular jordans entree, seared in a bit of olive oil and served with wilted spinach; it’s a fairly low-fat and low calorie choice. As is Gottwald’s seasoned pasta—no sauce, just a touch of extra virgin olive oil and spices.

"Try to go to a restaurant where the menu is large and varied so it will improve the chances of finding something healthy," Hagins says. Look for preparation methods you already know are best: steamed, poached, grilled, blackened, stir-fried, baked or roasted. More and more upscale restaurants offer vegetarian dishes, too. Check that veggies don’t arrive loaded with sauces, creams and cheese. Leave hollandaise sauce in the kitchen. "When I designed the menu here, I put plenty of things on it that are health conscious," Gottwald says. "You have to in this market. You’ll drown if you don’t."

To wash your meal down, sparkling water is your best option, but if you’re splurging you might consider limiting yourself to just one alcoholic drink. "Basically one glass of wine is equal to one light beer, which is equal to one and a half ounces of alcohol," Hagins says. That’s 120 calories. If you’re ordering a mixed drink, have it with tonic or seltzer versus soda, or try mixing it with diet soda. A frozen sweet drink like a pina colada can contain over 500 empty calories. So if you’re watchingyour caloric load, there may not be much room for such extravagance. Wine spritzers are a calorie-conscious choice, as they are diluted with club soda. If you’re truly splurging, champagne is only slightly higher in calories than wine, and it’s generally confined to toasting with a few celebratory sips.

Topping off the meal with a sweet? "My take on chain desserts is that they’re probably nothing to write home about," Warshaw says. "But order something if you really want it." If you’re splurging at the upscale eatery, ask a dinner partner to split one or perhaps pass around one slice of cake and many forks. Some folks are satisfied with just a few bites of something sweet to end a meal. Anything fruit based—berries, sorbet and gelato—are your best dessert options. And don’t forget to offer your compliments to the chef.

Menu lingo

Decode the menu terms that trip you up. Here, a few common prep words to bypass:

Aioli: garlic-flavored mayonnaise
Beurre: French for "butter"
Bisque: cream-based soup
Crispy seared: crisped on the outside with oil or butter
Crusted or encrusted: coated with nuts, breadcrumbs or potato and pan-fried until crispy
Fritto misto: large fried pieces
Pan-fried: may as well be deep fat fried

Secrets from the chefs

"When people come to Jerry’s, I’m more than happy to do what they want. I’ll change a dish around. I don’t take it personally. I understand people who want to make a healthier choice."
–Brett Winter, executive chef at Jerry’s in SoHo, New York City.

"I hear sometimes when I go out, ’this pasta’s in a light cream sauce.’ No such thing. Ask them what kind of cream they use because the only cream sauce I know how to make is with heavy cream."
–James Gottwald, executive chef at jordans in Washington D.C.

"No food is too bad that you can’t have it occasionally. Everyone deserves a treat they really want to eat. Just keep moderation in mind."
–Joan Carter, M.B.A., R.D., chef and instructor at Baylor College of Medicine, Houston.